B
17:
#953
October 9, 1944
Our
target was a plant in Mainz, Germany. The 486th could put up only 26 planes
today -- splitting up and filling in with two other groups (bombing different
targets). Our half furnished the low squadron for the "Bloody
Hundreds" (100th Bomb Group). We must have brought them good luck
because the formation wasn't jumped.
The
weather around the target area was terrible and we had to fly through a
"front" in order to reach it. Enemy fighters were in the area but
we didn't encounter them. It's possible that the weather kept them away...
no complaints from us. Our fighter escort on the last few missions has been
great. What a wonderful feeling it is to see them weaving back and forth,
over and above us. No wonder we called them, "Little Friends”.
This
was Bernie's last mission. Seeing that we were no longer allowed to
"buzz" the field ... he gave the town of Sudbury a "going
over" while entering the traffic pattern. He's sure a happy guy -- and
I don't blame him at all. I'll be too. No losses today.
As for #953 --- the flimsy
for the mission, records this number on the plane flown by Fishel... but
there is no record of it in the recap of, "Aircraft of the 486th".
(7)
B
17:
#142 “Lil
Butch” / “Rodney the Rocks”
October 14, 1944
"Back
to "Happy Valley". Our target was an industrial plant in Cologne,
Germany. Just after we released our bombs we received a couple of holes in
our bomb bays. Good thing that our bombs were gone.
I
flew with a different crew today -- my pilot was, Mullen. After flying with
Bernie again, I guess I was spoiled because his flying was very erratic and
I almost sweated him out as
much as I did the flak. In his defense, he only had about six missions under
his belt --
and
I guess I was getting a little "Flaky".
I
had assumed that he
was part of the 833rd, but when I checked it out I learned that
he was in the 835th. I'm not sure why I was assigned to fly with a different
squadron today. I made no mention of it in my mission
journal.
#142,
"Lil Butch" / "Rodney the Rocks" (don't
know why it had two names). I've often
wondered how they came up with some of these names. It flew a total of 69 combat missions -- from August 1 to
March 3, 1945 -- the records report it as, "shot down".
B
17:
#943
"The Fertile Turtle" (see what I mean about
"Names”?)
October 22, 1944