flame and black smoke. The plane dropped out of formation and began its shallow dive to earth.
‘Come on, guys, come on, get out of there,’ Harry heard in his earpiece. He willed them to bail out too, totally distracted from the bomb run and the flak. Three black specks fell from the Fortress and white parachutes blossomed in the sky. Then there was a sudden bright flash as the wing fuel tanks ignited and the stricken Fortress began a dizzying spin, like a great metal leaf whirling to earth. Once that happened you were doomed – pinned to your stations by centrifugal force, like a fairground ride in hell.
‘Bombs away,’ said Bortz, as the Macey May lifted in the air, suddenly free of its 4,500-pound load. Harry spun his turret round to watch those ten green pods plummet from the bomb bay, rapidly lagging behind the aircraft as the Macey May powered on through the sky.
Another Fortress began trailing smoke from its left outer engine. That was quickly extinguished but thenthe propeller stopped rotating. It was the Carolina Peach . Harry had shared meals with their non-coms on several occasions.
Holberg came over the interphone. ‘We’re on our way home. Watch out for fighters.’
Harry felt a familiar squirming in his stomach. They must come, surely. Didn’t they always? He managed to stay awake for the return flight and wished there was something to distract him from the plummeting bombers and the flak fragment that had nearly ripped his stomach open. It was exhausting staring into endless, empty sky. Some music would have been good, but Holberg turned down Corrales’ request for the BBC Home Service.
‘Sorry, Jim,’ he said. ‘I want you all to keep your eyes open. We’re all tired. We’re all a bit jittery. We’re over the worst, but I don’t want some Nazi fighter to creep up on us just when we think we’re safe.’
For the first half-hour of the journey home, Carolina Peach , the Fortress that had lost an engine over Münster, had managed to keep up with them, lagging only a little behind the tail end of the combat box. But as he scanned the sky for fighters, Harry also noticed it gradually losing height. The inner left engine began to flame too and trail black smoke, but the pilot was obviously still in control. No parachutes appeared.
‘Godspeed, boys,’ Harry heard Holberg say. ‘Maybe they’ll get back if they’re lucky with the fighters.’
As the minutes ticked away, the grey North Sea appeared on the horizon and Harry began to hope they would not be attacked after all.
Fighters did come – their own escort. Just as they reached the coast two squadrons of Lightnings arrived and flew above the combat box. The Germans rarely attacked when the bombers had their own fighters to protect them. Harry felt an overwhelming relief. They had done it. They had flown their first combat mission and survived. He felt a surge of pride in his crew.
The bomb group were back at Kirkstead by 3 p.m. No one crashed on landing, although a couple of the bombers fired their flares on approach, alerting the ambulance crews they had badly injured men aboard.
As they emerged from the main exit at the rear of the Fortress, Ernie was there to greet them, along with the rest of his crew. He waited for all ten of them to appear, and then his face broke into a wide grin.
Holberg came over and gave him a slap on the back. ‘Hey, Ernie. We would never have known the difference!’ He turned to the other ground crew, who had gathered around. ‘Thanks, boys. She flew like a dream. And to tell you the truth, the number four ran even better than on the old Macey May. ’
In the canteen afterwards they discovered the B-17 that had exploded over Münster was one of theirs. It had been on its first mission too. Harry felt glad he didn’t know any of them. There was no news on Carolina Peach . Harryhoped the guys had managed to parachute out before the plane was too low for a safe escape.
They also heard there had
‘Come on, guys, come on, get out of there,’ Harry heard in his earpiece. He willed them to bail out too, totally distracted from the bomb run and the flak. Three black specks fell from the Fortress and white parachutes blossomed in the sky. Then there was a sudden bright flash as the wing fuel tanks ignited and the stricken Fortress began a dizzying spin, like a great metal leaf whirling to earth. Once that happened you were doomed – pinned to your stations by centrifugal force, like a fairground ride in hell.
‘Bombs away,’ said Bortz, as the Macey May lifted in the air, suddenly free of its 4,500-pound load. Harry spun his turret round to watch those ten green pods plummet from the bomb bay, rapidly lagging behind the aircraft as the Macey May powered on through the sky.
Another Fortress began trailing smoke from its left outer engine. That was quickly extinguished but thenthe propeller stopped rotating. It was the Carolina Peach . Harry had shared meals with their non-coms on several occasions.
Holberg came over the interphone. ‘We’re on our way home. Watch out for fighters.’
Harry felt a familiar squirming in his stomach. They must come, surely. Didn’t they always? He managed to stay awake for the return flight and wished there was something to distract him from the plummeting bombers and the flak fragment that had nearly ripped his stomach open. It was exhausting staring into endless, empty sky. Some music would have been good, but Holberg turned down Corrales’ request for the BBC Home Service.
‘Sorry, Jim,’ he said. ‘I want you all to keep your eyes open. We’re all tired. We’re all a bit jittery. We’re over the worst, but I don’t want some Nazi fighter to creep up on us just when we think we’re safe.’
For the first half-hour of the journey home, Carolina Peach , the Fortress that had lost an engine over Münster, had managed to keep up with them, lagging only a little behind the tail end of the combat box. But as he scanned the sky for fighters, Harry also noticed it gradually losing height. The inner left engine began to flame too and trail black smoke, but the pilot was obviously still in control. No parachutes appeared.
‘Godspeed, boys,’ Harry heard Holberg say. ‘Maybe they’ll get back if they’re lucky with the fighters.’
As the minutes ticked away, the grey North Sea appeared on the horizon and Harry began to hope they would not be attacked after all.
Fighters did come – their own escort. Just as they reached the coast two squadrons of Lightnings arrived and flew above the combat box. The Germans rarely attacked when the bombers had their own fighters to protect them. Harry felt an overwhelming relief. They had done it. They had flown their first combat mission and survived. He felt a surge of pride in his crew.
The bomb group were back at Kirkstead by 3 p.m. No one crashed on landing, although a couple of the bombers fired their flares on approach, alerting the ambulance crews they had badly injured men aboard.
As they emerged from the main exit at the rear of the Fortress, Ernie was there to greet them, along with the rest of his crew. He waited for all ten of them to appear, and then his face broke into a wide grin.
Holberg came over and gave him a slap on the back. ‘Hey, Ernie. We would never have known the difference!’ He turned to the other ground crew, who had gathered around. ‘Thanks, boys. She flew like a dream. And to tell you the truth, the number four ran even better than on the old Macey May. ’
In the canteen afterwards they discovered the B-17 that had exploded over Münster was one of theirs. It had been on its first mission too. Harry felt glad he didn’t know any of them. There was no news on Carolina Peach . Harryhoped the guys had managed to parachute out before the plane was too low for a safe escape.
They also heard there had
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