Ludwigshafen, December 30, 1943
THE EIGHTH SCHEDULED two missions between Christmas and December 29th, but both were scrubbed due to bad weather. On the 30th the Eighth’s leaders got off a raid against the city of Ludwigshafen, described by VIII Bomber Command as a “key inland port and home of one of Germany’s two largest chemical plants.”
The plan called for PFF bombing, with five wings of the First Division in the van, five from the Third Division following a half hour behind, and two wings of B-24s from the Second Division trailing closely on their heels. A total of 710 bombers were sent, escorted by 583 of the Eighth’s fighters with RAF Spitfires providing additional support.
The 303rd and the 384th Group were to make up the second combat wing going into the target. The 384th furnished the wing’s lead group and the high squadron of the high group. The 303rd filled out the balance of the formation.
Hullar’s crew stayed home, with the main group formation being led by Major Walter Shayler and Lt. W.C. Bergeron’s crew of the 360th Squadron. However, the mission roster included two well-known navigators: Elmer Brown, flying once again with Woddrop’s crew as lead of the low group’s low squadron, and Lt. Bill McSween with Captain Don Gamble flying Vicious Virgin at the head of the low group’s high squadron.
Gamble’s diary provides a good introduction to the raid:
“Up at 0400—Lay in sack and cussed for 15 minutes. Got one egg and an orange for breakfast. Briefed for a lengthy little flight to Mannheim Ludwigshaven to drop eggs on rubber works and a chemical factory. The lights went out about halfway through the briefing, that is the light in the projector. We later found out that it wasn’t important to see pictures of the target. Col. Kermit Stevens gave his usual lengthy oration and I wished I was back in the sack.
303rd Bomb Group mission Route(s): Ludwigshafen, December 24, 1943. (Map courtesy Waters Design Associates, Inc.)
“Just time to get my stuff and out to the ship—Sky Wolf—had low oil pressure on No. 1 engine. Loaded on a truck and went over to take Q:341, a 427th ship. Took off last and found the group at about 2000 feet. Relieved Lake of the squadron lead.”
McSween’s notebook describes the outbound trip:
“We flew 427th ship 341-Q, a good warm plane, temp. –25, altitude 22,000 feet. Flew south to Beachy Head to FeCamp, from there due east to IP. Solid undercast except right at coast. Computed wind crossing channel. Was stronger by 15-20 knots than briefed.”
Lt. Fowler’s crew was also flying and his notebook offers a lively account of the mission:
“We were briefed to fly a spare aircraft on this mission, falling out at mid-Channel and returning to base only if no one dropped out of the formation, and continuing on with the formation if a plane dropped out and left a spot open. We were assigned the Knock Out Dropper, a 359th B-17F. This was its 57th mission. We took off at 8:05 and fell in behind the formation as they formed over the field, and trailed along behind as they rendezvoused with the rest of the combat wing and began the climb to altitude. Our base was furnishing the low group and two squadrons for the high group this day, and our instructions were to fly in either of these groups.
“No one aborted up to the time we reached the English coast and started out over the sea, but the leader of the second element of the low squadron in the high group fell back a ways and the leader of our three spare aircraft took off to fill the spot. Before he got in place, the lagging plane pulled back in formation. Our chances of going on the mission looked bad. We were at mid-Channel, but we pulled up and looked over the high group, thinking there was a hole. But they were all filled in. Then the tail gunner called out that tail-end Charlie of the low squadron low group was aborting, so we dove down, came up under, and beat the other spares to the hole.”
Barney Rawlings remembers this as “a tension-filled time for everyone aboard. I can recall very vividly the feeling of despair that we had after we had gone through this entire rigamarole of getting briefed, taking off, and chasing the formation, hoping for a hole to fill in, and it looked like we would have to go home. Then there was a feeling of delight which was shared by the entire crew, I think, when we finally got a chance to go. I think we all wanted desperately to go on this mission.”
Fowler went on to write: “We picked up a little flak at the Coast and some thereafter,” and the Fortresses met enemy fighters going in as well. Brown wrote, “We had 10/10 clouds under us the whole time while over enemy territory except for scattered clouds over 20 to 30 miles of the French coastal area. The only attack we had was about 30 minutes before the target, when we didn’t have any of our escort with us. The attack was made by a squadron of nine FW-190s flying in close formation. It was a head-on attack at our squadron, which we were leading. They came close enough that they turned over on their backs as they went under our ship, but didn’t do any damage.”
Gamble likewise noted: “Had one fighter attack on low squadron, but they didn’t lose any ships. P-47s covered us all the way in.”
The 190s had a definite impact on Lt. Rawlings, who was seeing enemy aircraft in action for the first time.
“I felt a fascinated, horrified admiration for the guys flying the fighters. They barreled right through at a fantastic closing speed, and seemed to be quite skillful at what they were doing. I had a feeling of real terror about them—not that I became a gibbering idiot, but I was frightened. I felt that if these guys wanted to get you, they probably would. I also had a terrible feeling that a pilot could be dead and still kill you from a head-on collision. They came awfully close to the formation and our airplane. I saw the turrets on about seven or eight of the planes in our formation turning to follow a fighter that was coming through above us, to my right. All these top turrets were shooting and gradually turning so that they appeared to be shooting right at us. I realized that you could quite easily get shot down by your own people. I formed the definite opinion that while flak might be spectacular, the fighters were really dangerous.”
The flak on this mission would also prove dangerous. The field order stressed that “Care will be taken by lead navigation not to overshoot IP due to concentration of flak installations east of this point,” but that is exactly what occurred.
McSween wrote that “IP reached nine minutes early, flew slightly past, turned back on target. PFF hit it on the nose. Flak was damn accurate through 10/10 clouds. Violent evasive action was made.”
Gamble wrote, “Dodged a rough bit of flak over city,” and Elmer Brown recorded that “The flak over the target was moderate and very accurate.”
Lt. Fowler also observed: “There was heavy flak, very accurately aimed, but our group leader took very effective evasive action, and we picked up only one small hole in the right horizontal stabilizer.”
The Group ran into enemy fighters on the return trip, too. Fowler commented that “Soon after bombing the target a few Me-109s came through firing 20mm. They hit and ran without effect.
“More 109s came across our nose and rolled through and scattered the group at our right soon after the target. They went through once and started pestering a Fort with one engine feathered back behind us. After a couple of passes, some P-47s came down and chased them off.”
The attacks did cause a loss in the 303rd. In the No. 5 slot of the high group’s low squadron was Woman’s Home Companion, B-17G 42-39795, flown by Lt. W.C. Osborn’s crew of the 360th Squadron. They were reported “shot down by enemy fighters,” with “conflicting reports on what happened to this plane.”*
The return trip over France held a tough problem for Lt. McSween: “The flight back was slow, bucking a headwind. I learned some DR. My dead reckoning wasn’t working out and I didn’t find out what was wrong until I reached the French coast. Lesson: You don’t double the drift angle when the wind is cut in two for computer purposes.”
Lt. Fowler also noted the long time it was taking to reach the coast, and other things as well. “We were two hours and ten minutes in getting back to the enemy coast going out. Two B-24s flew with us for almost an hour until they located their group. Spits met us then. Crossed the coast at 14:20 and began the descent out over the channel. It felt very good to get off constant-flow oxygen; had been on it about five hours.”
The Group let down over the Channel to the top of a cloud layer, then let down in England over a haze layer. Lt. McSween wrote: “Visibility was poor over the base on the return. Don nearly landed an top of a B-17. I was worn to a frazzle. Flying time: 7:30 hours.”
Gamble noted: “Nearly landed on a plane. Went around in pattern and made sloppy landing. Very good ship.”
Lt. Fowler “Sweated out gas coming home, but made it OK. Landed with about 25 gallons left in each tank. No losses for our squadron.”
Total losses for the mission were 23 B-17s and B-24s, plus 13 missing fighters. The Eighth claimed 20 German fighters. Bombing results were a disappointment. Although 658 of the heavies dropped their bombs through the 10/10 clouds, not one touched the chemical plant.
December 31st saw one final strike into occupied France. The Eighth sent 572 bombers and 548 escorts against a variety of objectives. The 303rd’s target was the blockade runner Orsono located near Bordeaux with a cargo of crude rubber, but 10/10 clouds area again made “daylight precision bombing” impossible. The 303rd lost no B-17s, but the Eighth returned with 25 missing heavy bombers, 15 Category Es, four missing fighters, and claims of 33 German aircraft shot down.
With the end of 1943 Hullar’s crew had completed 21 of their 25 operations. Slowly but surely, the stress of the many missions was having its effect, and as the old year died and the new one began, it wasn’t at all clear that the crew would keep together.