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7. Our First Mission over Germany
- University of North Texas Press
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7: Our First Mission over Germany January 1943, Hansell plan our first bom the meeting by at the Casablanca Arnold had General Eaker to launch mediate against the homeland. He told us lhal we must make a maximum effort and, if possible, put as many as ninety planes over the target. LeMay asked Hansell if we were ready to fly into Germany without fighter support. we had no choice, insisted on an n118510n, looked CUSSiOIL made no comment. Hansell terminated other group commanders without further to Chelveston mission. I worked group flight plan with LeMay and Preston and didn't get to bed untilll :30 P.M. Wake-up call was at 3 A,M., and after a breakfast of powdered eggs and Spam at 4 A,M., our crews assembled in the briefing room. I pulled back a large curtain covering a map of Germany. I had placed string on the map the route from at East Anglia, North Sea and the to the area adjacent to River, submarine construction yard and aircraft plant. The room was silent. The crews had been anticipating a mission over Germany for a long time. LeMay stepped forward and pointed to the map, saying, "Germany is the target for today. This is what we're here for. Our targets are the aircraft and submarine plants in Vegesack near Bremen. If there's target at Vegesack, will turn Wilhelmshaven, 55 56 WITH THE POSSUM AND THE EAGLE ships in the harbor. We have reports that the Scharnhorst is based there. Keep a tight formation. The fighters are looking for stragglers who break formation. "You'll be on your own as you approach the German coast. You'll have no fighter support beyond the Frisian Islands. That means you're going to have to shoot your way in and back from the target. Navigators and bombardiers will remain for a special briefing. If there are no questions, the meeting is dismissed." I conducted the briefing for the navigators and bombardiers. We reviewed the bomb runs and photographs ofthe target areas in both Bremen and Wilhelmshaven. No one spoke as the crews filed out of the briefing room. I rode out to our plane in ajeep with Preston and Malec. I looked at the dark, overcast sky. I knew that this mission was crucial for Eaker and Hansell. Arnold and Eaker had promised we would bomb Germany in January. It was the end of the month. We had to go, in spite of the uncertain weather, with no break in the cloud cover above our base, so we would probably have to take off on instruments in foggy drizzle. I wondered if we could break through the overcast and assemble the group above the clouds without a collision. This first mission over Germany began a new phase in our combat operations. Our previous missions over German-occupied territory in France, Belgium, and Holland had been warm-ups for the real thing. Our losses had never been more than 5 percent. This was the major league ofaerial combat. Up to this point I had been too busy learning how to be a group navigator to think seriously about the hazards offlying over the German homeland. I had been in the Air Corps since 8 December 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor. Now, a little more than a year later, I would be in combat in the toughest league ofthem all. In the three and a halfmonths since we had been in Europe I had seen the grim faces ofGerman fighter pilots as they thundered through our formations. I knew they would consider an attack on their homeland as payback time. This first mission to a German target was to be our ultimate test. The time for brave talk was over. I had no qualms or reservations about causing what our intelligence officers called "collateral damage " to nonmilitary targets and civilian areas. I looked upon Nazi [44.212.50.220] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 16:58 GMT) Our First Mission over Germany 57 Germany as a special case. When we bombed German-occupied countries I was concerned about our bombs missing the targets and killing or maiming friendly French, Belgian, and Dutch citizens. I had no such reservations about bombing Germany. As far as I was concerned, the Germans were either Nazis or Nazi supporters or sympathizers. We could expect no quarter from the Germans. These thoughts went through my mind as I sat at my navigator...