Battle of the Bulge Air Strike

Flight Journal, Aug 2001 by Browne, Robert W

More than 3,100 Allied planes, including squadrons of Martin B-26 Marauders, P-51 Mustangs and P-47 Thunderbolts, flung themselves at the German incursion. But Germany threw Fw 190s, Bf 109s and especially Me 262 jet fighters into the fray in unprecedented numbers, so the Allies' light bombers and fighters were really up against it. In his book "The First and the Last Stand." Adolf Galland states. "Doolittle and Tedder now demanded decisive measures to prevent ... the operations of German jet fighters."

Allied ground and air commanders decided that on December 24, 1944, the Allies would strike all German airfields with maximum effort. On the evening of December 23, 1944, every 8th Air Force squadron was put on alert. I saw the usual red flag (alert) on our commanding officer's bulletin board. Military policemen switched on red lights in our group bars and the local pubs we frequented; after that, we knew we wouldn't be served alcohol. Whenever the red flag appeared on bulletin boards, we were limited to the camp. The group operations message center received a telephone message on its secret "scrambler" line; military police stood at the door of our operations war room, in which detailed mission information was received via teleprinter.

The war room was the hub of S-2 intelligence activities. There, the duty officer was given the cipher book he needed to decode the target identification. He then assembled a folder of information that would provide target-briefing data for our crew presentation. We were awakened at 3 a.m., allowed 30 minutes to wash, shave, visit the latrine and get to the mess hall. To avoid oxygen-mask discomfort and to help it seal properly, shaving was essential. Some of our living quarters were half a mile or more from the mess halls. Transportation-usually weapons carriers-was available, but those billeted nearby walked or cycled.

Cooks and kitchen staff had to rise an hour before us and aircraft mechanics at least three hours before our takeoff. Armorers installed the bombs, the size and type of which were predicated by the mission's purpose. Tanker-vehicle crews topped off the bombers' gas tanks; both B-17s and B-- 24s held approximately 2,800 U.S. gallons, which represented nearly one quarter of their gross takeoff weight. At the same time, oxygen truck crews checked every bomber's oxygen supply and replenished it as needed. We arrived at our bombers at least an hour before our scheduled takeoff time; gunners had time to carefully inspect, clean and remove any surplus oil that might freeze at altitude. To avoid accidentally firing a gun, we did not charge them with ammunition until we had left the coast of Britain. Then our squadrons dispersed and fired their guns to ensure that they operated properly.

We started our engines 25 minutes before the scheduled takeoff and 10 minutes before taxi time. A green flare was the start signal. We pilots had time to run up our engines and check the instruments and controls-a repeat of the checks done by the crew chief two or three hours earlier.

Taxiing a B-17 demanded much more skill than a B-24; we couldn't see directly ahead over the nose. Marshaling and taxiing was a noisy business, as the roar of 192 or more powerful, open-exhaust engines was accompanied by the frequent squealing of brakes. Every bomber consumed about 60 gallons of fuel during this period.

We took off after seeing a second green flare from the checkered, flying-control van. Depending on its gross weight, a battle-bound B-17 or B-24 was airborne in about 3,000 feet but, to gain as much airspeed as we could to sustain liftoff, we kept main wheels on the ground until we were near the end of the runway. At this point, if all were well, we would be at 110 to 120mph. While the undercarriage retracted, we began a shallow climb toward our scheduled group assembly area at an assigned altitude of between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. At 10,000 feet, our navigator or copilot told us to use oxygen, and every 15 minutes thereafter, while at altitude, our bombardier or pilot called each of us to ensure we weren't suffering oxygen deprivation. Faulty equipment could lead to unconsciousness in minutes and death in as few as 20 minutes. We had to stay alert to this possibility because a victim was rarely aware of what was happening to him; drowsiness just took over.

The giant formation stretched for 300 miles from the English coast near Norwich to the German border. As our 3rd Division bombers entered Germany, the Ist BD was just leaving Norwich; the 2nd BD was somewhere between. Our bomber forces were in three divisions, as follows:

1st Bomb Division (H)-12 bomb groups; 48 squadrons.

2nd Bomb Division (H)-12 bomb groups; 52 squadrons.

3rd Bomb Division (H)-12 bomb groups; 56 squadrons.

Led by our 3rd Bomb Division, with 1st and 2nd trailing, each squadron had a maximum of 12 or 13 bombers. Rarely would all the groups have all their bombers simultaneously airborne. Up to three percent were held on reserve to replace "aborts" and those that hadn't been able to get all engines operating properly on the ground.