HELL'S ANGELS BOMB RAID

A Fortress gunner's 15th mission

A DISCOURAGING SIGHT LOOMED AHEAD FOR B-17 pilot 2nd Lt. Jack L. Lester and his crew. Cloud cover obscured the view of the Skoda Armament Works at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia. The pilot confirmed the dreaded news that many crewmembers of the 360th Bomb Squadron were already thinking. "Looks like we're going around again," said a frustrated Lester. he was the pilot of the Idaliza, a B-17G bomber assigned to the 8th Air Force's 360th Bomb Squadron 303rd Heavy Bomb Group-the Hell's Angels.

Peering earthward from the bomber's Perspex nose, togglier S/Sgt. Leroy "Blondie" Faulkner began to pray. An initial pass was unnerving enough, but going around a second time over any flak-invested target was considered suicide.

Blondie watched his formation's lead B-17. Sharing the cramped nose with navigator 2nd Lt. James Sutherland, he awaited the signal from the squadron to drop Idaliza's bomb load and turn toward home.

This particular day over Czechoslovakia turned out to be WW II's last full-scale combat mission for the Mighty 8th Air Force. Forty aircraft of the 92nd Bomb Group led this attack. The 303rd Bomb Group out of Molesworth, England, was part of the total attacking force and was flying its 364th and final mission with three squadrons of 14 B-17s each.

All the crew wanted to do at this point was to drop the "pickles" in the barrel and head home to their base and get a hot meal and maybe a hot shower.

On this mission, Idaliza's crew didn't consist of regulars but instead were pre-assigned aircrews: Robert Gaspar, copilot; James Sutherland, navigator; Edward Livingston, engineer/top turret gunner; Frank Rachel, radio operator; Alexander Keenan, ball turret gunner; and Eugene Donner, tail gunner.

Inside Idaliza, Blondie Faulkner not only served as togglier but also operated the twin guns in the chin turret, although by this time, the fledgling Luftwaffe was just a shadow of its former self, and the threat of Bf 109s, Me 262s and Fw 190s was minimal.

This operation over Czechoslovakia was Blondie's 15th mission. He had flown five as togglier and 10 as waist gunner. The War would be over very soon, and Blondie just hoped to make it through this mission.

The flak was terrifying, and already Idaliza was taking hits. Air cover was assigned to this mission, but the 188 P-51 Mustangs flying nearby could do nothing to protect against flak.

The lead B-17 bombardier in the 92nd BG aimed his Norden bombsight, and the target appeared in the crosshairs! Ten, high-explosive, 500-pound bombs could be seen exiting from the lead B-17's belly. The 303rd BG's High Squadron bombardier released his bombs, and then Blondie hit the toggle on his plane. He felt the Fortress rise as the heavy load was released. The bomb drop was precise and devastating.

It was now time to return to Molesworth, but Blondie had one more task to do-with his camera. Immediately after he had toggled the bombs, he took a final photograph: it shows 10 B-17 Flying Fortresses and all except one are dropping their bombs. Even after Blondie took this historic photo, the B-17 in the far distance never unleashed its explosives. The bomb-bay doors were open but nothing exited this plane, and moments later, it plummeted to earth, exploding on the way down.

The following information on this lost B-17 is credited to Lt. Col. Harry D. Gobrecht USAF (Ret.), 303rd Bomb Group (H) Association Historian.

303rd BG (H)'s last combat mission: number 364, April 25, 1945, to bomb the Skoda Armament Works at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia.

The 303rd BG (H) dispatched 42 B-17s. One B-17 was lost after being hit by antiaircraft fire about two seconds after the bombardier reported "Bombs away." When flak hit the number-three engine nacelle, flames shot up and enveloped the entire nacelle. The Fortress was out of control and fell sharply off to the right and almost straight down. Pilot Lt. Warren Mauger ordered his crew to bail out, righted the stricken B-17 the best that he could and went to the nose hatch to bail out. The aircraft then exploded and disintegrated, and Lt. Mauger found himself tumbling toward earth. With some difficulty, he managed to open his parachute and float to earth. Fires in the cockpit had burned his face and hands. After he landed on soft ground, a farmer assisted him and gave him directions to friendly battle lines. With the assistance of several other farmers, he spent 10 days evading capture by German troops.

Four 303rd BG (H) B-17s returned to Molesworth's airfield with wounded aboard. Another B-17 landed at Brussels, Belgium, on one engine with a wounded crewman; the B-17 was salvaged. Another damaged B-17 landed at Würzburg, Germany. A total of six First Air Division B-17s were lost on the mission-all to flak.

Strike photos had shown that this attack on the Skoda Armament Works was a direct hit. Plant workers indicated there was tremendous devastation, and the target was totally inoperative afterward. In an unprecedented move, Allied radio had broadcast a warning to Czechoslovakian workers to stay away from the Works because a strike force was coming to level it. Unfortunately, the Germans intercepted this message and were ready for the B-17s. This accounts for the terrible barrage of flak and the loss of so many B-17s and their crews.