Squadron of deception

Air Classics, Aug 2001 by Hutton, Stephen

THE SAGA OF THE MIGHTY EIGHTHS 36TH BOMB SQUADRON IN ACTION OVER EUROPE - AND ITS UNIQUE MISSION TO SAVE

AMERICAN LIVES

CONCLUSION

The squadron achieved great acclaim for a successful spoof mission the following month. On the night of 9/10 November, the squadron had seven B-- 24s dispatched with all completing their assigned mission.

The RAF main attack included a small number of RAF Mosquitos on miscellaneous targets in Germany. The results indicated the enemy reacted in considerable strength to the spoof Window force that was put up along with the screen. No Bomber Command aircraft were reported missing. Sadly though, the 36th experienced its first loss of airmen and aircraft when Lt. Joseph Hornsby's crew in B-24 s/n 4251226 R4*L was hit by flak while returning to base. Lt. Hornsby ordered his crew to jump, but for unknown reasons three airmen failed to parachute and were killed when their bomber plowed into a field in Boucly, France.

For the mission, special commendations were received from Gen. Jimmy Doolittle and Air Vice Marshal Addison for the activities this night.

General Doolittle's commendation letter read: "Jamming, screening and diversionary efforts of the 36th Bomb Squadron have contributed greatly to the effect of RAF bombing efforts. (The) Mission of 9/10 November was one of the most effective in confusing the German Air Force and causing them to assemble in great haste to intercept the bomber stream which was not there, and reflects great credit to the Command and the individuals concerned."

The special congratulation to the squadron from the Air Officer Commanding RAF 100 Group, Air Vice Marshal Addison stated: "The results of last night's spoof operation were most gratifying. Our aim was amply achieved in that the enemy was induced to react in a very big way indeed; first in the spoofed area, until he eventually became aware he was being spoofed after the Windowers had returned, and then in the Ruhr area when he believed a real raid was to follow the spoof. I know how difficult were the conditions last night, and how these were aggravated by last minute changes in the program. The latter, however, were made to take advantage of the best possible weather conditions on a bad night as revealed by the weather reports. I congratulate all crews who took part in this difficult operation. Their determination enabled the group to score a very distinct success. Well done."

Dr. Jones' Most Secret War adds: "Besides providing diversions, spoof raids could be used to get the German nightfighters up, and so tire them, on nights when we were making no major raids. On 9/10 November, although the Germans had originally thought that bad weather would prevent us operating, they were deceived into treating a spoof raid on Mannheim as a major one; and when they had unraveled the deception, they further deceived themselves by concluding that it must be a prelude to a major raid. As a result, aircraft of six Gruppen were airborne for 2-1/2 hours."

Five nights later tragedy again struck the squadron when two airmen of Lt. Norman Landberg's crew were killed. Their Liberator s/n 42-51219 R4*L suffered instrument failure and crashed in dense fog on takeoff at Cheddington. Fortunately, this would be the squadron's last loss while flying for the RAF. Beginning on 25 November 1944, night operations with the Royal Air Force were curtailed. Support was now being given to the Eighth Air Force each morning on daylight penetration raids. The 36th was now charged to provide a VHF radio screen. This screen was different from the RAF screen in that it attempted to deny the enemy the ability to listen in on 8th AF radio communications during the assembly of the bomb divisions. It had been learned from captured enemy signal documents that the Germans had secured a great amount of valuable information from monitoring the VHF radio transmissions of 8th AF aircraft while they were assembling. Mandrel equipment was used for this VHF screen along with a new jammer called Dina.

The 36th BS employed a new spoof at this time. Special operations using a prepared dialogue to simulate bomber division assembly were employed on days when there were no bombing operations. This spoof had airmen of the 36th read from a prepared script over the VHF radio channels to simulate the bomb group assembly. More operations of this type were later used in December on missions during the time of the Battle of the Bulge and on days when the rest of the 8th AF did not fly. The intent of these efforts was to further extend and waste the enemy's valuable resources.

Sadly, the aftermath of the VHF screening mission of 19 December proved fatal for eight of ten men in Lt. Harold Boehm's crew. For the mission, seven squadron Liberators provided a VHF screen in support of 8th AF bombing operations. After completing the mission, foul weather at Cheddington prevented the B-24s from landing at home base, so all seven aircraft were diverted to Manston on the southeast coast of England. Safe at Manston, the seven crews and their aircraft had a three-day layover waiting for the weather at Cheddington to improve. On the afternoon of 22 December, the crews were given the "all clear" to return. However, the weather at home base closed in for a second time and the seven B-24s were diverted again. This time it was to Atcham 100 miles northwest of Cheddington where four of the Liberators were able to land before that field closed in. The three remaining squadron B-24s were diverted once more, this time 90 miles farther northwest to Valley airfield in Wales. Once at Valley, it was now dark and the three remaining squadron Liberators found their fuel tanks dangerously low. The Valley weather was also deteriorating. Unfortunately, Lt. Boehm and his crew in B-24 s/n 42-51232 R4*J The JIGS UP, having lost their primary navigation equipment at Atcham, were now unsure of their exact position. Adding to his troubles, the pilot found he could no longer communicate with Valley control tower, so messages had to be relayed through another squadron aircraft. The JIGS UP ran out of gas on two engines and Lt. Boehm told his crew to get ready to parachute. Unknown to pilot was that part of his holding pattern was over the Irish Sea when the men jumped. And when they jumped they did so without lifejackets and rafts. Only Lt. Boehm and his co-pilot Lt. Donald Burch parachuted to safety, landing on the shore. The other eight-man crew parachuted into the frigid Irish Sea and were never found.