Tail gunner - part I

Air Classics, Jan 2003 by Mitchell, Henry J

Inspection of our plane determined that ice had prevented a fuel tank cap from fully closing. This allowed the vacuum that exists over the wings in flight to suck fuel out so it sprayed like the fine mist that we saw. It was much like the workings of a car's carburetor where gas is mixed with air and sprayed into the cylinders to be ignited. We were very lucky it was a "Tokyo tank" - supplemental ones installed in the ends of the wings to give more range for those upcoming long missions (to Tokyo?). Had it been one of the main tanks, closer in and behind the engines, the hot exhaust could have easily ignited the fuel. Whether such a flame could have worked its way back up the stream of spray to the wing and into the tank is unknown. I would not care to test it.

Well, through all this travail time was passing. In the "outside world" the Battle of the Bulge was going on. We could have been flying missions by now although, if you know your WWII history, fog shrouded the continent for days and was a factor in delaying rescue of beleaguered 101st paratroopers at St. Lo.

When we had been 30 days in this TO ("theater of operations" - this was called the American Defense Zone, or some such name), someone got the idea of going to the PX (post exchange) and getting American Defense Theater campaign ribbons to wear on our uniforms. While 30 days normally was qualifying, it did not apply to us. We were merely in transit; not assigned here. No matter. Who was going to know that the red, white and blue striped bar was not official? I can't recall if the officers wore this, but all the enlisted men put it on and no one questioned us.

On that very 30th day in the snow we took off in darkness, constantly flooding the wing with a high-powered lamp to make sure there was no leaking fuel. We landed in barren, windy, icy Meeks Field outside a small village called Keflavik, about 22 miles from the capital, Reykjavik. The wind was so strong the plane was tied down. One man was left on guard in the plane for two- or fourhour shifts. I don't know what we were supposed to do if the plane tipped over. Hang on to the cable and not let her it get away? In a day the high winds abated.

Still, we were in a bleak landscape with huge dark brown rocks with an oily-looking surface that at night you kept stumbling into because no lights were allowed outside. This was our first blackout experience - an indication we were now in a danger zone. Bad weather kept us here for two weeks.

I failed to mention that we had a passenger with us. A Lt. McDaniel, a radar specialist, had been with us all along. He was a bit of a nut and proved it here in Iceland. As transients we were not allowed off base - that is to Reykjavik. Only the nearby village was allowed. "Mac" borrowed a uniform of one of the enlisted men of the base and went to Reykjavik one night. He took a very big risk. Out of (his) uniform. And what ID he used I do not know. If he got into any trouble and came to the attention of the MPs he would have been finished. He made it back to base okay. We never saw him again once we eventually deposited him on British soil.