SHOOT THE MESSERSCHMITT!

Air Classics, Oct 2005 by Larsen, James W Jr

An uncomfortable privilege

My orders were clear: "Shoot the Messerschmitt!" Thus on 29 June, I was crammed into the tail turret of the Liberator shooting not .50-cal machine guns but rather 35mm film. The day was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me and those who were involved in the mission. For the first time since the end of WWII, a Stormbird and Liberator were sharing the same airspace. Though the mission was a peaceful one, the two aircraft in close proximity, the deafening noise within the bomber, the cramped space, and the forested terrain below contributed to the vintage war aura that combined to create a feeling of what it must have been like to fly a combat mission.

I was stationed with my cameras in the rear fuselage of the Collings Foundation's Witchcraft where I had free reign to move from the waist guns all the way back to my primary assigned post in the tail gunner's turret. I had prepared for an exciting and rare experience, yet I had not anticipated certain conditions I would encounter while trying to shoot the Me 262. Initially, I was strapped-in at the waist gun location for takeoff. As soon as the Liberator picked up speed on the runway, the rear cabin became a deafening noise box. The biggest surprise, however, were the bone-jarring vibrations and the cramped spaces of the vintage bomber.

Throughout the flight, I came to appreciate and respect even more the men who had served in battle with these machines. The crew did not have very much space to maneuver in the cabin. More than once, I found my camera bouncing erratically as I tried desperately to track the Me 262 through the small flat glass portion of the rear turret. Many times I stumbled, banged my head, or nearly took a nose dive as I crawled through the narrow passage connecting the tail gunner's position with the rear cabin. The tricky balancing act of photography that ensued pushed my skills to the limit.

Outwardly, the sight of two WWII warplanes in close formation must have been spectacular. Before landing, everyone was instructed to strap in - an instruction I obediently followed. The day had turned out to be magnificent and once on the ground and parked, I stepped out of the B'24 into the sunlight rubbing my ears in a futile attempt to restore hearing. Even so, I had accomplished my mission: I had shot the Messerschmitt on film from a most unusual point of view and experienced an unforgettable event.