35 Missions to Hell and Back

A Mighty 8th Air Force, 390th Bomb Group (H) History

Charles J "Chuck" Richardson

• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781647010201
• eBook ISBN: 9781647010225
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World War II
• Index: History

Twenty-plus years in the writing, and for an additional ten years, this gut-wrenching, heartwarming story has been silently biding its time, awaiting a channel for expression. A compelling story of young boys bound by faith, courage, blood, sweat, and tears, and how that bonding created the brave young men they became. Hopefully, all who read this account will feel the deep emotions of terror, disappointment, frustration, laughter, love, peace, and joy experienced by the author during his service as a radioman/gunner on a B17G during World War II. Some of the stories contained in this manuscript have never been published or made public. Stationed in the European Theater of Operations in Framlingham, England, Mr. Richardson, USAAF, 8th AF, 390th Bomb Group (H), 571st Squadron, was the recipient of numerous major awards and citations, including Distinguished Flying Cross; Air Medal with 4 Oak-Leaf Clusters; 2 Presidential Unit Citations; Russian Medal of Victory in the Great Patriotic War (on behalf of Boris Yeltsin); Certificate in Recognition of Contribution/Service in liberating France and participation in the Invasion of Normandy, signed by French Secretary of Defense John-Pierre Messeret; French Jubilee of Liberty Medal; and French Legion of Honor Medal.

CHAPTER 15

Back To The War

Monday, August 14, 1944

The morning of the seventh day, we boarded our little English train and with a toot, toot, Bournemouth was a memory, a very pleasant memory. Thank You, God, for this time of relaxation, and thank you, Eighth Air Force, for making it possible. We felt totally refreshed.

We arrived late in the evening, after a three-hour layover in London, where you could look down almost any street, and as far as you could see, there was rubble lying in the streets with just a narrow passageway cleared down the middle. It was surprising that we got through at all, but the people of London seemed to somehow get it done.

The first thing we noticed when we got to our squadron area was the red alert flag was flying, and Steve said, “I hope that don’t mean us.” The next thing we noticed was all the crews around us that we knew were gone, either lost in combat or finished their tours. That was a shock! Some new crews crowded around us, wanting to know what it was like and what to expect. We told them to just take it one day at a time and learn as much as they could as fast as they could.

Our crew officers were already back and came to check if we were all back and okay. Then, “Good night, see you in the morning. We are flying.” Well, that settled that. We were back, and it was time to get on with it. Right away we got that sinking feeling in our stomachs, realizing that our seven days at the “funny farm” flak camp were over.

We were anxious to find out all that had happened since we left and get the POOP from our friends on an older crew.

The day we left on flak leave was Monday, August 7. The 8th Air Force mission number 527 was to bomb bridges, highways, train yards, and fuel dumps in central France. Many on this mission had to return home due to bad weather. We learned our 390th Group had again been sent to Russia on the second shuttle mission and would return by way of Italy, as we had in July. We probably would have been with them, and fortunately for them, they did not lose a single plane.

On Tuesday, August 8, the 8th AF mission number 530 put up 1,095 bombers and 632 fighters, not including the 78 B17s and 55 P51s on the Russian shuttle run. The bombers suffered 8 losses, while the fighters lost 13. There were many targets, mostly in support of ground troops. Bomb tonnage used was 2,548.

On Wednesday, August 9, mission number 533 was one of those rough ones with targets at Ulm, Saarbrucken, Karlsruhe, Sindelfingen, and others in southeast Germany. Targets included armament works, aircraft factories, airfields, and fuel depots. We suffered 18 bomber and 3 fighter losses, but the Germans paid dearly as well. Our fighters shot down 39 in the air and destroyed 24 on the ground.

The 2nd and 3rd Divisions encountered bad weather and had to drop their bombs on secondary targets. One thousand, three hundred ten tons of bombs fell on Germany. “Heil Hitler.”

On August 10, mission number 537 was limited because of bad weather. Only 175 bombers and 573 fighters bombed bridges and rail targets, dropping 522 tons of bombs. One bomber was lost.

Mission number 538, 338 medium bombers bombed troop concentrations. It was a very good day, for our fighters destroyed 27 planes with 14 losses. The 20th Fighter Group destroyed 37 locomotives, bringing their total to 264.

Friday, August 11, the 8th Air Force flew 3 different missions. Number 541 hit fuel, rail, and troop concentrations in and around Saarbrucken and Strasbourg. Mission numbers 542 and 543 concentrated on targets on the French Brest peninsula, dropping a total of 2,371 tons of bombs and losing 5 bombers and one fighter.

Mission number 545 on Saturday, August 12, sent 650 bombers and 1,330 fighters along the front lines. Targets were airfields and transportation hubs. In dropping 1,713 tons of bombs, we lost 3 bombers and 13 fighters. As our fighters turned more and more to strafing, our heavy fighter losses were due to ground fire. The Germans lost 19 planes.

On Sunday, August 13, the 8th Air Force mission number 548 sent 1,269 bombers and 1,065 fighters to drop 3,712 tons of bombs in direct support of our ground troops. Losses were 12 bombers and 13 fighters. Worth noting on this day, the 388th Bomb Group used TV controlled 2,000-pound guided missiles. They had poor results, and this kind of bombing was not perfected until the Gulf War, 50-plus years later.

Monday, August 14, sent mission number 552 with 1,183 bombers and 584 fighters to bomb targets in Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Sindelfingen, and Stuttgart. Dropping 2,914 tons of bombs with excellent results, they hit oil and aircraft engine plants. We lost 2 bombers and 4 fighters, while destroying 13 German planes. Due to many accidental mistakes, all strafing of ground troops in France was discontinued.

That brings us up-to-date on what went on while our crew was on flak leave. We thought things would be getting better with short trips and support of ground troops. Time would tell.

Tuesday, August 15, 1944

Eighth Air Force mission number 554, 390th Bomb Group mission number 174. At 0445 our Nissen hut door (I am going to demolish that thing before I leave this place) slammed open, and a familiar voice penetrated my brain, “Lieutenant Ray Strate crew number 86, arise, arise. Your day to shine. Chow in thirty minutes, briefing at 0545. No bitching now, you are all rested up.” With that the sergeant made a hasty retreat.

It was difficult for us to get moving. It was as if we were walking in molasses. I think a great part of it was that we didn’t want to go back to war, but with only eight left, we wanted to get them over with, so we pushed one another.

When that black curtain was opened, we saw at once this was going to be an exciting day. The 1st Division was going to Frankfurt and Cologne to bomb airfields. The 2nd was going to bomb airfields in western Germany, and the 3rd Division (our division) to bomb airfields and Buzz Bomb launching sites in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The target for our 390th Group was a large airfield at Venlo, Netherlands. Venlo is located on the River Haas, right at the German border, about 50 miles from Cologne, Germany. Cologne is in the middle of the rich industrial Saar Valley of Germany, and one of the most heavily protected areas in the world.

This was not one of those days when the Luftwaffe would run and hide, especially for the 1st and 2nd Divisions. They were met head-on by swarms of Me109s and Fw190s in groups of 20 abreast, as well as very heavy flak.

In the meanwhile, we were making our bomb run with very few German fighters and only moderate flak. The Germans were far too busy defending their own country to bother with us. Our bombing results were excellent, and later photographs would show, the Germans were just too busy to reopen this airfield. It was totally demolished.

In all, there were 18 different targets today, and our 571st Squadron had one of the easier ones. Sometimes, it is like that when the Germans decide to conc...

Table of contents

• You Have A Letter
• Back To Basics
• Still No Shooting!
• Oh, No! Lost Records And…Finally
• The Night The Lights Went Out In Texas
• An Angel Named Nick
• I Remember Iceland
• The Train, “Peep-Peep,” Rolled South
• Instruction And Indoctrination
• Saturday, June 3, 1944
• Tuesday, June 20, 1944
• Wednesday, July 12, 1944
• Friday, July 14, 1944
• Sunday, August 13, 1944
• Friday, September 1, 1944
• Wednesday, September 13, 1944A Day to Remember!
• The Haystack Caper
• The Home Stretch
• The Good Old USA
• ROGELIO SANCHEZ, TAIL GUNNER