- SIX 830th SHIPS: “LIFE”,
PRINCESS MARIA,” “BUZZ JOB,” RING DANG DOO” AND “THE NAMELESS ONE”
COMPETE WITH “TAILHEAVY” AND “THE CHARACTER” OF THE 831ST, IN
CLOSE CONTEST FOR COVETED GOAL!
-
- One year ago last month,
72 ships were brought to Fairmont, Nebraska, for the 485 Bomb
Group. Today, of those original 72, only 8 remain, 6 in the 830th,
two in the 831st; and as they all draw nearer and nearer to that
coveted 100-sortie mark, the competition grows thicker and faster.
That’s why, this week, BOMBS AWAY would like to tip its hat to
these 8 ships, and to these men on the ground who, for nearly a
year, have adhered to that time worn but always meaningful phrase,
“Keep ‘Em Flying!”
-
-
without written permission of owner, Mr. MIKE ADAMS
-
- Loading the pack, with 84
sorties -- (as we go to press, that is!)-- is
LIFE,
symbol ship of the ‘30th, with M/Sgt “Chet” Davis as her crew
chief. LIFE
has had a pretty colourful and famous career, and adorned the
pages of Sortie, Star and Stripes, and, last but not least, Life
magazine.
- “I’m crossing my fingers
as I say this,” smiled “Chet”, but so for, no one in the ship has
ever been even scratched, although one of our tail gunners, T/Sgt
Stewart Gansell, did shoot down an ME 109.”
-
- “On one mission, however,” said Cpl Willard Rose, who has shared the spotlight with
Chet since Fairmont days, “a small piece of flak landed in the
fuselage right above the nose wheel and cut 82 wires and one of
the accumulator brackets; and on another, a piece of flak went
thru the co-pilot’s window and knocked F/O John R. Christenson’s
oxygen mask off bud didn’t even touch him.”
-
- The first pilot to boss
LIFE
around was Capt Glenn Jones, who is now at Tyndall Field, FLa, and
he was followed by Lt Simon Baytale, who went home only last week.
Right now, the crew is sweating out a new pilot.
-
- “Our good luck, we
attribute to two causes,” exclaimed Cpl Nichola Aita, who
completes the trio, “First of all, is a tiny baby shoe, belonging
to Rose’s little daughter, and hanging in the tail turret. And
secondly, in the nose turret is a picture of Christ, placed there
by S/Sgt Clarence “Deacon” Miller, the first one to occupy that
spot. Clarence is now stationed at Corpus Christi, Texas, but he
wrote that the picture is to remain there until the ship finishes
its combat time.
-
This image is copywright
www.savemypc.com
, and may not be reproduced without written
permission of owner, Mr. MIKE ADAMS
-
- Edging
LIFE
for top honors, however, are “Tailheavy”
of the ‘31st, and “Buzz Job” of the ‘30th. Crew chief on
Tailheavy
is T/Sgt James Houlian, who along with Sgt George Abele, has
looked after her since she arrived in the group.
-
- Sgt John Vavrok completed the trio until he went home on TD after her 54th sortie
last January, and was replaced by Sgt Frank Johnson.
-
- “We’re quite proud of the
fact that she flew the gp’s first 13 missions without a let-up,
and has gone as many as 20 missions without an carry return or
mishap,” stated Jim. “Two of the original engines, # 3 and # 4,
lasted 447 hours; and on one mission, both engines failed; but Lt.
Homer Disharoon, who was flying her at the time, brought her in
despite a terrific crosswind. He was less than 50 yards in back of
another plane much of this time, and the two nearly crashed, but
luck must have been with them, because he was able to get her in
okay.”
-
- On her 19th mission
Tailheavy
came back with the right aileron shot away by a direct hit by 20
mm flak gun; and her crew figures that today she has at least 450
flak holes in her sides. However, she has given as much as she’s
taken, for on her 25th sortie, the tail gunner, S/Sgt Bruno
Placica, shut down two ME 109 as they dove in on the formation.
-
- Sitting at
Tailheavy’s
controls, in this order, have been Lt Kenneth Craighead, Lt
Disharoon, Lt Sam Kookle, and now Lt Robert Baker.
-
photo Antonio Di Vietri: probably, ground
crews members.
-
- “You can bot we ‘re
proud” stated M/Sgt Jones Moehan, crew chief on “Buzz
Job”, “of the fact that
our ship was the first in the 485th to drop its bombs on an enemy
target. It was last May 10, and the Group had gone to Knin,
Yugoslavia. Col Richard Griffin, our Co at the time, was flying
deputy load in the ship, and when Col Walter Arnold’s ship had a
little trouble, Col Griffin took over and dropped his bombs.”
-
- Sharing the
responsibility for “Buzz’s”
success aere Sgt Alvin D. Reynolds, and Cpls Frank Wiechowski
(formerly known as Adolf) and Jim Howett, who joined the others
several months ago.
-
- “Buzz”
received her name from her first pilot, Capt W. Boling, whose
middle name was Buzz, and who also got a terrific bang out of
buzzing the field constantly. On one of these buzz jobs, however,
Reynolds, whom they call “Slim”, and who’s 6’6’’ tall, was in the
nose turret – (don’t ask us how he ever managed to squeeze in
there) – but when the ship started flying so low over haystacks
that she was cutting the grass with the props tips, Slim decided
that he’d had just about enough, and refused to go up again until
Capt Boling had promised to reform.
-
- “She has been to
practically every country in Europe where the 15th AF flies” added
Baltimore-born Jim, “having gone to Vienna 13 times and Ploesti 6
times; took part in the fight for Rome, and has left her mark in
France, Austria, (Weiner Neustadt and Linz) and Budapest.”
-
- “And she’s really been
shot up a lot,” joined in Frank. “Over Vienna, so many holes were
pumped into her, she looked like a sieve. Her hydraulic and
electrical systems were shot out, and her # 2 engine was hit by
flak and feathered; and Capt Boling kept # 4 engine running by
feathering the # 4 prop to keep it from running away. For his
work on this mission, he received the DFC. And another time, she
had to go to a service sqdn for repairs because three main wing
spars had been practically cut in half, thus causing a hole a foot
an a half in diameter.”
-
- If you do not believe
prayer helps, you might take a look at the crew of “The
Character”, the 831st ‘s
second entry in the long run sweepstakes. Every morning just
before take-off, the ground and combat crews of the ship gather
together for a brief reading from Scriptures, with crew chief
M/Sgt Lester York conducting the service. “We never miss a
mission” stated Les, “and it seems to help the men a lot.”
-
- With 73 sorties at her
credit, The Character
is looked after by a crew of three, with Sgt Henry A. Pickett and
Cpl Shufford Hall assisting Kentucky-born Les. In her year of
combat. She’s experienced just about every kind of trouble and
hard luck possible. On her 15th mission, over Vienna, she was shot
up badly; and Lt James Ludbetter, her pilot at the time, was
forced to fly her to Vis on only two engines.
-
- She was in Vis for 30
days, for 4 engines and 4 fuel cell changes, was out another month
after coming back. On Oct. 1, she had a taxi accident, and her
nose was smashed up, forcing her out of commission for another two
weeks. Then, in a raid over northern Italy, late in November, she
was shot up once more, and the complete tail assembly had to be
changed, to say nothing of all wheels.
-
- “To date, we’ve had 5
pilots” affirmed Les, “and it seems to be bad luck for one of them
to leave the ship. First on the list was Lt James C. McNulty, who,
on his 12th mission, flew a different ship in a different sqdn,
and went down. Then came Lt Ledbetter, who struck to her and
finished his 35 sorties the end of September. When Lt David Blood
flew a different ship the middle of January, he went down over
Yugo, but arrived back here safely, and is now at home. Capt. C.L.
Brown has been transferred to a different flight, and at the
moment, Lt Homer Mason is at the controls.
-
-
- As rugged as her name is
“Ring Dang Doe,”
(536), which has been under the tutelage of S/Sgt Howard Mc Chaffee
ever since “the good old days.” Working with Howard since last
September have been Cpl Ralph Schreek and PFC Carl Heimer.
-
- “Ring
Dang Doe” has 75 sorties
under her belt,” stated Mac “and she’s gone through plenty, having
been forced to land once at Joya, once at Bari, and once at Vis.
But she’s the kind of ship that has prompted the guys in the sqdn
to say that nowadays, they don’t brief the crews, they brief the
planes and the planes take the crews to the target without another
word.
-
- Lt Col W. L. Herblin,
first deputy Gp Commander, used to fly “Ring”
as the lead ship, and others who climbed into that all important
cockpit were Lt Col Richard V. Griffin, Maj. John Steddart, and
capt Herman Davis. Incidentally, Capt Davis’ crew shot down two ME
109.
-
- At the moment,
RDD
is out of commission because of fuel cell leekage, but you can
bet, says Howie, that she’ll be back flying
(…illegible…) just as soon necessary changes are made!
-
- The crew on
Princess Marie
has more than one reason for wanting their ship to score the 19
missions which will give her the 100 record; for, just before
leaving for home, Capt Hugh Garnett promised the crew that he
would send them a case of whiskey on that memorable day --- and
you can bet that M/Sgt Joe Herman, S/sgt George Rookard, Sgt Steve
Michotek, and Sgt Grant Loy, aren’t passing up a golden
opportunity such as this.
-
- “Only one man has over
been hurt in the ship,” vowed Joe, just turned 43, who claims to
be the oldest man in the group (anyone older, please contradict) –
“and he was S/Sgt Arthur Housden, the tail gunner on Captain
Garnett’s crew. But, since it was only a scratch on the finger, he
turned down the Purple Heart. The ship herself has never been
shoot up much, and has less than 50 holes in her sides, though
she’s flown 804 hours and undergone 10 engine changes.”
-
- “In fact, the only
accident to befall the ship,” said Steve “came about one morning
when, just after taxiing down the runway, prior to take off, the
nose wheel collapsed. They wanted to junk the ship, but luck was
with us, and they changed their minds in time, and it was fixed up
once more touch to our relief.”
-
- While he was pilot, Capt
Garnett used to have a tiny wooden man which he kept as a good
luck omen and rubbed fervently before each mission; he courted
Maria
on his first 49 missions: but couldn’t finish her out because she
was undergoing an engine change the day he went up for his 50th.
- And after Capt Garnett
left, he was replaced by Lt Joseph Cathay. Lt Donald Adams is the
pilot assigned to her at the moment.
-
- One for the books
occurred after the Regensburg raid last month when Sgt Albert
Hathy, of the crew on 504,
found a piece of flak lodged in the # 3 engine and fuel cell
bearing the identical number “504” on it: and Hath immediately
peecketed it as a good luck charm.
-
- “So far,” declared her
crew chief, M/Sgt Chuck Vrenian, “she’s flown 483 hours, and we’re
counting on her to double that score before she finishes. On her
37th mission, over Bucharest she suffered a 20 mm direct hit in
the nose; and on the last Regensburg raid, a 20 mm cannon blast
from enemy aircraft hit the # 3 engine and fuel cell, narrowly
missing the pilots’ cockpit.”
-
- “So far,” joined in Sgt
Bernard Smith, who, like Vrenian and Hathy, has been with the ship
since she joined the gp, “she had made no crash landings, but
when an engine went out on one flight, she was forced to land at a
fighter group field in Madna, remaining there from Dec. 19 until
Jan. 18. All 4 engines have been changed without a single engine
failure.”
-
- “Major Francis Tunstall
flew her across the ocean,” added PFC Henry Thomas, who’s been a
member of the crew since last October; “and get in his first 25 in
it. Capt George Tolsma followed him, and then came Capt Hugh
Garnett and Lt Donald Gambrill, who’s piloting her at the moment.”
-
- Since her crew has given
her no name in all these months, one might refer to 504 as “The
Illegitimate Child” or some each thing, but
(denoting? illegible)
the lack of a (memory?
illegible); she’s more
than held her own with the (best?
illegible) in Venosa
field, and as we write this, has rolled up a total of 79 sorties.
-
- Believing that it’s bad
luck to name a ship after she’s once begun her tour of combat, the
crew of 498
has never attached a label to her but merely refer to her as “the
ship”.
-
- Keeping her flying month
in and month out are N/Sgt Darrell “Stub” Gillespie, of Ind; Sgt
Grant Loy of Pennsylvania; and Chris James Hewlett, hailing from
way down ther in Texas and Henry Cannon, North Carolina born,(illegible)suh.
-
- “She has 60 sorties
behind her,” declared Stub, “and right now, is in Bari for
repairs. We’re only hoping she’ll be back soon, as we hate to see
all the other OD ships pulling away from us so; but right now, we
didn’t know anything definite.”
-
- Capt Verne Bryson flew
her ever, and shortly after that, brought her back with 24 large
holes in her sides, And on July 22, Lt Henry Hillyard landed her
at Pantanella field with almost everything torn out of her. One
engine was out, and to lighter the load, the crew had had to toss
practically everything possible.”
- Right now, Lt. Michael is
the pilot on “Nameless”.
-
- Well, there you are --- 8
ships, and behind them lies more drama, colour, and adventure, than
Hollywood ever crowled into a dozen scripts. That’s why we say
once again to all those guys who
(illegible)
‘em out on the ground and
(illegible)
‘em out in the air, “You’re doing a great job, we’re all
(proud? with you? illegible)!”
