Chapter 2

There are procedures that are common to all missions. They give a general impression of pre-mission activity and the sequences necessary to build up a successful air combat mission up to and including take off and formation assembly over England. Let's explore these...

The night before a mission, the group is alerted for the following day. All crew members are very interested in the loading list which names the crews scheduled to fly, the bomb load and the gasoline load.

The bomb load and gas load are indicators of the length of the mission. If it's a long ranging mission the gas load will be maximum and the bomb load might be lessened because of the need to carry maximum fuel. B-17s carried a maximum fuel load of 2,780 US gallons. This is with full "Tokyo Tanks". These tanks were range-extending tanks installed in the outer wing areas of B-17Fs and Gs going through production after Pearl Harbor, thus the analogy to "reaching Tokyo". The bomb load for the average "deep penetration" mission would be 3 tons. This could include any combination, for example 12-500 lb. General Purpose bombs, or 10-500 lb. GPs with 2=500 lb. Incendiary Clusters, or 6-1000 lb. GPs, or almost any combination totaling 3 tons.

The foregoing information always brought forth speculation as to the target. This almost always proved to be a futile exercise because of the large number of possibilities. Rarely did an individual guess the Target. But the the guessing game added to the sleep-robbing rollovers during the night. Veteran crews accepted that they were going regardless, so why worry about it?

If your crew was on the loading list, you snapped awake at the first sound of the CQs hand on the barracks door at about 3 A.M. The Charge of Quarters was the waker-upper for the whole squadron. His spiel went something like..."OK, the following crews are flying today...Montgomery's crew, Steil's crew, Lowry's crew, Smith's crew. Up and at 'em! Drop your c-cks and grab your socks" ...then he was out the door to the next hut.

All transportation around the base was handled by six by six trucks. They traveled all main roads on a loose schooled almost like a bus line. We would hop aboard these for the trip to the "combat mess" for breakfast, The combat mess served food which was a cut above the general mess halls. The facility had two extra-large Quonset huts joined by a central kitchen. The officers of flight crews used one side and the enlisted flight crews dined in the other. The food was generally very good. Officers and enlisted crews had basically the same cooking from the common kitchen. Of course, the officers had little amenities like table linens which were not enjoyed by enlisted men. I remember that everyone except the officers carried his own canteen cup. This was the GI issue aluminum cup that normally surrounded the GI canteen This would hold about three normal cups of coffee, so if you weren't quite awake, you would be after a cup of "joe". Also, the AAF did not allow milk or other fresh dairy products in the mess halls. British milk was not pasteurized and the medical people were afraid of tuberculosis. So instead of butter, we had a mixture of jam and peanut butter for a spread. When you got used to it, the mix was not too bad. All combat crews would be given two fresh eggs for breakfast on the day of a mission. The cooks would serve them any style at your request. For the army (AAF), this was indeed a treat. A little like a death row breakfast.

After breakfast it was time for briefing. This was held in the tight security of the briefing room, and was jointly attended by all flight crews participating in the mission. Usually the officer leading the mission that day gave the briefing, assisted by various intelligence, weather and other officers as required. The high point of the briefing was always the moment when the screening curtain over the map of Europe was drawn back, with red ribbon revealing the target for the day...It was always a highly emotional moment and if the target was Berlin or Merseberg, the heartfelt Oohs and Aahs would fill the room. The red strip of tape, with a slight jog or two around known heavy flak areas went like a dagger to the I.P. (Initial Point), then immediately to the target. Going in to the I.P. first kept the enemy unsure of the final target.

The main briefing broke into specialized briefings for specific groups. Pilots were briefed for assembly information; times for stations, start engines, taxi and take off. Tight formation was essential for defense Each pilot had a certain spot in the formation and had to go to his exact place to insure Group integrity. Navigators went to their specific briefings, which detailed exact courses to be followed, expected winds aloft, salient recognition points enroute, and latest info on flak concentrations, etc.

Bombardiers were crammed with target recognition information. Radio Operators were given the latest codes, flare colors of the day, and flimsies which had information so security significant, that it was printed on rice paper which was edible and was to be swallowed as a last resort to keep it from the enemy.