Mission

ON THIS DAY...AUGUST 7,1944

Seventeen crews checked in with the attendance man stationed at the briefing room door and when the S-2 Officer divulged the target for the day, they learned that the 100BG would be flying another tactical mission to France, where they were to once again attack the rail bridge at Beautor, ninety miles NE of Paris. The bridge, damaged when it was bombed on August 2, had already been repaired.

Thirteen of the 100th’s crews would fly as the lead group of the 13CBW’s formation, which would fly fourth in the 3rd Division’s line of B-17s. The 390BG would fly as the 13th’s Low group, in a composite formation with four additional 100BG crews flying as its Low Low flight. Most of the 95BG and the 390BG’s aircrafts and crews were still in Russia on the second shuttle mission.

Twenty-four year-old LT Colonel John “Jack” Kidd would fly as Command pilot, on his #18 and final command flight with the 100BG. Kidd would fly with twenty-two year-old Lt. John Giles and his lead crew including copilot Sterling Lambert, who would fly in the tail gunner position as the mission’s Formation Officer. He too would be on his last mission with the 100BG.

Loaded with six 1000 lb bombs, all seventeen of the 100th’s B-17s took off from Thorpe Abbotts between 0707-0721 hours. Assembled over Buncher 28, Dale Darby, scheduled to fly in the composite with the 390th, aborted at 0753 hours and returned to base.

With the formations in position, the 13CBW departed the English Coast at Orfordness at 0911 hours after having climbed to 17000 feet. In physical pain, “Jack” Kidd remembered the impact of flying combat missions had had on his young body. He tells us, “What does this stress do to a man? Having put in probably more than thirty twenty-four hour stints on the job and a dozen or so thirty-six hour stints without sleep, I went from 180 pounds to 140 pounds. Toward the end of my sixteen months, every time I passed through the 10 thousand foot level, I got excruciating tooth aches, the gums having pulled away from the teeth. My gums were like an altimeter. I knew when we climbed through the 10 thousand foot level.” Kidd was glad to be finally returning to the States.

With a quick route flown across the channel, the 100th’s formation made landfall on the Belgian coast at 0939 hours and were at 21000 feet and over their briefed IP at 1106 when the fan out for the bombing run commenced. However, the weather had not been at all as briefed and the entire area from the enemy coast to the target had been covered by clouds with tops up to 24000 feet.

Trying for both the Primary and Secondary targets, all bombs were held due to the 10/10 cloud coverage. Forced to climb to 25000 feet to get above the clouds, the 13CBW never reformed after the fan out procedure due to the restricted visibility. In fact, the 390th could not locate the 100BG until a break in the weather was found as the formations neared the channel on their route out.

Bringing their fully loaded B-17s back to base, the 100BG’s aircraft landed safely back at Thorpe Abbotts between 1251-1313 hours and although their bombs were brought back, it was considered a good day when no enemy fighters were seen and no flak damage was incurred.

Meanwhile, while the crews had been out on the mission, Colonel Jeffrey had ordered more practice missions for those left behind including the Ricker crew, who were already exhausted from the pace of flying. Ricker’s WG William Crozier recorded into his diary, “Finally got a little rest. No mission but we had to go on two practice missions. These practice missions irk me terribly. We have too, too, toooo many.”

There would be no rest for the weary as the alert flag went up that evening and the men of the 100th were scheduled to fly again the next day.

Crews flying that day: Keys, Riegel, Kohler, McEwen, Roediger, Giles, Dickert, Coleman, Everitt, Elbel, Simmons, Johnson, Chamberlain, David, Darby, Miller, Carlton - J.B.Kidd Command Pilot