Mission

ON THIS DAY...AUGUST 26,1944

As the Allied ground troops were making an offensive drive toward Belgium and Germany against the fleeing Germans, a defensive pocket of German troops remained in the Breton peninsula at Brest. Needing its port and naval base to supply the Allied forces' offensive, the 8th Air Force would be called on to aid in the delayed assault, participating in the plans for an “all-out land, air and sea attack” set for August 26. The 3rd Division would answer the call by sending all of its B17s to the Breton Peninsula.

At the early morning briefing at Thorpe Abbotts, forty crews from the 100BG were being briefed for their target - a gun emplacement at Roscanvel at the tip of the Breton Peninsula and near Brest. Newly ‘operational’ crews of twenty-three year-old John Fabian and twenty-three year-old Wilber Ivosevic were relieved to hear that it would be a short trip across the English channel rather than deep into Germany for their #1 combat mission.

Orders called for the groups to fly in a wing column across the channel, splitting into squadron formations over the bomb run. Leading the 3rd Division’s line of three hundred fifty-nine heavy bombers would be the 100BG, flying under the command of its own C.O. Colonel Thomas Jeffrey, who would be flying with William Terminello and his PFF crew. Flying Command for the 100th’s second formation would be Major Maurice Youngs, who would fly in the second Pathfinder ship. The 390BG would fly as the third and fourth groups behind the 100th while the 95BG would fly fifth in the line.

Bombing was ordered to occur only under visual conditions with multiple runs over the target approved if necessary but only as long as the bombing occurred before the time limit set by ground control.

Loaded with thirty-eight 100# bombs, the first twenty aircraft took off from Thorpe Abbotts and assembled over Buncher 28 at 12000 feet while the second group of twenty B17s soon followed, forming at 11000 feet. Departing the coast at Portland Bill at 0957 hours, the column of bombers encountered thick cloud coverage as they climbed to bombing altitude at mid-channel.

Arriving at the IP, the peel-off by squadrons was made onto the bomb run with the 100A's Fortresses over the target first. The thick clouds from 5000 feet up to 20000 feet, forced the formations to make dry runs over the target, unable to sight the target. Lead pilot William Terminello recorded, “We were told we couldn't drop our bombs if we couldn't see the target and damn it that's just what happened. We could have smashed it by Pathfinder but we couldn't so naturally everything went fine for us." And Walter Radke’s Navigator, Roland Hetrick tells us, “Today we flew the milk run of all milk runs. The only thing wrong was that we wasted our time. Our target was some heavy guns at Roscanvel across the bay from Brest. We could see the target as we crossed the coast, but while we were on the bomb run, clouds became so thick we couldn't see the target. Instead of going below the clouds we went above and then it was too late to drop by the time we started back. We saw no flak at all today.”

After making two dry runs on the target, the 100B's Low squadron coming in below the clouds on its third run would be the only formation to attack the target.

With no re-assembly ordered after the bomb run, the 100th’s squadrons individually recrossed the Channel and returned to TA, landing between 1337-1355 hours. WG William Crozier on Joseph Ricker’s crew recorded, “ We like these kinds of missions. No flak, no fighters. We were expecting flak from over one hundred guns. Don't know why they did not shoot at us. Because of the clouds I guess they were saving their ammo.” William Terminello in the Pathfinder felt somewhat cheated after being unable to attack. “No flak no nothing, only a six hour, 45 minutes haul and our third in a row and I was dead tired. I had to take a Benzedrine tablet.”

Life continued at the base as two new replacement crews were assigned to their Squadrons: Warren Marmorine to the 349th and William MacNab to the 350th. The day also marked the end of the Squadron Bond Rally, and the 351st Squadron under its Commanding Officer, Major Channing Emberson had pulled out all of the stops to ensure their Squadron’s bond purchases would top all others. With a Squadron party set up consisting of fried potatoes, sandwiches, cake and six kegs of “sudsy mild and bitters” Sergeant Farbstein tells us, “Major Emberson, the genial host of the Squadron, stood atop the air raid shelter, clutching a canteen cup precariously filled to the brim, and exhorted the men to greater efforts. The men, of course, needed no urging, and the amber fluid went the way of all beer ---down the hatch!...One of the beer kegs mysteriously disappeared (spirited away, one might be tempted to say) This bit of alchoholic skull-duggery was successfully undertaken, and when the party finally broke up, the culprits were still cloaked in the invisible raiments of anonymity…A grand time was had by all” At the end of the party, Major Emberson had been successful in auctioning off cigarette lighters, passes and Scotch.

That evening, the 100BG was alerted for their next mission.

Crews flying the mission: Ehorn, Frazier, Spurgeon, Carlton, J Williams, Chamberlain, Grigg, Schulte, Bailey, Heironimus, Trommer, Raine, Woodall, Geller, Elbel, Radke, Ricker, Dyatt, Kassebaum, D Thompson, Hedin, Gay, McLaughlin, Armstrong, Jenkins, Kramp, Rumley, C Harris, Cumming, Ernst, Rowland, Fabian, Bennett, Ricci, R Miller,, Ellison, Ivosevic, P Jones