Mission

ON THIS DAY...JANUARY 13, 1945

After the rough Cologne mission on the 10th, the 100BG had two consecutive days of stand downs due to both the poor weather and to the high number of aircraft that had returned with heavy battle damage. However, on the evening of the 12th, the mission light glowed red and the crews were alerted for a mission for the next day.

Twenty-five crews were awakened at 0330 that Saturday morning and checked in for the briefing at 0430 hours. Crews from all four Squadrons were to fly. Today would be the Jesse Wofford crew’s #1 mission. Tail Gunner Joe Urice from Taft, Texas had just arrived to the 100th Bomb Group with his crew on December 29.

At the briefing, they learned that the 3rd Division would be attacking Mainz. The primary target would be the Mainz-Gustavsburg double track railway bridge on the main line of the Rhine Valley. The secondary target would be  the Mainz marshaling yards and a target of last resort would be the sorting siding of the Koblenz-Mosel marshaling yard near Koblenz.

The 13CBW would put up composite ‘A’ and a ‘B’ groups, with the 100th’s crews flying in the lead and high squadrons in the ‘A’ group. Their command pilot would be Samuel Barr, flying with Paul Spurgeon. The lead for the high squadron would be Harry Cruver, flying with John Ernst. The low squadron would be flown by the 390BG.

Flying in the deputy lead position of the high squadron, would be Joseph W. Michael. At twenty-seven years old, Michael had come a long way from the Georgia log cabin he had been born in.  Since the loss of the Rojohn crew on December 31, bombardier William J. Wellings was flying with Michael’s crew. This would be Wellings #11 mission and he tells us, “Got me and the navigator up for pre-briefing at 0330. Ate breakfast and briefed at 0430 - for Deputy Lead yet. Almost —— when I heard that. Hadn’t the faintest idea what to do. We flew #2 of the Lead Sqd and were supposed to take over on the bomb run only in case the Lead aborted.”

With the rain from the previous day turning to ice in the early morning’s low temperatures, the pilots would be taking off again on icy runways, but doing so without incident between 0820-0839 hours, each of their B-17s loaded with five 1,000 lb. bombs.

An instrument ascent was necessary up to 4000 feet until the pilots broke into the clear. After the ‘A’ group formed, it left the English coast at 1030 hours. One unnamed aircraft from the 349th Squadron, 44-6470, returned early, leaving the formation at 1242 hours at 26,300 feet with their bombs returned. This may have been a spare ship flying with the formation as no pilots from the 100th were reported to have aborted this mission.

Flying towards Switzerland, the formation make the turn north toward the target. Over the target, the 100th’s lead squadron encountered problems from the prop wash of the bombers flying ahead of them, forcing them to use their mickey operator and the micro-H method to bomb. According to the report made by the 100th’s lead bombardier, “The bombing run was by cat and mouse, with 7 checks falling very close. MO took over the ship at the Pre-IP. The run was visual to within five miles of the target area….Run was believed to be very good. This squadron accomplished the bombing run in squadron formation and bombs are dropped in squadron formation. Altitude was 25,000 feet.”

The high squadron encountered 8/10 cloud coverage covering the primary target from view so its formation proceeded to the secondary target. Bombardier William Wellings, experienced both technical and electrical difficulties over the target, telling us, “Flew up through crap for a few thousand feet and then were in the clear. We’re flying 505 - Radkeis old ship. Put a lot of crap into the sight and just sat back and relaxed. Our target was a railroad bridge at Mainz and we were there before I knew it. Saw a lot of Ludwigshaven flak but managed to pull over to the left of it. Were going down the Bomb Run before I knew it and when I tried to get the doors open, they wouldn’t, Engineer finally cranked them down. I was supposed to be synchronizing all this time but I was so busy sweating out the doors I hardly looked at the sight. Just barely got the doors open in time for Bombs Away. It was PFF and the flak wasn’t bad at all — most of it low, on us. Only got four of my bombs out and had to shut the sight off in order to get enough juice to close the doors.” 

Flying in A/C #46805 named ‘Flamin Mamie,’ was twenty-two year old Robert E. Fitzgerald, bombardier on William Wilson’s B-17. He too remembered the problems his fortress was having during the bomb run. “The flak over the target was fairly heavy but most of it was aimed at the two other squadrons. We were having trouble with our #s # and 4 engines so had to work hard to keep in formation. After the bomb run another plane came right down on top of us not more than six feet above us about this time, we hit some prop wash and  Willie put us in a dive to get out of the mess.” 

After reforming at the rally point, the mess in the sky continued on the route back when the ‘A’ group’s formation ran into heavy persistent contrails, losing its entire low squadron flown by the 390th. When they finally got out of the clouds, there were “Squadrons all over the sky.”

As the boys crossed into England, the weather was 10/10 all the way down to 500 feet and they had to sweat out another landing. The pilots landed their heavy bombers at 1500 hours, with only one aircraft returning with battle damage, the B-17 43-37521, named Skyway Chariot, had received heavy damage. It was reported that flak went in the top of right wing directly behind #4 nacelle and came out thru the wing flap. In addition, the supercharger cable was cut causing the supercharger to run away resulting in engine failure; the #3 feeder tank was punctured and a rib was also cut and corrugation damaged.

While the crews were out on the mission to Mainz, new replacement crews had been going through the Group’s orientation. Having just arrived five days earlier, twenty-two year old Thomas J. Williams, bombardier on the Lonnie Doyle’s crew and assigned to the 418th Squadron, recorded into his diary,  “Dragged the weary body out of the sack at 0830 to go to school — what a horrible life for a combat man — the weather is drying up but not too much — had school up to 1430 and then checked on the mail situation -no mail — oh misery — came back to the barracks and shot the bull all afternoon…they also told us the story of the barracks ghost cause one of the boys said he saw him last night - he is about 8’ tall and wears a flying suit complete with oxygen mask — hope he stays away for awhile — supposed to be a fellow who went down sometime ago”

The rumor mill was extremely strong on the base and the barracks ghost story would continue to the point that airmen were becoming really spooked. It got so bad that an official order would be issued, prohibiting the mention of the ghost ever again.