04 May Target Berlin
Target Berlin: Mission 250: 6 March 1944
Herman’s 12th (and final) mission was on March 6, 1944. This was the day of the first large-scale daylight bombing raid on Berlin. Herman Goering, a Nazi military commander, in 1939 had bragged that enemy bombers would never reach Berlin. And now, finally, they were there.
This one mission was so significant that an entire book was written about it. “Target Berlin.” The authors, Jeffrey Ethell and Dr. Alfred Price, examined what happened in excruciating detail every step of the way, minute by minute. What was particularly interesting is that they told the story from the perspectives of both the Americans and the Germans.
The authors interviewed “witnesses” … commanders, airmen and civilians from both sides, and all offered their firsthand accounts of what really happened.
Donald Miller (Masters of the Air) called March 6th the “greatest air battle ever.” It was also the day of the Eighth Air Force’s greatest losses. On that day, 69 heavy bombers did not return, due to fighters and flak. It was the highest number of any Eighth Air Force mission.
On page 127 of Target Berlin is a one-page account of what happened to one of the 69 … the Liberty Lady with Herman and the other nine members of the crew. The authors’ “witness” was waist gunner Don Courson. There is also a photograph of the Liberty Lady B-17, crashed and burned.
More to come …
I found this newsreel about the first daylight bombing of Berlin. The speaker mentions “14 bombers lost” so he must have been talking about the group he was flying with… I love hearing the crewmen being interviewed afterward. However, I imagine that most were not cheering that day.
Target Berlin: Mission 250: 6 March 1944 on amazon.com
Barbara Ann
Posted at 03:28h, 05 MayThe book does sound intense! Enjoyed the video. You are right….it is neat to listen first hand to the crew. Must have been quite a day.
Rowdy
Posted at 19:39h, 09 MayMy father’s 447th BG, together with the other groups of the Eighth, flew their 3 March mission to Berlin–it was Dad’s first combat mission. It was to have been the Eighth’s first daylight mission to that target, but it was scrubbed due to bad weather.
They launched again on 4 March bound once more for Berlin and again the mission was scrubbed due to bad weather. However, this time Dad’s plane lost 2-engines on the same side causing them a forced landing at Eastchurch, an RAF fighter base.
I believe that there was no 5 March mission and Dad’s crew returned to their base about mid-day on 6-March to discover that the Group had gone once again to Berlin. This time the weather cleared and the result was what you’ve read in this book. However, all the 447th planes returned on the 6th, demonstrating what a matter of chance so much of the air war was for the young men.
Dad and his crew flew missions to Berlin on the 8th and the 9th before the target was shifted to Munster the next day. For them, their first 3-missions as a rookie crew were to Berlin. Quite an initiation for a rookie crew… during a 7-day period, the Eighth flew 5-missions to Berlin, Dad’s crew flew 3 of those first Berlin missions, but missed the big one on the 6th through a stroke of good luck caused by two engines out!
Rowdy
Pat
Posted at 09:45h, 10 MayYes, what an orientation your Dad and his crew had! I’m glad you mentioned weather, because that’s a great intro to my next post. If you don’t mind, I will use your comments. Thanks again, Rowdy, for your contributions.