26.06.2009, 00:27
Found this website regarding the Memphis Belle's crew. These were written after completing their 25 missions, and during their 'public relations' mission after returning to the U.S., recounting what they saw in combat, and relaying advice to new crews:
http://ww2airfronts.org/aircrew/mbelle/mbelle-0.html
theres a link for the aircraft itself, and then a link for each crewman and what they had to say about their tour of combat in the Belle.
pretty interesting stuff....discussing german fighter tactics and what you had to do as a bomber crew to survive.
an excerpt from John P. Quinlan (tail gunner):
"I like being a tail gunner. It's my own private little office back there. I sit down all the time, and when I get a chance I relax. I get a lot of good shots too.
The tail gunner is in a good spot to help the pilot by telling him over the interphone what's coming up from behind. But he should be careful to call out only the ones that are attacking. If he calls every-thing he sees - one at five o'clock, one at seven o'clock, one at six o'clock - he'll get the pilot so confused he won't know what's going on. He should call out only the ones that are after him.
Don't be afraid to use your ammunition, but don't waste it. That is the best advice I can give.
YOU'VE got to be alert all the time. You never can tell what will happen. The time they shot my guns out and hit my leg, I hadn't expected any trouble at all. I thought that mission would be a cinch. It was a short raid and we were going to dip in and pop out again. Just after bombs away, I thought I saw flak. It wasn't, it was fighters.
A fighter will climb until he thinks he can give it to you, then he'll dive on you. That's what this one did. I looked up just in time to see his belly. It always gives you a funny sensation to see the big black crosses on the wings. I could hardly miss him. I got him. He burst into flames. I guess I was gloating over the one I got. Then I saw the other one. It looked like he had four blow torches in his wings. All of a sudden, it sounded like somebody hit the tail with a sledge hammer. It got my guns and me.
But the one I got the biggest bang out of was the Lorient raid. Captain Morgan went up, then down. I lost equilibrium. I didn't know whether to jump or stay there. I didn't know what was going on. That was the time the horizontal stabilizer got on fire. I guess it was the wind that put it out."
you can read the rest from all the other crew...
http://ww2airfronts.org/aircrew/mbelle/mbelle-0.html
theres a link for the aircraft itself, and then a link for each crewman and what they had to say about their tour of combat in the Belle.
pretty interesting stuff....discussing german fighter tactics and what you had to do as a bomber crew to survive.
an excerpt from John P. Quinlan (tail gunner):
"I like being a tail gunner. It's my own private little office back there. I sit down all the time, and when I get a chance I relax. I get a lot of good shots too.
The tail gunner is in a good spot to help the pilot by telling him over the interphone what's coming up from behind. But he should be careful to call out only the ones that are attacking. If he calls every-thing he sees - one at five o'clock, one at seven o'clock, one at six o'clock - he'll get the pilot so confused he won't know what's going on. He should call out only the ones that are after him.
Don't be afraid to use your ammunition, but don't waste it. That is the best advice I can give.
YOU'VE got to be alert all the time. You never can tell what will happen. The time they shot my guns out and hit my leg, I hadn't expected any trouble at all. I thought that mission would be a cinch. It was a short raid and we were going to dip in and pop out again. Just after bombs away, I thought I saw flak. It wasn't, it was fighters.
A fighter will climb until he thinks he can give it to you, then he'll dive on you. That's what this one did. I looked up just in time to see his belly. It always gives you a funny sensation to see the big black crosses on the wings. I could hardly miss him. I got him. He burst into flames. I guess I was gloating over the one I got. Then I saw the other one. It looked like he had four blow torches in his wings. All of a sudden, it sounded like somebody hit the tail with a sledge hammer. It got my guns and me.
But the one I got the biggest bang out of was the Lorient raid. Captain Morgan went up, then down. I lost equilibrium. I didn't know whether to jump or stay there. I didn't know what was going on. That was the time the horizontal stabilizer got on fire. I guess it was the wind that put it out."
you can read the rest from all the other crew...