After Action Report
319th. Bomb Group - B26.Bone, October 28th. 1.94?
T-10 319th Bomb gathers for briefing at Tunis Tower. Our orders are as tough as usual. Deack Port Terrez (A33). No cap. Lo flight.
Great! Another suicide-to-be mission! I always wonder what these pilots have inside, accepting these kind of missions. <S> to all.
While I was briefing my Squad, axis intelligence agents scored his side's first goal. Our assignments orders messed up. Our ground crews assassinated and imposed. Our loadouts and rnwys totally unappropiate for our orders...Even we lost our own CM (the name of some StSanta comes to mind...
We MUST get rid of snapiers).
All allied CO's had a storm radio call to decide if our goals were achievable under that harsh conditions. Bravery all over, we decide to have our jobs done!
One after another, all allied squads get airborne and proceed to their assigned targets.
319th. is NHFoxtro, Beefcake, Skyman, Sansal, Gadget and me, pepino.
T+30We take off and head 000 to our first waipoint, at 10.9. Close formation 150ft. high. Hmmmm! this salty breeze
At waiponint #1, we turn left to hdg 270. #2 is 7.9.3.
T+45Wp #2, turn right to Hdg 000. Close formation 150ft. high. No cons in sight. Sights of sea, dreams of bar nights...
T+507.10.3, start climbing to I.P. (thks for advise, Beefcake). Plan is making a quick first pass Hdg 000 lvl at 12K, and a second one Hdg 180 to finish off. Ahh, plans, plans....
T+55 7.11.3, 9k alt, climbing....the fearsome cry arrives: "Dots 3oc. high". Leveling at 10k, 6 B26 rush for the target, hoping speed will give time for at least the first drop. Voices on the intercom say "Dots are 109's, 4 of them, moving to our 1 oc." hmmm. bad, bad,
Finally we have sight on our target.
T+60IP. Target assignment is Sansal, Gadget & Pepino, West side. Beefcake, NHFoxtro & Skyman, East.
First bomb run starts among roaring sounds of 109's diving on us. First yells on the radio "Sansal 6!!!"...first blood for the 319th. but not before he can badly damage one enemy fiter...1 kill probable. Skyman have critical tech problems and suddenly we lost vis contact. He vanish in the air, and we take our 2nd casualty.
Bombs away and 4 remainging B26 extend North trying to disengage Port Terrez CAP. Results of first pass are East side ack all but 2 down, West side all ack destroyed (WTG, Beefcake, NHFoxtro & Skyman). some 20 miles away Port Terrez one 109 is badly damaged, and disengages with a black trail of smoke behind him. I can't tell which crew is to be awarded. Now we have room to reverse and close formation again.
To be continued...