I had the pleasure of spending a few hours talking to Mr.Hardy White.He was a co-pilot in a B-17 named "FATSO".He flew out of "Kimbolton" in England,with the 379th BG(Heavy),from Nov.1943 to March-1944.
He flew 26 missions,including the first Berlin mission,and 5 missions during "Big Week"!!!!
He is an amazing man,and has given me permission to pass on anything I want,including his diary he kept for each mission!I will post the diary at a later date.
He reccomends the book "The Wrong Stuff",if you want to know what it was really like,flying a B-17 in the 8th AF,in 1943-44.
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He was a co-pilot,but on the first mission to Berlin,he was assigned to the tail gunner position.A General took his spot since it was the first raid on Berlin.They used Hardy in the back to help keep the formation tight,by relaying info. to the Pilot.
He flew 5 missions during "Big Week",but nothing really stuck out in his mind,except how tired they were.
The B-17 pilots loved to fly with the Liberators.The B-17s could fly above the Liberators,and they took the brunt of the flak and fighters.
The lower diamond in a group of bombers would usually get hit the hardest, if they were attacked.The new crews started out there,and if they survived they moved higher up in the group!
BLOODY 100th
He saw on more than one occasion,enemy fighters pass his group by,to get to the 100th BG.(They were not known as the "Bloody 100th" for nothing!)
Attacked by Cadets
They were attacked by a bunch of cadets in training near Dijon France on Feb.6.1944.He said a ME-109 led a bunch of armed trainers in passes on their formation.They didn't lose any B-17s in his group,and was a very strange sight.He said the planes resembled an AT6 Texan,but were armed.(What kind of planes might these have been?)
The Abbeville Kids
He saw more 109's than 190's and feared the 109 more.The German fighters liked to hide in the contrails made by the bombers.You could not see them until they were right on top of you.
Most fighters would come in and attack and then split-s out.They ran into the "Abbeville Kids" on one mission,and he was very impressed.He said they came in and attacked the whole group from one end to the other,and would not split-s out.They would just turn back in and attack.They were very good shots also,as he saw a lot of bombers hit.
Attacked by Stuka's
They were attacked by Stuka's dropping bombs and cables on them.Even saw 4 engined planes attacking by standing off and firing at them.(What could these have been?Condors?).
P-47 Thunderbolt
When the P-47 kicked in his water injection(wep),you could see white rings of smoke pour from the engine.On more than one occasion he saw a P-47 simply fly an ME-109 into the ground.They would follow the 109 down through the bomber formation,and use short bursts of machine guns to keep it from turning.When the fighters got to a certain point the P-47 would pull out,and the 109 could not pull out and crashed.
He saw a P-47 chase a 109 down this way,and they passed right in front of his plane going straight down.He said the roar of the P-47's engine completely drowned out the noise from all 4 of their engines!!!!!
Flak
The 88's would burst with a black color,and were effective to 25,000 ft.The 105's reached higher.
Misc.
His plane was named "Fatso",and was named after one of the crew's wife.
Bombed a train yard and bridge one day.Another plane was filming the run.Later they were all shown the film.It showed a train trying to get up steam and get out of the yard before it was bombed.They hit the bridge and destroyed it,just before the train made it to the bridge.They could see the train and cars go right into the river.
They got their radio antenna's shot off a lot.They had a wire with a weight they trailed behind the plane,and this was the back up antenna.
Maximum range the bombers gunners would fire,was at 600 yards.
His opinion as to what brought down the bombers the most often was structural failure,and then fire.
On takeoff one of them used instruments only,and the other used visual references only.They feared vertigo.
There was an island they flew near on occasion,and it was the worst for flak and fighters.The Germans did not want them any where near this island.I am not clear on the name,but was something like "Helagond"?(maybe someone will know this island).He said the rumor was that it was for atomic research.
Most feared target was Berlin.
Never saw any ME-262's or ME-163's.
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379th History
The 379th led the 8th Air Force in bombing accuracy, flew more sorties than any other heavy Bomb Group and had a lower loss and abortive ratio than any unit in the 8th Air Force for an extended period of time. Some of its other accomplishments include: development of the 12-plane squadron formation and 36-plane integral Group; use of a straight-line approach on the entire bomb run.
In May 1944 it was announced that the 379th had made an unprecedented "8th Air Force Operational Grand Slam" during the preceding month. This meant that during April the 379th was first in every phase of bombing in which Bomb Groups of the 8th Air Force were graded. The 379th Bomb Group was the only unit ever awarded the 8th Air Force Grand Slam, a very unique honor that included recognition of the following achievements:
1 - Best Bombing results (greatest percent of bombs on target)
2 - Greatest tonnage of bombs dropped on target
3 - Largest number of aircraft attacking
4 - Lowest losses of aircraft
5 - Lowest abortive rate of aircraft dispatched.
The 379th received two Presidential Unit Citations for its accomplishments in combat. The Group flew its last combat mission on April 25, 1945. The 379th Bomb Group remained active for two years, seven months and 29 days. During this period approximately 6,000 personnel were assigned to the Kimbolton airfield. The Group was deactivated on July 25, 1945, at a Casablanca, Morocco, Africa.
Links for the 379th
http://users.erinet.com/29562/ScrewballExpress/379th.htmhttp://379thbga.org/===============================
Enjoy and if you have any questions let me know.I hope to meet with him again in Sept. I will post the diary as soon as I have time.
Frodo
