Compiled by Abe Millar

Excerpts of an article written for the 305th Bomb Group veterans organization.

305th Bomb Group, 365th Bomb Squadron, Chelveston, England.

Mission Number 269 – January 10, 1945

Target – Gymnich Airfield, Gymnich, Germany.

The Gillespie Crew:

Pilot: Marlyn W. (Gil) Gillespie

Co-Pilot: Edward F. (Ed) Dahm

Navigator: Milton (Milt) Schwartz

Togglier: Abram A. (Abe) Millar

Engineer-Top Turret Gunner: Robert J. (Bob) Federle

Radio Operator-Gunner: Ples S. (Mac) McDonald

Ball Turret Gunner: Vincent D. (Vince) Nutile

Waist Gunner: George E. (Boley) Alves

Tail Gunner: George B. (Peter Rabbit) Brody

The Gillespie Crew had just returned from a 48-hour pass to London on January 9, 1945. Heavy snow fell during the night and at 3:00 AM the aircrews were awakened and informed that breakfast would be at 4AM, briefing at 5:45, that the gasoline load would be 2,650 gallons, and we were to carry 38 100 lb. Bombs. The loud speakers in (The FLAK House), our residence, requested all personnel not on duty to report to the flight line for the purpose of clearing the snow from the runways so the B-17 Flying Fortresses could take off.

At briefing, the aircrews were told that the target would be Gymnich Airfield located about 10 miles southwest of Cologne, Germany. The airfield was being used by German fighters to strafe the Allied lines about 30 miles away. We were briefed that our bomb run would be from the southeast and after dropping the bombs would fly on across allied lines.

We got out to “Our Cherry,” a beautiful lady sitting on the flight line, and crew chief Jim Daily said she was ready to go. At 8:55 the take off started and since the 365th was leading the 40th Combat Wing, we were the 9th plane off at 9:00. Our turn came quickly, Gil ran the engines up and released the brakes and we started rolling down the runway that was lined with men holding shovels and waving as we rolled past. From the nose I waved back until we lifted off. It made us feel good that those we were leaving were wishing us well on our mission, it was my eighteenth.

As we became airborne, I went back into the bomb bay and started pulling the pins out of the fuses in the bombs. Since we were carrying 38 100 pounders that day, I started pulling pins very quickly as I did not like to pull the pins at 15,000 feet, the altitude we were briefed to proceed to immediately for rendezvous and assembly of the squadron and group over Podington. After getting the pins pulled with the help of “Peter Rabbit,” I went back to the nose where bright sunlight was shining as opposed to the fog we had just left on the ground at Chelveston. We spotted the green and yellow flares that the lead aircraft of the 365th Squadron was firing while circling over Podington. Gil took us to our assigned position in the formation which was flying in the high element off the Munders crew wing and in the left position. The Jordan Crew was flying off Munkers wing on the right. The Group and Squadrons kept circling while the other aircraft of the group joined us in formation.

Milton went over the briefed route and the time schedule with me again. With this done I pulled my parka over my head and reclined in the plexi-glass nose where the warm sun covered me completely. I then called Mac and asked him to get AFN on the radio. With all those good songs flowing into my ears and the sun shining brightly, I shut my eyes and dreamed of far away places more desirable than where I was headed.

Suddenly, Milton tugged my boot and I came out of dreamland. We were on course and had started climbing to our bombing altitude of 25,500 feet. The 38 B-17’s from the 305th, with their large triangle G’s on their tails were now in tight formation and climbing. As mentioned previously, we were flying in the high element of the lead squadron and I liked that as I thought the flak would be timed to explode at the lower levels of the formation that the German radar picked up first.

We crossed the English coast climbing and got to our assigned altitude as we crossed the Belgium coast. The 365th, the lead squadron for the 305th Group and 40th Combat Wing, overran the Initial Point about ten miles then turned toward the PFF secondary target for a PFF run. After the run was started the group leader saw that the primary target area was open so he called the high (366th) and low (422nd) squadrons and the “B” and “C” Groups and informed them that the primary target would be attacked visually. The lead and low squadrons then took interval and the high squadron, not being able to uncover the low squadron, made a 360-degree turn.

Official records report the following, “The lead squadron then proceeded to make a visual run on the primary target, but as bombs in the lead aircraft failed to release the squadron failed to attack. The squadron then turned to the left and established an IP about eighteen miles southeast of the primary target and made a second run on the target and again the bombs failed to release. The squadron then turned to the left and overran the rally point about twenty (20) miles to make a third run, but as AAGF had damaged nine (9) aircraft to the extent that they had to leave the formation, the group leader decided against a third run with only two (2) aircraft capable of bombing. The aircraft of the lead squadron returned along the approximate briefed route to base.”

The reports of what happened to the Slimp, Luethesser, Jordan, and Gillespie Crews when the second bomb run started are as follows with the Gillespie Crew version as reported by Abe Millar leading off.

On the first run over the target the Munk Munkers” Crew leading our high element in aircraft number “085” “Towering Titan” had the number 4 engine hit and it started smoking, the engine was feathered and the B-17 peeled out of the formation dropping the 38 100 pounders in train. As they left the tail gunner Leroy Bahr waved goodbye. I waved back and wished I was going with them instead of making the 360. Our crew couldn’t understand why we didn’t drop the bombs as the intensity of flak was increasing. Instead, we closed our bomb bay doors and started making the 360-degree turn which seemed to take all day, but we finally got squared away and opened the bomb bay doors again for the second bomb run.

This time we had hardly started on the bomb run when bursts of flak started breaking all around us. We could see the red in the bursts, that meant “bad” flak was getting closer. Suddenly a burst hit under the Jordan aircraft that was now leading our element, a second exploded between the two airplanes and the third burst must have exploded under the nose of our aircraft “638” “Our Cherry” as the nose went up and we seemed to stop in midair. Some of the flak fragments came up through the nose, hitting me in the leg as the explosion tossed Milton, who rode with his hands on my shoulders on the bomb run, and me against the pilot’s bulkhead. As we were untangling, I could see the rest of the formation a considerable distance in front and above us and our number 1 engine was on fire and oil (was) pouring out of the number 2 engine. I rolled over on my side and tripped the toggle switch with my foot and dumped the bombs out. Milton hooked me back up on oxygen and intercom. Sitting on the floor I called Gil and asked him if he wanted the bomb bay doors closed and back came the reply in a calm tone “close them.” As I glanced out the nose there were two B-17’s out about 400 and 1,000 yards with men bailing out of each of them. One must have been the 366th aircraft that Jim Simpson bailed out of on that day.

Gil and Ed feathered number 1 and hit the fire extinguisher button. Engine number 2 had oil pouring out so this one was feathered also, but it started windmilling which put a drag on the airplane. The number 3 and number 4 engines were pulling maximum power. Number 1 engine continued to smoke and Gil asked Vince to go back into the ball turret to see if the engine was still burning under the wing. Vince reported that he could see no fire.

In the meantime we had lost sight of all the other planes and were losing altitude rapidly. We intermittently went through clouds and snowstorms as we descended. Milton was working trying to get a heading for Brussels and Mac on radio was trying to raise Brussels radio. We then broke radio silence and made contact with an emergency radio that gave us directions to an emergency landing field in France.

Milton had released the escape hatch in the nose earlier so now we were throwing everything out that was loose and that we could get loose. Peter Rabbit tried to throw Boley Alve’s pants out, Boley wouldn’t let him, later Peter found out that the pockets were full of pound notes. There was beginning to be a lot of talk on the intercom about bailing out. The weather and the fact that most of the instruments in the cockpit were inoperative from flak damage was causing a great deal of alarm. Gil made the decision to stay with the aircraft, with one of the considerations being that “Abe” was hit. I didn’t call Gil and tell him everything had been thrown out in the nose, that we could get loose and that Milton and I had tightened our parachute straps and put the chutes on and were by the escape hatch. Bob Federle came down in the nose to give me a shot of morphine but I told him to just give me his chewing gum and to go on back and help Gil and Ed.

We kept plunging on down through solid layers of clouds and suddenly we flipped into a spin, pinning me to the wall. Milton was facing the escape hatch and with all his strength tried to get out but the centrifugal force kept him pinned to the wall. The altimeter needle looked like a run away clock as I kept waiting for Gil and Ed to pull us out and suddenly we did come out of the spin and we could now see the ground. (Gil’s version-Ed and I knew our air speed had picked up but didn’t know we were in a spin until there was a break in the clouds and we could see the ground. We were in a tight spin to the left into the dead engines. Ed and I both laid on the right rudder and aileron—seemed like it took forever to slow down the spin, eventually it came out.) The crew agrees that God pulled it out.

We must have fallen ten thousand feet in the spin as we were about 1500 feet in altitude when we came out. “Our Cherry” seemed to fly better now that we were lower although we continued to lose altitude.

Suddenly an emergency airfield came into sight, B-53, Merivile, France. Milt and I got up behind the cockpit with Milt lining us up on a short runway before he came up. Flying with one wing up and one down, Gil shut the engines down and brought the plane up level and we went into a long very silent glide with Federle calling out the airspeed. Suddenly a P-51 came in front of us making an emergency landing; rather than land on top of the P-51, Gil turned off to the right into the good engines and landed on the grass and snow. We bounced and came to an abrupt halt with the landing gear buried in the mud. The snow falling on the hot engines made a hissing sound which made us think the airplane was going to blow up. I don’t remember getting out but was dragged to an infantry ambulance and we left on the triple double. We went to a first aid tent that was close by and a doctor looked at my leg and asked two medics to take me to a Canadian Hospital some 30 kilometers distance.

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