Dec 13, 1943 ..A B-17 from the 303BG!

Mission Journal

This is the transcription of Lt. Vern L. Moncur’s bomber mission journal,
which he kept during his service as a B-17 Pilot for the 303rd Bombardment Group
(H), 359th Bombardment Squadron in Molesworth, England. Lt. Moncur and his
crew flew five different B-17s on their first six missions. They were then
assigned to the “Thunderbird” for the balance of their missions. They took
“Thunderbird” on her first mission (the crew’s 7th mission) on January 29, 1944.
Lt. Moncur’s crew was the first in the 303rd Bombardment Group (H) to
complete their combat missions without anyone on board being injured or receiving the
Purple Heart. They were the only crew ever assigned to the “Thunderbird” as
their primary aircraft. After Lt. Moncur’s crew finished their combat tour,
“Thunderbird” became a “first mission ship,” given to new crews to get them off
to a good start. The new crews were then assigned to different B-17s for the
balance of their combat.

Servicemen who kept journals were not allowed to take them home with them
upon their discharge. However, they were allowed to wrap them and address them to
themselves to be sent later. After the war ended, the journals were mailed to
them.

MISSION #1
Date: December 13, 1943
Target: Submarine Pens, Bremen, Germany
Altitude: 30,000 feet
Plane: T-561 “The Duchess”
Position: No. 2, Lead Squadron

This was the first mission for all of us. Fortunately, the trip turned out to
be a fairly easy one, in spite of plenty of excitement at times. We
encountered flak on our bomb run and over the target area. The flak was moderate to
heavy and fairly accurate. Since this was the first time we had ever seen flak,
we didn’t realize just how dangerous it really could be. The first time you see
it, it sort of fascinates you. You wonder how that harmless looking black
puff could possibly hurt you or your plane. It didn’t take us long to change our
minds! No fighter opposition was met by our group. The P-47s gave us perfect
protection around the target and on our withdrawal.
The crew got along fine, though we had a few minor troubles which could have
been disastrous had prompt action not been taken. Sgt. Baer, left waist
gunner, passed out from lack of oxygen soon after we left the target. The intake
valve on his mask had frozen solid, preventing him from getting enough oxygen. We
broke away from the formation and descended rapidly to 11,000 feet. He soon
recovered and felt all right. Sgt. Dickman, right waist gunner, also passed out
temporarily from lack of oxygen as he attempted to revive Sgt. Baer. S/Sgt.
Andrus, radio operator, experienced the same thing because of a frozen oxygen
mask. The temperature was 50 degrees below zero.
We had trouble releasing our load of bombs because of the intense cold which
froze the bomb bay door release mechanism. The doors were finally opened by
Lt. Chang, but the bombs were dropped by the pilot’s release, after it became
impossible for the bombardier to release them. On this raid we carried 42
One-hundred pound incendiary bombs.
The No. 2 supercharger went out of commission as soon as we reached altitude
and very little power was available from that engine. The No. 1 oil pressure
dropped very low – to about 45 pounds. However, both engines operated well
enough to keep us in formation and, fortunately, it was unnecessary to feather the
engine.
Though we had to leave formation soon after releasing our bombs over the
target, we were able to rejoin our own squadron before we reached the English
coast. There was no injury to any member of the crew, and no battle damage to the
airplane. Incidentally, this plane, ”The Duchess,’ was the plane in which Lt.
Jack Mathis, bombardier from Texas, was flying when he was killed. For his
actions and performance of duty, Lt. Mathis was posthumously awarded the
Congressional Medal of Honor.