A harrowing account of unescorted bomber missions over Nazi-occupied France in 1943, when survival odds were fifty-fifty
The First Mission—May 17, 1943
The 92nd Bomb Group dispatched 118 bombers against the Lorient submarine base in occupied France. The mission lasted over five hours, with six aircraft lost and no fighter escort protection.
After a standard takeoff from Alconbury, the crew joined their combat formation over England. Two aircraft aborted before reaching France, leaving gaps in the defensive arrangement. Due to a previous taxiway incident, this crew drew the Tail-end Charlie position—the formation’s most exposed and vulnerable spot, making them prime targets for German fighters.
Formation Flying Under Fire
B-17s maintained extremely tight formations with wingtips nearly touching neighboring aircraft. This defensive tactic created overlapping fields of fire, putting 75 machine guns from 38 turrets against any attacking fighter. The close spacing also concentrated bomb patterns, as each bombardier released ordnance when observing the lead aircraft’s drop.
Despite claims about the Norden bombsight’s precision—supposedly capable of hitting a pickle barrel from 30,000 feet—actual accuracy during early 1943 missions fell far short of this propaganda. Target destruction remained inconsistent throughout these initial operations.
Flying in formation at 26,000 feet proved physically and mentally exhausting. Propeller wash from surrounding bombers created constant turbulence, requiring continuous throttle adjustments and intense concentration. The cockpit environment was chaotic, with test-firing of the top turret’s twin .50 caliber guns thundering just inches above the pilots’ heads. Early missions saw several losses from mid-air collisions as inexperienced crews struggled to maintain position while dodging flak and tracers.
Over Enemy Territory
Approaching the French coast, the crew spotted their first flak bursts—88 mm and 105 mm shells creating black puffs that concealed deadly metal fragments. The bombardier took control during the bomb run, following the Norden bombsight while antiaircraft fire intensified around the formation.
During the withdrawal, the crew witnessed a B-17 burst into flames and spiral down without parachutes—ten men lost. Another damaged bomber began losing altitude and falling behind. Facing a critical decision, the crew chose to rejoin the main formation rather than escort the struggling aircraft, slowly closing the gap with maximum engine power.
RAF Spitfires provided limited escort near the English coast, their short range restricting them to shallow penetration over the Channel. For battle-damaged stragglers, even this brief coverage proved invaluable.
Return and Aftermath
After landing at Alconbury following five hours and ten minutes airborne, inspection revealed flak damage that hadn’t compromised flight capability. The ball turret gunner, cramped in his suspended steel sphere throughout the mission with two .50 caliber guns and no room for a parachute, finally unwound from his contorted position.
Debriefing covered fighter encounters, flak intensity, aircraft losses, parachute sightings, bombing accuracy, and damage assessment. That evening, drinks flowed freely at the officers’ club as crews celebrated survival and processed their introduction to combat reality.
The Brutal Mathematics of Survival
In early 1943, replacement crews arrived in England with confidence shaped by optimistic media coverage that understated Luftwaffe capabilities. Reality proved grimmer—survival odds for completing a 25-mission tour stood at roughly fifty-fifty. The average crew during this period actually flew only six missions before being shot down, killed, or removed from operations.
The doctrine that heavily armed bombers could defend themselves without fighter escort was being tested with catastrophic results. The first six missions for this crew proceeded without any fighter protection whatsoever.
Why No Escorts?
The Eighth Fighter Command initially operated under a defensive philosophy, equipping fighters with limited fuel capacity for base protection rather than bomber escort. This mirrored RAF doctrine, where Spitfires barely reached the Dutch coast. British bombers flew night raids primarily to avoid daytime fighter interception.
German fighters adopted an economical strategy—ignoring American fighter sweeps to concentrate on the vulnerable bomber streams. This approach devastated unescorted formations throughout 1942 and early 1943.
Bomber Command maintained faith in self-defending heavy bombers despite mounting losses. Claims of German fighters destroyed were wildly exaggerated—when multiple gunners engaged the same target, each often claimed the kill. Command likely encouraged these inflated numbers for morale and public relations purposes.
Only reconnaissance P-38s possessed sufficient range for deep penetration, conducting post-strike damage assessment at high altitude. Actual bombing effectiveness rarely reached the crews who needed to believe their sacrifices mattered.
Eventually, doctrine evolved. Fighters received auxiliary fuel tanks and began escorting bombers progressively farther into enemy territory. Strategic targeting shifted to include factories producing fighter components and ball bearings, directly reducing the Luftwaffe’s capabilities.
The Cost of Learning
Early operations proceeded through trial and error. Technical failures forced frequent mission aborts, disrupting the command structure. Officers consulted enlisted specialists on tactical problems, as military manuals proved irrelevant to actual combat conditions.
Casualties Close to Home
Aircraft returning with wounded crew members fired red flares approaching the runway, alerting medical teams. During one such recovery, bombardier Bosma was removed from his aircraft after a flak fragment penetrated his Norden bombsight and entered his eye during the bomb run over a heavily defended French submarine base.
The navigator provided emergency care while the pilot descended to a lower altitude for a direct return to Alconbury. Surgeons removed the destroyed eye and damaged skull section, leaving a concave depression. Three weeks later, visiting the general hospital revealed wards filled with severely injured aircrews—a stark reminder of combat’s human cost.
The ball turret gunner position epitomized the bomber crew’s ordeal: suspended in a cramped steel sphere for eight or nine hours on later missions, curled impossibly tight with no space for a parachute, operating twin machine guns between his legs while the aircraft absorbed enemy fire at 26,000 feet.
These early missions established a grim reality that would persist through 1943: American bomber crews were learning their trade while paying an unsustainable price in blood.
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