This story is a memento to the men who flew in glasshouses and dropped bombs. I flew in B-25 and B-26 medium size bombers that flew faster and at lower levels than the heavy B-17 and B-24 bombers. The 9th, Air Force in Europe hit targets such as bridges on the Rhine River, German airdromes, rail marshalling yards and other critical areas. It was necessary to use Plexiglas in the nose of these planes since the bombardier must be able to see the target through the Norden bombsight. The bombsight was a marvelous instrument that was accurate within 10 feet from a 10,000' altitude, depending on the skill of the bombardier. In bombardier school an accuracy of 100 feet from 10,000 feet altitude was required to graduate and receive your wings.
On my 17th combat mission, we were to bomb a bridge on the Rhine River. We had to fly over Lake Louise to reach the bridge. We know that about eighty 88 mm anti-aircraft guns were placed around the lake area. The Germans were accurate with their radar-controlled sights. I had learned this in my previous 16 missions. We decided to dog-leg around the lake but when approaching the area, we found they had moved to a larger area for coverage wider. Sitting over the Norden sight I was preparing for my normal flight and bombing check. During this time we wore a flak helmet, a chest protector, safety glasses and we sat on our parachutes. In front of me was my trusty 50-caliber machine gun. The only armor was a piece of metal plate taken from a crashed bomber that my crew chief placed on my seat. It wasn't comfortable but I preferred to have it there for added protection.
The greenhouse is the Plexiglas nose of the aircraft. Part of the Plexiglas is the sight glass through which the bombardier often sees the flak burst below. Many times he hears the dull thud of flak fragments as it pierces the glass in front of him.
And then minutes before my bomb bay door opened, I found myself lying on the floor, my glasses hanging on one ear, my helmetgone and blood filling my left eye. Some seconds later I recall my pilot saying "don't use morphine because I had a head injury". This probably saved my life. I knew nothing until I was removed from the ship, placed in an ambulance, and driven to a surgical hospital. Approximately 8 months later I was returned through many hospitals to the U.S.A. Unknown to me at the time of my injury, the flak that hit me also hit the left engine. But the pilot was able to fly the plane for 300 miles and land with a single engine. This feat earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross, a much-earned award since he saved the entire crew. My awards were three Air Medals and a Purple Heart.
The highlights of being a bombardier was the short time, during a mission, when the pilot turned the ship over to me for the bomb approach. The length of the time was about 15 seconds but the most significant part of the mission was to hit the target. Navigating to and from the target kept me busy the rest of the time.
This writing is to honor the bombardiers that didn't make it. More bombardiers were lost than any other aircrew member. I think I know why. I wouldn't take anything for the experience, but I don't want to do it again. I compare the target approach loneliness to a man up a telephone pole with kids throw rocks at him. When a flak fragment crashes into the glass it usually hit where the bombardier was seated. Most of the fragments are usually thrown toward the nose of the plane. The bombardiers of the Martin Marauder group named them "Plexi-flak. Unfortunately I felt what I thought were thousands showered in my face with terrific velocity. The fragments were from an 88n-Lm AA gun. The burst hit me in the left temple instead of through my seat, which would have caused me to eat standing up. A few seconds on every mission we observed gun flashes and flak burst. The silent time occurred when we were on a bomb run and temporarily captains of the ship. In these few seconds we strove to accomplish what every man in our bomb group, from personnel clerk to field commander, and the pilot I had worked for-that was to place the bomb on the target. That was accomplished many times.
Today the condition that worries me is the low level of morality and non-interest in our freedom and fellow man we see now. Have Americans forgotten what we are fighting for? I used to respect the office of President, now I find it difficult. And I worry about my children's and grandchildren's future.
Straighten up people-it's later than you think!
Sincerely,
Ed Clark