Wiener-Neustadt, April 12, 1944, George Wolf Crawford's 13th Mission as a B-24 Pilot

By 2nd Lt. George W. Crawford, Pilot 513th Squadron, Feb 23 - Aug 10, 1944

The gentle shake at 3 am clearly indicated that we were scheduled for another long mission, possibly into Austria again. The choice for breakfast between gummy oatmeal and greasy French toast (made with eggs and powered milk) was easy to make. I drowned the French toast in syrup. At least the cooks of the 513th Squadron baked their own bread. As we gathered for the 5 am briefing, my bet was back to Steyr. We had fought a 2 hour running battle with German fighters on the April 2 mission to Steyr. Our gunners had drawn an extra 2000 rounds of 50 caliber ammunition for our ten machine guns and they had fired all but 4 bullets during the prolonged attack. Just as silence meant we were out of bullets, a section of P-38s drove off the Germans. They vowed that never again would they run out of ammunition.

I lost the bet. The target for April 12 was the ME-109 manufacturing plant south of Vienna at Wiener-Neustadt. That briefing had become as familiar as the one to Steyr. We cheered when it was announced that we would have fighter escort. P-38's would cover us as before for part of the flight, but today we would have P-47's challenging the German fighters over heavily defended Wiener-Neustadt. Flak would be heavy, accurate and over a wide area.

We were to fly in the C-Flight deputy lead position in B-24-H, #47. For the 13th time the Ray Morel crew would fly as a team. The Morel crew was:

Pilot - 2nd Lt. Raymond (Ray) Morel
CP - 2nd Lt, George Crawford
N - 2nd Lt. R. P. (Paul) Hoyt
B - 2nd Lt. W. (Bill) M. Neil
E - T/Sgt. James (Jim) Maize
RO - T/Sgt. Peter Riverso

NG - S/Sgt. Richard Vandayburg
WG - S/Sgt. Russell Ward

BT - S/Sgt. Loy Sanderson
TG - S/Sgt. Tilleman Staggs

WG - S/Sgt. J. J. DeAngelo was our 11th crew member. This was Ray's first assignment in a lead spot and indicated that he was moving up in the squadron pecking order.

Remembering the long running aerial battles of the Steyr, Schwechat, Klagenfurt , Budapest and Bucharest missions, we drew an extra 5000 rounds of 50 caliber ammunition.

Take off began at 8:21 am. C-Flight was lead by 1st Lt. Roger Oldz in B24-D, #40 with 1st Lt. D. W. Michael as CP. C-Flight formed rapidly and after the usual hour of circling in the area, we joined the long line of B-24s heading north. About an hour out, Roger Oldz became ill. No. 40, the lead ship dropped out of formation and turned back. We were still in friendly territory and co-pilot D. W. Michael had no trouble flying a very sick Roger home.

Ray Morel was now the flight leader and reformed C-flight continued on course with one less B-24. Ray said that he and Roger had eaten supper in Lecce last night, but he was sure that he was OK. Full of self confidence, Ray's spirit was willing, but his flesh was human. As we flew north and crossed the point of no safe solo return, Ray's complexion began to turn from its usual healthy tan to a sickening yellow. No longer OK, Ray came down with "Lecce's revenge". He gave an anguished moan and made a quick grab for a bucket. Suddenly I was the only able pilot on B-24 # 47 as C-Flight flew to bomb what was expected to be a very heavily defended target. Engineer Jim Maize did what he could to help Ray get some relief.

Jim said he could fly the plane if necessary, if I were injured or became ill. Jim was now co-pilot and all the usual CPs' responsibilities. Using the plane's intercom, Jim notified the crew of Ray's illness and the dangers faced by having only one pilot. Words of support came from the crew and every member voted to lead the section to the target. I could have turned C-Flight leadership over to 2nd Lt. Unks in #46, causing the formation to regroup with the possibility of attack at any minute. Bill, Paul and I agreed that "we could do it, we would lead and hit the target." Co-pilot Crawford was now lead pilot and faced with doing all the duties usually shared between pilot and co-pilot. The team of Bill Neil and Paul Hoyt not only had the problem of being lead ship for the first time, they also had the problem of flying a bomb run with me for the first time. I had never been pilot on a bomb run, real or practice. Ray had given me a thorough training in pilot and emergency procedures. But he had insisted on being the pilot on all bomb runs, real or practice. He had concentrated on making the team of Ray, Bill and Paul the best and not having reached perfection, I was doing only co-pilot chores on bomb runs.

I had no problem flying as the lead pilot. The lead ship had to fly "smooth and easy" to minimize the constant jockeying required by those flying in the wing positions. What worried me was 1) the actual bomb run and 2) what would happen if I was injured and could not fly the plane. I had been hit before when a piece of flak knocked my flight boot off the rudder. On each mission, our plane had suffered many flak and bullet hits, including having all the windshield glass exploding in my face when the temperature was -23 degrees and my left gloved hand had frozen on the steering wheel. Literally we flew into possible "jaws of death" on each mission and always there had been two able pilots in case one was injured. This time, a very sick Ray would not be able to "take over" and Jim has never flown a plane, he had only watched us..

Since we were on radio silence, I did not notify the other planes that Ray was sick. Pilot, Bombardier and Navigator held a intercom conference with all the crew listening. What was necessary was to agree on the plan for each phase in the attack even as we flew northward. Phase 1: The flight to the bomb run: Profiting from many hours of flying off a wing and guilty of many unkind comments about the way the lead ship was flying, I was determined to make smooth and easy changes in altitude and direction so the formation would remain tightly closed at all times. I decided to fly the plane, rather than go on autopilot (only a lead ship could use autopilot) so I could respond better if German fighters suddenly appeared.

During fighter attack I would fly with minimum changes to keep the formation tight so that all planes would have maximum mutual coverage. This tight formation for mutual defense had been drilled into us by our Squadron Commander, Major Edmund Schmid. A tight formation had proven its value time and again. We had watched German fighters "look us over" and pass by to hit loose formations. The 376th flew tight formations and kept its cripples in the formation. We considered the loose formations of the 450th group our best fighter cover.

When we entered the black cloud of bursting flak, I would make slow changes in direction and altitude so we would not be in the position determined by the German radar at the moment of firing the 88mm canons. Aluminum chaff would also be dropped to fool the radar.

Phase 2: The bomb run: Bill, Paul and I agreed that we would go on autopilot for the bomb run. Bill estimated he would like 2 minutes of straight and level flight. I argued for 1, so we compromised on 1 ½ minutes. During a bomb run, the plane had to be at a constant airspeed and direction with accurate and heavy flak bursts causing injuries to men and plane. If I was hit and the plane able to fly, Jim would stay on autopilot. If both plane and pilot were badly wounded, Jim would man the controls and make the decision to fly out or bail out. George, Ray, Paul and Bill were the least likely to be able to bail out in time, but the rest of the crew would have a good chance to bail out and survive.

Since the German fighters did not enter the black, flashing flak clouds, I would make slow altitude and direction changes to confuse the ack-ack guns until that deadly 1 ½ minutes of the actual bomb run on autopilot when Bill would be in complete control of the plane. This is the period in which time stands still and one's heart runs a 1000 yard race.

Phase 3: As soon as I felt the jump of the plane, meaning "bombs away", I would fly manually, descending out of the black cloud with slow turns and twists. The one requirement was that the formation remain intact so crippled B-24's could remain in the formation and we would be able to fight as a unit when/if the German fighters came diving in to attack. As we climbed and had to put on oxygen masks, Ray now had to struggle between "lack of control" and his need for oxygen. He swore he would never "eat native again."

High at 23,000 feet and expecting attack at any moment, I could see other flights under attack. All gunners were at their posts and were keeping a close lookout. One could never be certain whether the approaching fighters were going to hit or pass. Ahead I could see the black cloud over the target was expanding as explosion after explosion rocked the planes flying in to make their bomb run. Since we were following, we could only see those entering, never those leaving the black cloud. That black cloud was the airman's "valley of death".

At the briefing, we had been ordered to follow A-Flight and drop with it. But as Paul and Bill watched our progress toward the target, they warned me that A-Flight was off target and if we dropped on their course, we would also miss the target. I immediately turned on the autopilot and Bill was in full flight control of the plane. Using the bomb sight/autopilot, he slowly brought C-flight back to the proper course. At 160 mph, Bill began a 2 ½ minute bomb run. When he opened our bomb doors, the other planes in C-flight also opened theirs. Each bombardier sat with eyes on our open bomb bay and with toggle switch in hand to drop with the leader's bombs for the best bomb pattern.

We were rocked by bursting shells and heard the rattle of flak tearing through the skin of our plane. Each second seemed like an eternity. With the sudden lurch of "bombs away", our 10 five hundred pound bombs could be seen falling in line to explode about 50 feet apart on impact. The other planes in C-Flight toggled out their bombs and Bill's bombs became the spear point of nine parallel lines of bombs. We watched the carpet of bombs explode in the target buildings of the assembly plant. Bill had hit the bulls eye.

I took over the controls and began a descent with a slow turn away from the target. Watching where the bursts were occurring, I was able to change position to avoid the flak. All of C-Section was still with us. We had cripples, but all could stay with the formation. We left the black cloud expecting to see German fighters closing in. What we saw instead were P-47s circling above us. Out of the flak and covered by P-47s, we started the long trip home. Our four sections were reasonably close together and the 376th had no stragglers. We radioed home to report C-Flight bombs on target and so far, no casualties. The flight home was going smoothly until we reached "the OK to talk on radio point." My ears were burning with the unkind descriptions of the long bomb run. When I could finally respond and explain, I requested a casualty report. The Unks crew in #46 had suffered 2 wounded, tail gunner S/Sgt. Tate and waist gunner S/Sgt. McMahon. In #59, Stephensen crew member, TG - S/Sgt. Blauser had been hit. All planes reported flak hits.

Since each C-Flight crew confirmed that our bombs had been on target, complaints changed to congratulations. Only Ray continued to complain and moan all the way home. When we were finally back over friendly territory and the oxygen masks were off, it was time for lunch. The usual #10 can of fruit cocktail was opened and its contents thawed and distributed. Only Ray refused to participate in this "feast". But what is fruit without a sweet. We all carried candy. I had 2 "Baby Ruths" and some peanuts. Back in the waist, the gunners had assembled and were busy trading snacks. They were happy that not a shot had been fired. This was a red letter day in another way. For the first time we had P-47 escort over the target, and Oh, were they welcomed and appreciated on this day.

As pilot of the lead ship I had an easy time flying smooth and easy to minimize the constant jockeying required by those flying in the wing positions. My efforts were appreciated by my comrades. Even so, it was a hard mission for me, not from the physical effort, but from the feeling of responsibility. I was really sweating as I lead the flight in for the formation landing. As I made the landing and taxied in, we had two pilots, one very sick and one dog-tired. When Jim complained that he did not get a chance to fly the plane, Pete responded "thank goodness." Our crew had its own little gathering of thanksgiving as Ray was rushed to the hospital. The mission to Wiener-Neustadt was 7 hours and 18 minutes total flying time. In my log I wrote that we experienced Heavy, accurate and intense flak, encountered no enemy aircraft. Not a shot was fired by our gunners. We had P-47 escorting us over the target area and P-38's flying in and out.

According to a history compiled by K. C. Carter, The Army Air Forces in World War II, Combat Chronology, 1941-5, on April 12, 1944, "Almost 450 heavy bombers attacked targets at Wiener-Neustadt and Bad Voslau, Austria, with 200 fighters providing escort. The heavy bombers and escorting fighters claimed over 30 enemy planes shot down. More than 8 U.S. airplanes were lost and others failed to return."

George W. Crawford