CREW 03
HIGHER POWER
B-17F
Second Lieutenant MATTHEW BLECKE
MISSION SUMMARY
| MISSION # |
DATE |
TARGET
AREA AND TARGET |
BOMB
RUN |
ENEMY
AC CLAIMS D/P/K |
CREW
CASULTIES L/S/K |
NOTES |
| 41/1 | May 19, 1943 | Kiel, SY | 5 | 0/0/3 | 0/2/0 | New Crew May 1943. Replacement for Bad Habit. |
COMBAT CREW
| CREW
STATION |
NAME |
RANK |
EXPERIENCE |
Missions |
CLAIMED KILLS CONFIRMED |
Notes |
PILOT  |
Blecke, Matthew |
 |
|
3 |
  INFIRMARY - Return to crew on June 7. |
|
| PILOT |
Swanson, Eric |
|
|
0 |
Temporary replacement for LT Blecke | |
| CO-PILOT |
Shin, Albert |
|
1 | |
||
BOMBARDIER |
Wilson, Woodrow | |
1 | |
||
NAVIGATOR |
Darklight, Tristan | |
1 | 1 | |
|
Engineer |
Kern, Joseph |  |
3 | 2 | |
|
| RADIO
OPERATOR |
Johnston, Kenneth |  |
3 | INFIRMARY - Return to crew on June 4 |
||
| RADIO
OPERATOR |
Snowdon, Ian | |
0 | Temporary replacement for SGT Johnston | ||
Ball
Turret Gunner |
Miranda, Reginald | |
1 | |
||
| Left
Waist Gunner |
Carter, Greg |
|
1 | |
||
| Right
Waist Gunner |
Pryor, Todd | |
1 | |
||
| Tail
Gunner |
Bartolome, Arnold | |
1 | |
CREW NOTES
| Mission |
PILOT |
CO-PILOT |
BOMBARDIER |
NAVIGATOR |
ENGINEER |
RADIO OPERATOR | BALL
TURRET GUNNER |
LEFT WAIST GUNNER |
RIGHT
WAIST GUNNER |
TAIL
GUNNER |
| 41/1 | Blecke | Shin |
Wilson |
Darklight | Kern |
Johnston | Miranda |
Carter | Pryor |
Bartolome |
| SWANSON |  |
 |
SNOWDON | |||||||
GREEN:
New crew man. RED:
KIA.
PURPLE: Wounded. BLUE: Frost bite. LT GREEN: Temporary
Replacement crew man. PINK: MIA. ORANGE: POW.
AFTER
ACTION REPORT
| MISSION # |
DATE |
TARGET
AREA AND TARGET |
MISSION DESCRIPTION |
| 41/1 | May 19, 1943 | Kiel, SY |
Promotion
Recommendations: Sgt Kenneth
Johnston to SSgt Having only three of us left from the Bad Habit present made this flight a rather somber one. The new crew members were anxious to prove themselves and in high spirits. We did little to dampen their enthusiasm, knowing that things could, and most likely would, get serious soon enough. The trip out was a quiet one, with little to do until we crossed over into hostile airspace. It was Lt. Wilson that spotted the 109s. Three approached us head on, and if it weren't for the keen eyesight of Sgt Greg "Mars" Carter (no relation to the SSgt Carter manning another crew in the 1101), we would not have noticed the 109 coming in from 9 o'clock. Our defensive fire was ineffective, and one of the 109s put some shells thru the nose. No real damage though. It was the bandit from our port side that was the real threat. He scored several hits, holing the wing skin, the waist compartment, and lodging a shell into my (the pilot's) side. The pain caused me to lose consciousness, and 2LT Albert Shin had to take effective command of the plane. The rest of this AAR is written based on what I have been told by my men, as I did not regain consciousness until I was in the care of the medics here. The 109 from 9 o'clock, wishing to follow up on his previous run, came back around from 3 o'clock. SSgt Kern had another idea though, and sent that pilot and his plane to the earth below with a well aimed burst from the top turret. The rest of the fighters retired without further damage. Things got eerily still until we reached the airspace outside of Kiel. More fighters swooped in, but our sheltered position in the formation (no Purple Heart corner for us this time boys!) allowed our fellow Forts to drive the fighters off before they could reach us. Then the darnedest thing happened! The Germans tried to bomb us! In mid-air no less! I've never seen anything like it in my life. A bunch of Ju-88s came in over us, released bombs, and flew off. We didn't even know what to make of it until the bombs started exploding amidst us. It was like flak from above. Luckily the Germans must not have practiced much, because the bombs were ineffectual. The ground flak crews were better trained. We sustained several inderect hits, which left us with lots of holes but no real damage. My injury and the subsequent turmoil in the cockpit must have had some effect on the bombardiers ability to perform his duty, because the only reason we got any ordinance on target was due to a strong crosswind. As we turned back, we had to brave the flak crews again. We gained even more holes in our fuselage, as well as a few close calls. The port wing root was hit by shrapnel, and a very close burst, close enough to bounce the plane, punctured the oil tank on the number four engine. Those engineers at Boeing knew their stuff though, because the tank self-sealed and we had no further trouble from that engine. Just as we were recovering from the bombardment, we were set upon by some very angry Germans. Once again our green crew was not able to concentrate their fire effectively, so we sustained yet more damage. A 190 put a shell into our port wing flap, and a 109 coming in from 3 o'clock managed to hit our rudder, knock out the port waist gunner's suit heat, and also seriously wound our radio operator Sgt Kenneth Johnston. As the 190 came around for another pass, SSgt Kern continued to prove his excellence as he sent another member of the Luftwaffe to an early grave. Getting his second kill of the day provided him with quite a morale boost. The rest of the trip back was uneventful though, and we landed with the formation at Archbury. God must have plans for SSgt Kern and myself, because we both recovered from life threatening injuries to return to duty. SSgt Kern and myself, after the events of this mission, have decided to christen this plane "Higher Power". |
1101 CREWS
1101 HQ
BRIEFING ROOM GROUP OPERATIONS