July 16. LtC Kinnard, then Captain Marshall and finally Captain Fortier led the 355th back to Munich. Kinnard fell prey to food poisoning and One of Marshalls external tanks would not feed. Ellison and Graham escorted the two commanders, leaving only three flights intact in the 354FS. The Group made rendezvous with the trailing six boxes of first Task Force/3rd BD over Louvier at 0909. Before fuel tank fuel feed problems, Marshall noted that no other escorts made R/V and re-organized the three squadrons into six sections of eight Mustangs so that the 355th could now provide escort to all 11 boxes of the 3rd BD to and from the target. Just west of Munich the Task Force encountered towering thunderstorms reaching 35,000 feet so the bombers changed course and bombed alternate targets at Ludwigshafen and Stuttgart on the way home. Escort was broken near Ghent at 1100. Although the 355th mission was uneventful, the radio Relay team of Wright and Priest was bounced by six 109s attacking from above 30,000 feet. The 109s had unusual black and yellow invasion type stripes on wings. The pair evaded the 109s and climbed back to radio relay position when the 109s turned back. Captain Gilbert Wright was the first 354FS pilot to complete 300 hour Tour of Duty and transferred soon to the 496 FTG to be part of the training cadre for incoming replacements. He joined Captain Albert Starr who had transferred in May. In a mid afternoon training flight Captain McDonald was hit by Lieutenant Sawchuck when Sawchucks Mustang slid under him in strong turbulence, shredding WR-Ys rudder on his wingtip. Duffys WR-Y Dragon Wagon was repaired and flew the next day. The Scout Force Experimental flew their first mission to provide route and target weather conditions. They found the line of T-storms 100 miles in front of the bombers and let them know to divert to the Alternate targets. On the inbound trip the SF-E radioed the bomber commanders of several dangerous gaps and sloppy formations. The concept of placing experienced bomber pilots in the lead Mustangs with 355th volunteers as wingmen was paying off from the start. After the bombing the SF provided Rally Point support to improve re-assembly times coming away from the targets. Lieutenant Sumner Williams, volunteer 345FS pilot, spotted a straggling flak damaged B-24 and slid above it to provide escort. He was repaid for his act of protection when a burst from the top turret gunner and limped back to Steeple Mordenand landed on one bank of cylinders.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 14:29:12 +0000
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