Show Forts Torts Raid u It By Doris Feature Feature Through special cia arrange arrange- arrangement went ment with Womans Woman's Home Companion I was lucky By chance I walked right into preparations for one of the greatest bombing missions in inI I history This was the vast raid on Schweinfurt I saw our boys take off oft i and I saw them return I I The small world of a bomber base in England is organized with utter precision toward one end end to to get those planes off oft the ground over the target and home One mission follows fol fol- follows follows lows another and everybody knows exactly what to do or is told Out Out- Outwardly Outwardly Outwardly it Is calm but in the back back- background background background ground is always one brutal fact some of our aircraft do not return When the planes are out on a dan dan- dangerous dangerous mission voices get shriller and men appear reluctant to aban aban- abandon abandon abandon don one another's company Americans and the RAF share sharo their secret skills but not their way of life lICe Our base Is a 3 piece of or Amer Amer- ica lea food food equipment wise Few English faces are seen and andI these arc are usually liaison officers I Everybody knew that the coming raid on Schweinfurt was to be some some- something something I thing t ing special that there were some of the most important targets ever bombed anywhere The Nazis are aware how vital ball bearings are to toI I the war and the plants that make makel makei i l them had been tucked deep Into the I mountain folds of Bavaria The Nazis Nazis knew Allied fighter planes could not carry enough gasoline to I I protect the invading bombers which would have to face Nazi fighter fire for for hundreds of miles But Fortresses For For- Fortresses Fortresses tresses have firepower ver to protect themselves and they have a bomb- bomb bombsight bombsight bombsight sight to hit any target Months ago their crews were handed nameless maps of the Schweinfurt Schweinfurt targets to study In English skies they prat practiced practiced over and over again forma forma- formations formations which would doom the facto facto- factories ries Restricted to Post Fost Finally the crews were briefed But weather forced cancellation I I i i I t i 1 I i I So important was security on this raid Colonel Harding restricted to tc the post every man who attended the briefing gave special orders that they were not to discuss it among themselves and cut off oft telephones Colonel Harding gave the group final instructions A West Pointer from West Virginia he has ice blue ice eyes a quiet manner manner and nd a fistful of medals The latest of these Is a sil- sil silver sil sil- silver silver ver star for gallantry and achieve achieve- achievement achievement achievement ment in leading bombing raids over enemy territory Dont let the boys bos tell you they arent aren't scared on raids Colonel larding Harding told me Nobody could be besuch besuch besuch such a fool as not to be frightened when flak Oak and fighters come at him Ive I've been scared plenty I was assured by the boys that Hardings Harding's briefing technique was wasi okay One thing the boys bos cant can't cantI stand they told me was what they called drip They know what they are arc fighting for What they want to toi tobe be told is why the target is so im- im imI important important so that if it they get hurt they can feel its it's worth it Maj John Kidd of Cleveland led the group off the field Three squad squad- squadron ron leaders seconded him Sweat Sweating Sweating ing tog it out is the air forces force's inele inele- inelegantly inelegantly Inelegantly gantly accurate phrase phrase for the busi busi- business business business ness of waiting for the planes to return from a raid The waiting is but very wearing Happy to Be Dc Alive I Outwardly all went on as before after the bombers roared down the runway at the base Another mis mis- mission mission mission sion went out and returned It was wasa a milk run over Holland Another was briefed but canceled After many long hours the Fortresses came back The gleam of a 3 majors major's oak leaf on a red fez perched at a rakish angle over a grinning Irish face was the herald The wearer of the fez was Major Egan his simple heartfelt greeting was Im very happy to be alive Then from all mouths tumbled out stories of the man made bell hell they had bad been through beginning hours before the target was reached All I agreed that nothing like it in size sire venom and duration was ever before experienced In aerial warfare AU All Allaround I around were fighters Forts blowing up in flame Oame and the thunder of guns without end The Nazis arched strings of or blinding blind ill new rocket shells The Fortresses battled German fighters for 2 hours the hours the longest engagement In the history of heavy bombings but bombings but they had gone over their target and got away A measure of the raid was the vol vol- volubility volubility of the crews who made it Their talk lasted through their days daysI of rest and was still going strong I when I left the base Crews arc are en en- encouraged encouraged encouraged to talk of course coarse not only to help get it out of their systems but to keep intelligence officers fully informed What they say might help greatly in planning the next encounter encounter ter with the Nazis V i J r 1 1 Y- Y |