Show iL Ernie Pyle Py in Italy i I Invader Pilots Daily Figure New Tricks to Fool Ack-Ack Ack IN ITALY Although our dive bomber pilots are largely spared the worry of German fighter planes they are arc plenty concerned over the antiaircraft flak and other ground fire The German ack ack-ack over the front lines is smothering Heres Here's the way it works Suppose our planes make a abig abig abig big circle back of ot the German lines Unes' in order to approach the target from a new angle which they do every day Well Wen the Germans may pick them up 40 miles from their tar tar- get Our men have to fly every inch of that through Ih heavy avy flak Its It's a g game me of wi wits The pilots above and the gunners on the ground know each others other's actions actions ac ac- ac- ac so well by now that its it's almost impossible for either cither side ide to do anything new If If our pilots do think of a new evasive maneuver maneuver maneuver ma ma- one day t th the h e Germans have it figured out by the next and vice versa if the German gunners shoot a different pattern pattern pattern pat pat pat- tern one day our pilots have it figured out before the n next mis mis- sion don The planes have to fly in constant constant constant con con- stant evasive action which means going right going left going up going down all the time they are over enemy terri terri- tory If they flew in a straight line for as long as 15 seconds the Germans would pick them off A pilot sits up there and figures figures figures fig fig- ures t this his h i s way Right now they've got a bearing on me In Ina a certain number of seconds they'll shoot and in a few more seconds the shell will be up here Its It's up to me to be somewhere else then But he also knows that the Germans know he will turn and that consequently they will send up shells to one side or the other others other or above or below his present position Thus he must never make exactly eXactly exactly ex eX- the same move two days ina in ina ina a row By constantly turning climbing ducking he makes a calculated hit almost impossible His worst danger is just flying by chance right into a shell burst I T a ask asked s k e d one of the pilots Why wouldn't it be a good idea to fool them about once every two weeks by just flying straight ahead for a while He said Because they've got that figured out too They al always always always al- al ways keep the air dead ahead of you full of shells just in case Pilots have some freakish es escapes escapes escapes es- es capes from shell blasts Several have had shells explode within a afoot afoot afoot foot or two of ot their plane without without without with with- out getting hurt They say it sounds as if you'd fired off a dozen shotguns in the cockpit The concussion tosses the plane around like a cork yet often these thee close bursts dont don't damage the plane at all 1 i A friend of mine Lieutenant Jimmy Groswold of L LOR o 0 s 8 An Angeles An geles was thrown violently into a dive by a shell that must have hav exploded within a foot of the tan tall of his plane yet there wasn't a mark on it when he got gol home t The German gunners are arc can can- can 4 ny fly For instance on a bad da day when there is a high layer d of clouds with just a few holes boles through which the bombers bomber might dive they'll fill up those thos holes with flak when they hear bear planes overhead Sometimes th the smoke of their gunfire forms a thick layer through which th the planes must dive and if there isa i ia is isa a hole or two in this layer they'll put up upa a a few shells and stop u uthe up i the holes But it isn't the heavy flak up tip above or the medium flak on the tha way down that worries the pi pt lots Iota as much as the small arms fire from t the e ground after they've finished their dive If you'd ever been In a raid on either side you'd u understand I know that when German planes come over our lines tb the whole valley for miles and mlle miler becomes one vast fountain of of f flying lead with bullets going up by the thousands U Its It's ac actually actually ac- ac like a water spray filling fill fill- filling fill ing the air as s far faras as you can can Cati see V r Our dive-bomber dive pilots have to fly through this every everyday day They hit the deck the minute they've pulled out of their bomb bombe ing dive for its it's harder to see Bee a plane that is close to the ground Also when they're al almost i al-i most down to earth the Germans Germans Germans Ger- Ger mans firing at them may shoot their own troops troop troops but even that doesn't stop them they keep banging away j The pilots say its it's the accidental accidental acci acci- dental bullet they're most afraid id of They say that nine times out of ten its it's some goof stand standing stand stand- standing ing out in the field shooting wildly into the air that gets a ft hit When a big push is on our ours dive-bomber dive pilots sometimes sometimes' have to go through this sort of or thing three times times' in a single day So you see that they live well when n at home ome base they arent aren't on any picnic when they go out to work The big battles are yet to be bc be joined but when they are joined it will be the army anny with the extra extra extra ex ex- tra weight of material that will conquer The extra gun the extra extra extra ex ex- tra ammunition the extra plane we we must be sure that the extra extra ex ex- tra weight is on our Gen side Gen General era eral Heri Henry H. H Arnold air t force chief |