Show 1 bombs steel center 5 in imaginary flight briefed at army air forces school for raid on follows course over huge realistic map by BAUKHAGE news analyst and commentator service union trust building washington D C how would you like to bomb the steel works in a flying fortress I 1 did it without moving from my classroom seat in orlando fla in one of the courses I 1 attended at the army air force school of applied tactics it is part of the post graduate instruction of the high officers bof of the army and it really is a realistic briefing when I 1 had finished that demonstration as it is called I 1 actually felt as if I 1 had been on that bombing mission which started at an unnamed base in china and flew straight to a target which is as clearly pictured in my mind as if I 1 had made the trip ill try to reenact it for you first imagine a great map stretching across the room in which you are sitting with two black lines on it the lower line runs with a few slight deviations straight to the target in japan then there is a short leg running north and the second line a little above the other running back to the base this is the course we took now men says the officer standing with a pointer in his hand you are going to bomb the steel works at daylight precision bombing and naturally meet a little more opposition but you know the importance of steel I 1 dont need to talk about that you have been select selected ed for your record last time keep up that record As you know this is the first time for the new stagger formation youve uve practiced it I 1 wont go into that we have just 45 minutes to check the whole plan we start at and the first ship goes down the runway at military clocks theoretically run 24 hours if the number is above 12 subtract 12 for instance 1630 is in the afternoon 1630 minus minus 12 equals then came some directions about assembly where this group joins the formation which I 1 wont go into here since space adequate but bit anyhow the assembly point 11 is Cheng chengfu tu level off for bomb run we must be at chengfu at climb at miles an hour to this point here the pointer taps the map to 1500 feet and level off miles per hour this junction another tap then swing on course 91 degrees the pointer swishes awishes out along the black line to the coast here is your second climb 1212 miles per hour feet a minute to bombing altitude at check point of island at 1245 the pointer touches a little island oft the jap coast it will look like an inverted pyramid then level off to the IP that is the point of entry which must be definitely established for the flight from there on is directly to the target and careful synchronization with the other planes must be made show a yellow yellow flare so well know youve reached th the e IP if dark toggle four and a half over the bomb run then to the rally point 14 miles north of target if you are crippled going over the target try to cut short your turn ill 1111 explain that you see normally the planes would go north from the target and then turn at a right angle to the assembly point then another right angle back toward home so if a plane had been hit and last long it must try to catch up with the others and make known its condition if the plane lags behind it may be located by the group leader who will make continuous turns s looping back trying to locate any stragglers meanwhile as I 1 forgot to explain there is a friendly submarine loafing somewhere within radio call tor for two purposes purpose first to try to locate any plane that has been forced down into the water second to pick up information concerning any enemy ships which the planes may have spotted so the sub can go over and take a poke at them I 1 cannot in this space give you a fraction of the detail of this brief ing which pointed out on the map every hazard every advantage every varying condition special areas were blown up in large size as a lake serving as a landmark where the planes start their ocean jump a peculiarly shaped river where they reach land again sketches are furnished by meteorologists showing just the types of clouds they will encounter some full of rocks covering mountain peaks which are to be avoided the known location and number of enemy fighter planes is marked as are the antiaircraft guns and the temperature and the wind velocity at various levels targets there then gone As to the target itself large scale aerial pictures were shown which looked very much as the actual terrain would look to the pilot and bombardier also a map of the whole city then a map of the target area then photos of the target area taken from an angle as it will look when the plane approaches pro aches it from a distance and another as it will look when it is directly below the important moment rn ent that last statement directly below is misleading as I 1 found out what you see when you look through the glass walls of the bombers nose and what you see when you look through the bombsight are two quite different pictures what you see when you look through the bombsight is the area far ahead of where your plane is upon which the bomb will hit if released at that precise instant naturally at the speed at which a plane travels the inertia of the bombs carries them far ahead as they fall this is disconcerting to the layman I 1 looked through the glass of the nose and picked me out a little florida lake upon which I 1 decided to drop my imaginary bomb then I 1 looked into the sight and there was no lake there too late if I 1 had released my bombs then they would have hit far beyond the distant shore although the plane even reached the nedr near shore yet but to return to my synthetic flight I 1 find it impossible to recount it with half the realism with which it was presented to me as my eyes followed that moving pointer from base to assembly point to bomb line where the planes cross into enemy occupied terrain on to the target itself with the looping tracks that bounded it and then back north and west again over water and land lake and mountain on the long trek home after the briefing was finished four men in uniform took seats on the platform they were men with stars on their service ribbons and some purple hearts too men of many missions missions just such as the one described or they would not have been chosen as instructors in this post graduate university of the air and they acted out with startling conviction the briefing of a returned crew one his nerves on razor edge from what he had gone through another a little littie dazed as if he had had a few drinks too many another solemn wide eyed another jumpy loquacious qua cious controversial all true to life types we ire are told carefully and tactfully the officer checked their conflicting statements until finally all were molded into a reasonable and rational report how many enemy fighters here oh 80 easy said the jumpy one how many do you say to the fellow in the half daze well a lot of em I 1 count i enough anyhow and you warn us about the others here says the slaphappy slap happy one as he jumps up and jabs the map finally it settles down to about 50 this estimate will be checked as other crews are checked and an accurate estimate is obtained the same careful and studied analysis of data on troop concentrations observed movements along highways convoys new landing strips as well as the damage done an fn the target |