Mission Number One

Mission Number One

By Wesley Carrington Greayer

493^rd Bomb Group, Tail Gunner on Edward Glotfelty's Crew

Author of The Tornado Struck at Midnight (ISBN 1-59129-729-x)

On D-day-plus-one, it was our turn. Ed Glotfelty's crew was scheduled to fly our first mission. The lack of the bunchier beacon still proved fatal and the mission was called back after an hour of useless milling about, but like on D-day, some crews missed the recall. Five crews joined other groups and went to targets other than the one they were briefed for. Ed Glotfelty's crew joined a group headed for Tours. On the way, two crewmen survived the type of mishap that is all too often, fatal. When the radio operator and waist gunner failed to respond to one of the copilot's periodic roll calls, Ed. Glotfelty, the Pilot, summoned Wes Greayer to investigate. Climbing out of his tail turret, Wes saw the radio operator and waist gunner lying by their waist guns with their oxygen masks dangling loosely off their faces. Hastily hooking his mask to a portable oxygen bottle, Wes hurried to the men and revived them by properly adjusting their masks. Had it not been for the routine check, or had more time elapsed between checks, the War Department would have been obliged to dispatch telegrams to the parents of Technical Sargent William Toney, and Staff Sargent Dennis T. Hall. They would have been two more casualties of war.

(While Wes was administering aid to Toney and Hall, Harry Baker, the ball gunner emerged from his turret. He was unable to charge his two fifty-caliber machine guns with ammunition. After the mission, when they had returned to Debach, it was discovered that the ground crew had installed the guns with two red tags stating Cation- Remove these tags before installing.)

Additional problems on this mission:

1. After installing his guns, the nose turret gunner forgot to install a locking pin and the turret turned ninety degrees during takeoff, placing the entry door outside. The mission, was flown with useless nose turret guns.

2. The Engineer didn't have time to install the top turret guns before takeoff. The guns were laying on the floor during takeoff and the bolt return springs rolled out the Bombay boors, onto the runway. The mission, was flown with useless top turret guns.

3. The waist gunner forgot the bolt return springs for the waist guns in the armament shack. He and the radio operator could not install the waist guns. The mission, was flown with useless waist guns.

4. The radio operator missed the 'recall message' and Glotfelty's and four other crews joined other groups and flew their first mission to targets they were not briefed for.

5. The target we went to was further than the target we were briefed for, and we had to make an emergency landing at an RAF airbase on our return trip. But, this was an unexpected blessing. The crew was fed in the RAF officers mess with tablecloths, napkins, and waitresses to take our orders. The enlisted men on the crew enjoyed being waited on by some 'rather attractive' British service-women. And back in their sleeping quarters, the RAF batmen even ironed their flight gear while they were sleeping. Wes didn't know if the American officers were accustomed to such 'Royal Treatment'.