The
bomber vapor trails would be straight and the fighter trails would be
above them back and forth across the blue sky.
When escorting the bombers we had to fly as slowly as we could and
weave back and forth so as to not outdistance them. The closer to the
target the heavier the flak and we would see the black bursts all
around the bombers and once in a while one would go down. The bombers
had to fly straight and level with no chance of taking evasive action
and we would think how brave they were all the time never considering
changing places with them. We were above them and when we saw the
flak bursts could go up or down 500 feet, flying safely there for
several minutes until the German guns could correct for our altitude.
We never worried about the flak much because we could normally avoid
it. Once in awhile we lost a fighter plane to flak, but usually it
was to enemy fighters. After the bombers had dropped their loads they
could take some evasive action.
On one of the Berlin raids it was a clear day and we watched the
bombers drop their load and could see the bombs fall and the big
explosions go up right down the middle of a wide main street in
Berlin. After the bombs were dropped we would fly with the B-17s
until they reached the Channel. I went on several Berlin raids and on
other occasions we would be diverted to closer targets as the weather
had turned bad before we got to Berlin.
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