We pulled up fast
and were lucky to get out of there in a hurry without being hit by
one of them.
One other mission when I was coming back alone I got over an area
where the flak was heavy--bursting all around me so that the sky was
blackened with shells. I realized than that I was directly over the
Ruhr Valley which was the industrial center of Germany. It was
heavily defended and normally all missions were routed around this
area. I flew all the way across the area and had to use a lot of
evasive action, including changing of altitude When flak bursts in
the air it makes a black puff or cloud-and there were thousands of
them shot up at me. It did make me feel good to think of all the
shells they wasted and what it cost just to shoot at me!
When you are starting the plane there is a knob that you push out and
pull in called the primer pump and it gives extra gas to the engine
for starting. On one mission Paul Maxwell was in our flight and his
engine quit on the way back. He found that the only way he could keep
it running well enough to stay in the air was to work the primer
pump. We all slowed down enough to stay with him and prayed that he
could make It across the Channel. On the east coast of England at the
point closest to Europe there was a landing strip on top of the white
cliffs. It was called the Masden emergency field and all the planes
that were damaged or having problems would head for there.
Pages:
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141