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SMALL ENGINE MECHANIX
528-1043
137
JODY RD
CARTHAGE
Failure Is Not An Option
by Wesley May
In my opinion one of the most exhilarating
aspects of military service is the camaraderie
that those who serve share with their comrades
in arms. I believe the proper title for that emotion
is the unit’s esprit de corps. And the lifeblood of
that esprit is best personified by Gene Kranz’s
exhortation during the Apollo 13 crisis “failure is
not an option.” So my purpose here is to develop
the rationale for this observation, based not on
my deeds, but on those of my extended family
and the aircrews who fought the bloodiest and
most gruesomely fought bomber raid in history
- PLOESTI!
The story begins on Friday, October 20, at
the NC Symphony concert in Raleigh. Before
entering the concert hall, my wife Jeanne and
I chatted with a lady from Winston Salem who
had arrived early because of light traffic from
her home to downtown Raleigh. That certainly
wasn’t the case the previous night when she was
trying to get to the Collings Foundation “Wings
of Freedom” tour stop at RDU. She loved seeing
the WWII airplanes on display and stayed to
the end to see the B-24 takeoff. We had seen a
“Wings of Freedom” tour stop in Florida several
years ago, and remain particularly interested
in the B-24 since Jeanne’s dad had flown in
combat on a B-24 crew based in England during
WWII. I had been toying with the idea of going
to the RDU airshow on Sunday, and our chance
meeting with the lady from Winston Salem
convinced me I had to go—I was overjoyed
when Jeanne agreed!
On Sunday, we headed for RDU to see again
the legendary World War II combat aircraft that
took the fight to the Axis powers: the Heavy
Bombers B-17, Flying Fortress, and B-24,
Liberator; Medium Bomber B-25, Mitchell,
(of 30 seconds over Tokyo fame); Long Range
Fighter, P-51 Mustang (the fighter flown by the
Tuskegee Airman of Red Tail Fame who never
had a bomber they were escorting shot down
by an enemy fighter!). There was a good crowd
there, including many children. The lines for
walk-through inspections of the heavy bombers
were very long but well worth the wait. If you
have never seen these historic aircraft up close,
then make a note to come out when the “Wings
of Freedom” comes through our area next year.
A final circumstance affecting this commentary
was that I bought a great reference book at the
show, titled B-24 Owners’ Workshop Manual,
which provided some great insights for this
article. And I should add that good preparation
for seeing “Wings of Freedom,” is a visit to the
Mighty Eighth Air Force museum located at I-95
exit 102, just north of Savannah, GA.
Continuing this narrative, I must shift to the
fundamental family focus of this commentary—
the real justification for this article. My wife’s
parents’ almost unique relevance to the war
effort still engenders profound appreciation
for their participation in World War II European
hostilities. Her dad, LTC Gene Brooks, USAAF
was Bombardier-Navigator of a B-24 crew
of 790th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy),
assigned to the 467th Bombardment Group.
On March 11, 1944, his BG deployed to RAF
Rackheath (AAF-145), East Anglia, England,
and he flew 50 missions in strategic, long
range bombardment operations over Occupied
Europe and the German homeland and in direct
tactical support of D-Day landings on Omaha
Beach and also the Battle of the Bulge!
Prophetically, on Independence Day 1944,
Mr. Brooks met Edna Head, who would later
become his wife. She served in England’s
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) as a radar
operator in a facility near RAF Rackheath. They
met casually at Hornings Ferry Pub, a favorite
meeting place close to both their bases. While we
were in line to board the B-24 at RDU’s “Wings of
Freedom” tour stop, Jeanne was talking to a man
who was familiar with Rackheath’s history, and
he told her that base was frequently bombed
by the Luftwaffe; actually, Jeanne’s mom had
told us the pub where they met was completely
demolished by an incendiary bomb in one of
those raids. Nevertheless, LOVE bloomed on
this wartime setting as her parents planned a
life together in America after VE Day. This dream
was realized in February 1946, when she was
aboard the first, post-war Pan Am Clipper flight
to New York. They traveled by train to Dothan,
AL, where they were married. “All’s well that ends
well!” Jeanne was born in Dothan, AL, and her
sister Michelle was born after the family moved
to Pensacola, FL, where their parents lived until
moving to Talamore in 2000.
Now we’re down to the nitty-gritty of esprit de
corps and failure is not an option. Jeanne’s dad
did not talk much about the war. The Mighty
Eighth Air Force, in which his squadron was
a component, included two heavy bombers,
the B-17 and B-24. Both had fantastic combat
records. But you can imagine how esprit de corps
would create spirited competition between
crews who flew different aircraft with basically
equivalent missions. And the relative merits of
each aircraft was hotly contested. Each side had
strong points: the B-17 was more controllable
at higher altitudes (30,000’), flew tighter
formations, and may have been more survivable
with combat damage. The B-24’s biggest
advantage was much longer range/endurance.
However, it was a challenge to fly in formation
above 21,000’, somewhat less survivable after
combat damage, and vulnerable because of
center fuel cells in its modern Davis wing.
The differences in flight characteristics were
sufficiently significant that the two aircraft did
not fly in the same combat formation.
There are so many variables and assumptions
in play that proving superiority is actually
moot, especially in the fog of battle. But an
overriding consideration is whether an essential
operational capability is not shared equally by
both contenders. I believe the B-24’s long range
was just such a decisive factor. The only thing
Jeanne’s dad ever said to me in this context was
along the line… we did the heavy lifting and
B-17’s got the credit.
Turning to the combat situation that existed
in 1943, Churchill considered Romania “the
taproot of German Might.” So the destruction of
its Ploesti refineries was a decision made by FDR
and Churchill at the Casablanca conference in
January 1943. After defeat of the Africa Corps
in May 1943, planning and training for a Ploesti
bomber raid accelerated. Although doctrine
called for a high altitude, daylight, formation
raid, the Ploesti plan was for a low level attack
that provided improved bombing accuracy
to execute its plan for selective destruction of
key refinery components like cracking towers,
steam plants, and critical pipeline junctures. All
together, the plan called for destruction of 41
elements in seven refineries. Furthermore, the
plan’s success required an almost simultaneous
attack by as many bombers as possible in the
shortest time possible.
But the biggest challenge was the extreme
distance involved that could only be covered
by B-24’s: a round trip longer than 2,000 miles
from allied bases near Benghazi, Libya to the oil
fields north of Bucharest. It was a courageous
plan, but it stumbled in its execution on August
1, 1943. The lead aircraft missed the Initial Point
(IP: start of the actual bomb run) so that Bomb
Group and the one next in line turned too early
and eventually had to make a course correction
to head back toward Ploesti. (Remember
this was the first time the crews had to use
visual recognition to follow a low-level bomb
run in combat.) Executing the plan’s almost
simultaneous coordinated attack on 7 refinery
B-24. Bombardier battle station:
triangular window under nose turret.
Witchcraft flew 130 combat missions
(8th AF record).
500 lb bomb for Hitler from Mighty 8 AF.
No. 129 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.27