Colonel Stiles

Col Stiles made the 90 degree left turn at Hoboken and the Co pilot watched the amber recognition lights being turned off as they started the run to the Initial Point Just off the right wing the Copilot could see the channel islands of Guernsey and Jersey in the bright moonlight A little over two hours into the mission a minimum of conversation had been exchanged between members of the crew Navigator Lt Victor Palumbo had been keeping his log on time and distance and was now standing between the pilots His first combat flight Vic had questions as he looked at the closest of the Channel Islands

Why don't they shoot The Co pilot had no answer but was content with the fact that they were out of range of the fifties and perhaps too low for the heavy anti aircraft The cloud bank at the Initial Point that would scatter later formations drew the well disciplined crews of the 62 nd and other squadrons of the 314 th together as they closed formation the better to see the nine little blue formation lights Grimes stayed close to Major Tappan as they descended and found clear visibility moments later in the moonlight

VIEW FROM THE RIGHT SEAT THE BEST IN THE HOUSE

Vic Palumbo's question was answered as the Co pilot watched and became absorbed with how slow the tracers rose from the ground and then suddenly went by quickly out of sight The view from the right seat is the best in the house you can see it all as Major Tappan would approach a line of fire and quickly rise over the tracers

When Tap went up Grimes would go under So far so good but the real problem is the five rounds in between each little red ball and those red balls are close together Five hundred feet is not a good altitude when you are dodging hostile ground fire Troop Carrier Command always referred to hostile fire in the General Orders or in the awarding of air medals and other decorations They also used the terms unarmed unarmored unescorted

The Co pilot had time to think about a lot of things between the Initial Point to the Drop Zone The 508 th had been standing and ready since the Initial Point they were more than willing to get out of that airplane and on the ground where they could shoot back The Co pilot was relieved to see the lighted T on the ground and the formation was slowing to a hundred and five One problem several guns are holding their fire steady over the Drop Zone and waiting for us to fly through

The Co pilot had his hand on the switch for the green light while watching the troops leave the first nine aircraft If that T is in the right place the troopers will be on target The Co pilot looked at his watch 2 08AM flipped the green light and counted the troops as he felt each step out the door After number nine went out the parapack loads were released

Only seconds had elapsed when he realized that all the troops were out of the first nine planes except for Charlie Cartwright who was leading the right element Charlie's wingmen went for the deck and he made a right turn and had his navigation lights on The Co pilot was still counting the last of the paratroops and watching Charlie make a one eighty and the tracers were following him and not firing on the rest of the formation Charlie flew out of sight and Grimes hit the throttles and headed for the deck and the beach and the water All of the eight planes in front were out of sight

All the Co pilot wanted now was to cross that beach and get out over the water One problem suddenly appeared a large dark dome a pillbox on the coast Grimes kicked rudder and flew around it Got it made thought the Co pilot when a sudden bright flash filled the cockpit  

The Co pilot not knowing the condition of Grimes night vision grabbed the controls and pulled for altitude As their vision returned Grimes and the Co pilot looked at each other and asked if the other was all right Satisfied that Grimes was not injured the Co pilot relaxed his grip on the controls placed his hands in his lap and found a small knob

He wondered what this was from and then realized that it was off the altimeter Looked to his left at the hole in front of Grimes and discovered there was no altimeter Checking the rest of the instruments he found only that one tachometer was out and that all engine instruments were indicating normal operation No problem half the fuel remained and a shorter route to Saltby and lots of airfields in between

During the 45 minute flight from Utah Beach to checkpoint Gallup where they would turn north to the coast of England the Co pilot noticed that his left foot inside of the paratroop boots was warm and wet He reached down and discovered that his pants leg was also damp his thoughts turned to the fact that he was bleeding and yet he did not hurt sniffed his fingers and wondered what blood smelled like took another sample and tasted it

That's not blood it's oil it's hydraulic fluid looked at the gauges and found both on zero Now we have a problem landing gear flaps and brakes would not operate Flaps and brakes we can do without but it would be nice to have a landing gear

ENGINEERING GETS THE GEAR DOWN

The Co pilot had not flown much with Grimes but they had been friends since early flight school days and now were about to work together on a small problem Both knew that Capt Lennart NMI Wuosmaa Engineering Officer had on occasions passed on information to pilots On combat flights don't use the cabin heater might have a hole and you could be asphyxiated If you lose your hydraulics get the gear down and the safety pin in any way you can Three point that bird and the gear will bind and hold As they approached Saltby at the return altitude of 3,000 feet it was time to test Al Wuosmaa 5 second suggestion Grimes cleared the area and went into a power dive and as he pulled out the Co pilot dropped the gear and tried the lock pin It went in The rest was routine fly the pattern advise the tower fire a few vary pistol shots and sit light in the seat while waiting for the gear to collapse

Five people aboard 074 held their breath as the tires squeaked and the cockpit was a flurry of hands as throttles mixture controls gas selector valves and switches were turned off Al was right the gear does hold and Grimes turned off the runway and rolled to a stop near Base Operations Mission completed Three Lieutenants and two Staff Sergeants walked to the front of 074 fully expecting to see a large hole in the nose of the aircraft They stood there and found no evidence of damage until someone said There it is and they found one small hole from a rifle bullet If the German soldier had been a better marksman he would have missed the altimeter and picked off Glenn Grimes The Copilot thought there was a lot to be said for the right seat as they walked to Squadron Operations

NOTE This document was originally unsigned but the author is easily identified now as David Mondt The Co pilot Dave currently lives in Boone Iowa