To Kingdom Come (36 page)

Six hundred fifty heavy bombers would participate, and for the first time in the air war, a fighter escort of hundreds of P-51s, P-47s, and P-38s would accompany the bombers all the way to the targets and back.

Bob Travis was chosen to command the First Air Division, which included 174 Fortresses and would lead the entire bomber train. The First Division’s target was an industrial complex in Oschersleben, Germany, which was then producing nearly half of the Fw 190 fighter planes built for the Luftwaffe.

When Travis’s division took off, the weather was clear over the Continent.

It didn’t remain clear over England. By the time Travis’s division was on its way to Germany, a dense cloud front gathered over the British Isles, preventing most of the fighter escort groups from assembling with the bombers.

With the weather continuing to deteriorate, General Doolittle ordered a recall of the bomber forces already in the air, as well as the fighter groups that had been assigned to escort them.

The First Division was closing in on Germany when General Doolittle’s recall order was issued. If Bob Travis ever heard the order to return to England, he never acknowledged it.

Most of the fighter groups assigned to escort Travis’s division opted to return to England with the other two. Only forty-nine P-51 Mustangs remained with the First Division as it continued on toward Oschersleben.

None of the American fighters were up front with the lead group.

General Travis was flying in the 303rd’s
8 Ball
. It was the lead plane of the lead squadron of the lead group of the division. When he realized there were no friendly fighters covering his formation, the general radioed Fighter Control. He told them that he was without support, and asked for assistance. There was no response to his message.

Waiting for Travis near Oschersleben was the largest force of enemy fighters assembled since the October 1943 attack on Schweinfurt. Most of the German pilots were flying Fw 190s, which seemed fitting since the Eighth’s target that day was the largest industrial complex producing them.

The German fighters focused on Travis’s lead group. They attacked from every direction, nine o’clock, ten, eleven, twelve, one, and two, flying in combinations of three to eight planes at a time. Once the attacks began, there was no lull. As one wave came through the formation, the next wave was already positioning itself.

One enemy fighter even attempted to ram the
8 Ball.
A crash was only averted when pilot Bill Calhoun lifted his left wing at the last moment, preventing the imminent collision.

On the intercom, Bob Travis kept calmly calling out the attack vectors of the incoming fighters. It became a nonstop commentary. One of the machine gunners was finally exasperated enough to interrupt him, shouting, “Don’t call ’em so fast, General. I can’t shoot’em all anyway.”

Jack Fawcett, the
8 Ball’s
bombardier, was manning the machine gun in the nose compartment. Between attacks, he watched as the Fortresses of the 303rd Bomb Group began to fall around them. One of the first to go was
Baltimore Bounce
, the Fortress flying on the
8 Ball
’s immediate left. One of its wings separated from the fuselage just before it blew up.

Approaching the target, Fawcett was able to recognize the topographical features he had memorized in the prestrike photographs. After a short bomb run, he dropped his bombs squarely on the factory complex. The rest of the bombers followed suit.

As the
8 Ball
turned from the target and headed for home, the Fortress flying directly behind it was set on fire by the next wave of enemy fighters. It spiraled downward, out of control.

Dozens of Fortresses went down under the relentless fighter attacks as the division fought its way back across the Continent. When the surviving planes finally reached the channel, England was still enveloped in thick fog.

Using homing beacons, the pilots of the 303rd were able to find Molesworth, but when they arrived, the field was completely socked in. From then on, it was every plane for itself.

In the
8 Ball
, Lieutenant Colonel Bill Calhoun finally broke through the fog bank at an altitude of three hundred feet. Other bombers were descending through the low ceiling all around him, and he narrowly avoided two collisions before safely reaching the ground.

After emerging from the plane, Bob Travis had a photograph taken with Bill Calhoun. From the two men’s casual demeanor, one might have thought they had just flown a training mission to Scotland.

The mission had been one of the epic air battles of the war. In three hours, the Luftwaffe had launched more than four hundred attacks against the Eighth Air Force bombers, destroying sixty Fortresses and five escort fighters. Ten planes in the 303rd Bomb Group had been shot down around the
8 Ball.
In spite of all the obstacles, the Fortresses had wrecked the Fw 190 factories at Oschersleben and destroyed thirty-nine enemy fighters.

Bob Travis pronounced it a successful mission.

That was no solace to many of the pilots in the 303rd. They were outraged that the general had not turned back with the five hundred bombers of the other two divisions when the recall order had been issued.

One day later, the First Division’s group and squadron commanders met to discuss the mission. General Travis was the senior officer at the meeting. One of the squadron commanders asked him directly why he hadn’t turned back with the other two divisions.

“I received no recall,” he said, ending the discussion.

For the Oschersleben mission, the First Bombardment Division was awarded a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation. Bob Travis wrote to his father two weeks later about his own most recent commendation.

28 January 1944

Dear Dad,

My DFC citation reads, “For extraordinary achievement while leading a mission over Germany, 26 November 1943. . . . The high degree of success achieved on this mission can be attributed to the courage, unyielding determination and skillful leadership of General Travis.” ... Have no news ... Love, Bob

His reward for leading the Oschersleben mission would be a second Silver Star.

4 April 1944

Dear Dad,

A copy of the citation for the Oak Leaf Cluster to the Silver Star reads as follows: “For gallantry in action while leading a heavy bombardment division on a mission over Germany, 11 January 1944.... In spite of relentless attacks by hostile fighters, General Travis maintained perfect air discipline and maneuvered the formation over the assigned target. A crippling blow was dealt to one of the enemy’s most important units of war production. The outstanding success achieved is attributable to the tenacity of purpose and brilliant leadership of General Travis, whose gallantry was an inspiration to all members of his command.” The weather has been bad for days and we are stood down temporarily. Love, Bob

On April 29, 1944, Bob Travis led the First Division in an attack on Berlin. More than seven hundred Fortresses participated in the raid, supported by sixteen fighter groups. Three hundred German fighters attempted to defend their capital.

It was the only time he was wounded in combat.

He was flying with the 303rd again, this time with Lieutenant Don Stoulil in the lead plane of the lead squadron. They had dropped their bombs on Berlin and were heading home when the group encountered an intense flak barrage over Hannover, Germany.

Fifteen of the seventeen bombers in the 303rd received serious flak damage. Two were blown out of the sky, including
Spirit of Wanette
, which had been tucked in behind the left wing of General Travis’s plane.

As 88-millimeter cannon shells exploded all around them, Don Stoulil fought to control the plane amid the buffeting flak bursts while an unruffled General Travis sat in the copilot’s seat writing mission notes on his legal-sized clipboard.

Suddenly, a jagged two-inch-square hole materialized on the right side of the windshield, directly in front of the general. A moment later, shards of glass were swirling around the cockpit.

Without a word, General Travis slumped forward, his head coming to rest on the clipboard. Seconds later, blood began trickling down the general’s left cheek. He sat motionless as the bomber continued to careen through the bumpy sky.

Oh, shit, thought the young pilot. The old man is dead.

He was still wrestling the plane through the stormy air when General Travis slowly raised himself back up to a sitting position. Stoulil called on the intercom for his waist gunner to come up to the cockpit with a first aid kit.

They were at twenty thousand feet, and the gunner used one of the plane’s “walk around” oxygen bottles to reach the cockpit. After dressing the general’s flesh wound, he wrapped a white gauze bandage around his head.

When they arrived back at Molesworth, Stoulil fired off a red flare to signal “wounded aboard” and brought the plane straight in to the hardstand. The general’s staff car was waiting for him.

Ten minutes later, Don Stoulil was sitting in the cockpit filling out his after-flight “Form 1” on the postmission condition of the plane, when he looked down and saw that the general was still there, pointing out the hole in the windshield to a member of his staff. It couldn’t have been too serious, the young pilot decided.

That night, the general came over to the squadron’s officers’ club. He was still wearing the heavy gauze bandage Don’s gunner had wrapped around his head during the mission. They all celebrated the general’s good fortune with a free round of drinks.

He received his third Silver Star in May.

17 May 1944

Dear Dad,

I thought you might be interested to know that I have received my second Oak Leaf cluster to the Silver Star, the citation for which reads as follows: “For gallantry in action, while serving as Air Commander of a Heavy Bombardment Division on a mission over Germany, 9 April 1944. Extremely adverse weather conditions over England made assembling of the units almost impossible.... It was not until General Travis was more than an hour’s flying time from the English coast that he was able to form a tight combat wing formation.... He led two combat wings along the briefed route to the target knowing full well that a serious shortage of fuel would develop later.... Determined to accomplish his assignment, General Travis maneuvered the formation through vicious attacks by enemy fighters and bombed the objective with excellent results.... He accomplished this so expertly that losses were held to a minimum. The gallantry and will to fight on against all odds displayed by General Travis inspired all units under his command.”

Though there is much news, I must again apologize for being unable to pass it on to you due to censorship.... A letter from Uncle Jack states that your health is much improved and that you and Mother are both well. Your son, Bob

5 July 1944

Dear Dad,

My latest Distinguished Flying Cross Citation is as follows: “For extraordinary achievement while serving as Air Commander on a heavy bombardment mission over Germany, 20 June 1944. On this date General Travis directed the formation on a successful attack on a vital enemy objective. For six minutes prior to the release of bombs, the aircraft in which General Travis was flying was subjected to an intense barrage of flak. The rudder controls were badly damaged and an engine shot out by one burst. Another hit destroyed the aileron controls and successive bursts further crippled the airplane. In spite of these obstacles, General Travis led the formation in a straight bombing run, insuring an accurate release of bombs. The unwavering determination ... courage, coolness and skill displayed by this officer reflect the highest credit on himself....”

As I write this, my boys are landing from a morning mission. I see some red flares going up which means “wounded aboard.” Love, Bob

The general’s final combat mission was to the marshaling yards at Mainz, Germany, on September 21, 1944. As always, he flew in the copilot’s seat, this time with Captain William E. Eisenhart of the 303rd. Their plane led the entire Eighth Air Force that day.

Unlike so many of General Travis’s missions, the Mainz raid was relatively uneventful. The 303rd’s bombs were dropped squarely on the target. They were on their way home when something untoward occurred that would soon become a permanent part of group lore.

A directive had recently been issued that pilots should not leave their cockpits to urinate if their piss tubes were frozen during a high-altitude flight. It was recommended that the pilots crack open their side window, get on their haunches, and pass the urine through the open window, where it would be carried away by the slipstream.

When Captain Eisenhart experienced an urge to urinate on the way back to Molesworth, he opened his window and attempted to comply with the directive. Unfortunately, General Travis was smoking a cigarette, and had cracked his own window open to release the smoke.

Caught in a cross draft, Captain Eisenhart’s urine swirled across the cockpit, hitting the general full in the face. As soon as they landed, the general began dressing the pilot down, calling Captain Eisenhart an embarrassment to the Eighth Air Force. The tirade concluded with the general demanding that the directive about cockpit urination be removed from the bulletin board.

In the following days, Captain Eisenhart became widely celebrated within the 303rd Bomb Group as the only junior officer to ever piss in the face of a general and not be court-martialed for it.

Now Bob Travis was going home.

For thirteen months, he had lived a charmed life in the air, surviving some of the most dangerous missions to Germany while one plane after another around him was blown out of the sky.

Before Bob left England for a well-earned family leave, Major General Robert Williams, the commanding officer in the First Division, declared him to be the finest wing commander in the Eighth Air Force. He had done well, winning a chest full of combat decorations.