To Kingdom Come (48 page)

Huntzinger, Edward J.
The 388th at War
. Privately printed, 1979.

Huston, General John W.
American Airpower Comes of Age: General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold’s World War II Diaries
. Montgomery, Ala.: Air University Press, 2002.

————.
American Airpower Comes of Age: General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold’s World War II Diaries
(Vol. 2). Montgomery, Ala.: Air University Press, 2002.

Jablonski, Edward.
Double Strike: The Epic Air Raids on Regensburg-Schweinfurt, August 17, 1943
. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company, 1974.

LeMay, Curtis E., and MacKinlay Kantor.
Mission with LeMay: My Story
. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1965.

Levine, Alan J.
The Strategic Bombing of Germany, 1940-1945
. New York: Praeger, 1992.

Middlebrook, Martin.
The Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission
. London: Cassell Military Paperbacks, 2000.

Miller, Donald L.
Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany
. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2006.

Morrison, Wilbur H.
Fortress Without a Roof: The Allied Bombing of the Third Reich
. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1982.

————.
The Incredible 305th: The “Can Do” Bombers of World War II
. New York: Jove Books, 1962.

Parton, James.
Air Force Spoken Here: General Ira Eaker and the Command of the Air
. Bethesda, Md.: Adler & Adler, Publishers, 1986.

O’Neill, Brian D.
Half a Wing, Three Engines and a Prayer: B-17s Over Germany.
New York: McGraw-Hill, 1999.

Overy, Richard J.
Bomber Command, 1939-1945: Reaping the Whirlwind
. New York: HarperCollins, 1997.

Peaslee, Col. Budd J.
Heritage of Valor: The Eighth Air Force in World War II.
New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1964.

Probert, Henry.
Bomber Harris: His Life and Times
. Mechanicsburg, Penn.: Stackpole Books, 2003.

Rooney, Andy.
My War
. New York: Times Books, 1995.

Schaffer, Ronald.
Wings of Judgment: American Bombing in World War II
. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.

Smith, John N.
Airfield Focus 44: Grafton Underwood
. Peterborough, England: GMS Enterprises, 2001.

Smith, Starr.
Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot.
St. Paul, Minn.: Zenith Press, 2005.

Spick, Mike.
Luftwaffe Bomber Aces: Luftwaffe at War.
London: Greenhill Books, 2001.

————.
Aces of the Reich: The Making of a Luftwaffe Fighter-Pilot
. London: Greenhill Books, 2006.

Strong, Russell A.
First over Germany: A History of the 306th Bombardment Group
. Winston-Salem, N.C.: Hunter, 1982.

Tanner, Stephen.
Refuge from the Reich: American Airmen and Switzerland During World War II.
Rockville Centre, N.Y.: Sarpedon, 2000.

Verrier, Anthony.
The Bomber Offensive
. New York: Macmillan, 1969.

Weal, John.
Jagdgeschwader 2 “Richthofen.”
Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2000. Rockville Centre, N.Y.: Sarpedon, 2000.

Military Sources

The most important sources of information for the author’s reconstruction of the principal events that occurred during the mission to Stuttgart on September 6, 1943, were found in the official reports submitted by the bomb wings, groups, and squadrons that fought in the battle. The author secured a complete set of these reports from the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, Maryland, and the Air Force History Support Office at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.

Sixteen bomb groups participated in the attack on Stuttgart. They were the 91st, 92nd, 94th, 95th, 96th, 100th, 303rd, 305th, 306th, 351st, 379th, 381st, 384th, 385th, 388th, and 390th. Seven of these groups were part of the Fourth Bombardment Wing, and nine were in the First Bombardment Wing.

On the evening of September 5, 1943, Eighth Air Force Bomber Command issued the field order for the Stuttgart mission to the First and Fourth wings. A subsequent field order was issued by the two wings to the sixteen bomb groups. These field orders, called “Fragmentation orders,” or Frags, were specific to each group’s role in the overall mission.

As an example, the 388th Bomb Group, which absorbed the highest losses on the Stuttgart mission, received its first Frag at 2240 on the night of September 5, 1943. This order was revised several times by the operations staff at the Fourth Bombardment Wing before takeoff in the early hours of the following morning.

Another important set of military records utilized by the author were the briefing notes prepared by the operations staff of each bomb group for the flight crews. They provided the takeoff times, order of takeoff, rendezvous instructions, weather reports, target importance data, a sketch of the group formation, and in some cases excerpts of the actual statements made by the group leaders at the briefing.

Additional group reports detailed the actual takeoff time of each crew and the landing times for those that returned. The most valuable tool for reconstructing what occurred on a mission were the firsthand accounts of the men who flew it, beginning with the crew interrogation reports they submitted upon returning to their bases. These debriefing notes detailed what happened to each crew on the mission, including the level of enemy fighter attacks, their own claims of enemy aircraft destroyed, any problems or unusual events crew members might have experienced, and their firsthand observations of how, when, and where other bombers in their squadron and group were lost.

Within hours of a group’s return, a preliminary group action report, or Flash Report, was submitted to bomb wing headquarters. These Flash Reports provided the author with extensive summaries of the mission, including how many aircraft aborted and the reasons why, how many enemy fighters were encountered and how many claimed, the intensity of flak over the target, actual bombing results, and a compilation of those crews that were lost.

Each group leader who flew the strike also filed a postmission report, along with the lead navigator and the lead bombardier. A final comprehensive group report on the mission, with all the collated statistical data, was prepared at wing headquarters. Utilizing the data compiled by the wings, Eighth Air Force Bomber Command then completed a comprehensive narrative of the mission, which itemized the total number of planes dispatched by all the groups, the number that aborted the mission or failed to reach the target, overall claims of enemy planes destroyed, numbers of personnel lost or missing, actual bombing results, the total numbers of enemy aircraft encountered, and the tactics they employed.

Of vital importance to telling this story, and particularly the descriptions of what occurred aboard those aircraft that were lost on the mission, were the missing crew reports filed after the battle. These included the personal accounts from the returning crews’ interrogation reports, which often provided a good picture of how, when, where, and why a Fortress went down, as well as whether any parachutes were observed before it disappeared or crashed. These missing crew reports were updated throughout the war whenever any new information was secured that shed light on the fate of individual crew members.

Of equal value to the author were the Escape and Evasion Reports filed by those men who survived the downing of their bombers and were successful in escaping from occupied Europe in the weeks and months after the battle. These detailed narratives were generated after an escapee reached England or the United States, and often provided additional information on what happened to other members of that particular crew.

In addition to the official reports cited above, other military sources utilized by the author included:

Daily Diary of Major General Frederick Anderson, Jr., Frederick Lewis Anderson Papers, Hoover Institution Archives, Stanford University, Stanford, California.

Eighth Air Force Fighter Command Report on Active Operations: Sunrise to Sunset—6th September 1943. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), College Park, Maryland.

“General Ira Eaker’s No Win Situation.” Article by Brigadier General Richard Baughn in the
Wright Stuff
, Air Force Research Institute, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama (June 25, 2009).

German Air Force Day Defensive Activity. Dawn 6-9-43—Dawn 7-9-43. Air Force History Support Office, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.

Menu, Seating Chart, and Relevant Correspondence Related to the Dinner Given in Honor of General Arnold at Claridge’s Hotel, September 6, 1943. General Henry H. Arnold Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Negative Damage Report K.M. 208. Photographs taken by 540 Squadron on 6.9.1943. SORTIE: E/144. Locality: Stuttgart. Damage Assessment. Air Force History Support Office, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.

Number 11 Group Synopsis of Operations, 24 Hours ended 0600 Hours, 7 September. Air Force History Support Office, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.

Official Reprimand of Brig. General Robert F. Travis by Major General Ira C. Eaker (11 September, 1943), with accompanying documents and exhibits. Carl Andrew Spaatz Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

“Some Observations of War and Warriors.” Speech by Ira Eaker to Squadron Officers’ School, September 23, 1974. Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Statement on the Success of Strategic Bombing by General Henry H. Arnold at London Press Conference, September 4, 1943. General Henry H. Arnold Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Strategic and Tactical Mission Analysis. Mission of 6 September 1943. Air Force History Support Office, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.

The Case for Day Bombing. Ira Eaker. 1943. General Ira C. Eaker Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

“Y” Service Report. Operation serial number 35. 6-9-43. 14 pages. Air Force History Support Office, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.

423rd Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group Daily Diary, September 6, 1943. Air Force History Support Office, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C.

Private Diaries/Personal Letters (Unpublished)

The following written material provided valuable information in illuminating the personal lives and adventures of the men featured in this book.

Martin Andrews
. A detailed written account of the Stuttgart mission, as well as the experiences associated with Mr. Andrews’s service as an unofficial agent of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1944. Also letters and journals of various activities in England in 1943. (118 pages)

James E. Armstrong
. Letters, telegrams, and notes related to his escape from France, including an unpublished manuscript revealing what happened to several other escapees. (182 pages)

Olen Grant.
An unpublished reminiscence of his experiences in the war entitled
For You the War Is Over,
which includes his detailed recollections of the Stuttgart mission, and the events surrounding his survival after going down with his plane. Fifteen letters to his family in Arkansas written during his imprisonment in Stalag 17. (136 pages)

Warren P. Laws
. An unpublished narrative of his experiences on the Stuttgart mission, including a very detailed description of the events that took place in the cockpit of his plane prior to its being shot down.

Robert F. Travis
. Personal letters to and from his family during his service with the Eighth Air Force in England and afterward, providing candid assessments of many of the men he served with during his tour as commander of the Forty-first Combat Wing. (34 pages)

Ray T. Wilken.
Letters, telegrams, and personal notes detailing his experiences during his courtship and marriage to Braxton Nicholson, his training days, and his service with the 388th Bomb Group at Knettishall, England. (17 pages)

Author Interviews

Martin “Andy” Andrews:
2008
(7/14, 7/29, 7/30, 10/31, 11/13, 12/12, 12/13, 12/14, 12/15);
2009
(1/20, 8/6, 11/6);
2010
(2/4, 2/6, 2/17)

James E. Armstrong:
2008
(11/6);
2009
(1/12, 1/13, 1/14, 1/19, 1/29, 1/31, 6/28, 7/1, 7/24)

Richard Baughn:
2010
(7/19)

Tami Davis Biddle:
2009
(1/26)

William Eisenhart:
2010
(6/4)

Olen Grant:
2009
(2/7, 5/14, 5/20, 5/28, 6/4, 7/1, 8/25, 8/26, 10/22, 10/29);
2010
(2/5, 2/11, 3/29, 4/3)

Clifford Hammock:
2009
(1/14)

Richard Henggeler:
2008
(6/26, 11/11)

Demetrios “Jim” Karnezis:
2008
(11/1, 11/13);
2009
(1/20, 1/31, 2/1, 2/20, 2/21, 2/22);
2010
(1/12, 1/31, 2/17, 3/22)

Wilbur “Bud” Klint:
2009
(2/4, 3/25, 3/26, 5/14, 5/19, 7/13, 7/14)

Warren Laws:
2009
(2/10, 2/11);
2010
(4/15, 5/16)

Elizabeth “Libby” Laws:
2009
(2/10, 2/11)

Gary Moncur:
2009
(1/31, 2/1)

Brian D. O’Neill:
2009
(1/29, 1/30, 2/6)

Braxton Wilken Robinson:
2009
(1/22, 1/31, 2/5, 2/22, 2/23, 3/25);
2010
(3/29, 5/6, 5/9)

Donald Stoulil:
2010
(2/25, 4/1, 5/21)

Wilbert Yee:
2009
(1/14)

Other Important Interviews

Interviews with General Ira C. Eaker by Lieutenant Joe B. Green in Conjunction with the Senior Officer Debriefing Program at the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, February 11, 1967, January 28, 1972. Courtesy of Tami Davis Biddle.