Flyer's Journal

Fri, 13, Oct, 1944 Target: Blekheimer, Germany Object: Oil Refineries Weather: Hazy Mission credit: Double Bombload: 4,000 lbs Bomb type: 8/500lb demo (rdx) Take off: 06:40 Bomb release: 11:01 Time landed: 14:50 Fly time: 8 hrs/10 mins Flak: HEAVY! INTENSE! ACCURATE! Enemy fighters: 60 reported/ approx. 20 seen Escort: P-38/P-51/P-47 Altitude at bomb release: 30,000 ft Temp at altitude: neg 43 deg. Position: tail # of sortie: 2 # of mission count: 3 Pilot: 1st. Lt. Livers Ship # : 6306 Travel: Flew over Adriatic, Yugoslavia, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Germany Remarks: Mission completed. I don't see how this business can get any rougher. I miss my beautiful bride Virginia and long for the day I return to her. Ship damaged badly from flack. Nerves on end whole 8 hrs. This is a young man's work. That is what we have . All young men.		A scan of his handwritten journal, done in violation of military regulations at that time, provides us some insight to his experience in those dark days.
Monday 23, October 1944 Target: Pilsen, Czech. Objective: Skoda arms works/marshalling yards Weather: bad, very bad 10/10 undercast Credit for Mission: double Bomb load: 3,800 Bomb type: Frag/incendiary Take off time: 07:48 Time over target: Skoda) 13:00 alternate target) 13:30 Time landed: 17:00 Fly time actual: 9 hrs 12 mins Flak: none reported/none seen Fighters enemy: 200 reported/ 50 approx seen Escort: P-51/P-38 Altitude at bomb release: 27,000 ft Temp: neg 44 deg. Position: Rt. waist (so very cold) # of sortie: 3 # mission count: 5 Pilot: 1st Lt. Saulson Travel: Length of Adriatic, past Switzerland (not over) Alps, Yugosl., Czech. Ship #: 6186 Remarks: Damage to target unkown due to 10.10 undercast, bad weather entire mission....worse on way back. Most of crew sick. Nav. down with fever...still flew.
Tuesday 7 Nov, 1944: Target: Maribor, Yugo. Objective: Marshalling yard (troops/material) Weather: bad/hazy low ceiling Sortie: # 6 Bombload: 4,000lbs 8/500 lb demo (rdx) Time of t/o: 0905 Time at target: 12:20 Landed: 1520 Fly time: 6hrs 15 mins Flak: Extremely heavy-intense, very very accurate Enemy fighters: 30 reported/ none seen Escort: P-38/P-51 Altitude: 17,000 (wow.....too damn low for me) Temp: neg 28 deg. Position: tail Pilot: DeKruif (my pal) the best! Ship#: 451 Remarks: Overcast so low we had to fly below. It was so awful. Felt so exposed and open. Briefed for 25,000 ft. I consider us to be very lucky to be alive. Ship full of holes. Flak was accurate due to our altitude. Popped us full of stinking holes God-damn it! I watched 2 ships from our group go down from flak. One spun into the ground, the other burst into a ball of fire mid-air. Only saw total of 5 chutes from the one ship. None from the exploded ship. God help them and bless them all. Ball turret gunner hit by flak. Lost both hands. God help us. God get me home.
	Here is an additional web page that speaks to some of the other experiences that these aerial gunners faced. B-17 Ball Turret Gunner