· RUEL SK

110 CRUEL SKY
pilot ordered the men to throw out everything they could fmd loose or tear loose including
flak suits, guns, and the auxiliary power unit.
A few minutes later, Carroll Snidow saw two P-38s come in and tuck up near them:
"We got in contact with them to give us a radio fix to our nearest friendly airport. They
gave us a heading to a field in France and told us it was about fifty minutes away. We kept
losing altitude at the rate of 300 feet per minute. It was going to be close but we thought
we had a chance."
The REYNOLDS crew
As the intercom was out of commission, navigator James Withey shifted to a walkaround
bottle and went to investigate the damage sustained by both crew and ship.
Entering the flight deck, he was met by a strong odor of gasoline. The bomb bay doors
were opened to reduce the fire hazard. The waist area was a shambles. Waist gunners
S/Sgt. Lars E. Larsen and Sgt. Maynard Danner were down on the floor, seriously
wounded. Tail gunner Harry Twigg had put out a small hydraulic fife) despite wounds
sustained when the tail turret was hit.
Engineer S/Sgt. James T. Engleman swung his turret from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock to
check the upper surface of the ship from his top turret. Wings and fuselage were riddled by
numerous holes. Two feet of wing and flap were missing from the left wing and No. 2
engine was on fife. The right rudder was flapping wildly and he could see the top of the
tail turret was sheared open like a tin can. The navigator made his way back to the nose
and told Sgt. Robert M. Long, the nose turret gunner, to go to the rear of the plane and take
care ofthe wounded.
Though Little Audrey was alone over Germany, three engines were still pulling and
the fife in the No.2 engine had died out. Pilot Donald Reynolds reduced power and headed
for France. A P-51 showed up but, because of their damaged radio, they were unable to
communicate. A burst of flak shook both ships and the Little Friend left them.
The HAUTMAN crew
Mairzy Doats had been losing altitude for about forty minutes after coming out of
the overcast. The ship was down to 120 mph and was still escorted by the P-38s. Suddenly