· RUEL SK

The Preparation
21
been photographed wearing civilian clothing. This was for helping the underground to
forge documents. Of course, you had to be fortunate enough to be over occupied territory
when shot down and picked up by friendly people. Dimick and the others soon heard via
the grapevine that the Germans could tell which outfit the captured airmen were from just
by looking at the shirts worn in the ID photos. In fact, each bomb group was using the
same clothing for all its pictures!
Staff Sergeant Lawrence S. Bowers took all the clothes he could put on - long wool
underwear, army Olive Drab (OD) wool shirt and pants, heavy layers of socks, wool
sweaters, etc. As were his fellow waist gunners, he was exposed to an icy air blast. In the
middle of this male and military equipment one may find a "female touch" - silk gloves.
The gunners always wore them under their heated gloves. Fixing any mechanical
malfunction while wearing thick gloves was a good trick, and to perform it under extreme
cold conditions, was more than doubly difficult. At -30°C, one could not touch anything
metal with bare hands since the skin would stick to it instantly. It was possible with silk
gloves on, but one could not dally too long or severe frostbite would occur.
Forty-five caliber automatic pistols were available and worn in a shoulder holster.
There was a rumor that if one had to bail out, the parachute harness would put great
pressure on the pistol when the chute opened and would break the ribs. It had also been
reported the enemy was shooting on sight anyone carrying arms. In case they fell in
German territory, the intelligence officer had told them to surrender to the first man in
uniform they met, to gain some protection against angry civilians. He said Germans had a
deep respect for anyone in authority, including a postman. Of course, nobody was eager to
test the disciplined inclination of the German people.
For security reasons, parachutes were repacked every 2 to 3 months. Packing team
told suspicious aviators to bring the chute back if it did not open properly; they would give
them another one. Pilots and copilots were issued back pack chutes because they were
more comfortable to wear in the pilot seats. Dimick always strapped his chute on so it was
ready to use, no matter what happened. It was risky to take it off or unbuckle the harness,
as you may never get it on and buckled in time.
The electric-heated slippers were not good for walking so Dimick had a pair of
broken-in GI boots wired on his parachute harness during his 29 missions. Nelson's chute