· RUEL SK

48 CRUELSXY
about twenty rounds and at about 500 yards the attacking planes bellied over and went
down."
The DEWEY crew
Lieutenant William Dewey heard his tail guIUler, Sgt. Ruben Montanez, yell: "I see
fighters, I see flak." Then the ship began to shudder and shake, with the twin tail guns, and
both waist guns fIring simultaneously, and from the impact of enemy shells. The intercom
to the waist and tail went out within seconds.
The HAUTMAN crew
Copilot, Lt. Carroll Snidow, looked out of his window and saw what he at frrst
thought was small flak - very heavy and close. "Looking at the ship ahead of us, 1 saw their
waist guns fIring. Fighters. An FW-190 came alongside of us and seemed to be flying in
formation with our lead ship. The shells were bursting around us everywhere."
The REYNOLDS crew
Moments after the tail gunner, Sgt. Hany G. Twigg, warned his crew: "Fighters, six
o'clock." exploding shells were hitting Little Audrey. The left inboard engine spewed
flames which reached back to the left rudder.
In the nose, the navigator, Lt. James Withey, saw a fighter flashing between them
and their wingman.
The BRULAND crew
Copilot, Lt. Peter Belitsos, was flying cross-cockpit when the attack started. "All at
once several B-24s burst into flames. It happened so fast 1 did not see the enemy fighters
and yet the sight of so many planes on frre was so riveting it seemed to be happening in
slow motion. I was in a state of shock and disbelief and actually thought we were being hit
by a German secret weapon."
"Almost instantly the No.3 engine erupted in flames and Lt. Palmer M. Bruland took
over the controls. The gunners were fIring and one of them shouted: 'Come on back you
yellow bastards.' The thud of the hit on No. 3 engine and the fire snapped me out of my