· RUEL SK

52 CRUEL SKY
The PEARSON crew
Acrid cordite smoke from the top turret filled the flight deck. Copilot, Lt. Nelson
Dimick, saw balls of exploding shells appearing just in front of his aircraft, leading the lowleft
element of the lead squadron. "I looked out the left window and saw No.1 engine was
on fire. Suddenly the instrument panel literally disintegrated in front of me. 1 could feel
cannon shells exploding below in the nose compartment, under the two inches of armor of
my seat. Second Lieutenant Arthur E. Steams, navigator, and bombardier, FlO Henry 1.
Henrikson, must have been killed instantly, they didn't have any armor protection under
them.
"McCoy and his two wingmen were flying away from us as we lost power: engines
No.1 and No.2 shot out and on fire. 1 looked at Ralph, our eyes met and he waved to bail
out. I did not need any encouragement. In some 30 seconds or less, the aircraft had been
turned into a flaming wreck. I turned in my seat and moved to the rear. Engineer, T/Sgt.
Robert D. Johnson, had trouble finding his chest pack. I faced a wall of fife in the bomb
bay; it was the only way out. There was absolutely no hesitation on· my part. 1 dove
through the flames and landed on my back on the bomb bay catwalk. Somehow I fell free of
the aircraft."
Tail gunner, S/Sgt. Dwight F. Galyon, took a 20-mm round in the chest. Luckily his
flak vest stopped the exploding fragments, and all he received was a severe blow. He
continued to fife at the attackers and observed some hits on a second enemy aircraft. But it
was a no-win situation.
Sergeant Harry Tachovsky, the right waist gunner, ran out of ammunition. After
seeing that the bomb bay was on fire and the deteriorating condition of the ship, there was
nothing more to do but bailout.
After 2nd Lt. Ralph H. Pearson had ordered the crew to abandon ship, he felt terribly
alone. "For a while it was quiet. The plane was flying fme, all engines were running, it
was just me and this B-24 cruising along through this beautiful sky at 25,000 feet. Then,
snap! The control wheel went limp in my hands. The elevator cables had burned through.
I flung off my oxygen mask and helmet and headed for the fIfe and bomb bay. As I turned,
I suddenly saw Sergeant Johnson behind the pilot's seat. He was bent over, buckling on his
last leg strap. When he straightened up, I gave him a visual inspection. We only had split