· RUEL SK

Thejight 69
coming down from the flight deck. I was standing in the bomb bay ready to jwnp. I
hesitated for just a couple seconds to be sure that I had my chute clipped to my harness
right. Stiddenly I saw the left side of the plane starting to disintegrate. I was hit and fell
out."
In the rear part of the fuselage, it became evident that the ship was in bad shape.
Fire was raging in the bomb bay and communications to the flight deck were not working
properly.
Left waist gunner, Sgt. John Lemons moved to get the two parachutes that were
laying near the bomb bay bulkhead. Sergeant Olen Byrd left his right waist gun and both
hooked their chutes on.
At this time, Sgt. John Knox was knocked out of the tail turret and came crawling to
the waist area. He had been hit in the right knee. Despite being blind in one eye, he saw
the flames in the bomb bay. Lemons hooked on Knox's chest pack chute. "I did not hear
any bailout alarm. Again I gave a quick look at the fire. I knew we had to get the waist
bottom hatch open, chutes on and all of us bailed out. I helped get Knox out through the
camera hatch. I tried to get the other waist gunner, Byrd, to go out next by motioning him
to do so. He (Byrd) refused and motioned me to go first and 1 did."
Lt. Baynham had seen the ship ahead engaged in a left descending turn, burning
fiercely. The first pass had set so many bombers on fire that there was virtually no one left
for them to tighten up to. His ship was on fIre under the gas tanks and in the bomb bay
area. He had a hard time, trying to get his back pack parachute buckled. Finally he made
his way to the bomb bay. Shortly after he left, the ship blew up.
King Kong went down 2 km northeast of Braunhausen.
The HEITZ crew
When the attack started, Bugs Bunny was leading the second element of the lead
squadron. Now, 1st Lt. Raymond V. Heitz and 2nd Lt. Harold T. Vedera were flying alone
in the slot. Hautman's ship, their right wingman, had left the formation and Hansen just
went down in flames. The fighters seemed to materialize endlessly.
A string of shells exploded in the waist and tail positions. The left waist gunner,
S/Sgt. Louis Ochevsky, was badly wounded and collapsed at his post. The right waist