· RUEL SK

80 CRUEL SKY
closer and Kribs still kept shooting; then suddenly there was nothing in front of us but
debris."
"Another attack came in from the left side and I could feel several hits. Lt. Mercer
switched on the autopilot and we found we could still fly. Then we waited for another
attack."
Under the constant assaults of more than 100 German fighters, the formation of
thirty-five B-24s in five minutes was down to 12 ships. The stragglers, unable to keep up
any longer with the few remaining aircraft, were in such bad shape that, even without the
enemy, their future seemed short. All on board knew they could not last any longer nor
sustain more damage. The Germans were coming back for the kill. Gunners were reporting
fighters climbing to knock off the survivors. Others were diving from twelve o'clock. No
doubt the 445 th Group would "buy the farm."
Thank God, they were P-51s. They ripped through the incoming FW-190s. The
Jerries got it too.
The FRENCH crew
Tail gunner, Sgt Schwartz, had only 40 rounds of ammunition left in one gun while
the other one remained jammed. "Up to this time, I could see only one P-38 around us. I
noticed four more FW-190s coming in at us but still quite a distance out. I immediately
told my copilot If it hadn't been for the sound of the engines, everyone on the ship would
have heard me praying for help from the big boy upstairs. Out of nowhere came two more
P-38s. They started to dive for the four intercepting FW-190s and the last I saw of these
planes, they were diving through the clouds."
Unfortunately it was too late for the group. Too late for the twenty-two planes that
had ended up as a twisted smear of metal, some 23,000 feet below; the last resting place of
mangled and burned bodies. Too late for the numerous airmen who were floating in their
chutes, alive but falling down to unknown developments inside the Third Reich.