08/11/44:
Hello folks, not much new here but I thought I would drop you a line anyway. I mailed a package home this morning with several items in it, my trench coat , the wool liner I picked up in Ireland and also that scarf Mrs. Emerson made for me.
I nearly went on my first mission today but it was scrubbed, so no soap. Just a lot of sweating for no good reason. Our flying clothes and a lot of other stuff is still some where else, we sent it on ahead and we arrived before it did. I bought some OD clothes and am wearing them, that’s why I sent some of my good clothes home, I don’t want to ruin them. My pen works a little better now, I just took it apart and cleaned it out. The damn..… thing acts up on me all the time.
No mail came for any of the boys in our tent today, so I’m not the only one in a sad state of mind, on top of that we all get our shots reviewed today and I have yet to take mine. All of the boys are bitching about their sore arms and trying to scare me as they always do, with those deep painful groans. I guess I will go over and get it over with, but I will sign off first as I will be in no condition to do so after I finish, but really everything’s OK here. Thanks care of yourselves, lots of love, -Ted.
Mission 1, official 456th target/mission designation #235, was flown from England on the night of 08-13-1944, Harwood flew in Martin B26 Marauder, 41-31708 WT-B (Gremlin II) . 28 100 lb.. bombs were released onto the Flers fuel dump in France from an altitude of 7,500 feet, it was a 3 hour mission with 3 pathfinders and 34 other ships.
Crew: Theodore V. Harwood (Co- Pilot.) 2nd/1st LT. John W. Kuczwara (Bombardier) 2nd/1ST LT. William B. Guerrant Jr. (Pilot) 2nd Lt./1st Lt. Jack A. Reynolds (Tail Gunner) Cpl./S/Sgt. John H. Knight ( Engineer ) Cpl./Sgt. Velton J. O’Neal Jr. ( Radio-Gunner) Sgt. T/Sgt.
Base of operations Beaulieu, England.
The following is a detailed post war account of Mission #1 from Theodore V. Harwood (CP.) 2nd/1st Lt.; “ Our first mission was extremely adventuresome. I will remember this me rest of my life. I walked out to the flight line and looked at all the different aircraft parked in the darkness. There were no heavy bombers, but I remember other bombers; Night fighter P70, all black with radar and Douglas A20's for night bombing raids. Just prior to the first mission, a French lady gave us a lesson in the French language, basic phrases. The first phrase that we learned and memorized was "I am an American" ("Je suis Americain") and the second phrase "I am wounded" ("Je suis Blesse"). Before every mission the entire craft had to be inspected thoroughly for any possible mechanical problem. This pre-flight inspection was done systematically and by the book, so as to protect the lives of each member of the crew. The list was huge, from hydraulics to tire pressure. on the balloon cables. The British would lower the barrage balloons to let our planes fly out.
After our entire group was out, the balloons were allowed to float up again. “When we took off, we took off at 20 second intervals. The anticipation to be the plane thundering down the darkened runway was an exciting experience. We flew at 20 second intervals at a designated fixed air speed toward the target. The first mission was flown at night so the usual evasive type flying patterns were unnecessary. The pathfinder ship would locate the target and drop a flare at the "IP" (Initial Point) and a flare on the target. At the "IP" the bombardier took over the controls and flies the plane with the Norton bomb site until over the target area. When over the target area, every third plane flies at an altitude variation of 1000 feet, no formation or flight leader. The altitude variation was to prevent mid air collision during flight. So it was 1000 feet altitude variations and 20 second intervals. We were flying in the dark, and with radio silence. We were flying with our instruments with only small ultraviolet lamps over the instruments. It was so dark you could not see the other planes, even inside your own plane. The only visible light was the "IP" flare, target flare, and the distant, mute flash of our bombs exploding on the ground far below. After the bombardier yells, "Bombs away", the pilot regains control of the plane from the bombardier. The pilot returns the plane to the base. While on the return flight back to base we passed over the Island of Guernsey. The island was still heavily fortified and as we crossed over, an aerial flare exploded with massive flash. The entire sky lit up and the Marauders were like huge silhouettes in the sky. The aerial flare was so bright it nearly blinded us. Almost simultaneously, the German artillery opened fire on our position with 88 millimeter anti-aircraft guns. They sky was still lit up, so we could not see the flash of the immense cannons below. As the flare faded, you could see the heavy contrast of the brightly exploding flak projectiles against the pitch darkness of the night. After a time, the incoming artillery fell away behind our aircraft and we came in and all landed safely with no injuries or battle damage reported. I slept well that night.” (Historic First Night Missions)
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