Presentation Date: February 26, 2004
CAPT Turner Brashear USAAF
* Earned Pilot Wings at Douglas, AZ, Class 43-F, * Flew With the 535th BS(H), 381st BG(H), 8th AF, Ridgewell, ENGLAND, * Flew B-17s, With Most of His Missions in B-17 Named "RAFAF", * Flew 27 Combat Missions, ETO, * Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and 5 Air Medals (AM), * "Mission to Munich"; Mid-Air Collision Over Target (DFC for His Actions), * Signatory on New Robert Taylor Lithograph, "Thunderheads Over Ridgewell" B-17 Pilot, Commander
* Earned Pilot Wings at Douglas, AZ, Class 43-F
* Flew With the 535th BS(H), 381st BG(H), 8th AF, Ridgewell, ENGLAND
* Flew B-17s, With Most of His Missions in B-17 Named "RAFAF"
* Flew 27 Combat Missions, ETO
* Awarded Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and 5 Air Medals (AM)
* "Mission to Munich"; Mid-Air Collision Over Target (DFC for His Actions)
* Signatory on New Robert Taylor Lithograph, "Thunderheads Over Ridgewell"
Turner Brashear will share some of his background and training, then "take us on" his Mission to Munich!
Mission to Munich!
Written by John Crump
CAPT Turner Brashear, B-17 Commander, 381 Bomb Group, 8th Air ForceEven with three of us holding the yoke, I knew we could never fly the four hours necessary to get home. So I gave the crew the opportunity to bail out.
They declined...
Turner Brashear earned his pilot wings at Douglas, Arizona, graduating in the class of 43-F. One highlight of Turner's training came in primary flying school, when he flew the PT-22, a single engine monoplane with metal fuselage and canvas wings.
"We were instructed by civilian pilots. My instructor was a great guy, a barnstorming pilot who loved aerobatics. He spent more time upside down than we did horizontal, doing lazy-eights and that sort of thing.
Brashear says one of the things this instructor taught him was to have the 'right' attitude for a fighter pilot.
"He said, 'If you want to be a fighter pilot, when you come in for a landing, I want to see you whip that plane down, line it up right down that runway. None of this essing around trying to find the center of that runway.'
"I did my best to do that. On the magic day when you take your first test ride with an Army officer, I get this second lieutenant who is god himself - - he's got your life, your whole future is in this guy's hands - - he's going to flunk you out of flying school or pass you."
"This young guy hated me. He hated all cadets, hated being married, and I believe he hated himself. But, I get up in the plane with this guy, and he would hardly look at me, and tell me what to do. We take off and I'm doing really well, and things are going fine. Until we come in for a landing.
"I whip that baby around and line it up on the runway, and start to land where all the planes are parked - - right in front of the apron where all these planes are ready to takeoff.
"By god, I wasn't going to ess back onto that runway, I was going to land if I had to in the middle of all these airplanes. Well of course he gets the stick and bangs the stick on my knees, and I go around and come back and make a normal landing."
Brashear says the plane stopped rolling, its engine still ticking over for the next cadet to take his check ride, while the instructor maintained his arrogant attitude, avoiding any eye contact with the cadet leaving the trainer.
"I get out of the airplane, and he's not talking or anything. We were taught to salute, to take one step back, make a turn and leave. So I saluted him, stepped back, and stepped right through the wing of the airplane. My big size twelves went right through both sides of the canvas.
"He didn't even look at me, so I didn't tell him. Nothing would have made me talk. The other cadet is getting in the other side, and they take off. I watch them take off and see parts of this canvas shredding off the wing.
Brashear says the PT-22 managed to get back down safely, but the instructor remained clueless as to why the canvas separated from the plane.
Turner says his preparation for combat started in advanced training, when he was flying twin engine UC-78s.
"We're all set to graduate. In three days we were going to go from runny nosed kids to officers, get our gold bars and silver wings, white scarves and the whole ball of wax. I'm all finished, ready for this thing to end, when about midnight a guy comes in, wakes me up and says you've got to get 25 minutes more on the left seat.
Brashear says another cadet needed 25 minutes in the right seat.
"We get up on a completely overcast night, blacker than the inside of a motorman's glove, and take off in this UC-78, which we called 'Termite Tavern' because it was made out of wood and canvas.
"Beyond the end of the runway was this town called Agua Prieta. We get lined up, I'm in the left seat, take off, and just get wheels up and clear the end of the field when both engines quit. The horn goes off and the red light comes on, and we've been taught don't try to make a turn - - you land straight ahead.
"Well, it's desert and pitch black. I did the best I could landing straight ahead and hit a ditch, which tore off the left engine. It was still skittering along and there was only one telephone pole between me and Agua Prieta and it was on a little dirt road. We were heading straight for it.
"I managed to kick the left rudder and move the plane just enough to where we hit the telephone pole right where the wing joins the fuselage. We tore the wing off, spun the plane around, tore the tail off. So now we're sitting there with just the fuselage.
"Neither one of us were hurt at all. We get out of the airplane and were shaking. The other kid smoked, I didn't. But, we were covered with gasoline and he lights a cigarette and he gave me one. Obviously (fortunately) we didn't go up in flames."
Brashear says about an hour later, ground crews found the wreck and the uninjured crew, and took them back to base for a physical and a blindfold test, in which they had to go through the motions of their pre takeoff checklist, including turning on the gas. It was later learned that the plane had been sabotaged by the addition of sugar to the gas tank.
Turner joined the 535th Bomber Squadron, 381st Bomb Group (Heavy), and was based in Ridgewell, England. He flew Boeing B-17s, with most of his 27 combat missions in an inherited B-17 named "RAFAAF."
"The B-17s were very slow and sluggish at altitude when loaded for war, but we flew them and learned to respect them because of the beating they would take and did take."
While Brashear spoke of staggering Eighth Air Force losses to Luftwaffe fighters with top speeds 200 miles an hour faster than a B-17, he noted the bomber's survivability rose with the advent of long range escorts, especially the P-51 Mustang.
The winter of 1944-45 is remembered for its extreme harshness. Frigid temperatures gripped England and the whole of the European continent.
"We were flying missions on very cold, foggy days, when even the birds have enough sense not to fly."
Brashear had already survived a mission in early January, in which his B-17 had been riddled by flak. Only the bombardier had been wounded when the plexiglas nose was shattered by a flak burst.
Two engines were silenced, and the propellor on the #3 engine couldn't be feathered, turning into a runaway. Turner watched as the prop shaft turned from black to red, yellow and white, and then oscillated - - chewing up the engine nacelle and then the engine block, strewing parts all over before the prop broke off and spun over the fuselage, plummeting into the Channel.
Turner says he made an instrument landing with the two remaining engines. Magnesium flares guided him through the 500 foot ceiling, and the B-17 touched down and taxied to the hardstand, seeming to let out a huge sigh as it slumped down in a lake of oil and gasoline. Brashear says he and his crew counted more than 200 holes in the bomber.
Mission to Munich
On April 11, 1945, Brashear rose from a fitful sleep at 2:30 am, when he says a 'sadistic' sergeant shook him awake. From a 'lucky to be alive' party that night, Turner says he was nursing a slight hangover. But it was nothing that a few minutes of oxygen while sitting in RAFAAF wouldn't cure.
The latrine behind the quonset hut held a single toilet and wash basin. Turner recalls there was no electricity or hot water, and the toilet paper was about as soft as a brown paper bag, and each sheet was printed "Property of His Majesty's Government".
"At 0400, after taking care of my morning toilet, I walked to the Officer's Mess. It's still pitch black, it's foggy and it's cold. Breakfast on mission days consisted of fresh eggs, bacon, toast and marmalade, coffee and oatmeal with powdered milk. On stand-down days, it was powdered eggs, spam, toast and coffee.
"At 0405, after breakfast, my friends and I walk, or ride our bikes over to the briefing room. At 0500, our boss, Col. Conway Hall comes in, and we come to attention. I have a lot of respect for this guy, because he led the first Schweinfurt mission, where our particular group of 26 planes lost 11 planes.
"We are then seated, to be briefed for the mission. The briefing officer pulls back the cover that displays the target for the day. A black string starting from our base and zig-zagging through Germany arrives at the outskirts of Munich. A few moments and whistles are heard, as the target is a long way into Germany and is heavily defended by hundreds of what we think are the 'master sergeants on the flak guns.' The briefing continues, with anticipated flak and fighter concentrations circled and pointed out. It kind of got humorous because the guy said there'd be light flak around this particular area. A lot of sniggering went on because he didn't know what light flak was. And it wasn't light."
Brashear explained that next the pilots found out the position in the group's 36-bomber formation their B-17 would fly, the engine start-up, taxi and takeoff times. "My particular takeoff time on this mission to Munich is 0646."
After the weather officer described conditions expected over the target and for the trip home, the pilots set their watches to the same second.
"At 0530, we dressed for the mission. There's no mandatory garb, but there is one recommended. I wear GI boots, officers twill pants, Army issued t-shirt, Army issued olive drab sweater, A-2 jacket, garrison cap, and pigskin gloves given me by a friend. They were my good luck piece, and we all seemed to have them.
"Other garb consisted of a Mae West, a parachute, a .45 caliber pistol, an emergency escape kit containing maps printed on silk, a compass, K-rations, a first aid kit and foreign money. We're also issued a throat mike, earphones and C-rations for consumption on the way home.
"At 0504, some of the guys visit the chaplain. Others smoke a cigarette or pipe before boarding a jeep or truck to be taken out to the hardstand. At 0600 it's still pitch black and foggy when I arrive at the plane to meet the crew chief . He and I walk around the plane, during which he points out any problems. There never is any problem because these guys worked all night, or whatever it took to put the plane in good shape. He might say the oil pressure in the number three engine reads a little low, but don't worry about that. Otherwise, it was always in great shape.
At 0610 the crew arrived to check out their positions. Brashear inspected them to ensure they are all okay and have their necessities. Turner then boarded the B-17 and after checks on the intercom and the oxygen system, the crew positioned itself for taxiing and takeoff.
"They stack up in a crash position in the radio room, seated with their backs toward the front of the plane. The engineer, also the upper turret gunner, stands between me and the co-pilot.
"At 0625 I start the engines, with #3 first, because it has a generator which supplies the power for starting engines #1,2, and 4. My run-up and check is completed just as the plane I am to follow taxis by, amidst a squealing of hundreds of B-17 brakes.
"At 0640, our assigned takeoff time arrives just as the plane I'm to follow disappears from sight down the fog-covered runway. I take off. I motion 'wheels-up' as we clear the ground, and we're on our way to Munich, with twelve 500-pound demolition bombs and a full gas load. The plane now exceeds the designed maximum weight and feels mushy, even though the throttles are clear to the firewall.
"At 0647 this is when the countless hours of training pay off - - those seemingly endless, senseless days and nights of disciplined formation flying. Practicing doing standard rate turns, while holding airspeed and climb, absolutely as instructed. If the speed was to be 150 miles an hour, it was to be 150 and not 151. Standard rate 180 degree turns, while climbing - - in one minute. They don't mean 61 seconds or 59 seconds. There's a reason for this.
"At 0648 I start a standard rate turn at an altitude of 500 feet while climbing at a rate of 500 feet per minute. The wheels and flaps are up, and it's still pitch black in the soup, and I'm flying on instruments in an overloaded B-17, surrounded by over 1200 other heavy bombers inching our way up to the sunlight.
Brashear says in the clouds a pattern develops, to be repeated for another 30 to 40 minutes, causing white-knuckle, heart-pounding fear. In extraordinary choreography, the B-17s are flying a rectangular pattern - - straight for one minute, followed by a standard rate turn to the left, straight for one minute, followed by a standard rate turn to the left... until you've reached the proper altitude.
Occasionally during the climb, Turner says the airplane will shudder and pitch,
as the B-17 crosses into turbulence caused by the wake of another, unseen bomber.
"Each time this occurs, we all grow a little bit older."
At 0711 Turner covered his lower face with his oxygen mask and the co-pilot checked to make sure the rest of the crew follows suit. Oxygen will be required for the
next seven to eight hours, with an occasional need to crush the ice from the mask, as the 65 degrees-below-zero temperature freezes condensed moisture in one's breath.
"At 0719 we break out of the clouds, to witness a truly awesome sight of a dawn lit sky beginning to fill with more than 1200 heavy bombers from other groups beginning to pop up out of the clouds.
"I look for my group leader, who is flying a circular pattern over his assigned turf. He's still several thousand feet about and he's firing a Very pistol with an assigned color combination (of flares). It might be two greens and a red. The sky is lit up like a Christmas tree, because there are different colors for each one of the groups. And it's a beautiful thing to see. There are now forty groups forming, each with a different color code, and I wonder how in the hell we're going to get this all together.
"At 0729 I locate my leader and another 15 minutes of climbing I nestle into my assigned position, which is ten feet out and ten feet back from his left wing tip. And I'm going to maintain this position for the next seven to nine hours. We continue to circle until all 36 planes of our group are in position.
"At 0800, exactly 0800, we take up a heading to join the bomber stream in our assigned position. This particular day we're going to follow the 'Bloody 100th'. We start climbing as a group to an altitude of 23,000 feet."
At 0810 Brashear's B-17 starts northeast across the Channel, to fly over the open waters of the Zuider Zee. While the gunners check their .50 caliber machine guns, the bombardier clambers back, carrying a portable oxygen tank, to arm the bombs. Within ten minutes, the bomber is over enemy territory, marked by a few distant puffs of flak off the B-17's nose.
Flying deeper into hostile territory, the escorts arrive. On this mission there are more than 900 'little friends' - - P-38s, P-47s and P-51s - - en route to targets in Germany. Only the P-51s will be able to remain with the bombers to those targets.
"All goes well until we turn on the IP, the Initial Point for starting the bomb run. It is now 1125. By this time our contrails have virtually highlighted the sky, pointing out where we are going, alerting the flak gunners to our destination.
"At 1130 we're in the midst of exploding shells. We can see the red flashes, hear the thump of explosions, followed by the sound of shrapnel rattling through the aircraft. A hot piece comes up, slices through the floor, slices open my right pants leg and severs all the automatic-pilot wiring that is in the ceiling. Another piece shatters the window alongside my co-pilot. He, miraculously, doesn't get hurt, but it does dent his helmet. Yet another burst penetrates the ball turret and wounds the gunner, giving him a well earned Purple Heart.
"I'm doing my best to maintain tight formation, as are all the other pilots, in order to get a good bomb pattern. The fighters leave and there's no reason for friendlies or bandits to be involved in this flak.
"At 1140 it's bombs away, and the group immediately makes a turn to the left to head back for home. At 1145, straightening out just after completing a turn, something - - perhaps flak or turbulence - - causes the lead plane, on whose wing I'm flying, to suddenly swerve to the left. His left wing tip hits my right horizontal stabilizer. The impact tears off the right horizontal stabilizer, all 18 feet of it."
RAFAAF went into a tight left spin, heading straight down to the earth, 23,000 feet below. Turner says the crew was being tossed about like kernels in a popcorn maker, along with oxygen bottles, shell casings, maps - - until the centrifugal force of the spin pinned them to the bomber's walls.
"I'm fastened to the ceiling, but I'm able to reach down and grab hold of the yoke and pull myself down into the seat. I cut the throttles back and somehow am able to fly out of this spin, but not before losing some 8,000 feet.
"The blow to the plane is so severe that the fuselage is twisted and the rudder is about seven to ten degrees off center. You could actually see the twist after we landed. The real problem, however, started when I leveled off and the plane starts straight up. I'm only able to keep the plane level by putting my knees on the yoke. And within a few minutes my whole body's shaking because of the force. Fortunately, my co-pilot came to - - he'd been stunned - - and he put his arms and knees on the yoke. Even between the two of us there was so much force that we couldn't hold it.
"My radio operator, who also had been knocked out, had played linebacker in football... and I had him lean against the co-pilot's yoke. The three of us were able to hold the plane level."
Brashear says the tail gunner, thinking the B-17 would never recover to fly home, jettisoned his door after the stabilizer ripped away. He would have jumped out over Germany if the force of the spin hadn't pinned him inside. Meanwhile, crew members in the bomber's waist attended to the wounded ball turret gunner.
"At 1215 I was able to take a heading for home and began descending, to go off oxygen. Even with three of us holding the yoke, I knew we could never fly the four hours necessary to get home. So I gave the crew the opportunity to bail out. They declined, because we were still deep in Germany.
"Looking back through the bomb bay and into the waist and I could see a whole bunch of elevator cable hanging down. I asked the engineer to bring me back some of the cable, which he did. I don't know how he did it, but he brought me back six to eight feet of cable. I chopped out two instruments opposite the yoke, put the cable through the instrument panel, wound it around the yoke, tied the only knot I knew, a figure eight, or whatever... and using a machine gun bolt, formed a turnbuckle, so I could control the yoke with one finger.
"The problem was the force was so great it bowed out the instrument panel, and I thought for sure the whole instrument panel was going to come out, even though it was 1/8 inch armor steel. "
At 1240, RAFAAF was on its way home. A twist of the turnbuckle provided the control to climb or descend, on a course around known flak batteries. Fortunately, no Luftwaffe fighters spotted the solo B-17.
By 1530 Turner had started across the Channel, by now down to about 4000 feet altitude. A Spitfire, flying to escort the crippled bomber started zig-zagging right in front of the B-17. Brashear had the upper turret gunner fire a few tracers to call attention to the fighter pilot to keep out of the way.
"At 1600 I arrived over our home base, just as the group was landing. I circled about twenty minutes until all the planes had landed. The commanding officer didn't want me to take a chance and land ahead of them, because I might crash and clutter the runway. And he was right. Once again, the crew declined to bail, because he suggests we head for the Channel, dump the plane and the crew can get out. But they decide to stick with me."
Turner says the crew assumed crash positions and he started the landing - - a long approach at about 140 miles an hour because the B-17 would stall below that speed. The co-pilot helped with the landing sequence, dumping the flaps and handling the throttles. There would be no go-around.
"The whole base was out there watching. I carefully adjusted the turnbuckle and my co-pilot cut the throttles back. We touched down and taxied to the hardstand and cut the engines after another nine hours of kind of tough flying.
"At 1700 we're debriefed. We have our shot of scotch, a mug of chocolate and head for the shower. Another mission's over."
Turner Brashear was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions on this April 11, 1945 mission to Munich. He also is the recipient of 5 Air Medals.
(Sidebars)
The Mighty Eighth
A Maximum Effort mission, when the Eighth Air Force was its at peak strength during World War II, consisted of about 2000 four-engine bombers and about 1000 escorting fighters.
Compared with all other branches of U.S. military services in World War II - - the Army, Army Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard - - the Air Force sustained the heaviest losses.
One of about every five American men killed throughout World War II was a bomber crew member over Europe.
More than half of all Army Air Force crews and pilots killed were in the 8th Air Force.
* Of the 210,000 men who actually flew, 12.38 percent were killed.
* There were 50,000 casualties, and 26,000 dead.
* An additional 21,000 from the 8th were prisoners of war.
* Of the original heavy bombardment groups, the 381st BG had 76% losses in the first three months of combat (24 missions). Of the 381st crews, 23% were killed in action,
50% were shot down and became prisoners of war, 1% evaded capture, 2% were wounded
and never flew again, and only 20% of the original crews actually completed a 25 mission tour.
* On August 14, 1943, on one of the major raids against Schweinfurt, Germany, losses were 29% - - 65 planes went down.
* In December , 1943, the chances of a flier to finish a 25 mission tour was only 1-in-2. By the time Brashear arrived, was 2-in-3.
* At least 14 Congressional Medals of Honor, 226 Distinguished Service Crosses, 850 Silver and Bronze Stars, 7000 Purple Hearts, 26,000 Distinguished Flying Crosses were awarded to the 8th.
"RAFAAF"
The B-17 RAFAAF drew its name from another pilot in the 381st, Charles "Hotrock" Carpenter who had mechanical problems with his first B-17 , returned to Ridgewell and then transferred his crew to a second, fueled and armed B-17. Only five minutes behind the 381st formation, Carpenter saw a mass of aircraft heading east and headed to join with them. As he approached he discovered they were British Lancaster bombers on a mission to Cologne. Carpenter tucked into the back of the formation, hit the target with the British, and named the plane RAFAAF (Royal Air Force, Army Air Force) to commemorate the event.