1/4/2024 0 Comments Charlie brown hans stigler![]() Before he had the chance to grab anything approaching a decent sleep, it was time to get up and grab some breakfast. Only one week earlier, he had flown his introductory mission as the co-pilot of another B-17 crew, at the side of a veteran pilot and although this will have been a valuable experience for him, he would be in the left hand seat for todays mission. Today was going to be a big day in the life of Brown – today, he would lead his crew on a bombing mission over Germany for the first time and there was a lot to think about. On the airfield, the sounds of working engineers and engines running up had been going on all night, as ground crews frantically worked to ensure as many aircraft as possible would be available for the days operation. The corrugated metal hut was extremely cold in the depths of an English winter and the oil-fired heater in the corner of the room had long since burnt out. ![]() ![]() Charlie Brown was finding it difficult to sleep. Tragically, around 650 US airmen were lost, which represented 22% of the attacking force – just a few days after this raid, Charlie Brown and his crew were posted to England.Īs he lay in his bed in the early hours of 20 th December 1943 at RAF Kimbolton in Cambridgeshire, 2 nd Lt. Of the 291 US bombers sent to attack the ball bearing factories around Schweinfurt, 60 had been shot down and large numbers had returned to their bases after suffering severe damage. The Med definitely became the favoured option for all crews once news of the disastrous Schweinfurt raid of 14 th October 1943 began to leak out. Brown preferred a posting to Europe, as flying in the Pacific meant flying over huge expanses of ocean – other crew members preferred the Mediterranean, as they had heard about the dismal weather in England. While they waited, news began to reach US training Squadrons of the savage fighting taking place in the skies above occupied Europe and the heavy losses they were taking. As US bomber units were already involved in combat against Axis forces, Brown and his crew were expecting to receive an overseas posting at any moment. ![]()
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