FLIGHT LOG
To help me remember the Missions I flew, I kept a personal log of them.
Information as to the number of Sorties & Missions, the date of the missions, what plane I flew in, the number and types of bombs carried and the name of the Pilot of the plane.
When I flew in the Lead Plane or Deputy Lead as Radio Operator, I was responsible for sending the Bomb Report back to the base.
This log was kept in the barracks and entries were made upon the return of the planes from the mission.
Each page was scanned into the computer and arranged four to a page. The following pages contain the pages my log.
The first pages had turned yellow from age (they were scanned about 55 years after they were written).
T/SGT C. A. BENSON
36744224 - WAR DIARY
722ND BOMB
SQUADRON 450TH BOMB GROUP
15TH AIR FORCE
MANDURIA, ITALY
M = Mission. When a mission
extended for a period of more than 6 hours; double credit was given.
S = Sortie. A flight in an
airplane over a target in which bombs were dropped, regardless of distance or
time in the air.
In the 15th Air
Force 50 missions were required to complete a tour of duty. This requirement
was reduced to 35 sorties, November 22, 1944.
MS = Mission Successful
MF = Mission Failed
OK = Weather OK
NG = Weather NG
PF = Bombed by Radar
Pathfinder
M/1 S/1
Normandy Invasion June 6,
1944
June 5, 1944 Baldgna, Italy
Marshalling Yard
Heavy Intense Accurate Flak
Pilot Schafranka
Plane Passionate Witch
710 #5
10 -500 lb bombs MS OK
Feathered No 3 prop over
target, 5 flak holes in ship. Lost no ships. My first mission. Very nervous.
(The first several missions,
the new crew members had to fly with an experienced crew before they could fly
together in their own plane).
M/2 S/2
June 22, 1944 Genoa,
Italy, Marshalling Yard
Flak not accurate
Pilot Keller
Plane Illegal Eagle 285
Lead box
20 250 lb bombs
MS OK
No holes in ship
Barrage flak over target and
off to each side. But none came near us. Went out to plane for times before
going on mission. Really sweated it out.
M/4 S/3
June 26, 1944 Vienna,
Austria Aircraft Factory
H.I & A Flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387 # 4
10 500 bombs
MS OK
Flak was very accurate
planes in # 2 & 6 spots went down in flames one first mission as a crew.
Collected quite a few holes in ship. Lost Toni Gayle.
M/5 S/4
June 27, 1944 Brod,
Yugoslavia Marshalling Yard
Light Flak
Pilot Crockett
Plane Booby Trap 332 # 3
20-250 lb bombs
MS OK
Bombed Brod as an alternate
target were headed to Ploesti. Flak was very light and far below us.
M/6 S/5
June 30, 1944 Zagreb
Yugoslavia Airfield
No flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight - 387
240 20 lb Frag Bombs
Cloudy over target so
salvage bombs 15 or 20 ME109's seen but did not attack us.
M/8 S/6
July 2, 1944 Budapest,
Hungary Airfield
Heavy Intense & accurate
Flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane 387 Fast Freight
240 20 lb Frags
Biggest flak hole received
today 7 inches long inch wide knocked out Navigators oxygen regulator &
mike switch prop ran away nearly lost two engines over target.
M/10 S/7
July 4, 1944 Pitesti,
Rumania, Bridge; Railroad
No Flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
5 1000 lb bombs
MS OK
One plane turned back and
never arrived. So it is assumed it was jumped by fighters. Fighters seen at
distance P-51, P-38 Escort
M/11 S/8
July 6, 1944 Casara, Italy,
Bridge
No Flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Passionate Witch 710
5 1000 lb bombs
MS OK
Hit bridges both hiway and
railroad. Put hiway out of commission but only tore up a few sections of
railroad. No flak saw two fighters (ME109's) below us but they did not attack
us. P-47 Escort.
M/12 S/9
July 7, 1944 Zagreb,
Yugoslavia, Marshalling Yards
Heavy Flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
10 500 lb bombs
Received number of holes in
ship due to flak. Briefed for no escort and about 50 P-51's showed up scaring
the pants off us.
M/14 S/10
July 8, 1944 Vienna,
Austria, Airfield
Heavy to light flak on our
target
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
40 100 lb bombs
One Ship in front of us blew
up just off coast of Yugoslavia. On bomb run one more B24 blew up. Went in prop
wash just before bombs away and nearly did a roll. 10 100 pounder hung up in
bomb bay almost armed themselves hit more prop wash on way home two B-17's
blew up B24 made crash landing on Vis and burned. Lots of ME109's, but none
attacked.
M/15 S/11
July 12, 1944 Toulon,
France, Bridge
Intense inaccurate flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Passionate Witch 710
5 1000 lb bombs
Made 360 on target. Two
planes landed on Corsica on way home. No fighters.
M/16 - S/12
July 15, 1944 Ploesti,
Rumania, Astro-Romano Oil Refinery
Heavy intense accurate flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Passionate Witch 710
10 500 lb bombs
Lead ship blew up (pilot got
out ? ? when Rumania ? ?) Our hydraulic system was shot out hit target good.
Smoke (black) altitude 20,000 feet. All ships shot up. Flat tires, no brakes
(used parachutes out of window to stop) one crashed landed in field near
airport, and plane burned.
M/18 S/13
July 20, 1944
Freisreschafen, Germany, Aircraft Factory (Flying Bombs)
Heavy intense accurate flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
10 500 lb bombs
Target was just across lake
from Switzerland saw one chute dropping down lost one ship.
M/19 S/14
July 21, 1944 Steyr,
Germany, Ball Bearing Factory
Heavy flak encountered
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
10 500 lb bombs
Weather closed in so made
360 in Northern Italy attacked by 2 ME109's drew flak from Ufallce other
planes in box (113 & 421) shot at planes one went down in flames.
M/20 S/15
July 22, 1944 Ploesti,
Rumania, Romano-Americano Oil Refinery
Heavy intense and accurate
flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
10 500 lb bombs
Two B-17's burned over
target. Saw 9 chutes out of one plane note out of other. Had new pilot for
co-pilot and he sort of went haywire from it.
M/21 S/16
July 27, 1944 Budapest,
Hungary, Aircraft Factory
Heavy intense & accurate
flak
Pilot - Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
Opposite Lead
10 500 lb bombs
Lost No. 5 plane pal from
our barracks in it 4 chutes were seen. Lead plane had radio shot out so I
sent bomb report along.
M/22 S/17
(My 20th
Birthday)
August 6, 1944 Toulon,
France, Submarine Pens
Heavy intense and accurate
flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
10 500 lb bombs
MS OK
My birthday Flak was most
accurate I have encountered one large hole by each waist window. Two small
ones about 2 inches from where right waist gunner was standing - numerous other holes in other parts of
plane. Tail turret power cable was shot out. 15 holes counted. Plane ? gas
during climb to 25,000 feet ? past left waist window (open).
M/24 S/19
August 12, 1944 Toulon,
France, Gun Emplacements
No flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
10 500 lb bombs
MS OK
Made 360 over target went
home alone (our box). Our bombs hit a little wide of target. But hit at least
one gun.
M/25 S/20
August 13, 1944 Coast of
France, Gun Emplacements
No flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Male Call 260
10 500 lb bombs
MS OK
Target was on island - flew
oldest ship on field gas and oil were leaking like a sieve we made it.
M/26 S/21
August 15, 1944 Beach Head
of France
Invasion of Southern France
- Barbed Wire Entanglements
Two bursts of Flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
40 100 lb bombs
MS OK
Took off at 3am while in
air circling field saw three planes explode on course three more explosions
were seen. Picked up rest of formation at Corsica. We went in just before naval
barrage.
Every type of aircraft was
there bombing, strafing, dive-bombing Invasion of Southern France.
M/27 S/22
August 17, 1944 Ploesti,
Rumania, Astro-Romano Oil Fields
Heavy intense And accurate
flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
10 500 lb bombs
Met lots of flak over
target. Lead ship was hit and four men were injured. Dropped from 25,000 feet
to 1,600 feet in about ten minutes. Navigator got off the ball and we hit five
flak areas on return trip one squadron lost three ships over them.
M/28 S/23
August 21, 1944 Miskolac,
Hungary, Marshalling Yards
Light Flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
10 500 lb bombs
1200 boxcars in yard got
good bombing percentage.
M/29 S/24
September 1, Kraljeno,
Yugoslavia, Marshalling Yards
No flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Bachelors Blitz 441
10 500 lb bombs
Encountered 2 ME109's, but
were not attacked.
M/30 S/25
September 2, 1944 Kraljeno,
Yugoslavia, Bridge
No flak
Pilot Col. Gideon
Plane Passionate Pirate
261
10 500 lb bombs
MS OK
Flew lead with our group
C.O. Col. Gideon flew radio and had no trouble. Hard landing on return, but
who tells that to a colonel ?
M/31 S/26
September 6, 1944 Nis,
Yugoslavia, Troup Concentrations
Moderate flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane - ? Lead
5 1000 pounders
MS OK
Hit town square on aiming
point. Thousand pounders laid houses flat for blacks and blocks. Reported to
have been 35,000 Germans quartered there.
M/32 S/27
September 15, 1944 Larissa,
Greece, Marshalling Yards
No flak at Target
Pilot Lombard
Plane Queen Ann 458 Lead
10 500 lb bombs
MS NG
Went over target but did not
drop bombs 10/10 cloud coverage. No escort.
M/33 S/29
September 20, 1944 Malacky,
Czechoslovakia, Airfield
No flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane 041 Lead
240 Frag Bombs
MS OK
Drew no flak at target. Saw
Bratislavia oil storage burning as we passed near. Started with ship 252 but
wheel wouldn't stay up, turbo went out, prop ran away went back and got spare
ship.
M/36 S/30
September 23, 1944 Brenner
Pass, Italy, Bridge
No flak at target
Pilot Lombard
Plane Lead Y-1
3 2000 lb bombs
Target weathered in 10/10
cloud coverage. Prop ran away.
M/37 S/31
October 11, 1944 Vienna, Austria,
Oil Storage
Flak (from Bagrea, Yugo)
Pilot Lombard
Plane Queen Ann 458
Lead
8 500 lb bombs
Weather closed in went
through heavy cloud bank lost formation. P-38, P-51 escort. Up to 26,000
feet, B-17's crossed over us. Went over Zagreb where flak was shot at us
inaccurate.
Temperature -35.
M/38 S/32
October 13, 1944 Budapest,
Hungary, Marshalling Yards
Moderate Flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
Lead box
8 500 lb bombs
360 over target no flak
first trip moderate second. One rocket shut up one plane down in flames.
Hit target. Fighters followed us. 4 P-38's as escort. Temperature -26.
M/40 S/33
October 17, 1944 Vienna,
Austria, Oil Storage
Heavy intense accurate
Pilot Lombard
Plane 526 Lead Y-1
6 500 lb bombs
Today the chaplain came to
briefing and said a prayer must have helped us lost no planes and had only
one small flak hole in left aileron. Hardly noticeable. Temperature -20.
M/42 S/34
November 4, 1944 Munich,
Germany, Marshalling Yards
Heavy intense and accurate
flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane 907 Lead Z-1
8 500 lb incendiaries
Our first trip to Munich as
a crew. The flak was heavy and intense. But we were fortunate and were not hit.
Temperature -28. 10/10 cloud coverage so dropped by PPF. Hit target. Transfer
pump froze on way back, so landed at fighter strip in northern Italy about 75
or 50 miles from front lines. While there, recon flew over us and ack-ack shot
at them.
M/42 S/35
November 11, 1944 Ora,
Italy, Bridge
Heavy intense accurate
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
Lead Y-2
6 1000 lb bombs
At last we made a mission
after several tries. Yesterday we got up past Foggia and turned back because of
bad weather. Temperature -45 over target. Flak was heavy and intense. Only one
hole but the flak was in the other boxes. Good P-38 escort to and from target.
M/44 S/36
November 18, 1944 Northern
Italy, Airfield
No flak No fighters
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
Lead Y-2
40 100 lb bombs
Had E-20 camera with me and
shot pictures of "bombs away" and of the target. Also shot pictures of crew and
of formation. Ball gunner forgot top of heated suit, but was lucky as it only
got down to -27. Lots of good cover (P-51's). Hit airfield good.
M/45 S/37
November 20, 1944
Yugoslavia, Bridge
No flak
Pilot Lombard
Plane Fast Freight 387
No.3 X-1
5 1000 lb bombs
Pilots last mission today
perfect mission. Everything went smooth. Flew tight formation on return to
base. Corporon and Slim grounded today Nav flew with Colonel - Pop Hobart and
Colonel also finis today. Six months over seas today.
November 22, 1944
Fererra, Italy, Bridge
NO CREDIT
Heavy intense accurate flak
Pilot McCumsey
Plane 352 Lead Y-2
Our box was crowded out just
before bomb run so we were unable to make a run on the target.
Lost lead ship of our group
and possible three others. Flak was very accurate.
LAST MISSION 35 SORTIE
DEAL CAME THROUGH AND I HAVE 37!!!!!!!!
CLICK HERE to view copies of the original log.
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