The First B-17 To Bomb Berlin

And we returned to L American storerooms mixed an incredible story from John O'Neill, the national Museum of the mighty Air Force in Pooler, Georgia outside of Savannah in 1943. John's father John J.

O'Neill Junior served as a tail and waist, an experimental B-17 became the first American plane to bomb Berlin all by some extraordinary chance dear John with the story. 1943 the United States Air Force had one problem.

Whether was hampering operations. British came over and said looking we need the real hardware guidance boats ammunition. We have some secrets that were willing to trade for those one of them was radar the United States was so far behind in radar.

The British were so far ahead. So when Roosevelt heard that he said give them what they want. We want their information because the Germans had radar, they knew when bombers were coming over where they were crossing so MIT 3000 scientists took this information and built the first operational United States radar sets to be put in specially equipped B-17s all top-secret literally do navigation and bomb through overcast. My father's friend Maj. Fred Rado was tasked with bringing these 12 B-17s from Boston Logan Airport with the first radar sets and so they brought those over 1943 and they formed a bomb group called the 42nd bomb by the falcon. They took crews from every one of the bomb groups and they train them how to use radar the very best navigators the very best pilots the very best crews were tasked with. So the first operational radar mission. So these guys would get up the night before. They were told you going to lead the hundredth bomb groups of these special planes would fly the night before to a base park there the next day they would work with the lead ship was doing dead reckoning navigation and provide them radar fixes so nobody knew they couldn't name their planes.

Most did you guys take a lot of pride put their nose are not, but there were these contraptions sticking out from underneath the plane either under the nose.

It was H2 ß or underneath the ball turret or underneath the front of the nose. It was in a 2X Mickeys very top-secret and they were called the Pathfinders eighth Air Force Pathfinders. My father's patch on his jacket is a lightning bug with the light on the tail lit up holding a bomb so is basically that the lightning bug would light the target when they're over, they would drop the bombs all the different for squadron patches had very similar type.

It was an eagle holding a bomb with a with a flashlight, but they were called the Pathfinders we wanted to reach Berlin going back to November 43. There were attempts to reach you because number. Now we had the long-range P 51. They also thought it was a great target of morale boost because number we hadn't landed on the beaches of Normandy, so they want to send a message that Hitler's capital could be reach so they tried six times starting November 1943 in each one of those missions was scrubbed fast-forward. March 4 my father ship sent to the 95th bomb group the night before at one they were going to lead the 13th combat wing to Berlin. Maximum effort mission 750 B-17 B 24 bombers are to leave for Berlin fighter escort all the way to the target and back target the boss electrical components factory in mind: Kyle suburb of Berlin just on the southeast there and hit that target because they make the fuel injection systems for the Hinkle bomber and the lucrative office Messerschmitt and also the flock, 19 to get up that day, pull the curtain for the briefing and they see the map of Europe and they see the string which would take him to the target. Everybody sees Berlin might my father's waist gunner a guy named beings from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania things to my father goes well were dead.

Make sure you get everything to my parents back in Pittsburgh and now course beings would say that they were going on a training mission and he was like the Eeyore of the crew. So every time they were to go anywhere but he says no.

This time I really mean it. They called my father only after O'Neill was like shortening only they all had short names. The other waist gunner was hopping the that the top turret gunner's name was Don White was waiting so they all had his name set off. It was the Baltimore gunner so Dean says were not going to come back from this morning I come back in this.

They take off for Berlin. Maximum effort tirade their forces going weathers real bad delayed and take off. We could talk about formation client how how long it took.

Imagine 750 planes trying get in formation with no anti-collision radar.

It was all by sight you get into cloud you put it say there were so many collisions and when you collide to B-17s or to be 24's together with 2000 gallons of high-octane aviation fuel 7000 rounds of 50 caliber ammunition and a 12,000 pound bomb load. They would just explode in bodies with just never be recovered.

So anyway to get over the continent. There's a radio recall issue whether targeted steer too much whether return to base my father said we had gotten a really good position in the formation. We were in the middle of the 750 bomber streams so there were squadrons in front squadrons and back in this for mod is headed to Berlin there in the middle why the middle was important or why was considered safer. The Louvre waffle, try to wipe out the lien squadrons in front then they would have to go down and refuel the front squadrons usually took the brunt and then the tail end squadrons the low squadrons would take the brunt all the sudden they start seeing these B-17s turn around. My father said Lieut. gets on the radio. He's the Pathfinders ship he's given a course of action is served. Radio recall no maintain radio silence will continue the target is briefed. That was it and then crew crew conversations were has the Col. gone mad. So is 1/95 Col. anyway, long story short, the mission commander with Mulford's plane was using dead reckoning. They were drifting further and further off, or so they weren't taking the fixes that the radar ship was given so finally I got on the radio and said if you do not allow us course correct 49 miles off course right now or not I have enough, you will not hit the target and were not to get home so at that point, Mumford says take the lead so the 750 bomber string 39 bombers continued to the target. It was the charge of the light brigade they get to the target.

The 51s are there, including Chuck Yeager that his first shift on that day. If the P 51s worn there.

39 ships would've gone down, wiped out.about they get to the target. The Col. wanted to be the first one to bomb Berlin. It was a huge prestige thing going back to the states thesis back off the deputy lead position so against the back off the Col. gets on the IP are the final bomber on can open his bomb bay doors frozen shack. Bad weather. He says take the legal bomb on the Pathfinder bomb they shoot a flayer open the bomb bays.

My father screws the first United States Army Air Force 17 to reach its credited they thought for sure that he was either to get the silver star or court-martial for disobeying on the radio. Recall her. Their explanation was that their radioman on the I'll be around B-17 that was name of it. Who is the lead ship was interpreted as a loss radio recall center by the Germans.

My father's radio operator who had the opportunity to talk said that radio recall was as real as they guys that was nothing, as they had special codes. They were given before every flight, and he says I verified that but they stuck with their they didn't they didn't divert, they stuck with him all the way to Berlin. But the P 51 save them for 17's were lost over the target 35 of the 39 got home they flew over form they landed. My father screw one up to all temporary which was about another 25 minutes near Cambridge they get out of the plane exhausted. It was like 12 hours in the air combat and they were met by one press person. Meanwhile, there is a huge life magazine, Andy Rooney, Walter Cronkite, all these famous journalists were there at the base of the 95th they got all the credit in the world of these favors except for one guy from the New York Herald Tribune was that all can vary, he heard the story and interviewed the crew they were ordered to meet with this guy after their mission debrief. He told the story and he hands him a copy of the teletype is typing it out on a special typewriter because across the translated cable back to New York and is kind of in a code and he hands it to my father's pilot.

He says hold onto this. This is the true story of the mission went because he let them my my father's pilot would only talk to him if he was allowed to tell them who the crew was, but the original transatlantic cable since my dad hold onto this for his and I have the original navigation maps that were in the B-17 that Al Engelhard Nikki operator had made all the times chart courses how far off target. They were and how they ended up being the first B-17s bomb and a special thanks to Monty for a great job on the production story of John O'Neill is told by his son. Dear on our American story