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 420nd Bomb Squadron Reunion |
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Appendix A
One of my motives in attending the 305th Bomb Group Historical Association Reunion of 1988
was to see if I could clarify the happenings of the missions that took place on March 17
and 18, 1945. Immediately after arriving, I met one of the navigators in my squadron who
had been on the Berlin mission which took place on the 18th. I questioned him about
McCaldin the pilot who had flown in my usual position that day. I was amazed to hear him
say, `Turn around’, which I did and found myself face to face with the man in
question with whom I hadn’t seen since March 18, 1945. After we shook hands McCaldin
and I sat down together and briefly got caught up to date. Since one of his crew members
was also at the reunion we agreed that we would get together with a taperecorder and
record the reactions of the crew in interview fashion. Coincidentally I was also able to
locate two members of the Laumier crew that had gone down on March 17 so I was able to get
a combined story.
On March 17, the Laumier aircraft was heading for Jena with the rest of the group. It was
a hit on the bomb run and peeled away from the formation with numbers 2 and 4 engine
feathered which I couldn’t see at the time and number one running rough. The crew
elected to stay with the aircraft, jettisoning guns, ammunition and ball turret, almost
losing the engineer during this operation. They headed for the Russian lines descending
all the time. Laumier spotted an abandoned runway and set the aircraft down wheels up. The
ball turret hole acted like a scoop with the mud filling the tail and softening the
landing. No one was hurt. The Russians picked them up and slowly transported them to
Poltavia, a Russian- American base. They traveled by train and by foot. About two weeks
later they met up with Murphy the tail gunner temporarily assigned to McCaldin from the
Laumier crew who had hailed out on the Berlin Mission. The link-up amazed everyone.
On March 18,1945, the McCaldin aircraft was hit by a ME 262 fighter over Berlin. The ME
262 had come in under the heavy contrails, both generated by aircraft under certain
weather conditions. Number 2 and 4 engine’s were shot out as well as part of the
stabilizer and a section of right wing. The same ME 262 continued ahead and shot down the
other two ships in the element. One managed to crash land in Belgium. The McCaldin
co-pilot and engineer bailed out immediately landed and were made prisoners of war. Three
of the four remaining members stayed until the ailing plane crossed the Russian lines and
then bailed out. Luckily the fourth remained aboard so that he could hold the controls
until McCaldin hooked his chest pack on. Then they both jumped, McCaldin holding his
opened chute, as the rip card had been snagged by a throttle control. Everybody survived
the bailout. McCaldin and the toggleer dropped within sight of each other, remaining
together to be picked up by the Russians and eventually got to Poltavia. They then made
their way back to England eventually by air from Poltavia, through Egypt, to Italy, to
France; finally arriving back at the Group after the war’s end. Meeting the survivors
and hearing their stories, an open loop of many years standing. A happy ending for myself,
Laumier and McCaldin.
What made the whole interview most interesting is that neither group knew the others story
until this get together. |
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