On 10 Feb 2004 15:52:40 GMT, (ArtKramr) wrote:

The mission was far into Germany at the very limit of our fuel reserves. I
don't remember the target but I never will forget the return flight. B-26's
carry bombardier navigators. Each one in the formation plots the flight as
though he was flying lead. After we hit the target we turned toward home. As I
was plotting our course my plot looked as though the lead was taking us right
over Frankfort. Impossible, Frankfort was defended by 600 guns, I must have
made a mistake in my plot. I did it over and over. No mistake. We were headed
right for Frankfort and the 600 guns. .Yet no one broke radio silence Suddenly
the sky filled with violent accurate flak. We lost two planes that day over
Frankfort 12 aircrew dead because of navigational carelessness. When we landed
we all talked about the error. It seems everyone knew where we were except for
the lead navigator. We paid a high price for maintaining iron discipline in
radio silence. One more point, We never saw that navigator again.


Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer


Ave Art
Just a quick question.
Do you know the operational reasons radio silence had to be so
strictly maintained on the return voyage? I can imagine radio
contacts like "2 hours to cologne" are absolutely no-go.. But
contacts like "watch out lead,gross nav error" seems not tot be
leaking too much info to the enemy.
I can imagine a protocol where let's say 4 calls of "gross nav
error" from other navigators, will transfer the "navigator lead"
function to the next plane. Was it possible radio communications were
used for direction finding by the germans? Possible false calls by the
germans?

To put it in the extreme the next what-if.
Target assigned : Cologne (damn railyards again)
Home Field: England

After a succesfull bomb run lead acts like you're home field is due
east. (has a 180 degrees nav error)

What were the procedures in such an occasion?
Break radio silence only in VERY VERY VERY gross nav errors?
Break away individually ? (looks like suicide to me in daylight
bombing)

I can't image you had to follow lead until you drop out of the sky the
east when the whole squadron knows England is 180 degress tot the
other side.

Just curious
Mu