Subject: Radio Silence and Death over Frankfort
From: "Bob's Your Uncle"
Date: 2/11/04 5:16 AM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:


"M. J. Powell" wrote in message

...snip...
B-26's carry bombardier navigators. Each one in the formation plots the
flight as though he was flying lead. As I
was plotting our course my plot looked as though the lead was taking us
right
over Frankfort.I must have
made a mistake in my plot. I did it over and over. No mistake. 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.

Art, I would like to ask some stupid questions. Why keep radio silence
then? Mike
--
M.J.Powell

Why are these psuedo navigators plottting a course for home after hitting
the taret? One would think they would have that pre-planned as well as a
course from the secondary.
This narrative is from someone who doesn't know the difference between
Compass Deviation and Magnetic Variation, as we remember!
Perhaps, in additio he meant a Heading instead of a Course?


Any one of us could have been hit at any time and have to fall out of the
formation and plot an alternate course home. So we all kept track. But anyone
who ever flew a mission would know that and not have to ask.


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