Wendy,
 
Outstanding photo of the Dottie ~ J and your Father, excellent photo quality…thanks for sharing.
 
Scott

Scott and Frank,
Thank you once again for all of the information.  I'm glad the diary entries are being enjoyed and that they can shed light on the experiences of a tail gunner from so many years ago.  Since bomb run #6 was a short one I decided to add #7 to this entry also.
 
From the diary of William Peter Dortch, Tailgunner, B-17, Polebrook England:   
    
Bomb run #6 - Paris, France - December 5, 1943   
    
Daniel McCafferty, 1st Lt., Pilot   
Edwin Olson, 2nd Lt., Co-P   
George Mills, 2nd Lt., B   
William Badger, 2nd Lt., N   
Douglas Ryerson, Sgt., TT   
Donald Johnson, S/Sgt., R   
            Williams, Sgt., BT   
Donald Hottenson, S/Sgt., LW   
Raymond McCoy, S/Sgt., RW   
William Peter Dortch, Sgt., TG   
  
Ship - 948 Jennie 
Takeoff - 8:40am 
Landed - 2:20pm 
Altitude - 24,000' 
Temperature - -40 degrees 
Bomb load - Twelve 500's 
 
We never bombed Paris because of the clouds over the city.  We searched the coast for a Nazi held airfield but were unable to locate one, so returned to the base with our bombs.  Except for a few burst's of flak it was quite a way to spend Sunday.
 
    
Bomb run #7 - Emden - December 11, 1943   
    
Daniel McCafferty, 1st Lt., Pilot   
Edwin Olson, 2nd Lt., Co-P   
George Mills, 2nd Lt., B   
Joe Skarzynski, S/Sgt., NG   
Douglas Ryerson, Sgt., TT   
Donald Johnson, S/Sgt., R     
Donald Hottenson, S/Sgt., LW   
Raymond McCoy, S/Sgt., RW
Frank Mayarka, S/Sgt., BT   
William Peter Dortch, Sgt., TG   
  
Ship - 654 Dottie J 
Takeoff - 8:55 am 
Landed - 3:00 pm 
Altitude - 23,700' 
Temperature - -40 degrees 
Bomb load - Twelve 500's 
 
Emden is in northest Germany and one of her principal ports.  It was snowing when we took off, but at about three thousand feet it was clear with unlimited visibility.
The target itself was hit heavy.  Doug saw the bombs blasting some brick buildings as we were leaving Emden. 
The weather over Germany was clear and their flak gunner's took advantage of it.  For a while it was rough and our plane was right in the center of it.  Meatball got a piece of flak that came through the nose and kept it for a souvenier.
Only one enemy fighter came up and he made a half hearted pass at the low group and then went down.
We were without escort except for five minutes.  The other wings caught hell and when it was over 138 of Goering's finest were knocked down compared to 17 Forts and 3 fighters.
 
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy Dortch Williams

Scott,
 
No he doesn't have any entries in his diary other than the missions and then a summary at the end of the crew members he flew with and their status if he knew it., along with the status of the B-17's that I posted  here previously.  He only seems to put his own thoughts into words as you will see by the next bomb run where he addresses British incendiaries and the 401st!  As he gets further into each bomb run he is flying with different crew members a lot of the time.  Some of them he either didn't have time to list their first name, or didn't know their first name(s).  Also, the look of his writing changes a little as though he is either in a hurry, or the stress is showing a little more.  This next  bomb run scared me just reading it.
 
From the diary of William Peter Dortch, Tailgunner, B-17, Polebrook England:   
    
Bomb run #8 - Osnabruck - December 22, 1943   
    
Daniel McCafferty, 1st Lt., Pilot   
Edwin Olson, 2nd Lt., Co-P   
George Mills, 2nd Lt., B   
S. Q. Henley , 2nd Lt., N   
Douglas Ryerson, Sgt., TT   
Donald Johnson, S/Sgt., R   
Frank Mayarka, S/Sgt., BT   
Donald Hottenson, S/Sgt., LW   
Raymond McCoy, S/Sgt., RW   
William Peter Dortch, S/Sgt., TG   
  
Ship - 654 Dottie J 
Takeoff - 11:30 am 
Landed - 4:20pm 
Altitude - 24,000' 
Temperature - -43 degrees 
Bomb load - Sixteen 250lb incendiaries 
Target was the mashaling yards at Osnabruck, which is north east of the Ruhr Valley.
We carried British incendiaries which are lousy.
Clouds covered the entire sky and we couldn't see the ground at all.
The 401st led our wing and as usual ruined everything.  We flew right under another Fortress wing when they were on their bomb run.  I aged overnight looking up at their open bombays right above us.  
We flew all around and never dropped the damn bombs until on the way home when Meatball salvoed them into the channel.
The Luftwaffe came up pretty strong and there were many dogfights all over the sky.  Two 109's came out of the sun and shot down a P-38 off our right wing.  One Fort aborted and seconds later blew up.  It may have been attacked by fighters.  We almost collided with another Fort but Mac dove sharply and we were o.k.
Flak was very light and not on our group.
Frank Mayarka finished up to-day.
The Gerries used rocket guns plenty to-day.  Meatball said someone was shooting roman candles.  The trail looks pretty but it's damn dangerous.
 
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy Dortch Williams

25Kingman49

Wendy,

I truly appreciate the detail in your Father’s diary as it adds so much to the mission history from a crewmember prospective. They now have seven missions under their belt with 22 left to go.

Twenty-nine total?
 

Alan and Scott,
29 total is what he shows in his diary, although all missions add up to 30.  For clarification I'll jump ahead to bomb run(s) 14.  The first mission he shows as 14 was an Abortive Sortie on January 24, 1944, the other one Frankfurt on February 11, 1944.  I don't know why he numbered both of them 14 but apparently the Aborted Mission was counted:
 
From the diary of William Peter Dortch, Tailgunner, B-17, Polebrook England:   
    
Bomb run #14 - Abortive Sortie - January 24, 1944   
    
Daniel McCafferty, 1st Lt., Pilot   
Edwin Olson, 2nd Lt., Co-P   
George Mills, 2nd Lt., B   
S.Q. Henley, 2nd Lt., N   
Douglas Ryerson, S/Sgt., TT   
Donald Johnson, T/Sgt., R   
V.C. Skeen, S/Sgt., BT   
Donald Hottenson, S/Sgt., LW   
Raymond McCoy, S/Sgt., RW   
William Peter Dortch, S/Sgt., TG   
  
Ship - 866 
Takeoff - 8:00am 
Landed - 12:05pm 
Altitude - 24,000' 
Temperature - -45 degrees 
Bomb load - Forty-two incendiaries 
 
We were briefed to hit Frankfurt, Germany but after penetrating Holland we aborted.  Our whole wing received credit for a mission because of reporting flak in our area.  About seven bursts came up at six o'clock but did no harm.
 
Bomb Run #14 - Frankfurt - February 11, 1944
 
Daniel McCafferty, 1st Lt., Pilot   
Edwin Olson, 1st Lt., Co-P   
Robert E. Lee, 1st Lt., B   
             Connors, 1st Lt., N   
Doug Ryerson, S/Sgt., TT   
Don Johnson, T/Sgt., R   
V. C. Skeen, S/Sgt., BT   
Don Hottenson, S/Sgt., LW   
R. J. McCoy, S/Sgt., RW   
W. Peter Dortch, S/Sgt., TG   
  
Ship - 023
Takeoff - 7:50am 
Landed - 3:30pm 
Altitude - 25,000' 
Temperature - -48 degrees 
Bomb load - Twelve 500 lb. 
 
For the third time we were briefed to hit Frankfurt and finally did make it.  It was a long tiresome ride and the only excitement came in the target area.
Most of Germany was under clouds excepting Frankfurt.  As we made the turn and started on the I.P. the ground was visible with it's cover of snow.  The flak gunners started throwing at us and they had our altitude down pat.  We learned later that the gerries had two captured Forts telling the flak gunners our altitude.
Our escort of Thunderbolts, Lightnings and Mustangs was the best yet.  They formed a perfect umbrella and stayed with us all the way. 
The 47's shot the hell out of one of the German Forts when he tried to get back to France after leaving the coast.
Our Group only lost Capt. Carson of the 510th.
 
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy Dortch Williams

Wendy,
 
Nord-Pas-de-Calais was a major launch site for the German V-I (buzz bomb) and V-2 surface to surface missiles (SSM) although primarily a V-I site. This 8^th mission of your Father was part of Operation Crossbow which was intended to eliminate these long range German weapons. The V-2 was a longer range weapon than the V-I and most were manufactured and launched from or near Peenemünde (marked in yellow on the map below) initially, until manufacturing was moved deeper into German and Poland at Nordhausen, Germany and Blizna, Poland (also maked in yellow) as a result of allied bombing.  The new manufacturing locations continued to supplying launch sites in France and other locations with missiles. see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peenem%C3%BCnde_Army_Research_Center
 
It is interesting were one man’s diary can take you when you look at it from a tactical target priority selection standpoint.
 
Scott
 
Operation Crossbow video (long - 60 minutes)
 
V-I rocket
 
V-2 rocket
 
Target (9) Nord-Pas-de-Calais 24 Dec 1943 altitude 13,000 ft
 
Overview map of Targets 1-9 from 3 November 1943 to 24 December 1943
Overview map ...mber 1943
Edit 25Kingman49 map change

Wendy,
 
Ludwigshaven, Germany to this day is home to the same BASF Chemical Company, of course now under new management. The initial company holding the patent for Zyklon-B was IG Farben, but by the time of this mission had already been acquired by BASF. As a chemical company they produced much more then Zyklon-B, some company detail below.
 
As a result of this monopoly, BASF was able to start operations at a new site in Leuna in 1916, where explosives were produced during the First World War. On September 21, 1921, an explosion occurred in Oppau, killing 565 people. The Oppau explosion was the biggest catastrophe in German industrial history. Under the leadership of Carl Bosch, BASF founded IG Farben with Hoechst, Bayer, and three other companies, thus losing its independence. BASF was the nominal survivor, as all shares were exchanged for BASF shares prior to the merger. Rubber, fuels, and coatings were added to the product range. Following the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor in 1933, IG Farben cooperated with the Nazi regime, profiting from guaranteed volumes and prices, and from the slave labor provided by the government's concentration camps. IG Farben also achieved notoriety owing to its production of Zyklon-B, the lethal gas used in Nazi extermination camps. In 1935, IG Farben and AEG presented the magnetophon – the first tape recorder – at the Radio Exhibition in Berlin.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BASF
 
As you can see this was an extremely important target due to its production of rubber, fuels, coatings and other chemicals.
The target on the map is placed directly on the existing factory, built from the ruins of the old.
 
Scott
 
Target (10) Ludwigshaven IG Farben Chemical 30 Dec 1943 at 23,000 ft
 
Overview map of Targets 1-10 from 3 November 1943 to 30 December 1943

Wendy,
 
Well, here is an interesting find on fold3 http://www.fold3.com/image/#49491996 a photo and description page of the bombing of the German airfield at Cognac, France - December 31, 1943. This photo is attributed to the 91 BG as this may have been their primary target and was a secondary target for your Fathers group, if so the 508^th Squadron whacked them again.
 
Strategic Operations Eighth Air Force 31 Dec. 43 http://www.8thafhs.org/combat1943.htm ( bottom of page)
 
Scott
 
 
 
Target (11) Cognac, France – 31 December 1943 altitude 18,000 ft (not sure of the German airfield coordinates)
 
Overview map of Targets 1-11 from 3 November 1943 to 31 December 1943

Edit: 8TH AF Strategic plan added

Wendy,
 
The Me210 is a variant of the Me410 discussed in a previous post and their appearance was nearly identical. It looks like the Luftwaffe threw everything in their fighter, fight/bomber inventory at them this hard day a mere 96 air miles from Berlin.  
 
Luftwaffe aircraft: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_aircraft_of_the_German_Third_Reich unfortunately this is a long list including their bombers. This should aid in identifying the aircraft that were attacking on this day, if this is of interest to you.
 
Oschersleben was a primary target due to its aircraft manufacturing facility:
AGO Flugzeugwerke: The Nazi government resurrected AGO by refurbishing the Oschersleben plant for aircraft production once more. The first order was for 36 Arado Ar 65 fighters, 197 Arado Ar 66 trainers, and 71 Heinkel He 51 fighters. The first of these to fly was an Ar 65s, on 1 May 1935. This was followed by an order for 140 Henschel Hs 123 dive-bombers delivered at the end of 1937, AGO's introduction to all-metal construction. Next were orders for 241 Gotha Go 145 trainers and 187 Arado Ar 96, and then 150 Henschel Hs 126 reconnaissance aircraft. This latter order was increased to 390 units in summer of 1938. Between March 1937 and March 1938, AGO built 121 Focke-Wulf Fw 44. In 1938, production of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 began, and from 1941 onwards, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 became the mainstay of AGO's production.
 
In 1935, the design department was re-established, with the first new AGO aircraft becoming the AGO Ao 192 Kurier of 1937. A design for a heavy fighter project, the Ao 225 did not progress past the wind-tunnel stage and even the −225 designation was withdrawn by the RLM and re-assigned to Focke-Achgelis.
 
From 1943 onwards, due to its key role in producing the Fw 190 the AGO factory came under attack by Allied bombing raids, suffering increasingly heavy damage up to the end of the war. In 1947, the last remains of the factory were blown up by the Red Army.
Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGO_Flugzeugwerke
 
This was an all out effort to interfere with Nazi aircraft production; deepest Penetration into Germany by the group to date resulting in heavy losses.
 
TUESDAY, 11 JANUARY 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 182. Three aviation industry targets in Germany are hit; fierce opposition estimated at 500 Luftwaffe fighters is encountered and 60 bombers and 5 fighters are lost.
1. 177 B-17's are dispatched to Oschersleben; 139 hit the primary and 20 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 174-32-63 Luftwaffe aircraft; 34 B-17's are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 83 damaged; casualties are 9 KIA, 11 WIA and 349 MIA.

2. 114 B-17's are dispatched to Halberstadt; 52 hit the primary and 55 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 35-11-19 Luftwaffe aircraft; 8 B-17's are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 42 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 18 WIA and 81 MIA. 177 P-47's and 44 Ninth Air Force P-51's escort; they claim 29-11-14 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-47's are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 4 P-47's and 1 P-51 are damaged; casualties are 2 KIA and 2 MIA. Major James H Howard, a P-51 pilot of the 354th Fighter Group, shot down an Me 110 and then found himself the lone escort for a B-17 group being attacked by 30 Luftwaffe aircraft. For the next 30 minutes, he kept turning into the enemy fighters and firing until only one gun was firing; by this time, he was credited with 2-1-2 Luftwaffe aircraft and saved the B-17's. Major Howard was awarded the Medal of Honor.

3. 234 B-17's and 138 B-24's are dispatched to Brunswick; 47 B-17's hit the primary, 114 hit Osnabruck, 25 hit Bielefeld, 22 hit Peine, 10 hit Herford and 1 hit Nienburg; no B-24's hit the primary, 58 hit Meppen, 1 hits Lingen and 7 hit other targets; they claim 19-17-16 Luftwaffe aircraft; 16 B-17's and 2 B-24's are lost, 1 each damaged beyond repair and 47 B-17's and 7 B-24's damaged; casualties are 5 WIA and 176 MIA. This mission is escorted by 49 P-38's and 322 P-47's; they claim 2-1-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-38 and 2 P-47's are lost and 1 P-47 is damaged; casualties are 1 MIA. Among the PFF aircraft are 4 B-24's, this being the first time B-24's are used in this capacity.
Source: http://www.8thafhs.org/combat1944a.htm
 
As the overview map is getting a bit crowded I’ll color the Target For Today in yellow  
 
Scott
  
Target (12) Oschersleben, Germany 11 January 1944, altitude 18,500 ft

Overview map of Targets 1-12 from 3 November 1943 to 11 January 1944

Wendy,
 
I believe you can tell from the previous Operation Crossbow post mission #9 that once the major V-1 and V-2 launch sites had been destroyed the Nazi’s adapted quickly. The missiles were now being supplied from underground and rear area manufacturing locations to forward individual launch sites. For the V-1 it was small and sometimes portable ramps located in wooded areas making the target extremely difficult to find. The V-2 launch sites were even more difficult to find as all that was needed was to pour a concrete launch pad (generally again in a wooded area) - erect, fuel and launch the missile, then rapidly leave the area leaving no target to be found.
 
The result was the small number of aircraft sorties as in mission #13 to St. Omer, Calais, France looking for a needle in a stack of needles. The Operation Crossbow mission continued even after the Allied invasion on June 6, 1944 and helped greatly to stop the missile bombardment of London and later Antwerp of V-1 and V-2 attacks. In the end the only way to stop these attacks completely was after the invasion and the allied ground advance across Western Europe securing these launch sites and pushing the Nazi’s back beyond the range of these missiles. As the Germans fell back after invasion London was no longer the primary target of the V-2. These vengeance weapons were then turned on Antwerp http://www.v2rocket.com/start/chapters/antwerp.html  to deny the Allies a deep water port. I am perhaps jumping ahead here as we are only at 21 January 1944 and D-Day is still a little more than five months away and the Nazi’s did not launch their first V-1 until June 13 one week after D-Day. These early USAAF missions #9 & #13 and any that follow until 6 June were preemptive strikes on these early launch sites. Had these sites not been destroyed before D-Day the landings at Normandy might have had a much different outcome.    
 
Scott
 
Target (13) St. Omer, Calais, France - 21 January 1944 Altitude - 18,000 ft
 
Overview map of Targets 1-13 from 3 November 1943 to 21 January 1944