Thank you for your kind words Scott.  I'd be pleased to share the information in my father's diary with the members here.  I do apologize for hijacking your thread though!  My dad was just 20 years old in 1943 and was from the Bronx, New York.  His diary contains 29 bomb runs,  so I'll post them one at a time.  Please feel free to share them with friends and family, but please ask for permission before reproducing any of the information.  I'll begin again with the first bomb run - Wilhelmshaven on November 3, 1943.
 
The crew members were:
Daniel McCafferty, 2nd 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
Henry Luck, Sgt., BT
Donald Hottensen, Sgt., LW
Raymond McCoy, Sgt., RW
William Peter Dortch, Sgt., TG
 
Ship 654 Dottie J
Take Off 9:52 am
Landed 3:35 pm
Altitude 23,000'
Bomb Load - Ten 500's - 14 Incendiaries
Temperature -27 degrees
 
Our target was the North Sea Naval base of Wilhelmshaven.  We had heard rumors that the German battleships "Tirpitz" and "Admiral Scheer" were docked there, but we never saw them.
 
Today was the record breaker for forts, there being about 850 attacking the target.  P-38's were being used as escorts for the first time in this theatre.  We also had Thunderbolts with us.
 
As we bombed the target the sky was covered with low clouds and our results were impossible to see.  The Germans sent up ME 109's and FW 190's to intercept us.  I saw the Lightning's knock down two 109's.  One Messerschmitt attacked the tail of our plane and I got in some good shots.  At the same time a 38 got on his tail, and he exploded and caught on fire.  The flak was mild through-out the trip.
 
I saw three forts go down.  Upon landing we examined the plane and found the pilot's window cracked.  The plexiglass nose had a big hole caused by flak.  The armor plating stopped it before it go to Meatball.  (I think this is what he called George Mills).  Number three propeller was dented while the vertical stabilizer had a hole through it.
 
(edited to add my name!)
Wendy Dortch Williams
 

Wendy,
 
You are perhaps already familiar with this site: http://www.351st.org/ken.harbour/ which gives some great details on the Group.
 
Through Joe Baugher: http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1942_1.html the full aircraft designator for your Father's aircraft on that mission was: B-17F-65-BO-42-29654, fate: (351st BG) returned to USA Jul 3, 1944
 
I have not been able to find a photo of this aircraft, but attached is the Groups insignia that you might want to use for your AAF forum avatar which I have reduced to 14.8k and 204 x 300 pixels, for more avatar details see this forum help link:  http://forum.armyairforces.com/File-Types-and-Sizes-for-Posts-Gallery-Avatar-m157458.aspx
 
The 351^ST BG (H) had four Squadrons attached: 508th (YB-), 509th (RQ-), 510th (TU-) and 511th (DS-). This site will lead you to the individual Squadron patches: http://www.kratzmc.com/351st-bomb-group-an-introduction/ , if you know which Squadron your Father flew with, one of these may be a more appropriate avatar. Beyond that all aircraft in the 351^ST BG (H) sported a black delta “Triangle” with a white “J” on the vertical stabilizer “Tail”.
 
I would love to learn more about your Father’s missions through the record of his diary. I have one concern as you included one caveat: “please ask for permission before reproducing any of the information”. The problem here is that once you post this material as with anything else posted to the internet, you may well lose control of this material. I strongly urge you to consider this before posting more. There is an unknown value to your Father’s diary and you may well have enough material to submit an article to Air Power History magazine: http://www.afhistoricalfoundation.org/publications/Air_Power_History.asp or other publisher to capture some copyright protection. I may receive some audience boos for this thought, but this is something to consider before continuing with posts from your Father’s diary.
 
Best regards,
Scott
 
   

Michael,
 
Outstanding website tribute to your Grandfather, thanks for sharing. The link provided there: http://asisbiz.com/Il2/USAAF-History-WWII-1944.html is also a very useful research tool.
 
Scott

Scott,
 
Thank you for posting all of the links and information.  Some of the websites I was familiar with, but others I had not seen before.  Very interesting reading!  As far as posting more of the diary pages, I'm not too worried about it.  I think it's more important to share the information with other members.  That and the fact that written material is basically copyrighted for 70 years after the owners death is good enough for me.  I just would ask that if anyone publishes or uses information from the diary that they give credit to him.
 
I do have a picture of the Dottie J with the crew in front of it, but haven't been able to find it on my computer files yet.  Once I do, I will post it here if you would like to see it.
 
That being said, onto Bomb Run #2 
 
"Gelsenkirchen - November 5, 1943"
 
All crew members were the same with the exception of the Ball Turret - this time it was Frank Mayarka S/Sgt., replacing Sgt. Henry Luck.
 
Ship - 654 - Dottie J
Take off  - 10:22 am
Landed - 3:45 pm
Altitude - 27,000'
Temperature -  -45 degrees
Bomb load - Forty-Two incendiaries
 
"Gelsenkirchen is located in Germany's industrial center, the Ruhr Valley."  
 
"The Flak was terrific and we were under constant fire for forty-five minutes.  It was the worst anti-aircraft barrage ever encounted by American bombers.  As we came near the Dutch coast, both Frank Mayarka and myself saw approxomatly one hundred boats.  We were unable to recognize the type due to our altitude."
 
"The Thunderbolts again escorted us and were very effective in driving off the 190's and 109's which the Luftwaffe sent up.  As we were leaving the target I could see many fires starting up."
 
"Again when we landed there were quite a few holes in the plane."
 
William Peter Dortch
 
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy Dortch Williams
Daughter of William Peter Dortch
Tailgunner B-17 - 351st Bomb Group
Polebrook, England
 
 
 

Scott,
 
Please continue the posts with the maps of each mission.  I really enjoy reading them and think it would be very educational to see where they flew to.  I did get verification that he was in the 508th from my Mother earlier today.  I do remember that he had the patch with the eagle on it stored with his other WWII belongings.
 
You are correct in stating that there would be an aircraft change, in fact there were 15 of them.  He flew in the Dottie J a total of six times.  The serial number he has for it is 42-29654 and he lists it as ZOI.  I think you already provided the serial number in a previous post.  He lists all of the aircraft he flew in, along with their serial numbers in his diary also.  Some of them had names, most did not.  He also lists the status of each aircraft.  
 
Aircraft with serial #'s 42-37731, 42-39849, 42-29948, Jennie, 42-3517 Happy Warrior, 42-97157, 42-97066, 42-31757, 42-31702 and 42-102470 he listed as MIA
 
Serial # 42-29654 Dottie J, #42-31879, The Shark and #42-97349 Silver Dollar he listed as ZOI
 
Serial # 43-37780 he shows crashed at Polebrook; #42-107005 Lucille Ball II burned at Polebrook, and #42-38023 crashed at Framlingham.
 
From the diary of William P. Dortch, tail gunner B-17, Polebrook, England
 
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy Dortch Williams
 
 

Darin,
 
Thanks for sharing this compelling narrative of your Father’s 30 missions from a navigators point of view. As I read through the entries I could almost feel the fatigue of battle and in many instances the effects of sleep deprivation. Your Father’s diary brings to life all the effects of the USAAF air war over Europe, from mission successes to mission failures as a result of bad weather or other factors. This day to day record also highlights the trials and tribulations that all aircrews faced mission after mission. Although perhaps obvious to others, this record for me magnifies why there was a set limit to the required number of missions, before rotation home. Thanks for providing your Father’s history through his own words on the web to enlighten all of our critical past during WW II.     
 
Best regards,
Scott

[1] Polebrook US Army Airfield memorial England

This monument is located at the end of the main runway that was used by the 351st Bomb Group during WWII.
The inscription reads:
IN MEMORY OF THE 351ST BOMBARDMENT GROUP (HEAVY) EIGHTH UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCE.  311 GROUP COMBAT BOMBING MISSIONS WERE FLOWN FROM THIS AIRFIELD OVER OCCUPIED EUROPE BETWEEN 1943 - 1945.  175 B-17 FLYING FORTRESSES AND THEIR CREWS WERE LOST.  303 ENEMY AIRCRAFT WERE DESTROYED IN AERIAL COMBAT
[2] Overview map targets 1 thru 3

[3] Wesel Germany at 27069 ft

[1] polebrook J type hanger

[2] Overview map missions 1 thru 4

[3] Target 4 Bremen 24067 ft

Wendy,
 
Your father’s diary entries are of great interest to me, not only as they give his personal thoughts of each mission, but also represent at least his whole Squadrons efforts of “The Target for Today” scenario. In addition, whenever I learn something new it is rewarding to me, case in point the Messerschmitt Me 410 was a new Nazi aircraft to me. The following is a description of this aircraft, with a video below:
 
The Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse ("Hornet") was a German heavy fighter and Schnellbomber used by Luftwaffe during World War II. Though essentially a straightforward modification of the Me 210, an improvement”?” over the original fighter variant Messerschmitt Bf 110,   it was designated the Me 410 to avoid association with its notoriously flawed predecessor. It’s not clear to me how effective this aircraft was in its role of heavy fighter/light bomber compared to the USAAF’s Lockheed P-38 Lightning or Northrop P-61 Black Widow, twin engine fighter/bombers. It would appear the Me 410 never fully improved on the design deficiencies of its predecessor the Me 210 which struggled with poor flight characteristics since its inception and first flight in 1939, having said that the Me 410 was armed as follows and would not be a pleasant sight in the sky for USAAF bomber crews:
Armament
Guns:
2 × 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns with 1,000 rpg, firing forward
2 × 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons with 350 rpg, firing forward
2 × 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns with 500 rpg, each firing rearward from FDSL 131/1B remote-operated turret, one per side
Bombs: up to 1,000 kg (2,204 lb)       
 
In answer to your question about promotions; yes, combat promotions were quite common as the aircrews and airmen gained combat experience.
 
Scott  
 
Target (5) Solingen Germany 01 Dec 1943 at 27,049 ft
 
Overview map as of 01 Dec 1943

Messerschmitt Me 410A1 
 
 

 

Thanks Scott for all of the information.  Here is the picture of the DottieJ I was finally able to find.  My father is standing in the back row, fourth from the left.