…when we came back from the rest home the same guy that towed that aeroplane out of the mud was like a Philadelphia lawyer and it was rumoured the war was going to end. So he said I’m going down to the flight surgeon and I’m gonna fill his head with some stories that you guys are a nervous wreck, you need more time off. His name was Breedy from Spokane, Washington and sure enough he came back with 4 passes. He said “let’s get the hell out of here because i think the wars gonna end!” So we couldn’t wait to get our bag and run for Norwich to get the train. And we were on the train to London when we got word that the war was over. And when we got to London, man, you’ve seen those pictures of London on VE day climbing all over those double-decker buses and screaming and yelling? And my buddy and i went into a bar. We were sitting at a bar drinking and a couple of fellas down to the right of us drinking and i looked down and…ah it can’t be them…so they went out and i said to my friend “they’re are a couple of guys from my home town in Hastings” i was born in Hastings on Hudson and “they’re a couple of guys i know from Hastings” i said and he said “well go get them!” So i ran out quick, i ran down the street and got them, two friends of mine Billy Newell and Harold Omer and they were in the ground forces. We met and the four of us went in we had a big dinner a nice fancy restaurant i forget where it was but we all had a big dinner got half drunk again.

This is one of two photos I have of Seething airfield celebrating with improvised fireworks, courtesy of Patricia Everson. I’ll find out what it was that they used as fireworks and post in the comments section.

Dan Kanemoto, an award-winning filmmaker and animator posted news of his new release on the armyairforces forums this week. Articles of War is a 12 minute animated short about one pilots experiences flying a B-24 liberator during the Second world war. It looks gorgeous and this cartoon crew photo from the film is the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long while. It’s great to see the Liberator and her crews in a film of their own.

You can buy the DVD from him here. At $10 it’s a steal and contains plenty of extras to pour over. In addition Dan has made the film available online here. Smart move.

But these were the days of the German jet fighter, the Me262 that terrorised allied bomber formations as long as the Luftwaffe could find the pilots and the fuel to fly. Armed with 30mm cannons and R4M rockets the Schwalbe could attack at speeds upwards of 500 miles per hour…

Ed Paretti, a gunner on the Torrance crew witnessed the events of April 4th first hand:

We was very, very scared and when the gunnery office said to me you know you’re supposed to start firing at 600 yards. He said “when did you start firing?” “it must have been 3 miles out” I said “I started firing when I assumed he was gonna come towards me and I never let up” he said “Good boy!” that’s all he said. I never let up and as I’m sitting here he came right over and you can see him and he was smoking like hell. Now whether that was smoke from the jet engine I don’t know

Kills claimed by bomb crew gunners could be notoriously difficult to corroborate. At around 20,000 feet in a physically demanding environment and under extreme pressure with several gunners firing at the same targets it was often impossible to be accurate about who hit what.

I don’t remember when I first became aware of this incident and the infamous photo that was taken on that mission but it has gradually taken hold in my imagination and the hope is that it will become an important part of the documentary.

I interviewed Leroy on camera at a group reunion in Orlando, Florida in May 2007. He was frail but in good spirits and was able to regale us with his stories. At one point Leroy was visibly upset during the interview as he described seeing the Statue of Liberty on his return to the States by ship into New York harbour. I think this is one of the enduring images I took from those interviews and definitely something I want to put up on screen.

The amazing thing about Leroy’s story (apart from his military service) is his efforts post-war to help get the old airfield control tower at Seething up and running as a memorial and a museum. I suppose if it weren’t for him I might never have become interested in the subject or started this project because the museum was the starting point for me.

Read an obituary here (with a few typos unfortunately)

And a little more info on Leroy here from The Liberator Legend: the plane and the people By Turner Publishing, Philip A. St. John

This is one of my favourite photos of Leroy, talking to local children from Seething Primary School (I think), taken in 1984.

Courtesy of Patricia Everson.

• Create your own history page

I’ve had some interest from people willing to write a few lines, perhaps include a photo of a relative or friend that served in the AAF. This ‘page’ is submitted to me and included on a DVD release of the film. Thought it would be a good way for people to contribute to the DVD in some way.

• Interactive map

Create an interactive map detailing the significant places in England of the 448th BG. To include photos, icons, sound clips etc. Could be expanded to include all groups of the 2nd Air Division or 8th Air Force.

• Become an exhibitor

Make the film available as a free download and provide instructions and resources to enable audiences to put on their own screenings for veterans groups, schools etc

I’ve gathered some decent material for the project and thought it was high time I shared some of it, these stories really deserve to see the light of day so below is an excerpt from an interview with Edward Paretti a B-24 tail gunner of the 448th BG.

The subject of German jet fighters in combat with prop-driven American bombers really catches the imagination. The disparity in technology is fascinating. The 262 reportedly had a top speed of around 500 mph against the B-24s 300 mph. This made encounters with one of these wonder weapons an uncomfortable experience for B-24 and B-17 crews alike. Usually, mention of the 262 includes a nod to the late implementation of the aircraft as an attack fighter and as a missed opportunity for the Luftwaffe. A quick glance at the figures for numbers of aircraft produced ( 18,482 Liberators Vs. 1,430 Me262s) tells it own story.

(Figures taken from Wikipedia)

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On that mission did you see any jet fighters?

Well this is – I’m gonna tell you this story and I just can’t remember the mission although I do have an air medal that’s dated April 5th and that aeroplane that’s cut in half we were flying a group ahead of that. Now that flight back there was Ed Chu’s flight and I always tried the best I could to get around some of the facts on this. And I watched those jets come down to my right, circle that group and shoot the hell out of them. And one jet came right at us and we were flying in the low right what they call the coffin corner and that jet came at me. And as far as everybody in my flight knows I was the only one shooting at him. And to make a long story short it was posted on the squadron bulletin board that that was confirmed kill. Now I got a call to go into CQs office the next day to go in there. And this guy said he was a gunnery officer whoever the hell he was. Wanted to know if I would appear at the post theatre the next night to give a talk. And at that time I was reluctant to talk because I wasn’t a public speaker and I said I don’t go over there so took off and took a walk around the base I never did go there. Now that’s a true story. And the only ones that now this story – my co-pilot when I talked to him in Texas he said “Oh jeez, I tell everybody about how you shot down a jet!” Now the crew that was up on top of that flight, second on the left, the top gunner he said he couldn’t get a shot at him and he says that that aeroplane went down. Now I didn’t see him go down I’m not gonna say he went down all I know is what was on the bulletin board and that they wanted me to appear.

Can you describe what that was like when that was coming at you?

We was very, very scared and when the gunnery office said to me you know you’re supposed to start firing at 600 yards. He said “when did you start firing?” “it must have been 3 miles out” I said “I started firing when I assumed he was gonna come towards me and I never let up” he said “Good boy!” that’s all he said. I never let up and as I’m sitting here he came right over and you can see him and he was smoking like hell. Now whether that was smoke from the jet engine I don’t know.

Could you see him in the cockpit? Could you see the pilot?

Pardon? Oh yeah! Yeah he was that close! And Ed Chu tells the same story he could see the pilot. Ed Chu opened up, he emptied his machine gun on the guy. Now whether that’s the same one that came towards us or even whether it’s the same flight? It has to be the same flight because Charlie Cup was  the one that got – did you talk to Charlie Cups daughter? He’s the one that got out. It’s the same flight that they claim I shot down a jet.

I feel like apologising for not posting enough content in 2009 (content is king, content is king) but I won’t make excuses and instead will pledge to leap into the New Year, and resolve to say more, post more and generally be more productive. I’m hoping that an iphone will help and with apps that support wordpress and tweetdeck I’m sure it will.

What else?? …. Well, I’m hoping to get a nice, big, widescreen computer monitor which will free final cut and my timeline from it’s 15 inch home. I also need to complete all the transcripts for my veteran interviews as they will likely form the backbone of the film. Sorry to say I’ve had these interviews since 2007 so really need to crack on. I’ve considered farming this work out to someone else but thought that I am probably best placed to know exactly what was said plus it means I watch all the interviews again so should trigger plenty of thoughts about the film’s content, structure etc…Other ideas are give-aways of some kind via twitter, and putting a few people together to help out as there is just so much to do.

Here’s proof that Santa served in the ETO.

Merry Christmas.

Some are the sons and daughters of 448th veterans, and on a deeply personal level they of course have strong feelings about their Dad, their Uncles, their brothers. They’ve probably heard the war stories many times over and they want people to re-tell them because they know how much those stories mean to their loved one. There is huge support in England for the shared Anglo-American history of the 448th Bomb Group, the 2nd Air division and the 8th Air Force. Good people volunteer a lot of time to help out at various events throughout the year and many of them have helped me in numerous ways from monetary donations to tours of old airbase buildings to a table to put my computer on! So thank you to all the people that have chipped in and for the package that I received in the post today. It included photographs and video tapes and put a big smile on my face. I’m looking forward to working through them and hopefully I’ll be able to put some of it out in the coming year.

Production continues as I attempt to juggle a DIY film and self-distribution with our baby boy. The recent addition of Mac G4 and an older copy of Final Cut means I am now finally digitising all my material and can start to make a rough assembly.

Tiny clip below.

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