34 AH JULY 2018
over Germany, they flew all the way to Berlin. On
that date, the 100th and their mates in the 95th
Bomb Group became the first fliers to successfully
bomb the German capital. For its efforts, the 100th
was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation.
The ability to provide fighter escorts end-to-end
on bombing missions had a profound effect on
bomber losses suffered over Germany. The Eighth
Air Force had lost nearly 30 percent of the bomb-
ers that took part in raids during the second week
of October 1943. During what became known as
the “Big Week” in February 1944, Eighth Air Force
bombers suffered losses of only about 2 percent.
German flak and fighters weren’t the only dan-
gers the heavy bomber crews faced. Flying in the
foul English weather along the coast on instru-
ments could be a formidable challenge. John
Clark, a copilot in the 418th Bomb Squadron, flew
the bulk of his combat missions in the depths of the
wet and cold winter of 1944-45. He described
instrument flying as “something you’re doing with
the aircraft that was unique and important, to get
this big device [bomber] through impenetrable fogor night...and bring it down to the ground.”
Danger wasn’t found only in the skies. Simply
repairing and maintaining the massive B-17s could
be hazardous to one’s health. At a recent gathering
of 100th veterans, Master Sgt. Dewey Christo-
pher, a crew chief in the 351st Bomb Squadron,
recounted how a live magneto combined with the
necessary act of hand-propping a Wright Cyclone
R-1820 led to his being tossed 30 feet through the
air by a suddenly active propeller as the engine
tried to start. He landed on his head and then in
the infirmary with a broken shoulder.
While the 100th lost only a single bomber on the
first Berlin mission, the use of P-51s to provide air
cover over Germany didn’t completely eliminate
the group’s propensity for bad days. Two days later,
on March 6, the 100th suffered its worst losses of
the war—15 aircraft and 150 crewmen—on the
second mission to Berlin.
The 100th Bomb Group flew its final combat
mission on April 20, 1945, just days before the
cessation of hostilities in Europe. As the war in
Europe wound down, the 100th and numerous
other Eighth Air Force bomber groups celebrated
the weeks leading up to V-E Day on May 8 by
exchanging their 500-pound general purpose
bombs for containers of food, medical supplies,
clothing, candy and cigarettes. The so-called
“Chowhound” missions dropped thousands of
tons of supplies to the long-suffering people of the
Netherlands and France. So many 100th fliers
wanted to be a part of the humanitarian efforts
that the oxygen systems, unnecessary at low level,
were removed from the B-17s, freeing up room for
as many as four extra crewmen on each plane.
The missions helped the 100th put a positive spin
on what had been a harrowing experience.DANGEROUS SKIES
Top left: Flak peeled
open the fuselage of
the 100th Group B-17
Humpty Dumpty II.
Top right: A stricken
B-17F goes down over
Europe. Above: A view
from the ball turret as
the bomb bay doors
open over the target.