N4521U
Colonel
Was researching, looking for a Davidson 2nd Lt. in the missions of 322 Sqn and ran across this acct. Some sound familiar from movies, but what a tale from July, 1944!
NEWS ACCOUNT OF A/C 610 "LIBERTY BELLE"
By Sgt. John H. Smelser
AN EIGHTH AF BOMBER STATION, ENGLAND - With a third of her crew suffering from lack of oxygen, one seriously wounded man aboard, two engines out, leaking
gasoline tanks, damaged bomb bay doors, and a fuselage riddled by flak, the flying fortress "Liberty Belle" limped back from Munich, Germany, across the skies of Nazi Europe only to meet her end in the North Sea within sight of England.
"A flak burst smacked us pretty hard as we were nearing the target," says Sgt. John S. Smelser, tail gunner, son of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Smelser, McLouth, Kansas, " the force of the explosion knocked the waist gunner about 12 feet, slamming him into the top of the ball turret. The radio gunner, Sgt. Roy M. Tanner, Ruston, La., went to help him. He found the gunner with a badly torn kneecap. Sgt. Tanner gave him a shot of morphine, sprinkled sulfa powder on the gaping wound, and then bandaged him up. Then I noticed that
the left wing had been hit, too, and gasoline was streaming from the punctured tanks."
In addition the bomb bay doors and bomb release mechanisms had been damaged. The bombardier, 2nd Lt. Robert S. Bell, Union City, Tenn., managed to get the doors and salvoed the bombs over the target, but he was not able to get the doors closed. The open doors constituted a drag on the aircraft, and along with the loss of gasoline from the wing tanks, would result in the ship running short of fuel before it could get back..
The pilot, 2nd Lt. Don DeLisle, Bucoda, Wash., ordered the engineer, Sgt. John D. Carlisle, Houston, Texas, to try and close the door manually. A few
minutes later, Lt. DeLisle tried to contact Sgt. Carlisle on the intercom. Receiving no reply, he told the co-pilot, 2nd Lt. Norman Kimmel, St. Louis, Mo., to see what the trouble was.
"Lt. Kimmel," continues Sgt. Smelser, "found Sgt. Carlisle hanging halfway out of the open bomb bay, unconscious. Sgt. Carlisle's oxygen mask had fallen off while he was working, and he'd been too busy to put it back on. Lt. Kimmel dragged the engineer back in. Then, ripping off his own mask, he put it on the sergeant. Lt. Kimmel came to, and refusing further aid, he went back to work trying to get the doors closed. Lt. Kimmel crawled back to his seat, but before he could make it, he, too, collapsed, sprawling
across the throttles and controls. The "Belle" plunged from her spot in the formation and went careening through the sky, barely missing other planes. "
With one hand Lt. DeLisle lifted the unconscious co-pilot off the controls, and with his other fought to gain control of the floundering Fortress.
"I don't know how Lt. DeLisle did it," explains Sgt. Smelser, "A fort that's out of control is tough enough to handle with two hands, let alone one hand. He shoved the throttles forward and we regained our air speed. At the same time he pulled the ship back on an even keel. I'm certain he saved our lives."
With the big ship under control again, Lt. DeLisle continued to fly the airplane with one hand. Then he grabbed the oxygen tube and shoved it into the
co-pilot's mouth. Lt. Kimmel was getting blue from lack of oxygen, but the pilot's quick work saved Kimmel's life.
In the meantime, Sgt. Gene A. Capuis, Chicago, Ill., the ball turret gunner, was losing consciousness when his oxygen supply gave out due to flak damage. He managed to worm his way out of the ball turret before completely fainting away. He collapsed on the floor of the fortress. Sgt. Smelser, who had been helping the wounded waist gunner, rushed to the aid of the collapsed ball turret gunner. Grabbing an extra oxygen bottle, he attached it to Sgt. Capuis' mask, reviving the gunner.
One engine was out now, and another was weakening.
The "Belle" began dropping back and down.
"Our little friends, the fighter escort, wouldn't leave us," recalls Sgt. Smelser. "They looked plenty good to us, too, for we were easy meat for Jerry fighters in our disabled condition."
As they neared the French coast, another engine quit. Lt. DeLisle, noting that the gas was almost gone, too, ordered the crew to prepare to ditch. We began jettisoning all loose and heavy equipment.
"The ship was losing air speed rapidly," continues Sgt. Smelser., but the English coast was in sight, and we thought we might be able to make it. Then the two remaining engines quit. We were out of gas. We went to our ditching positions. I expected a heavy jar when we hit the water, but Lt. DeLisle set the ship down nice and easy. A Fort doesn't stay afloat very long, and with the bomb bay doors open, we expected her to sink immediately. We got the wounded man out
and into a dinghy. Then the rest of us clambered out. We sat in our dinghies for about half an hour, when we were picked up by a friendly vessel. We were given brandy, hot food and dry clothing. Just as we were pulling away in the rescue craft, the "Belle" put her nose into the water, lifted her tail proudly, and plunged straight down, out of sight. I don't
understand why she stayed afloat as long as she did . I like to think that she knew she was finished the moment she was hit, but fought her way along until she knew we would be able to get help. Then she didn't leave us until she was certain that we were all OK. Nobody will ever tell me an airplane doesn't have a soul.
NEWS ACCOUNT OF A/C 610 "LIBERTY BELLE"
By Sgt. John H. Smelser
AN EIGHTH AF BOMBER STATION, ENGLAND - With a third of her crew suffering from lack of oxygen, one seriously wounded man aboard, two engines out, leaking
gasoline tanks, damaged bomb bay doors, and a fuselage riddled by flak, the flying fortress "Liberty Belle" limped back from Munich, Germany, across the skies of Nazi Europe only to meet her end in the North Sea within sight of England.
"A flak burst smacked us pretty hard as we were nearing the target," says Sgt. John S. Smelser, tail gunner, son of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Smelser, McLouth, Kansas, " the force of the explosion knocked the waist gunner about 12 feet, slamming him into the top of the ball turret. The radio gunner, Sgt. Roy M. Tanner, Ruston, La., went to help him. He found the gunner with a badly torn kneecap. Sgt. Tanner gave him a shot of morphine, sprinkled sulfa powder on the gaping wound, and then bandaged him up. Then I noticed that
the left wing had been hit, too, and gasoline was streaming from the punctured tanks."
In addition the bomb bay doors and bomb release mechanisms had been damaged. The bombardier, 2nd Lt. Robert S. Bell, Union City, Tenn., managed to get the doors and salvoed the bombs over the target, but he was not able to get the doors closed. The open doors constituted a drag on the aircraft, and along with the loss of gasoline from the wing tanks, would result in the ship running short of fuel before it could get back..
The pilot, 2nd Lt. Don DeLisle, Bucoda, Wash., ordered the engineer, Sgt. John D. Carlisle, Houston, Texas, to try and close the door manually. A few
minutes later, Lt. DeLisle tried to contact Sgt. Carlisle on the intercom. Receiving no reply, he told the co-pilot, 2nd Lt. Norman Kimmel, St. Louis, Mo., to see what the trouble was.
"Lt. Kimmel," continues Sgt. Smelser, "found Sgt. Carlisle hanging halfway out of the open bomb bay, unconscious. Sgt. Carlisle's oxygen mask had fallen off while he was working, and he'd been too busy to put it back on. Lt. Kimmel dragged the engineer back in. Then, ripping off his own mask, he put it on the sergeant. Lt. Kimmel came to, and refusing further aid, he went back to work trying to get the doors closed. Lt. Kimmel crawled back to his seat, but before he could make it, he, too, collapsed, sprawling
across the throttles and controls. The "Belle" plunged from her spot in the formation and went careening through the sky, barely missing other planes. "
With one hand Lt. DeLisle lifted the unconscious co-pilot off the controls, and with his other fought to gain control of the floundering Fortress.
"I don't know how Lt. DeLisle did it," explains Sgt. Smelser, "A fort that's out of control is tough enough to handle with two hands, let alone one hand. He shoved the throttles forward and we regained our air speed. At the same time he pulled the ship back on an even keel. I'm certain he saved our lives."
With the big ship under control again, Lt. DeLisle continued to fly the airplane with one hand. Then he grabbed the oxygen tube and shoved it into the
co-pilot's mouth. Lt. Kimmel was getting blue from lack of oxygen, but the pilot's quick work saved Kimmel's life.
In the meantime, Sgt. Gene A. Capuis, Chicago, Ill., the ball turret gunner, was losing consciousness when his oxygen supply gave out due to flak damage. He managed to worm his way out of the ball turret before completely fainting away. He collapsed on the floor of the fortress. Sgt. Smelser, who had been helping the wounded waist gunner, rushed to the aid of the collapsed ball turret gunner. Grabbing an extra oxygen bottle, he attached it to Sgt. Capuis' mask, reviving the gunner.
One engine was out now, and another was weakening.
The "Belle" began dropping back and down.
"Our little friends, the fighter escort, wouldn't leave us," recalls Sgt. Smelser. "They looked plenty good to us, too, for we were easy meat for Jerry fighters in our disabled condition."
As they neared the French coast, another engine quit. Lt. DeLisle, noting that the gas was almost gone, too, ordered the crew to prepare to ditch. We began jettisoning all loose and heavy equipment.
"The ship was losing air speed rapidly," continues Sgt. Smelser., but the English coast was in sight, and we thought we might be able to make it. Then the two remaining engines quit. We were out of gas. We went to our ditching positions. I expected a heavy jar when we hit the water, but Lt. DeLisle set the ship down nice and easy. A Fort doesn't stay afloat very long, and with the bomb bay doors open, we expected her to sink immediately. We got the wounded man out
and into a dinghy. Then the rest of us clambered out. We sat in our dinghies for about half an hour, when we were picked up by a friendly vessel. We were given brandy, hot food and dry clothing. Just as we were pulling away in the rescue craft, the "Belle" put her nose into the water, lifted her tail proudly, and plunged straight down, out of sight. I don't
understand why she stayed afloat as long as she did . I like to think that she knew she was finished the moment she was hit, but fought her way along until she knew we would be able to get help. Then she didn't leave us until she was certain that we were all OK. Nobody will ever tell me an airplane doesn't have a soul.
