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Re: [OM] No fly Friday

Subject: Re: [OM] No fly Friday
From: Mike Lazzari <watershed@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2015 12:19:35 -0800
A few links. Maybe previously posted ??

<http://www.z-car.com/blog/planes-2/boeing/b-17-e-z-goin-and-the-sonderkommando-elbe-buchen-raid>
<https://100thbg.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=247:lazzari-crew-history&catid=25:group-history&Itemid=581>
<https://100thbg.com/images/photogallery/091012171407000000lazzarip.jpg>



19. (286) Marburg, Germany. 1405 Hours. 3/23/45. 20, 600 feet. 38ea 100 pound GP"s and 2ea M-17 Incendiaries. This is the most memorable mission that the Lazzari crew flew. This was the first mission that the 100th flew with a 4 squadron 10 plane per squadron formation. Unna, the primary target, was successfully attacked by the first 3 squadrons. The 351st squadron, with Captain Lilinquist as command pilot, Carl Hellerich as lead pilot and Leroy Duncan as lead navagator, was the fourth squadron. (see a copy of the actual Lead Navigator's log) The command pilot decided to bomb the secondary target, Marburg. Immediately after dropping the bombs, the squadron made sharp descending turn to the right. While in the turn, the squadron took at least 3 flak bursts; one hit Larry Guardino, who was flying in the 2nd element, and as the plane fell, his right horizontal stabilizer hit our (Lazzari's) left wing and bent downward, 8 to 10 feet of the wing tip. With the tremendous drag that this damage caused, the Lazzari plane flipped on its back, or nearly on its back, and left the formation in a steep dive to the left. At this point, memories that are 49 years old trigger different pictures of that tense scene. Lazzari said, "I've always second guessed what might have happened had I reacted quicker and helped Gene manuever away from Guardino--but everything happened so fast and we were in such close formation our options were limited. I often regret that I didn't contact Guardino's family after returning to the USA." Greenwood has carried with him for 49 years, the memory of flying the plane at the time of the collision, and postulating many times. the "what if scenario." "What if I had positioned our plane 10 or 20 feet to the right, as Guardino went down, his tail would have missed our left wing tip. However, if I had positioned the plane to the right, then our plane would have taken the flak hit that Jim Lantz took, and since I was on the right side of the plane, I wouldhave been wounded, and not Jim Lantz." Greenwood remembers that instead of rolling the plane back clockwise in order to get the plane up right, he should have let the plane roll on around counter-clockwise and stopped the roll as the plane became straight and level. As the collision occurred, the formation was flying in excess of 150 MPH. In order to keep the plane from rolling to the left, we were forced to fly the plane about 105 MPH back to Thorpe Abbotts, and even at that speed it took both pilot's legs on the right rudder to keep the plane flying straight. By the time they reached home. each pilot's right leg was stressed numb. Within 3 minutes after the collision, the Lazzari plane was limping along at 105 MPH, falling further behind the group. The ME-109's were coming in for the kill. Lazzari or Greenwood broke radio silence and called for fighter protection. Someone heard the call for help for in less than 2 or 3 minutes 4 P-51's came in and fought off the attacking ME-109's. The next decision was; shall we not take any chances and land at Brussels, just in case there was more damage to the wing than we could observe. As we flew over friendly territory, Waist Gunner Joe Allen and Tail Gunner Dan O'Connell kept watching the left wing and reported that everything looked normal and if we kept the air speed at about 105, they thought we could make it home. One of them said, "anyway, there's a dance at the Red Cross Club tonight and if we don't get there, some other crew will take over our girls." So, with all this technical and social information and incentives included in the decision-making process, agreed that we could fly on to Thorpe Abbotts; and we did without incident. However, read on! As we approached the air field and reported our battle damage, the tower would not let us land on the long runway 28 but cleared us to land on the short runway 17. As we were on final approach to runway 17 with the "Before Landing Checklist" completed and about 1000 feet north of the runway and about 300 feet altitude, a black B-25 with British RAF markings flew in underneath us with an engine on fire, and crash landed right in front of us. Needless to say, there was only one thing to do and that was to pour the coal to the engines and go around. It was then that the tower cleared us to land on the long operational runway 28. With the bent wing tip comfortably clearing the runway surface by a foot or so, the landing was completed. It should be noted that Master Sergeant Robert Hargrave, our crew chief, with some superb dedicated technical help replaced the left wing outer panel and the Lazzari crew flew it on two missions the very next day. What a feat! What dedication! No doubt, it was performance like this that the ground crews did day after day that allowed the flight crews to hold so much respect for them. We, the flight crews, of the 351st will always be indebted to Captain Bill Carleton, squadron maintenance officer, Master Sergeant Bob Spangler, squadron line chief, and such crew chiefs as Master Sergeant Hargraves, and their men. Flight time for this mission was 7+15 hours.

After the Lazzari crew completed 2 missions on the following day, Doc Kinder, after examining their eye balls, decided that 21 missions was enough, so it was arranged to send them to the "FL4K SHACK" It was during cocktails just before the evening meal at the flak shack, that the Bomber pilot and the Fighter pilot feud heated up. A cocky 20 year old Captain fighter pilot spoke, "let me tell you bomber guys just how stupid you are for flying those things, a few days ago when my group was performing escort duty for you guys, we got a radio call about a lone cripple about to be attacked by the ME-lO9's. When we found him, here he was trying to keep that lumbering hulk of metal flying with his left wing all bent down." Lazzari and I about fainted. Here was the guy who led the flight of 4 P-51's that saved us from certain destruction. Talk about coincidence; this is hardly believable. The story ends with the greatful bomber pilots in possession of a fresh perspective regarding fighter pilots.


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