Ruhr Valley Raiders by Robert Bailey

Ruhr Valley Raiders

B-17's of the 91st. Bomb Group are attacked over Germany by Me 109's. The 91st. were first over the Ruhr Valley to Hamm, and led both Schweinfurt missions in 1943. They received credit for shooting down more enemy aircraft then any other group in the Eighth Air Force, and had the highest overall loss rate of any other B-17 group! Only 12% of original crews survived the war.

Main subject is the B-17 'Nine-O-Nine.' Others shown: 'The Wild Hare,' and 'General Ike. '

Standing silently today in the fields near Bassingbourn, England, one can hear the rustling stalks of grain as they sway in the gentl breezes, accompanied by the song of an occasional meadow lark. It is the picture of peace and tranquility. But it was not always so. To understand the significance of these fields, one must squint through the mists of time, back some sixty years ago, when those fields were occupied by the 91st. Bomb Group (H) of the USAAC (8th Air Force).

Back then, those same fields of wheat and oats lay flattened under the enormous wind generated by hundreds of radial engines, in preparation for an air armada destined for the Ruhr Valley in Germany. The ground would shake and the air would vibrate as wave after wave of B-17 Flying Fortresses lumbered down the airstrip under the weight of their lethal loads as they struggled to gain altitude for the day's mission. These were strikes to targets that would soon become familiar names to the young Americans who prepared the planes and the ones who flew them. Names like Hamm, Bremen, Meresburg and Schweinfurt. They named their planes after their hometown sweethearts, or from a sense of patriotism, or just from a sense of humor.

Names like 'General Ike,' 'Nine-O-Nine,' 'Outhouse Mouse,' 'The Wild Hare,' 'Hellsapoppin,' 'Memphis Belle,' and 'Mary Ruth' are some.

The crews who returned to Bassingbourn were not the same as when they left. They had exoerienced a terror high over Germany that few cam imagine. German fighters, anti-aircraft shells, sub-zero temperatures and the loss of close friends had altered their lives forever. The world has turned many times since those dark days when men of the 91st B.G. began building their proud history. A history based on duty, personal sacrifice and a belief in God and country. The fields around Bassingbourn have returned to their rural past as the men and machines have all but faded into the mists of time. What remains, as if distilled through the years, is the legend of the 'Ragged Irregulars.' The men who answered freedom's call with their blood, sweat and tears.

In Robert Bailey's exhilarating new picture, Flying Fortresses of the 91st are seen high over Germany's heartland in early 1944. Cleared from the flak corridor over the target, aircrews are set upon by waves of cannon-equipped Me109 'experten,' specifically trained to attack the multi-engine bombers. The men respond at every station with their twin fifties. It will be a long ride home.

1st Lieutenant Andrew Caswell enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942. He ferried a B-17 to England in 1944 and was assigned to the 91st B.G., 324th Bomber Squadron. The Wild Hare was assigned to his crew and he flew 14 of his 34 missions in this aircraft. He was shot down on his 34th mission over Merseburg, Germany, and was liberated on April 29th, 1945. His decorations include the D.F.C., Air Medal with 4 O.L.C.'s, Army Commendation Medal and many other decorations. He retired as a Lt. Colonel.

1st Lieutenant Paul Chryst was born in Hartford, Connecticut. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942. After aerial gunnery training he became a bombardier and assigned to the 91st Bomb Group in England. He first flew in combat on August 3 to Mulhouse, near the Swiss border. The same aircrew stayed together and he finished the prescribed 35 missions on December 15, 1944. Awards include D.F.C., Air Medal with 4 O.L.C.'s. Four of his missions were as navigator.

Staff Sergeant Fab. H. Cripps was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa. He enlisted in the army in 1942 and was assigned to the 91st B.G., 401st Squadron. In September 1942 he arrived in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, England, as a sheet metal crew chief. Along with T/Sgt. W.W. Hill of the 323rd B.S., he pioneered the installation of .50 caliber machine guns in the nose of B-17F's that their crews were flying.

1st Lieutenant Ralph Danekas is originally from Ritzville, Washington. He enlisted in the Air Force the day after Pearl Harbor. B-17 training was at Roswell, New Mexico. He was assigned with his crew to the 91st B.G. in Bassingbourn, England. His aircraft was Peacemaker. 1st Lieutenant Danekas was wounded over Cologne on his 17th mission and was in hospital for 3 months. His wounds were serious enough for a transfer to a VA hospital in Vancouver, Washington State for a further 7 months. He then flew C-47's until war's end. He has the Air Medal, Purple Heart, and the D.F.C.

Lieutenant Herbert F. Egender was born and raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He graduated from Bombardier School at Kirtland Field, Albuquerque, N.M. His first mission was to St. Nazaire, and he received a credit for an Me109 shot down on his second mission. He moved to squadron lead on his 7th mission, while his former crew were all shot down while flying his left wing. Lt. Egender was himself shot down en route to Schweinfurt, and became a P.O.W. Decorations include Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, Air Medal with 3 O.L.C.'s.

1st Lt. Gates, originally from Kansas City, Kansas, he hoped to fly the B-25 Mitchell two-engine bomber, but he was assigned the starboard side two engines of a B-17! He frequently flew 'Outhouse Mouse' in 1944. He also flew 'Nine-O-Nine', leading the low element in November 1944 to Merseburg, when the 91st lost 13 of 38 aircraft. He was on the Hamm, Schweinfurt and Cologne missions. He is the 2002 to 2004 91st BGMA President. He completed 35 missions.

Sergeant Joseph I. Harlick was born in Butte, Montana. Trained as a photographer, he served with the 324th Squadron in the 91st B.G. from May 1943. He was not listed as a flight crewmember, but flew as a volunteer and extra passenger on missions to solve bomb strike camera problems and to record mission events on film. Some of the books carrying his photographs are 'Ragged Irregulars of Bassingbourn,' 'The Mighty Eight,' 'Fortress of the Sky,' and 'Fortress at War.' Decorations include Victory Medal and Unit Citation with 1 O.L.C.

1st Lieutenant John Howland was born in Casper, Wyoming. He flew eleven missions as a line crew navigator with the 381st B.G. Following the first three raids to Berlin in March 1944; he was transferred to the Pathfinder Force of the 1st Bomb Division on detached service with the 305th and 91st Bomb Groups. He then flew his remaining 19 missions as lead or deputy lead navigator. He developed a unique Combat Wing formation assembly technique and became an ardent disciple of GEE box navigation. He was awarded the D.F.C., Air Medal and several citations for his performance as lead navigator.

1st Lieutenant Hal Johnson was born in Galesburg, Illinois. At an early age, he and his family moved to Sacramento, and he completed school through Junior College. He was transferred to the Air Force from the California National Guard and became a pilot in February 1944. Assigned to the 91st B.G., he completed 35 combat missions as co-pilot and then first pilot.

1st Lieutenant Harold W. Lasch was born in South Euclid, Ohio. He graduated from Selman Field as a navigator in April 1944. Flew on the November 2, 1944 Merseburg mission. His plane was Easy Does It and was practically destroyed, with 3 injured aboard. They left the formation and made it back to England alone. On December 5, 1944, again in 'Easy Does It', he was shot down over Berlin and became a P.O.W.