B-24 combat footage

mcoffee · #1 (**permalink**) October 6th, 2009, 01:31 PM

Thanks to several links to films posted by "sniper1946", I found this film of combat damaged B-24s:
Internet Archive: Free Download: 24Â´s Get Back

Within the film is footage of the aircraft in the attached photos. It was s/n 44-10570 of the 449th BG, 717th BS. On a mission to Brod, Yugoslavia on 23 November '44, it was flown by the crew of Lt. Bernard Ball and had the top blown off by a flak shell. The rudder cables and elevator controls were severed. Ball managed to fly the aircraft back across the Adriatic using the elevator trim tabs and differential power to a controlled landing at Bari. The tail gunner was killed, but miraculously, both waist gunners survived.

Also in the film, the aircraft approaching 'high and hot' on two engines, just past the 6 minute mark, was a 449th aircraft, but the combat numbers aren't visible to allow identification of the particular ship.

Slipdigit · #2 (**permalink**) October 6th, 2009, 01:35 PM

Good photos and follow up.

mikebatzel · #3 (**permalink**) October 6th, 2009, 02:23 PM

During WW2 the B-24's proved over and over how durable they could be. Following the August 1st 1943 bombing mission on Ploesti one plane returned after being holed 350+ times. Another landed with two engines out on one wing, no instrument lighting, hydraulics, or brakes and had to coast for about a mile before coming to a complete stop.

It's simply remarkable how many of these bombers ever made it back to base.

Richard · #4 (**permalink**) October 6th, 2009, 03:35 PM

Good stuff.

brndirt1 · #5 (**permalink**) October 6th, 2009, 03:56 PM

My respect for the B-24 has been elevated more than a few notches by that training film. I had always seen the 17 returning damaged, and until now had (in my mind) concluded that the 24 didn't have the same ruggedness. I was wrong to jump to that conclusion it appears.

Thanks for the link "mcoffee", and if I didn't welcome you to the site properly, consider it done. Happy posting, I know you will be a great addition to this forum.

mcoffee · #6 (**permalink**) October 6th, 2009, 05:09 PM

Thanks Clint. The B-17 got (gets) the most press, but the B-24 pulled its weight and was much tougher than most think. Here's another shot of a ship from the same group. This photo supposedly appeared in an issue of Stars and Stripes.

Erich · #7 (**permalink**) October 6th, 2009, 06:09 PM

some of the prob with the B-24 was the altitude in which it flew making it possibly more susceptible to LW fighter activity though in truth when the LW was radio'd in from the ground they did not care which US bomber foramtion either B-17/B-24 they attacked

B-24Liberator · #8 (**permalink**) October 7th, 2009, 12:50 AM

Great video!

Thanks for the post.

aball · #9 (**permalink**) October 9th, 2009, 08:39 PM

mCoffee-- Thanks for your posting, and for the film. Has great personal interest for me.

Despite the account found in the book Log of the Liberators, Bernard Ball (Uncle Bernie, to me)... was niether an officer, nor a pilot when that plane was hit. He was a gunner. What's more, he was hit by schrapnel in the face on this mission, and his optic nerve was severed. Getting that thing home was his first and only time at the controls of a plane (or what was left of the controls, more accurately). Just unreal to me.

He was in and out of VA hospitals the rest of his life, with metal in his head and his eyesight slowly deteriorating.

We lost Bernie three years ago, in his hometown of Rye NY. He was an institution of sorts and is certainly missed.

His 92 missions (on both 17s and 24s) made for some fascinating events. If anyone is interested I can share more but will stay out of your hair if not.

Thanks to you and all who keep these tremendous parts of our history alive.

Best-

AB

LRusso216 · #10 (**permalink**) October 9th, 2009, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcoffee

Thanks to several links to films posted by "sniper1946", I found this film of combat damaged B-24s:
Internet Archive: Free Download: 24Â´s Get Back

Within the film is footage of the aircraft in the attached photos. It was s/n 44-10570 of the 449th BG, 717th BS. On a mission to Brod, Yugoslavia on 23 November '44, it was flown by the crew of Lt. Bernard Ball and had the top blown off by a flak shell. The rudder cables and elevator controls were severed. Ball managed to fly the aircraft back across the Adriatic using the elevator trim tabs and differential power to a controlled landing at Bari. The tail gunner was killed, but miraculously, both waist gunners survived.

Also in the film, the aircraft approaching 'high and hot' on two engines, just past the 6 minute mark, was a 449th aircraft, but the combat numbers aren't visible to allow identification of the particular ship.

I don't know how I missed this, but great footage. I'm adding B-24 pilot to my list of occupations NOT to pursue. My head was swimming by the time the film was 6 minutes along. I'm pretty sure my landings would not make the video, unless it was one on what not to do.

Quote:

Originally Posted by aball

mCoffee-- Thanks for your posting, and for the film. Has great personal interest for me.

Despite the account found in the book Log of the Liberators, Bernard Ball (Uncle Bernie, to me)... was niether an officer, nor a pilot when that plane was hit. He was a gunner. What's more, he was hit by schrapnel in the face on this mission, and his optic nerve was severed. Getting that thing home was his first and only time at the controls of a plane (or what was left of the controls, more accurately). Just unreal to me.

He was in and out of VA hospitals the rest of his life, with metal in his head and his eyesight slowly deteriorating.

We lost Bernie three years ago, in his hometown of Rye NY. He was an institution of sorts and is certainly missed.

His 92 missions (on both 17s and 24s) made for some fascinating events. If anyone is interested I can share more but will stay out of your hair if not.

Thanks to you and all who keep these tremendous parts of our history alive.

Best-

AB

AB, by all means share these stories. They are the lifeblood of this forum. First hand accounts are, by far, the most sought after by the Rogues. It sounds as though you have a lot to tell us, so please post often. Oh, and welcome to this fine forum.

brndirt1 · #11 (**permalink**) October 9th, 2009, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aball

mCoffee-- Thanks for your posting, and for the film. Has great personal interest for me.

Despite the account found in the book Log of the Liberators, Bernard Ball (Uncle Bernie, to me)... was niether an officer, nor a pilot when that plane was hit. He was a gunner. What's more, he was hit by schrapnel in the face on this mission, and his optic nerve was severed. Getting that thing home was his first and only time at the controls of a plane (or what was left of the controls, more accurately). Just unreal to me.

He was in and out of VA hospitals the rest of his life, with metal in his head and his eyesight slowly deteriorating.

We lost Bernie three years ago, in his hometown of Rye NY. He was an institution of sorts and is certainly missed.

His 92 missions (on both 17s and 24s) made for some fascinating events. If anyone is interested I can share more but will stay out of your hair if not.

Thanks to you and all who keep these tremendous parts of our history alive.

Best-

AB

Echoing Lou Russo here. Please do share the tales, they are treasures and much appreciated.

mcoffee · #12 (**permalink**) October 12th, 2009, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aball

mCoffee-- Thanks for your posting, and for the film. Has great personal interest for me.

Despite the account found in the book Log of the Liberators, Bernard Ball (Uncle Bernie, to me)... was niether an officer, nor a pilot when that plane was hit. He was a gunner. What's more, he was hit by schrapnel in the face on this mission, and his optic nerve was severed. Getting that thing home was his first and only time at the controls of a plane (or what was left of the controls, more accurately). Just unreal to me.

The source used by "Log of the Liberators" was most likely the captions on the backs of those photos as held by the National Archives, which I've attached below. I have a lot of information on the 449th (I also have a personal connection to that group), but little on this particular incident or crew beyond what was provided with the photos. To echo "brndirt" and "LRusso", I too would be interested in any details you could provide.

aball · #13 (**permalink**) October 12th, 2009, 07:39 PM

Thanks for the interest in Uncle Bernie. Contacted the publisher of our hometown paper for a piece they did on him; I think it was 2003. There's actually more to it than this, but it's not bad. Gives you a small sense of the man's attitude & perspective as well, which is always an interesting part of the survivors' stories. Here it is (hope I don't run into character limits)...

A Hero Who Lived to Tell the Tale

By Dolores Eyler

You might say bad things come in threes for Bernie Ball, 83. The World War II vet was wounded three times by Nazi gunfire while flying missions over Europe. Of course, you might also say good things come in threes. He is still alive to talk about it.

Ball was a recent graduate of Rye High School, working on a post-graduate year, when the United States was hurtled into war following Pearl Harbor on that infamous day, Dec. 7, 1941. Enlisting immediately, Ball joined the Army Air Corps, and was assigned to radio school at Scott Field in Illinois, followed by gunnery school in New Mexico. Six months later he was in the war for real, stationed with the RAF in Bournemouth, England, serving as a radio gunner on B-17 heavy bombers.

“There were 10 of us on those planes and everyone had a gun except the pilot and copilot,” Ball recalled. “The RAF gave us training, two weeks to be exact, and our first missions were bombing sub pens along the coast of France, where Germans were constructing submarines. Then we started bombing Germany. What did we bomb? Everything, everywhere, just about every town in Germany, six to seven hours a day.”

On one of those flights, Ball was hit in the chest with Nazi FLAK (ground-based anti-aircraft artillery), requiring a three-week hospital stay. “That was at the beginning of the war, before we had FLAK vests,” he said. “They patched you up and sent you back as soon as possible.”

In December 1943, Ball was reassigned to North Africa, flying bombing missions against the Germans, supporting the American infantry. On one run over Italy, Ball was hit again, this time by gunfire from a German machine gun, fired from a plane “as close as you can get.”

“We were part of a squadron of 25 planes and were attacked over our target by a whole Nazi formation. We were hit pretty bad.” This time, Ball suffered a shot in the leg, just above his knee. Again, he was hospitalized for just a few weeks, only to be sent back aloft as soon as possible.

Ball’s third injury brought him renown and mention in a military book. In 1944, Ball was reassigned to a new squadron, the 449th, which flew the newly developed B-24 Liberator, a bomber with greater range, higher speed and a greater altitude performance than the existing backbone of the Army Air Corp, the B-17.

“We were over Yugoslavia and got a direct hit by Nazi FLAK. Everyone on the plane was hit. I was in the top turret, closest to the cockpit, where I could see the pilot and co-pilot were badly injured. In fact, the pilot was fatally wounded. I got the pilot out of his seat and took over, flying the plane two hours back to our base in Italy.”

Though Ball had done “stick time” in training, he had never actually flown a plane.

“The co-pilot, though he was badly injured and could not move, talked me through it,” he said. “I had been hit in the forehead, chin, and between the eyes, and my optic nerve was severed. But I had no time to think.”

In “Log of the Liberators,” a 1973 book about the B-24, author Steve Birdsall wrote, “Bernard Ball brought his 449th Group aircraft in to base after taking a direct hit in the waist [the plane’s, not Ball’s] from an 88-mm shell. Two gunners were killed as the shell exploded on contact with the roof inside the bomber, and all the controls were severed. Ball got her home by using engine power to control pitch and yaw.” An accompanying picture shows the grounded B-24, its top completely blown off.

For his heroism, both then and from his previous flights and injuries, Ball received the Bronze Star, The Silver Star, American and British Distinguished Flying Crosses and Distinguished Service Crosses, other air medals, battle stars and three purple hearts. At war’s end, Ball was 22 years old.

“That’s who fights the wars, the kids,” he said. “That’s who’s fighting right now over in Iraq.”

Did the war and his injuries change his life? “No. Except that I made lots of friends. I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but I wouldn’t do it over again. I came back to Rye and went to Auburn University in Alabama on a football scholarship but got mad and dropped out before I graduated. I guess there’s no point in being Irish if you can’t be stupid,” Ball said, laughing.

Ball has spent most of his life here in Rye, working for Rye Ford, serving as chief of the Rye Fire Department, marrying, divorcing, and marrying again, and raising two sons. He doesn’t think a lot about the war, but is reminded of it regularly by looking at his many scars. “Listen, I’m alive. That’s all that matters, isn’t it?”

brndirt1 · #14 (**permalink**) October 12th, 2009, 09:12 PM

Thank you for the addition to the forum with Bernard Ball's story. A man to be admired for sure.

Fred Wilson · #15 (**permalink**) October 25th, 2009, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aball

Thanks for the interest in Uncle Bernie.

Carry on "aball," please.

Having read the above, we would all like to get to know your uncle much better.

I am constantly amazed by the quality of expertise on this forum and by how often a reference to an obscure incident results in actual family members viewing and posting. Thank you aball for these posts. We would never have known the real story or the man behind it without them.