On the Move

“Clear!” yelled tom out the small side window.

“all clear and guard posted” responds bob checking for the fire guard per army air force policy.

“ignition switches on, throttles cracked” commands tom as the pair begin the process of bringing the giant four engine bomber to life.

“Booster pumps on” adds bob, the last step before ignition.

The big bomber had four Pratt & Whitney fourteen cylinder twin row radial, air cooled engines. With the turbo superchargers they delivered 4,800 horsepower each. The crew started number 3 first with the engines numbered from left to right as you sit in the pilots seat. So, the engine closest to the copilot sitting on the right was started first. The sequence continued with engines 4, 2 and 1.

“starting 3” bob states as he holds down the starter switch to number three and the primer switch until the engine rumbles to life. Tom brings the mixture controls back to auto-rich, bob lets go of the springloaded starter and booster switches and watches for the oil pressure in number 3 to come up.

“Oil pressure coming up” is his reply as the twin radial is now officially alive and breathing.

They repeat this process three more times until a deafening rumble is heard and felt by all crew members as all four engines sit at 1,000 revolutions per minute. This was serious business and both men knew it. They paid very close attention to the procedures, checklist and policy and knew there very lives often depended on catching problems early.

Tom could not help but smile grabbing the four throttles in his hand as he prepared to taxi the bomber for takeoff. He was a long way from the hay bailer his dad had taught him to drive in Iowa. Despite the deadly mission the men were on a great sense of accomplishment was felt by the crew, especially the captain

Forty eight aircraft had now come to life and were slowly jockeying for position to take in their respective groups. Tom’s crew would lead three other bombers into flight. From the beginning of bomber school he was instructed on being the aircraft commander responsible for every action of the crew and the aircraft. A responsibility he took with great humility but confidence. Each man on the bomber had specific tasks and Tom had confidence in them as well.

It was virtually impossible to get forty eight bombers over a target and get forty eight home again. Each crew member struggled with that reality as the bombers trudged along the taxi way for takeoff. Each man would make his peace or not with his fate and Tom had never known anyone who wanted off an aircraft except for the occasional crew spat.
At the end of the runway, unbeknownst to anyone, Tom would say a small prayer “God, go with us this day and may the outcome be of your will, not ours”. He felt this prayer gave God control over the mission. Would the crew make it over the target and drop the six sixteen hundred pound bombs in the back, or would they take enough enemy fire to knock them out of the sky. Either way, Tom figured, God would decide who lived and who died and he was mostly content to let it go at that.