Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
7:22 | What was that smoking fragment that landed in the cockpit? B-26 pilot Dick Bailey describes that, as well as two battles that bogged down the Allies. Saint-Lo and Cannes where a 48 hour timetable for Gen. Montgomery turned into 6 weeks.
Keywords : Dick Bailey B-26 Flak Purple Heart P-51 Saint-Lo Patton Cannes Montgomery
Dick Bailey wanted to fly ever since childhood. He traded labor for flight instruction at a local airport and then became an aviation cadet, where he never mentioned his previous training for fear of being singled out.
In early 1944, B-26 pilot Dick Bailey headed to the war in Europe. Based in Braintree England, he recalls the dank conditions in the slit trenches where they sheltered during bomb raids. If he was going to die, he would just as soon be comfortable in bed.
On D-Day, B-26 pilot Dick Bailey flew his aircraft on a mission to support the beach landing, but terrible weather forced him to return to base with a full bomb load. He got to do his part with two missions later in the day.
On one memorable mission, B-26 pilot Dick Bailey dipped under cloud cover for visibility during the bomb run. They were so low, the planes were damaged by their own bombs. On another, they sustained the most damage of the war from their own waist gunner.
To B-26 pilot Dick Bailey, the most outstanding of his 65 missions was Christmas Eve 1944, the Battle of the Bulge. Usually the Germans would fire flak, then stop and attack with fighters. This time, the flak and the fighters came together.
Before pilot Dick Bailey arrived in the European Theatre, the standard bombing tactic was a low level run. After disastrous losses, it was decided that runs would be made at higher altitudes, where the new Norden bomb sight could be used.
After his 65 combat missions, B-26 pilot Dick Bailey returned stateside, where excitement meant ferrying WACs to a baseball game.
