Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:16 | The guys up front had a little heat but the gunners in the back of the B-17 had none until they got heated suits. That was nice. Louis Anderson was a Flight Engineer and top turret gunner. How cold was it, Louis?
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Louis Anderson was working in a heavy equipment factory when a temporary lapse in his deferment got him a "Greetings" letter from the draft board. He left that and his deferment behind when he enlisted in the Air Corps. Flight school was a washout but he made a fine gunner so he joined a crew, picked up a new B-17 and headed for England.
Once the B-17 crew was settled in England, the Captain replaced a couple of positions with better performers, which made them good enough to go for lead crew and lead the flights on bombing missions. Gunner Louis Anderson describes the crew shakeup and details the procedures of a bombing run.
His first mission was memorable. B-17 gunner and Flight Engineer Louis Anderson recalls how his flight went into its bomb run at a relaxed 10,000 feet. No one knew about the new gun batteries. What had he got himself into? Later, over the Ruhr Valley, he had answered that question well enough to shoot down a German fighter.
B-17 Flight Engineer Louis Anderson relates the tale of his strange mission to Moscow. His P-51 escorts had run out of fuel and fighters from new ally Russia were scrambled to accompany them to a turnaround base. The lead fighter pilot unnerved the Americans with close passes and hot dogging. What they found when they landed was a big surprise, then vodka.
After an unusual mission which had them landing in Russia, the B-17 unit headed to a Italy for a short stay. Louis Anderson relates just how much he was impressed with Italy. He was glad to return to Diss, his home base in England where he got something he'd always wanted, a ride in a P-51.
Louis Anderson describes the incredible sight of the Normandy landing from his vantage high above in a B-17. His mission was to hit targets of opportunity inland. In the Ruhr Valley, his plane was nearly incinerated when delayed fuses caused bombs from the preceding flight to explode giant fuel tanks right as they passed over.
For some reason, all the officers in the B-17 outfit got the Distinguished Flying Cross, but none of the enlisted men did. That made no difference to Louis Anderson. Neither did his rank, which remained Staff Sergeant for the duration. Back home, after telling him he was crazy, they tried to get him to stay in and fly B-29's.
