Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans

COMBAT STORIES FROM World War II

Lloyd Pittman | 492nd Bomb Group - Army Air Corps

4:58   |   Lloyd Pittman piloted a B-24 in the 492nd Bomb Group, a special operations unit that only flew at night. Beside high altitude bombing runs, they were called on to drop supplies to various underground organizations. While over Germany, they encountered radar controlled searchlights, which didn't have to search. (This interview made possible with the support of OLAF FRANK GOUCHIE.)

More From Lloyd Pittman

Keywords   :     Lloyd Pittman    Consolidated B-24 Liberator    pilot    night flying    high altitude    Germany    Ruhr Valley    underground    France    Norway    Denmark    flak    radar    searchlight    fighter    German

Videos ( 7 )
WWII
  • Lloyd Pittman  |  WWII  |  492nd Bomb Group  |  5:05

    In the fall of 1942, Texas A&M student Lloyd Pittman took and passed the Army Air Corps tests for potential aviators. Like many, he was told to continue college for now, and like just as many, that didn't last and he was sent to training. He worked his way through a series of ever larger planes. (This interview made possible with the support of OLAF FRANK GOUCHIE.)

  • Lloyd Pittman  |  WWII  |  492nd Bomb Group  |  5:11

    Lloyd Pittman got his wings in May of 1944 and began flight training in the B-24 bomber. Once the crew was assembled and the final exercises completed, he boarded a ship for England. Unlike many of his fellows, he enjoyed the trip. (This interview made possible with the support of OLAF FRANK GOUCHIE.)

  • Lloyd Pittman  |  WWII  |  492nd Bomb Group  |  5:14

    He flew an older D model B-24 on his first five missions. Lloyd Pittman had some tense times in that plane, including once when he readied the crew to bail out during a blinding storm. When he got a newer M model aircraft, it felt like driving a new car. (This interview made possible with the support of OLAF FRANK GOUCHIE.)

  • Lloyd Pittman  |  WWII  |  492nd Bomb Group  |  4:58

    What was it like up there in that B-24? Well it was cold, really cold. Lloyd Pittman recalls the heated suits and the oxygen bottle you had to carry when you moved around the plane. They used the Norden bombsight, which was top secret technology. (This interview made possible with the support of OLAF FRANK GOUCHIE.)

  • Lloyd Pittman  |  WWII  |  492nd Bomb Group  |  3:28

    He got through the war safely, but B-24 pilot Lloyd Pittman remembers a few times when others weren't so lucky. One morning he awoke to a disheartening sight at the adjacent tents. (This interview made possible with the support of OLAF FRANK GOUCHIE.)

  • Lloyd Pittman  |  WWII  |  492nd Bomb Group  |  4:15

    After the war, B-24 pilot LLoyd Pittman was taking some supplies to Norway when the war weary plane he was flying lost an engine. The navigator steered them to Bergen, where a small air strip was their only chance. (This interview made possible with the support of OLAF FRANK GOUCHIE.)

  • Lloyd Pittman  |  WWII  |  492nd Bomb Group  |  2:37

    Lloyd Pittman was lucky enough to be among the first in his unit to be sent home from England after the fall of Germany. He had a nice leave back home but the war in the Pacific had him scheduled to learn to fly the B-29. (This interview made possible with the support of OLAF FRANK GOUCHIE.)

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