An uneventful flight over the North Sea. Quinn spotted a Ju-88 behind us as we crossed the German coast, and hit it pretty hard. But those things can take a beating, and shot us up, destroying our port elevator and shattering Tannenbaum's leg before breaking off. Orchard went forward to tend to Tannenbaum as a Me-110 surprised us from below. I can't believe it missed us! I took evasive action which gave Waddell a clear shot. He hit it, but it took out our #1 engine as a parting gift. Opdenbosch feathered #1 and redlined the other three to get us to thet target. Since Orchard was already forward, he toggled our load somewhere over the city.
An uneventful return flight. We fired our flares for a priority landing with wounded aboard, and Tannenbaum was rushed away. He'll loose the leg, of course, but at least he'll be able to tell the story.
Splendid to eat and sleep and choose a wife,
Safe with his wound, a citizen of life.
F/O Alexander Queen
Pilot, Perdido
November 18, 1944
82 Peckham Damage Points
Queen isn't the only one saddened by Tannenbaum's departure. With 11 missions under his belt, I was looking forward to a string of on-target bomb runs!