Mission 128 Debriefing
Target Siegen
This was the maiden flight of the Black Lily, flying with a crew as green as a grass. We took off on schedule and had little difficulty navigating to the target. The inbound trip was quiet, almost peaceful if not for the roar of the engines. As we approached the target area, Air Gunner David Smith spotted an enemy ME 110 just before we took fire to our port wing. Jerry came around for another pass and I took evasive action. Air Gunner Smith was seriously wounded in the chest during this pass. Jerry's third pass failed to hit us, and we proceeded to the target. Over the target, the sky appeared to be alive with lights. We could hear the buzz of enemy planes, but we saw none. Thankfully, we passed unnoticed, as we were not engaged by them. As we lined up for our bomb run, we found ourselves suddenly enveloped by flak. Our plane was tossed about like a wee boat caught in a winter gale. Miraculously we took but one hit to our wing and it did not cause any appreciable damage. The crew was extremely rattled by the experience, and it showed in the results of our bomb run. We were out of the target zone and did no appreciable damage to the enemy's infrastructure. It was a small mercy that our exit from the target zone was uneventful as was our trip home.
Air Gunner Smith was taken to hospital on our landing, and I have been informed he will survive, but never be fit to fly again. The Black Lily will be ready to fly the next mission, if a replacement can be found for Air Gunner Smith.
Frederick J. Weaver
February 2, 1945