Mission 133 Debriefing
Target: Böhlen
No flight report submitted. Plane was lost due to an engine fire during egress from the target. One crewmen killed in action, six captured after bailing out.
February 20, 1945
This was the first and last flight of the Mars' Chariot over enemy territory. The crew was very excited to be getting into the war at last. In hindsight, we were very naïve, as the reality hit us just after we crossed into Germany. We were jumped by one enemy fighter after another, each one taking us by surprise. We killed two Me 110s on route to target, but Flight Engineer John Lynn took a shell in his chest and died almost instantly. My wireless operator and I each suffered grazing wounds of little consequence.
Once we lined up for our bomb run a searchlight found us. The flak over the target was very heavy, but only caused superficial damage. Once we cleared the flak belt, an FW190 came at us. The mid gunner swears he shot him up, but it didn't seem to deter the enemy in the least. Our bomb run was on target, and our eggs caused quite the light show until a thick smoke obscured everything below us.
As we made our turn for home, a Ju88 surprised us. His initial pass set our port outboard fuel tank aflame. It quickly became apparent we had no choice but to bail out. The six of us got out with little difficulty, and as we all landed at relatively close proximity to each other, we were able to quickly gather.
We made our way towards a barn some thousand meters to the west. We hoped remain hidden and try to make our way to friendly lines the following night. Again this was very naïve as villagers saw our chutes and organized a party to hunt us down. We were found in the barn, and it quickly appeared we were not going to be afforded our rights as prisoners of war. If a section of Wehrmacht hadn't shown up shortly thereafter I don't see how any of us would have made it back home. Our captivity was thankfully short and we were treated fairly.
Pilot Officer Philip Stevenson
August 17, 1946