G
grandguy
Guest
Some people have asked me, "What was it REALLY like?" (to fly bombers during WW2). Oddly enough it was much like playing a video game, long before simulations for everyone had been thought of. I can only speak personally of the gunners but with exception of the Navigator, and to some extent the Bomb Aimer, many missions were just waiting for something to happen. Not necessarily hoping or dreading, but just waiting. Most crews and individuals stayed alert and watchful but others didn't. I read one book in which the Tail Gunner, on the wayhome, used to get out of his turret and lie down for a snooze, and the rest of the crew behaved in a similar manner. Some of the individuals used to take off their oxygen masks and have a smoke. Discipline varied greatly from crew to crew, some told jokes back and forth on the intercom while most listened to music. Just as most players of this and other simulators are not concerned very deeply about their actions, many if not most of the individuals did their job and thought little about it. Even under possible attack there was concern in most cases but not out and out fear. Training came to the fore in emergencies. From my own experiences conversations with others and reading many accounts of attacks, it would appear that the crew members kept on trying to do the right thing, right to the end. The job was to evade attacks from flak and attacking fighters and get the bombs dropped on the target. I would say that it had more of the components of game playing rather than reality. If we bailed out, it was our job to try to evade the enemy and if captured to give them as little information as possible. When captured we expected someone to say something in effect like, "Komerade, for you the war is over," we would then be interrogated and meet up with old buddies or other crew members.
In a small German town they recently dedicated a plaque or cairn to seven allied airmen who had bailed out. They were captured by local troops and marched through the town. They were set upon by an angry mob of villagers whose homes were in ruins and their family members were dead or horribly injured. Five of the airmen were beaten to death and the other two were shot. That was realism in a wartime video game.
In a small German town they recently dedicated a plaque or cairn to seven allied airmen who had bailed out. They were captured by local troops and marched through the town. They were set upon by an angry mob of villagers whose homes were in ruins and their family members were dead or horribly injured. Five of the airmen were beaten to death and the other two were shot. That was realism in a wartime video game.
:friday: