USAAF go back to Berlin

8th May 1944: A detailed account of the in-air decision-making by one of the lead pilots taking the third wave of B-24s to the German capital

B-24 bombers from the 8th Air Force at bomb release over Germany. On this raid after finding the primary target already obliterated they would head for the centre of Berlin.

On the 8th May 1944 B-24 bomber pilot Philip Ardery¹ was on the penultimate trip of his tour of duty. He knew that for his last trip he would likely be assigned a relatively easy raid. But he had to survive this trip as one of the joint lead pilots before he could begin to believe he might survive the war.

There was the usual sickening hour before takeoff. The hour of getting into heavy, smelly clothes; fitting oxygen masks; checking the ships; checking the bomb loading, fusing, gas load­ ing, oxygen, guns, ammunition; and the million other things. On that occasion, as on others, I got to myself for a moment and prayed that I be given the courage to do my best and that what­ ever happened I would fight as long as I could.

A daily event. B-24s prepare for take-off from an airfield ‘somewhere in England’.

The flak bursts were so thick it seemed to me some of the shells must be colliding with each other. A couple of bombers I could see were already heavily hit.