[303rd-Talk] Shuffling the Deck

[Bob Van Pelt]

Found this a while back on Assembling and thought you might be interested.  Wish I knew who wrote it.  Bob
   
  Shuffling the Deck
   
  Whenever a large number of planes are attempting to form up over England in bad weather there is always the possibility of a collision. Often there were low thin clouds that obscured or limited visibility to less than a mile at specific altitudes. Each group commander would attempt to get his group above this haze layer by climbing as quickly as possible. 
  It was on one of those hazy, cloudy days, that, while forming up, we suddenly found ourselves face to face with another bomb group and in seconds we were fighting madly with the planes controls to avoid a multi mid-air collision. When two groups (usually 64 planes) come together on a collision course we called it "shuffling-the-deck". 
  This dreaded event almost always resulted in one or more collisions of aircraft and the death of many flyers. And it usually occurred at lower altitudes which did not allow sufficient time for men to escape a falling, badly damaged plane. 
   On this occasion, while we were still climbing to our prescribed altitude, our leader spotted the other group coming toward us through the mist perhaps two miles away and at almost the same altitude. A command came from the lead (or someone on the radio) to "Spread out", "Spread out". In seconds every plane in the group swerved, dived or climbed at the same instant. Those on the upper tier climbed as steeply as they could, those in the lower tier dived sharply and those in between turned left or right as the space allowed. It was rather like "every man for himself" with each crew trying to find a spot in the sky where he would be safe from these giant objects filled with his fellow flyers. The other group which was approaching us performed almost the same maneuvers and for the next minute the sky was filled with 64 planes attempting to avoid collision. 
  Of course the pilot cannot see all areas around the plane and relies heavily on his crew at these times to tell him of approaching planes from above or below and a good crew will keep the pilot informed. On this occasion the intercom was filled with excited vocal directions of "plane coming in on port side", below..CLIMB!", "plane close at two o'clock", and on and on. 
  In less than a minute it was all over and a check of the sky and a voice relay from the crew indicated that, as far as we could tell, no one had collided. It was a welcome miracle that none of the planes was even damaged. 
  My heartbeat must have hit 150 in that short time and I'm sure the rest of the crew felt about the way I felt. The plane we were flying that day responded beautifully to the sudden change of power and the unusual maneuvers to which I had forced it in those few seconds. This was one of the many reasons we loved flying the B-17. Now, out of danger, we just flew straight and level for a few minutes while we tried to compose ourselves. I looked at Jim in the copilots seat and his usual smiling face was almost white.....he made a gesture with his hand of wiping his brow and then proceeded to call for a crew check on the intercom. 
  The violent wrenching of the plane during these maneuvers had sent some of the crew flying violently around in the nose and the waist compartment but no one was the worse for wear and I'm sure they were all thankful that a few bruises were the worst injury they would sustain after shuffling-the-deck. A further check confirmed that the closest encounter occurred within the low squadron but all had survived. 
   Our group leader again began shooting flares so that we could identify him through the misty atmosphere and slowly but evenly we resumed our positions in group formation. 
  We were now on our way to the target. All this and we had not yet left England. We would be late for our rendezvous with the bomber stream but we had survived one of the worst experiences for a flight crew. To go down over your own field as a result of a mid air collision or to be the cause of a crash or death of another crew from your own group was about as bad as anything you might experience while flying. 


IBSPEC at aol.com wrote:  
In a message dated 1/1/2008 7:47:44 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
johnz at hughes.net writes:



-----Original Message-----
From: Brig Gen R. Clements USAF ret [mailto:p38bob at deepwell.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2008 2:46 PM
To: BG Bob Clements USAF ret
Subject: Assemblying THE MIGHTY EIGHTH

THE MIGHTY EIGHTH

Leslie A. Lennox

Lt./Col. USAF(ret)



Of all the stories that have been written, and movies that have
been
shown, about the 8th Air Force, very little attention has been given to
what
was involved in assembling 1200 B-17's and B-24's each day, to get them in
formation to carry out a strike against Germany. Certainly showing bombers
under attack by fighters, or encountering heavy
flak, was a reality, and are interesting to watch. Also, stories about
some of
the rougher missions make interesting reading. But what was going on over
England, each morning, could get just as scary to the crews as the time
spent
over some of the targets. The planning, and coordination, that had to be
accomplished during the night, by the
operations planners of each Group, so that the crews could be briefed, was
unbelievable. If the planners had failed to do their jobs properly, there
would have been a free for all among Bomb Groups, in the skies over
England.
The rendezvous points, altitude, and times had to be precise, and known by
all
of the crews, before the Eighth Air Force could get in formation. The
success
of the planners, in accomplishing their mission, enabled the Eighth Air
Force
to become the most powerful air armada ever assembled. In my view, how
this
was accomplished is one of the major untold stories of the war.

I was a pilot in the 95th Bomb Group, in late 1944 and early
1945,
and what follows is a typical mission, as I remember it, from a crew
member's
perspective.

Early in the evening, our Squadron Operations would post the
names
of the crews that were scheduled to fly the following day. There were two
ways we could be notified if the Group had been alerted to fly. One was by
means of lights on the front of the orderly room, and the other with
raising
of colored flags. If a green light was on, the Group was alerted, if a red
light was on we would fly, and if a white light was on, the Group would
stand
down. The light was monitored frequently throughout the evening to learn
our
status and, normally, we would know before going to
bed if we would be flying the next day.

On the morning of a mission, the CQ (charge of quarters) would
awaken the crews about four or five o'clock, depending on takeoff time.
The
questions we always asked were, "What is the fuel load?" and, "What is the
bomb
load?" If his answer was,
" full Tokyo tanks," we knew we would be going deep into Germany.
Shortly
after being awakened, "6-by" trucks would start shuttling us to the mess
hall.
We always had all the fresh eggs we could eat, when flying a mission.
After
breakfast, the trucks
carried us to the briefing room. All of the crew members attended the
main
briefing, and then the Navigators, Bombardiers and Radio operators went to
a
specialized briefing. At the main briefing, in addition to the target
information--anti-aircraft
guns, fighter escort and route in--we received a sheet showing our
location in
the formation, the call signs for the day and all the information we would
need to assemble our Group and get into the bomber stream.

After briefing, we got into our flight gear, drew our
parachutes
and loaded onto the trucks for a ride to our plane. We were now guided by
the
time on our daily briefing sheet. We started engines at a given time and
watched for the airplane we would be flying in formation with to taxi past,
then we would taxi behind him. We were following
strict radio silence.



We were now parked, nose to tail around the perimeter, on both
sides
of the active runway, and extremely vulnerable to a fighter strafing
attack.
At the designated takeoff time, a green flare would be fired and takeoff
would
begin. Every thirty seconds an airplane started takeoff roll. We were
lined
up on the perimeter so that the 12 airplanes of the high squadron would
take
off first, followed by the lead and then the low squadron.

Each Group had a pattern for the airplanes to fly during climb
to
assembly altitude. Some would fly a triangle, some a rectangle and our
Group
flew a circle, using a "Buncher" (a low frequency radio station) which was
located on our station. The
patterns for each Group fit together like a jig saw puzzle.
Unfortunately,
strong winds aloft would destroy the integrity of the patterns, and there
would
be considerable over running of each other's patterns.

Many of our takeoffs were made before daylight, during the
winter of
'44 and '45, when I was there, so it was not uncommon to climb through
several
thousand feet of cloud overcast. Also it was not uncommon to experience
one or
two near misses while climbing through the clouds, although you would
never
see the other airplane. You knew you had just had a near miss, when
suddenly
the airplane would shake violently as it hit the prop wash of another
plane.
It was a wonderful feeling to break out on top, so you could watch for
other
planes, to keep from running into each other. To add to the congestion we
were
creating, the Royal Air Force Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Wimpys would be
returning from their night missions, and flying through our formations.
Needless to say, pilots had to keep their heads on a swivel and their eyes
out
of the cockpit.

After take off, the squadron lead would fire a flare every 30
seconds, so that we could keep him located and enable us to get into
formation
quicker. The color of our Group flare was red-green. The first thing you
would see, when breaking out of the clouds, was a sky filled with
pyrotechnics,
so you had to search the sky for the Group flare, which would identify the
lead
airplane of your Squadron. Once you had it located, you could adjust your
pattern to climb more quickly into formation with him. As each airplane
pulled
into formation, they would also fire a flare, with the lead plane, making
it
much easier for the following aircraft to keep him in sight. I think most
crew
members would probably agree that the pyrotechnic show, in the skies over
England, in the morning when the Eighth was assembling, was a rare sight to
behold.

The order of progression for assembling the Eighth Air Force was
to
first assemble the Flight elements, the Squadrons, the Groups ,the
Combat
wings, the Divisions and, finally, the Air Force.

As soon as the four Squadron elements were formed, the high, low
and
second elements would take up their positions on the lead element, to form
a
Squadron. When the three Squadrons had completed assembly, it was
necessary to
get into Group
formation. This was accomplished by having the three Squadrons arrive over
a
pre-selected fix at a precise time and heading. The high and low
Squadrons
were separated from the lead Squadron by 1000 feet and, after getting into
Group formation, they would maintain their positions by following the lead
Squadron.

Then it was necessary to get into the Combat Wing formation. We
were in the 13th Combat Wing, which consisted of three Bomb Groups: the
95th,
the 100th and the 390th . Whichever Group was leading the Wing that day,
would arrive over a pre-selected point, at a precise time and heading.
Thirty
seconds later, the second Group would pass that fix, followed by the third
Group, thirty seconds later. We were then in Combat Wing formation. The
navigators in the lead airplanes had a tremendous responsibility, to ensure
that the rendezvous times were strictly adhered to.

There were three Divisions in the Eighth, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
The
1st and 3rd Divisions consisted of B-17s only, and the 2nd Division was
B-24s.
The B-24s were faster than the B-17s, but the B-17s could fly higher,
therefore, the two were not compatible in formation. As a result the 1st
and
3rd Divisions would fly together and the 2nd Division would fly separately.

Now that the Groups were flying in Combat Wing formation, it was
necessary to assemble the Divisions. This was usually accomplished at the
"coast out"--a city on the coast, selected as the departure point "fix."
The
Group leader in each Combat Wing knew his assigned position in the
Division,
and the precise time that he should arrive
at the coast out departure point, to assume that position in the Division
formation. The lead Group in the Division, which had been selected to lead
the
Eighth on the mission, would be first over the departure fix. Thirty
seconds
after the last Group in the first Wing passed that point, the second Wing
would
fall in trail, and so on, until all Combat
Wings were flying in trail and the Division would be formed. One minute
later, the lead Group in the other Division would fly over that point, and
the
Combat Wings in that Division would follow the same procedure to get into
formation. When all of its Combat Wings were in trail, the Eighth Air Force
B-17 strike force was formed and on its way to the target. At the same time
the
2nd Division B-24s were assembling in a similar manner and also departing
to
their target.

Meanwhile, as the bombers were assembling for their mission,
pilots
from the Fighter Groups were being briefed on their day's mission.
Normally, 600 to 800 P-38's, P-47's, and P-51's would accompany the
bombers to
provide protection against enemy fighter attacks. Fighter cover was not
needed by the bombers until they were penetrating enemy territory,
therefore to
help conserve fuel. fighter takeoffs were planned to give them enough time
to
quickly assemble after takeoff, and climb on course up the bomber stream to
the
groups they would be covering. The combined strength of the fighters and
bombers brought the total number of aircraft participating in a mission to
approximately two thousand.

A major problem that presented itself, on each mission, was that
the
bomber stream was getting too stretched out. It was not uncommon for the
headlines in stateside newspapers--in trying to show the strength of our
Air
Force--to state that the first Group of bombers was bombing Berlin, while
the
last Group was still over the English Channel. It made great headlines but
was
a very undesirable situation. It meant that the Groups were out of
position,
and not keeping the proper separation.
Furthermore, it was almost impossible for them to catch up and get back
into
the desired formation.
This made the entire bomber stream more vulnerable to fighter attacks.

Finally, our planners figured out what we were doing wrong.
When
the first Group departed the coast out fix, it started its climb to what
would
be the bombing altitude. Then, as each succeeding Group departed that
fix,
it, too, would start
climbing. The problem with this procedure was that, as soon as the first
Group started its climb, its true airspeed would start to increase, and it
would encounter different wind velocities. Now it would start to pull
away
from the Group in back of it, and the "stretchout" of the bomber stream
would
begin. By the time the last Group had reached the coast out, to start its
climb, the first Group would be leveled off, with a true airspeed
approaching
250 miles per hour, and the bomber stream would be really stretching out.

The solution to this problem that had been frustrating the
Bomber
crews for so long was pretty simple. We would no longer start climbing at
the
coast out, but instead, at a designated time, all Groups would start
climbing,
irrespective of position. This meant that we all would have similar true
airspeeds and would be influenced by the same
winds aloft. That took care of the problem. It was still possible for a
Group to be out of position, because of poor timing, but the entire bomber
stream wouldn't get all stretched out.

When you consider the way our Air Traffic Control system
operates
today, and all the facilities at their disposal to guide each individual
airplane through the sky to ensure its safety, it's almost unbelievable
that we
were able to do what we did. To think of launching hundreds of airplanes,
in
a small airspace, many times in total darkness, loaded with bombs, with
complete radio silence, and no control from the ground, and
do it successfully day after day, with young air crews, with minimum
experience, is absolutely mind boggling.

The accomplishments of the Eighth Air Force have been and will
be
reviewed by historians from World War II on. There never will be another
air
armada to compare to it. I feel confident that they will never cease to be
amazed by our ability to assemble hundreds of heavy Bombers, under the
conditions we were confronting, into the devastating strike force we now
fondly
refer to as, "The Mighty Eighth."
LTG Brett Dula USAF ret forwarded:

THE MIGHTY EIGHTH

Leslie A. Lennox

Lt./Col. USAF(ret)



Of all the stories that have been written, and movies that have
been
shown, about the 8th Air Force, very little attention has been given to
what
was involved in assembling 1200 B-17's and B-24's each day, to get them in
formation to carry out a strike against Germany. Certainly showing bombers
under attack by fighters, or encountering heavy flak, was a reality, and
are
interesting to watch. Also, stories about some of the rougher missions
make
interesting reading. But what was going on over England, each morning,
could
get just as scary to the crews as the time spent over some of the targets.
The
planning, and coordination, that had to be accomplished during the night,
by
the operations planners of each Group, so that the crews could be briefed,
was
unbelievable. If the planners had failed to do their jobs properly, there
would have been a free for all among Bomb Groups, in the skies over
England.
The rendezvous points, altitude, and times had to be precise, and known by
all
of the crews, before the Eighth Air Force could get in formation. The
success
of the planners, in accomplishing their mission, enabled the Eighth Air
Force
to become the most powerful air armada ever assembled. In my view, how
this
was accomplished is one of the major untold stories of the war.

I was a pilot in the 95th Bomb Group, in late 1944 and early
1945,
and what follows is a typical mission, as I remember it, from a crew
member's
perspective.

Early in the evening, our Squadron Operations would post the
names
of the crews that were scheduled to fly the following day. There were two
ways we could be notified if the Group had been alerted to fly. One was by
means of lights on the front of the orderly room, and the other with
raising
of colored flags. If a green light was on, the Group was alerted, if a red
light was on we would fly, and if a white light was on, the Group would
stand
down. The light was monitored frequently throughout the evening to learn
our
status and, normally, we would know before going to bed if we would be
flying
the next day.

On the morning of a mission, the CQ (charge of quarters) would
awaken the crews about four or five o'clock, depending on takeoff time.
The
questions we always asked were, "What is the fuel load?" and, "What is the
bomb
load?" If his answer was, " full Tokyo tanks," we knew we would be going
deep
into Germany. Shortly after being awakened, "6-by" trucks would start
shuttling us to the mess hall. We always had all the fresh eggs we could
eat,
when flying a mission. After breakfast, the trucks carried us to the
briefing room. All of the crew members attended the main briefing, and
then
the Navigators, Bombardiers and Radio operators went to a specialized
briefing. At the main briefing, in addition to the target
information--anti-aircraft guns, fighter escort and route in--we received a
sheet showing our location in the formation, the call signs for the day and
all
the information we would need to assemble our Group and get into the
bomber
stream.

After briefing, we got into our flight gear, drew our
parachutes
and loaded onto the trucks for a ride to our plane. We were now guided by
the
time on our daily briefing sheet. We started engines at a given time and
watched for the airplane we would be flying in formation with to taxi past,
then we would taxi behind him. We were following strict radio silence.



We were now parked, nose to tail around the perimeter, on both
sides
of the active runway, and extremely vulnerable to a fighter strafing
attack.
At the designated takeoff time, a green flare would be fired and takeoff
would
begin. Every thirty seconds an airplane started takeoff roll. We were
lined
up on the perimeter so that the 12 airplanes of the high squadron would
take
off first, followed by the lead and then the low squadron.

Each Group had a pattern for the airplanes to fly during climb
to
assembly altitude. Some would fly a triangle, some a rectangle and our
Group
flew a circle, using a "Buncher" (a low frequency radio station) which was
located on our station. The patterns for each Group fit together like a
jig
saw puzzle. Unfortunately, strong winds aloft would destroy the integrity
of
the patterns, and there would be considerable over running of each other's
patterns.

Many of our takeoffs were made before daylight, during the
winter of
'44 and '45, when I was there, so it was not uncommon to climb through
several
thousand feet of cloud overcast. Also it was not uncommon to experience
one or
two near misses while climbing through the clouds, although you would
never
see the other airplane. You knew you had just had a near miss, when
suddenly
the airplane would shake violently as it hit the prop wash of another
plane.
It was a wonderful feeling to break out on top, so you could watch for
other
planes, to keep from running into each other. To add to the congestion we
were
creating, the Royal Air Force Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Wimpys would be
returning from their night missions, and flying through our formations.
Needless to say, pilots had to keep their heads on a swivel and their eyes
out
of the cockpit.

After take off, the squadron lead would fire a flare every 30
seconds, so that we could keep him located and enable us to get into
formation
quicker. The color of our Group flare was red-green. The first thing you
would see, when breaking out of the clouds, was a sky filled with
pyrotechnics,
so you had to search the sky for the Group flare, which would identify the
lead
airplane of your Squadron. Once you had it located, you could adjust your
pattern to climb more quickly into formation with him. As each airplane
pulled
into formation, they would also fire a flare, with the lead plane, making
it
much easier for the following aircraft to keep him in sight. I think most
crew
members would probably agree that the pyrotechnic show, in the skies over
England, in the morning when the Eighth was assembling, was a rare sight to
behold.

The order of progression for assembling the Eighth Air Force was
to
first assemble the Flight elements, the Squadrons, the Groups ,the Combat
wings, the Divisions and, finally, the Air Force.

As soon as the four Squadron elements were formed, the high, low
and
second elements would take up their positions on the lead element, to form
a
Squadron. When the three Squadrons had completed assembly, it was
necessary to
get into Group formation. This was accomplished by having the three
Squadrons
arrive over a pre-selected fix at a precise time and heading. The high and
low
Squadrons were separated from the lead Squadron by 1000 feet and, after
getting
into Group formation, they would maintain their positions by following the
lead
Squadron.

Then it was necessary to get into the Combat Wing formation. We

=== message truncated ===

       
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