44th Bomb Group

 And His Drop From the Sky

If there is anything more scary than knowing you have to bail out of a B-24, it must be not knowing where you will end up. On January 16, 1945 Bob Dubowsky was co-pilot with Captain Joseph Testa in the lead plane, with the Group Commander, Col. Eugene J. Snavely riding along. This was Bob's 33rd Mission. The destination was Berlin, with Dresden as the alternate target. Just before take-off, a predetermined colored flare went up, which meant 'Go to the alternate target--the Marshalling Yards at Dresden.'

At first they met only moderate flak and no enemy fighters. On the bomb run, however, things got worse. Flak was heavy and accurate, and before bombs away, they took a hit in Number Two Engine. It caught fire immediately.

They left the formation, and the Deputy Lead took over. To put out the flames in Number Two Engine, Testa put the aircraft in a steep dive. At about 16,000 feet the prop froze. It couldn't be feathered because all the oil in the feathering system was gone due to the flak. But the fire went out.

Murphy's law prevailed, of course. If something goes bad, it doesn't stop until the situation becomes a total debacle!

Testa was able to hold altitude on three engines until they passed near Nurenberg, when Number Four Engine suffered an oil pressure drop and had to be feathered. Not able to hold altitude with only two engines, the plane dropped to 10,000 feet and proceeded on at 120 mph.

Out the window went 60 calibre ammunition, 50 calibre guns, bomb sight, radios, flak suits, escape kits--everything that could be detached. All alone over hostile territory and 150 miles to go, they continued on, crossing the Rhine River between Strasbourg and Haguenau.

Ill fortune continued. When crossing the Rhine, they ran into a gun emplacement, which peppered them with flak. There was a large hole in the right wing flap, which meant that a shell had pierced the flap and did not explode. The explanation for that bit of fortune was that the shells were time fused, preset to go off at a certain altitude, and they were flying too low for the timing device to work. If that wasn't enough, the Number One Engine was hit. Only Number Three was functional. It was bail out time. Capt. Testa and Col. Snavely were last out.

Ed Note: Historians are learning that slave laborers deliberately sabotaged some weapons, in the hope that Germany would lose. Perhaps Bob's wing flap benefited from their efforts.

Bob hit a snow covered ground into a crowd of eager watchers. They were Alsatians, carrying the FFI medalion (Free French Interior), and celebrating the departure of the Germans. He shared his parachute with the Alsatian women, keeping the packing history card. The Resistance workers offered him schnaaps, and before long an American jeep provided him a safe trip through the mine field in which he had landed . Minor wounds were attended, and 70 hours after the mission started, he had the joy of returning to Shipdham.

Gratefully, Bob promptly looked up the parachute rigger whose initials indicated he had packed Bob's chute. With much delight the Englishman accepted his thanks and the stunning sum of sixteen dollars (almost double his weekly salary).

Bob flew two more missions to complete his 35, but none so dramatic as the day he dropped into the frozen land of Alsace-Lorraine.

(Ed. Note: At the last minute before bailing out, Col. Snavely tossed his "50 mission hat" into the plane's interior. Months later it was returned to him. As it happened, the plane did not burn completely. The ground troops who found the hat, saw his name and returned it to England, intact. This incongruity appeared in the Stars and Stripes newspaper.

Incidentally, Bob is still looking for improvised words for WWII songs. He seriously intends to put them on an audio tape, so they will be preserved. If anyone remembers any, send them to 650 Grant Court, Satellite Beach, FL 32937. E-Mail: irdub@aol.com