Joseph L Hembling
MilitaryOn 28 March 1945, in 'Lady Luck,' we had just dropped the bombs over our target Berlin. Almost immediately we were hit in the right wing by anti-aircraft guns. They emptied our gas in the wing which stopped nos three and four engines. We dropped down around 10,000 feet and threw everything possible out including the ball turret to lighten the load and conserve gas. We were able to make it across the Rhine River into France and with about five minutes of gas left we bailed out. We were picked up by an advanced signal corp outfit which took us to Nancy, France to a hotel run by the Air Corps. Then back to England.
Connections
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Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Ice Cold Katy
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 612th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Lady Luck
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 612th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Satisfaction Guaranteed
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 612th Bomb Squadron
Missions
- Date: 17 April 1945
- Date: 16 April 1945
- Date: 14 April 1945
- Date: 10 April 1945
- Date: 9 April 1945
Revisions
Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia / McCue,
href="http://www.401bg.org/Main/History/Members/Details.aspx?ID=1672">http://www.401bg.org/Main/History/Members/Details.aspx?ID=1672>