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Charlie brown hans stigler12/29/2023 ![]() Something bad was happening… “Bandits!”, Ecky shouted as 5 BF 109s streaked from the cloud bank. Blackie watched and there was an orange flash in the cloud. Sam “Blackie” Blackford in the Ball Turret watched as it disappeared behind and below into a cloud bank. With one engine out and another faulty, The Pub started to fall back from the formation with another damaged plane that was trailing smoke from two engines on the left wing.Ĭharlie heard the distress call as it lost altitude. Releasing their bombs over the factory the crew turned North planning to head over the coast and then turn West for home. What to do now? They chose to reduce power and press on through the hail of flak. Charlie had been warned by his ground crew that there were problems with engine №4. Then engine №4 began to rev wildly and accelerate. Just 1 minute from the drop, Pinky let out an expletive as he noticed a huge hole in the right wing. Charlie’s co-pilot, Spencer “Pinky” Luke, told Charlie: “Engine №2 is losing oil pressure.” Charlie looked out the window to his left and saw that it had been hit. A cry comes across the intercom: “We’re hit!” In the plexiglass nose, a huge hole has been made, and now the icy cold wind was being blown inside. The Pub is rocked as 4 explosions go off right in front of the B-17. The bombers push on leaving the dogfight behind them and at 11:30 approaching the target, Flak starts to bloom all around them. Just after 11 am the Pub is approaching the German border when Hugh “Ecky” Eckenrode cries out: “Bandits!” German fighters were attacking someone high up behind the Pub. The crew of 379th Bomb Group’s “Ye Olde Pub.” Left to right standing: S/Sgt. Charlie’s formation is right at the front and out behind him strung out over 80 miles are nearly 500 bombers. They can expect more than 500 FW-190s and BF-109s defending Germany. Nearly the entire 8th Air Force’s Bomb Group are headed towards Bremen to take out the Focke-Wulf plant on the outskirts of the city. It’s December the 20th, 1943 and in the freezing air high above Germany, 2nd Lieutenant Charles “Charlie” Brown is at the controls of his B-17 F, Ye Olde Pub.
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