For Veteran's Day, I wrote an article on a World War II B-17 pilot in my area, Roger Kanten. Roger was flying over Toulon France on 29 April, 1944.
I Never Really Thought About It
(Continued from KTB #103)
"Throughout my tour, my plane always came back with all four engines operating properly. There was talk around the different bases that the ground crews always stowed their beer in my B-17 when it was time to transfer, because it was most likely to reach its destination.
"All of our bombing was from high altitude, 22,000 to 25,000 feet. Our only low level mission was a secondary target, a German submarine pen in France. The primary target was socked in by weather. On this low level attack our bombers lined up end to end and we bombed in what was termed a 'trail pattern'. My bombardier claims he zeroed in and dropped on a surfaced submarine desperately making for open water. I didn't see the bombs hit it though. I never saw any of our bombs hit. That would be impossible from the cockpit without hanging your head way out the window.
"Bombing for me was a very impersonal thing. I just saw cities and factories. I never saw the people on the ground. On the other hand, it was those people on the ground that answered our bombs with anti-aircraft and flak guns. I saw lots of flak.
It usually began just before, or as we were starting our bombing run. It scared the hell out of us the first few times we saw it. The flak would be concentrated in an area just ahead of us so we had to fly through it. We could only watch as we flew into the large bursting clouds of black, and sometimes red explosions detonating at our altitude.
We quickly learned that it wasn't as effective as it looked. Of course, a direct hit was fatal, and I saw many planes go down, but my '17 never came closer than maybe 100 or 150 feet from an exploding shell. At that distance the effect of the exploding shell was pretty much spent. The shells were loaded with shrapnel about the size of two fingers. Sometimes the shrapnel would break glass and sometimes we found it embedded in the plane when we got back, but nothing more serious than that.
"I got shot up a few times, but never shot down. I remember one particular mission when we were flying into Czechoslovakia. There were two layers of clouds with several thousand feet of clear sky in between. On this mission we were carrying a green gunning crew to give 'em combat experience. On our way to the target we flew above both cloud decks. Our waist gunner and tail gunner both called out we had friendly fighters along at 5 o'clock. They said they were P-38's.
Just prior to starting the bomb run we dropped down through the upper cloud deck. As soon as we did this, those same P-38's came down shooting at us. They weren't P-38's ... they were German JU-88's, and they caught us by surprise. I saw two B17's in our squadron, and two B-17's in the leading squadron go down.
"After I completed my 51 missions, I was transferred back to the States to finish out my time as a flight instructor for the B17. It was a fine airplane, well armed and very forgiving at the controls. Even with holes in it, pieces missing, and the wind rushing through the fuselage, it could still get you home."
Because of men like Roger Kanten, the German war machine did indeed run down. Due to the relentless bombing of Ploesti, oil and fuel production was abandoned, and by German admission a mortal blow to their war effort. As I left Roger's house that evening, I saw a lazy plume of smoke drifting from his chimney and a light snow was falling. I tried for a minute to imagine the sky filled with the droning sounds of engines from several hundred enemy planes approaching in our country. It was something I had never thought about before, and because of Roger Kanten, and the thousands of military men before and after him, I have never had to think about it.
Roger Kanten completed his last mission on July 211944. A short time afterward he was transferred back to the Sates to finish out his military obligation as new pilot flying instructor. This role was uneventful except for one occasion. One day while a new student was at the controls of a B-17, Mr. Kanten ordered the student to put the plane into a 20 degree left bank.
There was a breakdown in communication when Mr. Kanten next ordered a 20 degree right bank because the 20 degree left bank was becoming a 40 degree bank. The B- 17 fell off on its left side and an instant later was completely upside-down. Mr. Kanten took the controls and allowing the plane to complete its roll over, regained normal flying attitude. Mr. Kanten remarked that the bomber lost some 5,000 feet in altitude during the maneuver, but held together just fine during the violent stresses of the roll over...
All of the following missions were flown by Roger Kanten in B-17s. BL indicates the bomb load; BA bombing altitude, and TOT time over target.
3-4-44 1st, Bucharest Romania;
2nd, Turna Aircraft Factory
BL 12 x 500.
BA 21,000 ft. TOT 1350.
3-20-44 Sofia, Bulgaria, Cancelled
3-22-44 Verona, N. Italy.
BA 22,500. TOT 1300
3-23-33 1st. Stehyr, Austria;
2nd. Klagenfurt Aircraft
Factory.
BA 23,500. TOT 1000.
Escort P-38, P-51.
3-26-44 Stehyr Austria. TOT 1200.
Escort P-47, P-38
3-28-44 1st. Verona, Italy;
2nd. Vicenza.
BA 23,500. TOT 1200.
Escort P-47
3-29-44 Turin, Italy.
BA 22,500. TOT 1200.
Escort P-47
4-01-44 Vicenza, Italy.
2nd Fersora.
BA 23,500. TOT 1400.
Escort P-38.
160 enemy plane defense
4-02-44 1 st Stehyr Ball Bearing Plant.
2nd Klagenfurt.
BL 12 x 500. BA 23,500.
TOT 1130.
Escort P-38, P.47.
60-70 enemy plane defense.
4-03-44 1st. Budapest.
2nd ?.
BA 22,500. TOT 1030.
Escort P-47, P-38.
4-05-44 Ploesti.
BL 30 x 100 incendiary.
BA 22,000. TOT 1450.
4-07-44 1st. Treviso.
2nd. Vicenza.
BL 12 x 500. BA 24,000.
TOT 1320.
Escort P-38. Enemy planes
expected at 1220.
4-08-44 Fischamund Market, Austria
Cancelled
4-09-44 Fischamund Market, Austria
2nd Vienna.
BL 12 x 500 BA 24,000.
TOT 1315
4-11-44 Vicenza.
BL 12 x 500. BA 23,500.-
TOT 1440.
Escort P-38
More: The Way It Was
Back to KTB #104 Table of Contents
Back to KTB List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1999 by Harry Cooper, Sharkhunters International, Inc.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com
Sharkhunters International, Inc., PO Box 1539, Hernando, FL 34442, ph: 352-637-2917, fax: 352-637-6289, e-m: sharkhunters@hitter.net