Unit cited for actions late in World War II

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Matt Proietti
  • 452nd AMW Public Affairs
Eighth in a series

The 452nd Bombardment Group received a Distinguished Unit Citation for completing a mission late in World War II's European campaign despite being attacked by Luftwaffe pilots who rammed their aircraft into at least two of its B-17 Flying Fortresses. 

The honor, which was renamed the Presidential Unit Citation in 1966, is awarded to units for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy. The degree of valor required is the same as that necessary for an individual to receive the Air Force Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor among military awards. 

"That's the most vigorous mission (I) flew by far," said 1st Lt. Harry Duccilli, 83, a pilot who completed 30 bombing missions from Deopham Green airfield in England. "Of the four planes that (we) lost that day, I was within about 20 feet of three of them...but they're the guys who suffered, not me." 

The group, predecessor to March Field's 452nd Air Mobility Wing, sent 37 planes on an April 7, 1945, mission to bomb a jet fighter base in Kaltenkirchen, Germany, with other 8th Air Force units. More than 35 German aircraft attacked the formation, said Technical Sgt. Edward T. Hinrichs, 85, of Forest Lake, Minn. 

"It seemed the enemy (was) trying one last maximum effort to destroy as many of our planes as possible," he said. 

From his position in a bubble at the top of the aircraft, he saw a German Me 109 come in on the tail of a B-17 with the 388th Bomb Group from Knettishall, England, about 13 miles from Deopham Green airfield, the 452nd's home. 

"I thought, 'Geez, he better fall off,' but time goes so fast that...it happens almost about the same time. He keeps on going and rammed right into the back of (it). The tail gunner and he were exchanging shells." 

Years later, Sergeant Hinrichs researched that attack and learned that five of the B-17 crew members survived, as did the Luftwaffe pilot. 

"I would have thought that was impossible. That's the one...it's kind of creepy. You know what's going to happen if he (doesn't) pull up, but he had no intention. Afterward, when I was kind of thinking it over in my mind, I (wondered) what the hell was that guy thinking of? I (thought maybe) he was dead already." 

Lieutenant Duccilli's B-17 was nearby when the first German fighter to ram a plane hit a 452nd aircraft after it and some others broke off from the formation during the 8-hour, 1,000-mile roundtrip mission. 

"That's when we really caught hell because we were sort of alone," said the lieutenant, an Amelia Island, Fla., resident and retired medical doctor. "The aircraft just absolutely disintegrated." 

His right wingman then got rammed and another aircraft was hit or shot down. Finally, the wing of a nearby B-17 caught fire after being hit by a 20-millimeter round from an ME-109, but the aircrew completed its bombing run before the plane crashed, killing eight men. Among the three survivors was flight engineer/top turret gunner Technical Sgt. Arvis D. Stephenson, 85, of Memphis, Tenn., who was on his 33rd mission. 

After the crew dropped its bombs on target, pilot Capt. Dabney Sharp asked Sergeant Stephenson what he believed the crew should do. 

"I told him I thought we ought to get out of (there) while we can all get out. He said 'I agree with you' and ordered the crew to prepare to jump." 

Co-pilot Capt. Douglas Anderson convinced them to stay with the aircraft, though, and paid for that decision with his life. 

"He said, 'No, let's stay with it awhile and see what it does.' We stayed with it too long," Sergeant Stephenson said. "We headed over the North Sea. We didn't get very far (when) the squadron leader ordered us out of the formation because he was afraid we (were) going to blow up and take some more airplanes down with us." 

They turned back toward land with plans to bail out as soon as they reached the coast of Germany. The crew donned parachutes and Sergeant Stephenson jettisoned the nose escape hatch door. He sat at the opening with navigator 2nd Lt. Carroll Gjerde on his right and Captain Anderson to his left. 

"We never made it. The wing blew off. The aircraft spun violently to the right...and pitched me out through the escape hatch. I don't think I could have stayed in there if I'd wanted to." 

He, radio operator Technical Sgt. Ralph DeCelle and a radar jammer flying with the crew for the first time survived, landing near a sandbar in knee-deep water. Sergeant Stephenson tried to escape by swimming, but struggled and returned to the sandbar, where the men were taken prisoner by German troops in a boat. 

Lieutenant Duccilli believes Army Air Forces officials knew the Luftwaffe was considering ramming Allied bombers as a last-ditch effort to win the war, which ended in Europe the next month. 

"Apparently, the powers that be had some inkling of what was going on. What they wrote
the following day was that the Germans had come up and attacked rather viciously but that there was no reason to believe that they were intentionally ramming. They didn't want us to know, that's about the size of it," he said. "That was the purpose of their whole mission. There was no way in the world they could pull it off." 

He learned about the unit citation following the war, as did Sergeant Stephenson. 

"They were, I guess, impressed with the fact that the group stayed together (in) very, very tight formation and really only lost those aircraft that were rammed or happened to catch an errant shot...and that 100 percent of our bombs hit the target," said Lieutenant Duccilli. 

He was back in the air the next day with his crew. 

"Their theory was, if you had a bad experience, go back up there and try it again. They didn't want you sitting around the barracks thinking about it." 

The April 7 sortie isn't the most memorable mission for either the lieutenant or Sergeant Stephenson, they said. 

"There were others that were more devastating from the standpoint from what you remember, like seeing a mid-air collision between two of our planes within 100 feet of you," said Lieutenant Ducilli. "That, you never lose. You have nightmares about it." 

Sergeant Stephenson participated in "about three or four pretty rough missions," once returning aboard the B-17 Take Me Home with 52 holes in it large enough for him to put his fist through, he said. 

"I counted 'em...and it was (also) just riddled with smaller ones. That thing could really absorb damage. They didn't even try to repair it. They just towed it down to the scrap yard. That was its last flight. They gave us a brand new airplane." 

The lieutenant recalls some ground workers telling his crew the April 7 mission would be a "milk run," slang for a routine mission with little or no opposition from Germans. 

"We never really knew. Sometime you'd go one or two missions and never see a fighter," said Lieutenant Duccilli. 

Flak became more intense toward the end of the war as the Germans retreated, taking their 88-millimeter anti-aircraft guns with them and consolidating weapons, he said. 

"Every place you went the Germans had twice as many guns as they did three missions ago. The flak became extremely difficult to deal with."

Narrative that accompanied the award of the unit citation 

The 452nd Bombardment Group is cited for outstanding performance of duty in action against the enemy by accurately bombing the tactically important airfield at Kaltenkirchen, Germany, on 7 April 1945. 

A successful attack on this installation would ground a sizeable force of the enemy's jet-propelled fighters and reduce the effectiveness of his aerial efforts to harass Allied ground forces at a crucial time. Although under considerable pressure after having serviced 23 combat missions during the preceding 30-day period, the ground crews worked diligently and enthusiastically all night to insure mechanical perfection of their aircraft and the success of this tactically important mission. 

On the morning of the attack, 38 B-17 aircraft carrying 95 ½ tons of general-purpose bombs took off on this mission, involving a round trip of 1,001 miles and of approximately 7 ¾ hours' duration. Enroute to the target, harassing antiaircraft fire was encountered at Lauenburg, Germany. At 1242 hours in the Steinhuder Lake area, the group was subjected to sharp enemy fighter attacks. Approximately 40 to 50 mixed ME-109s, FW-190s and ME-262s, taking full advantage of cloud cover, contrails and sun position, initiated a series of continuous, aggressive and fanatical attacks upon the bombers. Desperation on the part of the enemy was evidenced by the closeness and utter abandon with which they pressed their attacks through a veritable wall of steel poured forth from the bomber formation. Enemy tactics were thrown to the wind and attacks were made from all clock positions. Two B-17s were rammed by FW-190s. This all-out effort to annihilate the group lasted 40 minutes and continued even while the group was on the bombing run. Three Fortresses were lost and 13 suffered battle damage before the group reached the target. A fourth B-17 went down after the target as a result of damage inflicted during the attacks. During the fierce aerial battle, the gallant crews maintained perfect formation under superior leadership and valiantly repulsed the aggressors, inflicting severe losses. The gunners of the group accounted for 13 enemy aircraft destroyed, two probably destroyed and six damaged. Without once wavering from its primary duty to destroy an enemy objective, the group made a highly successful bombing run over a 5/10 undercast. Thirty-five aircraft unleashed 88 tons of bombs on the assigned target with devastating results. 

The officers and enlisted men of the 452nd Bombardment Group displayed extraordinary heroism, vigorous determination and unwavering devotion to duty above and beyond that of all other units participating in the same operation. Their noteworthy accomplishments constitute an invaluable contribution to the war effort of the United States and reflect the highest credit on themselves and the Army Air Forces. (General Orders 1173, Headquarters 3rd Air Division, 27 June 1945).