Subject: Aircrew casualities
From: Guy Alcala
Date: 9/22/03 2:51 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:

"Evasive action' was a poor choice of words on my part; involuntary flinching
before the breakaway, and doing the breakaway early for fear of
collision/gunfire,
was more what I meant.

I never once saw that. It would be a foolish thing for the pilot to do. If he
bore in and came out the other side it was a clean getaway, But if he flinched
and turned away before he got to us he would expose his belly and vastly
increase his chance of being shot down by the bomber's gunners. I guess young
inexperienced pilots scared to death might do that. But not the old hands.
Anyway. if you are a gunner in a bomber and a fighter comes at you don't count
on his tuning way before his run is done.


Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer