Everett Ernest Blakely: Difference between revisions

VIII Bomber Command Mission 97: -- On September 16, 1943, Captain Everett BlakeyBlakely was flying as 100th Bomb Group lead pilot in Just A Snappin. Once again, the 100th was tasked with bombing a U-Boat base in France.

VIII Bomber Command Mission 100: -- Major Flesher, the Group Air Exec, flew with BlakeyBlakely on the mission to Vannes on September 23, 1943, whose target was the port of Vannes. No planes from the 100th BG were lost on this mission.

VIII Bomber Command Mission 111: -- The primary target of the 100th BG on October 8, 1943, was the town of Bremen. This was BlakeyBlakely's 18th mission. This was the first mission in which strips of aluminum were dropped to jam German radar (what became known as "Chaff" or "Window").  Seven aircraft of the 100th Bomb Group were lost during the mission. For the entire 8th AF, 399 planes were launched with 357 making the attack and 30 losses.  On this day, the crew of Just A Snappin was credited with shooting down nine Nazi fighters - still a record today for a single plane on a single mission during this war. The bomber lost two engines, causing it to lose altitude and nearly requiring her to ditch in the [[North Sea]]. Staff Sergeant Lester Saunders, a gunner, was killed in action on this mission. 22 planes from the 100th Bomb Group flew this mission. Just A Snappin was heavily damaged, and crash landed at an unused RAF base in England. Five crew members were injured and received purple hearts. The salvage crew counted over 800 holes in the B-17 from flak, machine gun bullets and 20 mm cannon shells. Everett Blakely received his nation's 3rd highest medal for gallantry, the Silver Star for his bravery that day.