Mission 1-June 22, 1943: Antwerp, Belgium

Crew 19 and "The Natural" participated on the very first raid flown by the 384th, on June 22nd, 1943, to bomb the General Motors plant at Antwerp, Belgium. Morale was high, and the crews were ready to put their training to the test. This first mission was intended to be a simple diversion to indoctrinate the 384th and another new bomb group, the 381st. "The Natural" was assigned to fly the left wing position in the second element of the squadron. The 547th Bomb Squadron was in the low position within the group, which placed "The Natural" in the most vulnerable location in the formation. Johnny's element lead was Lt. Disney, flying a/c #42-5853, and flying on the right wing was Lt. Don Ogilvie in a/c #42-5848, which after this mission, would be named "Patches."

The 381st arrived at the rendevous point thirty minutes late, and the two groups left the coast of England behind schedule. The expected fighter escort was even later and would meet up with the bombers when they were returning. Ten miles from the target, the formation was attacked by 60 yellow-nosed Focke-Wulf 190 fighters of Jagdgeshwader 26, the feared "Abbeville Boys." The attack was led by Major "Pips" Priller, and his formation was able to make one pass through the bombers before they had reached the target. "The Natural" took hits on this first pass. The original tailgunner was a rather excitable Mexican-American named Armando Ordaz. Johnny had decided to move him from the isolated tailgunner's position to the left waist gun so Marion "Big 'un" Rogers, the right waist gunner, could keep an eye on him. On this first pass, the bullets came through and ruptured his oxygen system. Armando then decided he had had enough, grabbed his parachute, and headed for the door. "Big 'un" knocked him down, put a portable oxygen bottle on him, and held him down with his foot. He kept the oxygen going with one hand and manned his .50 cal. machine gun with the other. Several crews witnessed his claim to the destruction of an Fw 190. JG 26 reported the loss of 3 Fw 190's that day, but only one to fire from a B-17. This plane was Fw 190A-5 "black 16," and was flown that day by Obfw. Johann Edmann, who crash-landed at Woensdrecht with severe injuries.

All three planes in "The Natural's" element took hits. 42-5848 took hits from the nose to the tail, which wounded the ball and tail gunners. 42-5853 took hits in the engines. The fighters broke off as the bombers approached the target, signalling the anti-aircraft batteries on the ground that it was now their turn. After the bombs had been released and the formation turned for home, the fighters returned. Lt. Oblinski, in 42-30076, was the first to go down. With three engines smoking, Lt. Disney desparately fought the controls to stay in formation. Some violent maneuvering forced both Butler and Ogilvie to dodge Disney's mortally wounded Fortress, causing the 3-ship element to fall even further behind the rest of the group formation. The Luftwaffe focused their attention on the stragglers, eventually sending 42-5853 into the sea. Repeated attacks on 42-5848 resulted in hundreds on 20mm hits, and a hole in the vertical stabilizer large enough for a man to walk through. Col. Peaslee began slow S-ing the group formation to allow the remaining ships to catch up, just as the Luftwaffe broke off at the approach of the returning fighter escort.

Upon returning to Grafton-Underwood, Col. Peaslee soundly reprimanded both Ogilvie and Butler for becoming separated from the group. The 384th's indoctination into the high-stakes game of aerial warfare had come at a high price, with the loss of 2 crews: 2 aircraft and 20 men. This was only an indication of things to come.

To be continued...