July 1943
OPERATION HUSKY The Invasion and Occupation of Sicily General Dwiqht D. Eisenhower, Commanding 17th Troop Carrier Squadron C-47 #41-7817 Crew: Lt. Urban S. Bond (P), Lt. William B. Crooks (CP) T/Sqt Robert G. Bramble (CC) , Cpl. James A. Moran (RO)
9 JUL 43	D-Day Minus One. Report to the aircraft at 09/2000 for pre-flight inspection. We have a "stick" of 18 paratroopers, including 2nd Lt Vincent E Wolf, Jumpmaster, of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. After they have boarded, the crew performs its traditional ritual of urinating on the tail wheel for luck, and climb aboard. The Group was taught a valuable lesson at Oujda, and there will be no more formation take-offs from sandy runways. The 17th launches 18 aircraft at 15-second intervals. We are airborne at 09/2050, and begin maneuvering into formation. We will have two Vee of Vee's, with our ship taking off next to last. All running and cabin lights are extinguished, and we are guided only by the strings of pale blue formation lights on the top of the fuselage and wings. As we and the number three man form on our element leader, he begins a tight left turn to join the main formation. The turn becomes tighter and tighter, with Lt Bond easing back on the throttle as we continue. Unlike the pivot man in a ground formation, airplanes are not able to mark time! Our speed continues to drop off as Lt Bond strives to avoid a collision with the leader. This reduction in speed, plus the fact that the parapack bundles are on the same side as the open jump door, is more than our ship can cope with. I can see why Bramble was so concerned with the ship's configuration. The drag produced by the bundles, coupled with that of the open door and decreased speed disrupts the ship's lift, and we go into a stall, fall out of the formation, and head toward the desert floor, 500 feet below. Bond applies full power, battles the controls, and pulls out of our dive, barely 50 feet off the ground. There is not a plane in sight, and we are not exactly certain of our location. The pilot turns to the radio compass for assistance, and soon picks up a beacon on Cape Bon. Rapid calculation puts us on an easterly heading, and we head out to sea, with all eyes searching the darkness for those pale lights. We spot a formation off to the left, but it is not ours, and Lt Bond is determined to fall into the correct Vee, as our leader has an IFF, as does the squadron leader. He finally sees a two-ship formation, identifies it as ours, and we pull back into the number two slot. Moments later, at 2117, we are over Kuriate Island, our rendezvous point. From there, the plan is to proceed to the west coast of Malta, via Linosa Island, make a Northeasterly dogleg to Sicily, and drop our troops just east of Gela. High winds, haze, light rain, and poor night visibility play havoc with us. We pass abeam Linosa at 2150 and head for Malta. Moments later, our Co-pilot, Bill Crooks, grabs the controls and hauls back on the wheel. We balloon over the number three ship, which he spotted sliding into us. Number three disappears beneath us and slips off into the darkness. After we settle down from the near-collision, Bond finds himself on the leader's right wing. He thinks, better of it, in case Number Three catches up with us. That pilot might not recognize our formation, so Bond falls back into the proper slot, and we are again joined by Number Three. We are Tail-end Charlie, and someone opines that the anti-aircraft guns ought to be right on target by the time we pass over them. Another comforting thought. We push on, following those illusive formation lights. Meanwhile, the adverse winds have blown the entire air armada far off course. We never do sight the lights that were to mark western Malta. We finally spot land, which turns out to be the eastern tip of Malta at 2324 hours, and the Group leader leads us off to the north.
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