OPERATION BOLERO

Establishment of 8th Army Air Force in England

C-47 Serial N1-7809

Lt. LaVeme L. Cheney (P), Lt. Thomas M. Patrick (CP), Lt. John Ponemone (N), T/Sqt. Dwiqht H. Goff (CC), Corporal James Moran (RO)

2 Aug 42

The 17th commences to airlift the air echelon of the 14th Fighter Group (Lockheed P-38 Lightning's) from Bradley Field (Windsor Locks), CT, to England. The 17th ground echelon departs Westover via truck convoys and troop train for Fort Dix, NJ, the Port of Embarkation for surface transportation to England.

3-6 Aug 42

Presque Isle Field. Maine. Sergeant Dwight Goff taxies our aircraft into a telephone pole, putting a deep dent in the leading edge of the left wing, and shredding the de-icer boot. We are delayed awaiting a replacement aircraft, which arrives 5 Aug. Most of the squadron is well on its way.

 

 

 

C-47 #41-18350 - "CHENEY'S TRAINER"

Same crew

6 Aug 42

While awaiting clearance at Base Ops, our eyes are drawn to the cover of the current issue of LIBERTY magazine. There, in full, living color, is a painting of a C-47 being shot down in flames by a Japanese Zero. Not exactly an encouraging thought. Weather to Goose Bay is clear, for a change. [573 Miles]

6-10 Aug 42

Goose Bay RCAF Base, Labrador. The first of many weather delays that plagued us during our crossing of the North Atlantic. Goff and I lived in the ship all the way across. Even in our heavy sheepskin flying suits and sleeping bags, it was COLD! And trying to get comfortable on a row of jump seats, or on the corrugated floor, was nearly impossible. We are still cooking our own meals.

10 Aug 42

The crew is briefed by pilots of the Ferry Division of ATC. Strict radio silence, except in emergency, but I must monitor weather broadcasts. We are given identification codes, in event that we are challenged by surface craft. They send, either by radio or Aldis Lamp, two Morse code letters. We find the letters, and form a rectangle with two others, which we send back. We are also given flare colors of the day, which change every six hours, which are fired in event of a surface challenge.

NOTE: During the crossing, the color of the day in one instance was a Yellow Aldis Lamp. When one of our ships was challenged by a submarine, the coded signal was flashed back, but so fast that the sub thought it was being fired on, and began to return fire, until the flare was fired. The ship was not hit, but we were certainly warned to send our reply slowly! We take off on schedule, into a heavily overcast sky.

10-14 Aug 42

BW-1 (Bluie West One) Narsarssuak Air Base (modern name Narsarsuaq), Greenland. We locate Greenland as scheduled, and begin the ticklish 60-mile flight up Tunugdliarfik Fjord to the base. The route is flown at low level between towering, snow-capped mountains that are so narrow that executing a missed approach is nearly impossible. We land uphill on a runway of PSP (Pierced Steel Planking), which is so noisy that I thought the gear had collapsed! Adverse weather in the North Atlantic delays us again, but we have successfully completed our first over water flight. During our delay, we while away the time by fishing, and climbing to the top of one of the mountains, where we bury a list of our names in a stone cairn.

NOTE: The C-47 was heated by steam heaters, which boil dry after two hours; crew and passengers alike huddle in blankets the rest of the way across, and some nervous passengers keep a leery eye on the fuselage tanks, tapping them on occasion to see how much fuel is remaining! Major Baldwin Burr, our non-rated Adjutant and Communications Officer, is the most nervous of all! [776 Miles]

14 Aug 42

Skies are overcast and we encounter several periods of rain while enroute to Iceland. Wishing to take advantage of an opening in the clouds, our navigator, Lt. Ponemone, places his sextant into the bracket of the astro-dome, climbs onto his stool, and promptly hits the delicate instrument with his head, knocking it onto the floor and smashing it to smithereens. He has a spare instrument, but it is a British model with which he is not familiar. This places the

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