PART IV
The 9th Air Force was reactivated in the United Kingdom on 16 October 1943 after successful action in North Africa and the invasion of Italy. Headquarters were established at Sunninghill Park, Berkshire, England in an estate adjoining the famous Ascot racecourse. The 8th Air Force was already in place, operating in strategic bombing and daylight raids on the continent. The 9th Air Force under, Major General Brereton were to participate in Operation Pointblank, the air offensive designed to smash the German Air Force in the air as a preliminary to the coming invasion of Europe. The 9th was assigned the responsibility of direct tactical support for ground forces. It became six times larger than it had been in North Africa with 11 bomber groups, 18 fighter groups, 14 troop carrier groups and 2 reconnaissance groups. One of the recon groups was the 10th, and one of the squadrons arriving in Europe was the 34th on 29 March 1944. The 10th Group, and the 34th PRS were stationed in Chalgrove, England.
The first "dicing" mission was flown on the morning of 6 May as 1st Lt. Albert Lanker crossed the Channel in his F-5 at an altitude of 15 feet above the waves. He reached the other side at Berq-sur-Mer and turned around a large sand dune to lessen his chances of being hit while turning. His photos later showed this dune to be an enemy gun position. Racing in a super-buzz just above the beaches, cameras on runaway, he encountered five groups of men at work on beach defenses. In each case he headed straight for the group of men just to watch them scatter and roll. He said they were completely surprised and didn�t see him until he was almost on top of them. He was fired upon repeatedly at point blank range by riflemen but was not hit. Then, he scaled the cliff at the end of his photo run, cleared the top by about 6 feet, and returned safely to Chalgrove.
The pilot on the second dicing mission, Lt. Fred Hayes, was never heard from again. On the third dicing mission, Lt. Allen R. Keith collided with a seagull, which stuck the glass in front of his bullet proof windshield. He was a bloody mess from the seagull, but returned home safely.
Chalgrove was near Oxford and the 8th Air Force Reconnaissance Group, commanded by Col. Elliot Roosevelt (the President�s son) was only a few miles to the west. It became obvious immediately that the 8th and 9th were not going to be buddies in town. The 9th were the invasion forces and living a rather crude existence compared to the 8th that was well entrenched in quarters and supply channels. We were eating from mess kits and managing on field rations while they had mess halls and ice cream! At any rate, before summer came, 8th Air Force headquarters in High Wycombe placed the town "off limits" to 9th Air personnel.
From 6 to 20 May, 1944, F-5 Lightnings of the 10th Group, including the 34th were given the responsibility of furnishing vitally important photos of the invasion beaches. In order to assure the photos were of such quality and scale that the beach shore defenses could be studied minutely for briefing and training of assault it was necessary that extremely low level oblique photos be obtained. High level, vertical photos had shown intricate barricades in the shallow water and in the sand. The high altitude photos did not have adequate detail to determine how strong these were, whether they were made of wood or concrete, whether anchored deep in the sand, or whether they could be overrun by landing craft or avoided by infantrymen storming the beach. However, the extremely hazardous taking of low level pictures of a strip so formidably defended made the invasion commanders hesitate to order "dicing" missions. The term "dicing" is used to describe the low level technique used by the pilots, as though the aircraft were dice tossed on a gambling table. At this point General Quesada went down to the 10th PRG to talk to Col. Berg and the squadron commanders to see how they felt. With Operation Overlord and the invasion of the continent in the balance, the reaction from the 10th was singular. "We�re ready now, just tell us what you want and we�ll get it."
In all, eleven low level oblique sorties were flown to obtain excellent photos of coastal and underwater defenses from Blakenberghe to Dunkirk, from LeJouque to St. Vaast-La-Hoque. Mines with trip wires were detected attached to the tops of posts, gun positions were shown in the sides of cliffs, and weak spots in defenses were located. For its performance in carrying out these sorties, the 10th Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation.
From 15 May to 5 June, besides the extraordinary low level oblique photos, the recon Lightnings were employed to the maximum completing the following tasks:
- Mosaics of the area within a 12 mile radius of the Leige bridges for a Bomber Command study of flak defenses.
- Coverage of all the airfields in northern France.
- Run-in nose dicing strips for troop Carrier Command.
- Mosaics of landing strips and drop zones for Troop Carrier Command and Airborne divisions.
- Medium scale coverage of all main roads in the invasion area every four days from 23 May to the invasion.
- Medium scale coverage of all bridges over the Seine River from Paris to the sea, and over the Loire river from Nantes to Orleans.
- Special large scale coverage of landing and drop zones on D minus-1 to enable Troop Carrier Command and Airborne divisions to study obstacles which were reported to be under construction in their areas.
Operation Overlord was scheduled for 5 June, but weather delayed the attack until the 6th. By the evening of the 5th, all allied aircraft were painted with the invasion stripes of alternating black and white bands completely around fuselages and wings. These stripes would easily identify them as friends to the ships and troops below. Tragic losses to friendly forces had occurred during the invasion of Sicily, and this was to avoid any possible recurrence. The painting on of stripes continued in some cases well into the night of 5 June, and was not completed at some bases until after the first waves of aircraft had taken off for France.
The 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group moved to France, to A-9 at Le Moley on 2 July, 1944. They were able to function without a heavy photographic processing laboratory, since they were primarily visual reconnaissance flying F-6 Mustangs and fighter types. The 10th Group and the 34th had to wait until facilities were available for our photo lab. We moved to the continent on the 11th of August. In the mean time, we continued operational support from Chalgrove in England. The first of many of our temporary bases in France was at A-27 in Rennes on the Brest Peninsula.
Although most reconnaissance aircraft of the day were based on fighter airframes, not all recce types were unarmed as was the F-5. This is a F-6 built by North American Aviation. Based upon the Mustang, this platform was better suited for "on-the-spot" visual and quick tactical reconnaissance where high resolution photography and the trimetrogon cameras were not neccessary. Note this ship has 6 kills painted beneath the cockpit. (Richard Kill) Tenting on the plains near the air base at Rennes wasn�t too bad, it was summertime and there was a nice rock quarry with good clean water not far away. You could get in a swim once in a while, and I do remember some strange fishing expeditions with German hand grenades for bait. Rather dangerous, but you could trade fish for fresh eggs! We got our first USO show there, too. It was Spike Jones, and all you needed was a helmet to sit on!
Our mission remained roughly the same. We covered airfields, railroad yards, bridges, the front lines, special targets assigned, etc., through the campaigns of northern France, the Rhineland, the Ardennes-Alsace, and central Europe. We moved from Rennes to Chateaudun on 25 August, to St. Dizier on the 12th of September, then we left the 10th Group for a new outfit.
The 34th PRS joined with the 111th Tactical Recon Squadron and the 162nd Tactical Recon Squadron to form the Provisional Recon Group of the 1st Tactical Air Force (Provisional). All the "provisions" never amounted to much but a paper shuffle. The rumor was that we were going to have a new arm patch to replace the 9th Air Force patch, and that would be a Cross of Loraine. We were supporting the French Army coming up from the south (in addition to our other duties). At any rate, the 34th moved again to a new base on the outskirts of Dijon on 6 October 1944. This was the first time we had a base near a French city of consequence that was almost in tact. The city had real department stores and restaurants and the pilots even lucked out and were given quarters in an old French chateau. This was the first time we�d been under a hard roof since the nice Quonset huts in Chalgrove
Daylight photo recce was flown by the 34th while the 111th and the 162nd accomplished tac reece. The fast, low flying F-6s had difficulty in spotting visual targets as the winter set in and snow covered an already well concealed enemy. The importance of detailed quality coverage by the F-5s of the 34th were of the highest order. Many juicy targets were discovered by interpreters examining in stereo the day�s haul from our F-5s. A combination of vertical and oblique photos provided ground commanders with material for detailed terrain studies upon which to plan their operations.
The 34th also provided routine bomb damage assessment coverage. Although some of the bombers carried small spotting cameras, the quality was poor because targets were more often than not covered with smoke and fire from the strike aircraft. It was later, when the smoke cleared, that the damage could be seen in detail. This was a job for photo recon, because the bombers or strike aircraft were "long gone" by then. Frequently the F-5 pilot was required to take "before, during and after" photos. This was an ideal method of determining exactly what damage was done. But, it meant that the Photo Joe had to get there first and stay until after the sky was lonesome and you were the only target left to shoot at! Sporting!
On 3 November 1944 the 34th moved again, this time to a strip at Azelot just outside of Nancy in Alsace-Lorraine. It was going to be a long, cold winter, and most of the outfit was stuck with the tents for quarters. I must admit, though, that a winterized tent may have been warmer than the old barn many of us were quartered in. The walls were thick, but the smell of the previous occupants never quite left!
Initally limited in capability, the F-6 Mustang saw constant modification toward accomodating many varied camera installations. Eventually, the Mustang was seen as capable in the roll of photo reconnaissance as the Lightning by those in the higher eschelons of command. (Charlie Hoy) Most of the American Hospitals for the front were quartered in Nancy that winter, and even the hospital trains used Nancy as a home base. Not only was there a great Red Cross Club in town and several public baths (with hot water)... there was an abundance of Army nurses that brightened some of the spare time.
The first big squadron party was held on 20 December in Nancy. A great time was had by all attending. Meanwhile back at the war, the Battle of the Bulge was developing and the weather was terrible. The weather started breaking on the 23rd and Christmas Day was beautiful and it looked like the entire air corps was up and at �em! Recon planes of the three tactical Air Commands flew 177 sorties while fighter-bombers put up 1095 sorties. It was a very busy Christmas Day, and the German counter offensive in the Ardennes was completely contained by 27 December.
The Germans were getting desperate. They had dropped a number of troops behind our lines wearing US uniforms and speaking fluent English. Word was posted on the bulletin board on 2 January as follows: "Men will wear steel helmets and carry guns at all times. Word was received from higher Headquarters that a small scale attack by the enemy had been reported in the Seventh Army area." Evidence was discovered in a gate house near the pilots quarters of a German spending the night. Needless to say, there were several volunteers for extra guard duty the next few nights. Lt. Hoy was shot at from nearby woods, and evidence of a sniper was found in the woods. On 5 January Sgt. Eino Kangas was killed by a carbine bullet in another section of the forest.
It was a long, cold winter. The mud and snow were not pleasant for the crews on the flight line especially. Even new combat jackets couldn't always keep a man warm in the wind on a ladder trying to repair a leak in a fuel line in a 30 knot wind. It took a lot more than technical ability to "keep �em flying" that winter. Our gang accomplished their usual outstanding job.
We did seem to be getting a few more fringe benefits while the weather often kept the planes on the ground for days on end. The 48 and 72 hour passes to Paris were picking up. Several of the squadron got 7 days leave back to England, and by early spring rest homes had opened at Cannes on the French Riviera and on Lake d�Annecy in the French Alps.
On the 3rd of April 1945 the 34th moved up again, this time almost to the Rhine River in Alsace-Lorraine at Hagenau, north of Strasbourg. It was necessary to fly back to the west to gain altitude before heading into Germany or you would cross the lines in a very vulnerable position.
Hagenau had changed hands many times in the fighting over the winter, and when we arrived the minefield just off the end of the runway was still not cleaned. For quite some time the bodies of those killed in the last action were easily seen from the roadway, including several American soldiers. We were ordered to leave the area completely alone until it was cleared. Booby traps were suspected and the mines could often be spotted on top of the ground since many were planted in the snow. It looked strange to see the white camouflage capes fluttering in the breeze over the corpses in battle dress whites!
The French Moroccans crossed our area at this time. It was strange seeing camels and their dress in the middle of Europe. They took Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, having their usual fun and games of raping and pillaging everything they conquered. They were our allies, but hardly our brand of soldier.
The war was obviously over now. It was just too bad that the German Generalstaffs efforts to assassinate Hitler and end the war had failed earlier. At any rate, at 0001 hours on 9 May 1945, the unconditional surrender of Germany, which had been signed at Reims at 0141on 7 May, became effective and World War II was over in Europe.
A shattered Arado Ar 96 B trainer at F�rth. (Richard Kill) The end of hostilities did not stop the mission of the 34th Photo Recon Squadron. In the first few days following the end of the war the weather was terrific and we were very busy mapping and doing other basic cover sorties that were to stand the United States Intelligence Community in good stead for many years to come. As the "Iron Curtain" went down over much of Europe, we had taken a good peek through the window. I personally spent three days mapping Yugoslavia (and incidentally took flak each day. Tito didn�t buy our cover story that we were looking for Himmler in some trucks with a group of SS troops).
The 34th moved to the airbase at Furth, Germany, outside Nurembourg on 15 July, 1945 where we stayed until the unit was deactivated on 22 November 1945. Until that, we continued to accomplish basic photographic cover for future use. Assisting in Project "Davey Jones" and other special assignments.
The 34th even had the first incident with the Russians, in true "U-2" Gary Powers style. F/O Rankin was missing on a flight over Poland. He had been forced down and was in prison. He was able to escape with the help of a Polish girl who befriended him, and he walked out of the "Iron Curtain" area. He was immediately debriefed and sent home.
Aerial photographic reconnaissance was really in its infancy during W.W.II. Like many other techniques, we gained much knowledge from our help to the British. British Intelligence gave us the clues to our needs, and we designed and sold equipment to them through "Lend Lease". They had the P-38 in combat before we did, and many of the techniques used in the RAF Spitfire Recce squadrons contributed to our training programs.
Since W.W.II, however, the US reconnaissance and intelligence programs have been the mainstay of the free world. Camera controls are automatic. Shutterless "strip" cameras synchronize the movement of the earth under the camera with the width of the slit and the type of film to make an endless exposure. The new processing machines with their computer controls automatically scan the negative during processing steps and correct for contrast, density, etc. I think most of us take for granted the daily look at the weather satellite pictures on TV. Not many years ago it was thought impossible to take pictures from space. I have a great copy, in living color, of the earth...taken from the moon!
The reconnaissance groups and squadrons of World War II were the real pioneers in establishing the firm requirements for continuous intelligence coverage to provide a data base for future use. This country never wants to be caught short again on worldwide target information. The advent of ballistic missles makes it even more imperative to know the exact geodetic position of all areas of interest. The operational demand for photographic coverage increased in Korea and Vietnam. Before silver recovery efforts began in the photo processing area, the sewers of Saigon must have been plated with pure silver from the many miles of film that were processed in the area.
Perhaps the most significant contribution of the 34th was the example of continuing to collect data after the end of hostilities, until it became routine. An easy example is that of the Cuban missile sites. Routine aerial reconnaissance of Cuba found these sites before they became operational.
Well done, pioneers of the 34th!
