B-17 Bomber Pilot Dick Nelms Interview. 35 Combat missions over Nazi occupied Europe.

Enclosed is a pictorial interview with WWII B-17 pilot Dick Nelms. Dick is 99 years old and flew 35 combat mission over Nazi occupied Europe. Dick shares his bombing experiences including a walk-through of a typical mission, most challenging/dangerous mission, his crew’s response while under attack from an Me-109, how to mentally handle unpredictable FLAK, crew side arm carry guidelines, bomber ammo mixes, thoughts on tracers cartridges. Topics and video time stamps are as follows:

1:00 Walk though of a Typical Mission
7:10 Policy on evasive action during bomb run
8:30 Example of close FLAK hit
9:30 Slave labor sabotage likely saved the plane
11:00 The bomb release toggle switch
11:20 Bombing an oil refinery, favorite target
13:15 Worst Mission bombing Berlin
16:10 Threat from fighters vs. FLAK
19:35 Me-109 sneaking in to attack
22:40 Bomber gun range vs. German fighter gun range
25:20 Mission to support D-Day
27:30 Tactical bombing mission at Saint Lo, to support US Troops
29:35 Typical Mission duration
30:50 Flight engineer duties
33:00 Plane’s reaction to a bomb drop train vs. salvo
33:50 Chatter on interphone system during mission
34:50 Dispensing anti-Radar chaff
35:25 Loss of a tail gunner due to friendly fire
38:40 B-17’s ammo belt mix, usage of tracers
40:30 Policy on bomber crew sidearm carry
44:20 Thoughts on handling fear while in combat
50:55 Policy on carrying extra ammo on bomber
54:30 Final Thought