[Homer_J_Simpson]

Winston S. Churchill, Closing the Ring

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Today Homer’s Uncle, along with the other 9 members of his B-17 crew, report for duty with the 381st Bombardment Group (Heavy), at Ridgewell, Essex, England. Homer’s uncle is in the front row, kneeling, second from right in the photo.

The Billy Chason crew (he’s the pilot) is assigned to the 533rd Bomb Squadron. The rookies will spend the next 3 weeks in orientation and training before being assigned to a combat mission.

The 381st BG set up for business in Ridgewell last June and has since flown 47 combat missions. Its four squadrons (532nd, 533rd, 534th, and 535th) have lost a total of 40 aircraft to German fighters and flak in the course of those missions. Nine of those lost have been from the 533rd. I tried to calculate the new crew’s chances of successfully completing their quota of 25 missions without being shot down. I wasn’t successful at that but during the recent World War II 70th Anniversary conference I learned from one of the veterans that he was told upon his arrival in England that his life expectancy was 5 ½ missions.