World War II Diary of John J. Briol, B-17 Ball Turret Gunner

Edited by: John F. Welch

Published: 1993

Excerpt: “Our target was the Synthetic Oil Refinery at Ruhland. We had to pass near Berlin on the way. Then it happened so quick you couldn’t think. We heard the report “Bandits”. The Nazi fighters came barreling through our formations before you could wink an eyelash. I watched terrified as three of our Fortresses went down in flames with their bomb loads and our buddies in them.

I saw five men get out of one of them. The rest were lost. One of them kept falling, I never did see his chute open. We had one engine gone but we kept up with the formation to the target and left it in flames. It wasn’t long and another engine quit. Coming back from a mission and seeing the shore of England is the sweetest thing in the world…”

Silver Wings Aviation, Inc.
2933 Country Club Drive
Rapid City, SD 57702-5218
Copyright © 1993

ISBN: 0-9637909-0-0