Operation Gunn: WWII’s Great Escape by Air

[Mike H.]

Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “Operation Gunn: WWII’s Great Escape by Air” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/operation-gunn/.

 

[Recusant]

Great story!

 

[Snake45]

Great story! I knew the basics of it, but not the details presented here.

There's a minor error in the very first line, however, which says:

In August 1943, the USAAF’s 15th Air Force began their vital strategic bombing campaign against the German oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania.

The 15th Air Force didn't even exist until 1 November 1943. The B-24s that attacked Ploesti on the famous and tragic Tidal Wave mission of 1 August 1943 were all of units attached to the 8th and 9th Air Forces.

Operation Tidal Wave - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[blazero1]

Thank you for the story my dad was with the 450th bomb group in Manduria Italy and at one of his reunions I met some of the pilots who were involved in the rescue and heard the stories from them . I enjoyed seeing the photos in your article it helped put context to the story.

 

[Icepick Mike]

What a terrific story! Especially so as my father was a gunner on a B24. A good American and after the war successful business man. RIP old man!

 

[DDTM]

No "meatballs" in the stars of the photo. Looks like the right leg of the landing gear collapsed on landing, which was not uncommon.