Lt. William S. Strapko, Pilot - 483rd Bomb Group (H) - "The Big Yank"

Big Yank’s Crew Story

The second Unit Citation was for a March 24, 1945 mission. It was called the longest mission flown in Italy, 75 miles beyond Ruhland to the capital of the Fatherland, Berlin. The target was the Daimler-Benz Tank Works which had been assembling heavy and medium tanks for direct shipment to the Russian front. The bomb pattern was accurate in spite of an attack by 16 ME-262 German jet fighters. In the ensuing battle, we were credited with the destruction of six jets against the loss of only one Fortress, the Dailey/Dean crew of the 817th.

The following is an account of the Berlin raid told by the air crew of the plane, the "Big Yank", 840th:

The 483rd is the only Bomb Group in the entire Air Force to be credited with having shot down three German turbo-jet fighters (Me-262) on one mission by one plane, and is the only Group with an aerial gunner to be credited with having shot down two Me-262's. This is the story of the gallant crew that was the Group’s tail-end Charlie in the Big Yank on the Berlin mission on March 24, 1945 and who won these honors for us and helped to earn the second Presidential Citation awarded to the 483rd Bomb Group (H).

Two days before the Berlin mission, the Group had bombed some oil refineries at Ruhland some 75 miles southeast of Berlin at just about the usual limit of the B-I7's range. During the Ruhland mission a direct flak hit on one of the squadron's planes had set it aflame and It began to weave all over the sky, out of control. Lt. Strapko couldn't see the flaming plane or have any way of knowing what was happening except for the reports being given by the gunners in the rear of the plane. The prompt and accurate comments by the gunners made it possible to keep out of the dying plane's path.

Before each mission, it had been the crew's custom to gather in an informal group on the hardstand and exchange a few stories and do some kidding. It was no different for this mission to Berlin, and the fellowship between each of them seemed to release same of the tension that everyone felt. And to add to this day's powwow, Big Yank's Crew Chief, Irvin Davis, found a Lincoln head penny on the hardstand and gave it to (Pilot) Lt.William S. Strapko for good luck. Strapko gave the penny to co-pilot Clair Harper for safe keeping. It was a comforting feeling to each of them that they shared respect for each other and had confidence that each would do his job well when the occasion demanded it, regardless of stress or distraction.

With "take-off'. crew activities followed the normal routine that each position demanded. But in the back of each man's mind there was this thought that "we are in the most vulnerable position in the formation and we can expect little protection from those planes nearest us." Or, " we are the choice target for fighters." Perhaps even both thoughts passed through their minds, but such thoughts tend to keep one on his toes throughout a mission.

The flight to Berlin proved to be routine and uneventful until they began to approach the target. When they were about 15 miles from the target, the pilot warned everyone to be especially alert for enemy fighters and to hope that none showed up. P-51s formed their escort and were nearby, but some of the German fighters broke through the P-51's surveillance screen and dived on Tail-end-Charlie just as it turned toward the target, the most vulnerable position of the mission.

It was no wonder that the German fighters were able to get through our fighter screen, they were Me-262 turbo-jets and for a second they would be a dot in the sky, the next moment they would be a speeding ball of fire with bullets and cannon spitting out lead at their target. As was the usual case, these Me262's had waited far behind and high until the Group was committed to the bomb run, where the pilot must fly as straight and level as he can to get the bombs on target. There are no maneuvers or evasive action possible once the plane is committed. The plane and the crew are at the mercy of the flak and everything else the enemy can throw at it.

Alert as the gunners were, four of the Me262's came at the Big Yank so fast they caught the gunners by surprise. They were in echelon flight, and dived past the plane, swept under it and circled around in a large circle to begin their second pass and attack. By this time the gunners were ready and as the fighters slowed a little in order to avoid over-shooting the plane, the gunners poured their bullets into the flight path of the Me-262's.

The gunners kept up a running account over the Intercom of what was taking place. Tail gunner Lincoln Broyhill saw two Me-262's in echelon approaching his position and let go as they came within range, the first Me-262 turned away at about 200 yards, he said, "I had seen my tracers going into his fuselage and I'm sure he was badly hit. The minute the first fighter turned away the second came boring in, and I had to keep my guns going, and again at about 200 yards, it turned away and began to spiral down. My guns then jammed because they had been going too long."

About this time, co-pilot Clair Harper, who says he was doing what every co-pilot does at such a time, praying and feeling like he should open his window and fire his 45 out at anything that came into sight, glanced over to his left and saw an Me-262 heading straight for the Big Yank. He yelled to the top turret gunner, Howard Wehner, who, already pumping lead into one Me-262, turned his turret towards the incoming fighter that appeared to be headed for a collision with the Big Yank.

Harper then hollered to the pilot. "Bill, he is going to ram us! " There was little Strapko could do but brace himself for the expected crash, By this time Wehner was firing at the fighter and at about 150 feet, the Me-262 reared up and exploded. Wehner had destroyed his second Me-262 and Harper said later that he could actually see the German pilot's eyes before it was destroyed.

The other gunners had all been very busy keeping the swarms of jets away from their plane, so much so that no one really had much time to be sure that it was his firepower that knocked a plane out of the attack. The bombardier was keeping his eyes glued to the planes ahead so that he would be able to drop his bomb load upon command of the lead bombardier The navigator was busy with his usual assignments, none of which can easily be reflected in relation to what was taking place and at such a rapid pace.

How each man felt during this attack, only he knows, but Lt. Strapko, summarized his feelings with, "it's difficult to express the human personal side of events such as these because each of us had his job to do. Some required quick responses, others, like myself had it) sit and listen to the intercom to what was going on, and in my case, being preoccupied with keeping the plane under control, keeping information and in good position during the bomb run, and not being in a position where I could do anything to avoid the attacking planes."

He added, "I'm sure that the personal and human side that has been related here was experienced not only by our crew members, but by every crew on the mission, the fright that was inside of each of us, our thoughts, hopes and prayers when it was over, was a common feeling shared by all."

After the bombs had been dropped on the Daimler-Benz Tank Works, they came home, the crew calm and composed and ever alert until they were once again safely back in Italy. The fuel tanks were practically empty when they arrived at home base, in fact some of the Group's planes had to land at alternate bases to refuel before continuing on home.

The crew of Big Yank officially received credit for destroying three Me-262's and one probable. It shared in the destruction of six Me-262's and several gunners were credited with jointly knocking down a jet with the aid of gunners from other planes in the box. Lt. Strapko said it very well with: "Everything was very difficult that day while the attack was going on. Every man was fighting for his life and did not have time to keep score."

(On the one plane that went down, the Dailey/Dean crew, 817th, all 10 members survived as Pow's)

Credit: "483rd Bomb Group (H)" by Donald E. Stern


AIRCRAFT:

Douglas (Long Beach) B-17G-50-DL Flying Fortress, #44-6405 "BIG YANK"

UNIT:

840th Bomb. Sq. (H), 483rd Bomb. Gp. (H), 306th Combat Wing, 5th Air Division, 15th AF, MTO

"BIG YANK" was named by Crew Chief Irvin "Irv" Davis. The nose-art included a portrait of the wartime President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was painted by Italian artist Mario Rucci. "BIG YANK" completed 50 combat missions as the mount of various crews. After VE-Day, the B-17 was converted for passenger use with the so-called "Homebound Airlines", part of the "GREEN PROJECT" which utilized ex-combat aircraft returning to the USA to transport returning servicemen as well. "BIG YANK" was subsequently selected as an Air-Sea Rescue plane and was used at least once in this role to drop a boat to a downed American fighter pilot in the Adriatic Sea. As the 483rd BG was deactivated at Pisa, Italy in September 1945, "BIG YANK" was returned to the USA. The plane's last flight was to Walnut Ridge, Arkansas on December 28, 1945. A picture of "BIG YANK" is displayed at the Boeing Flight Museum at Seattle, Washington.

(1) Harrison, replacement from David O. Crump Crew, 840th BS.
(2) McIntyre from 487th BG/8th AF, replaced Lengsfield as a regular crew member.
(3) Broyhill from 8th AF, replaced Brown as a regular crew member.
(4) Lengsfield LWG to Lawrence R. Hayes Crew, 840th BS, for March 24, 1945 Berlin mission.

SERVICE:

The Strapko crew assembled and received 10 weeks of intensive combat training at Drew Field near Tampa, Florida. On completion of training, the crew reported to the staging area at Hunter Field, Savannah, Georgia in February 1945. There the crew were issued combat clothing and equipment, then assigned to a Lockheed-Vega B-17G-85-VE Flying Fortress, #44-8815 for their flight overseas from their POE at Dow Field, Bangor, Maine. Bad weather forced the crew to layover for several days at Syracuse, New York. Other stops were made at Gander, Newfoundland; Valley, Wales; Marrakech, French Morocco and Tunis, Tunisia before the crew landed at the 52nd Advance Depot at Giola, Italy. The crew arrived to the 483rd Bomb Gp. (H) at Sterparone, Italy on March 5, 1945 and almost immediately began flying combat missions on March 8, 1945.

After President Roosevelt passed away, on Sunday April 15, 1945, a special memorial service was held at Sterparone. "BIG YANK" Radio Operator Albert Bishop was fittingly chosen to play "Taps".

On April 27, 1945, McIntyre was relieved to the USA. After VE-Day - Brown, Broyhill, Harrison, Lengsfield, Roberts and Shellabarger went to the 301st Bomb Group on May 18, 1945. Eventually, all crew members returned safely home to the USA.

Strapko, Harper, Levin, Wehner and Bishop were sent to Pisa, Italy to become part of the so-called "Homebound Airlines". When the 483rd BG was deactivated, the remaining five-man Strapko Crew went to the 2nd BG at Naples, Italy and were assigned a "war-weary" B-17 "O, MOM" (For Ohio, Michigan, Oklahoma and Minnesota) for the return flight to the USA.

STORY:

On March 24, 1945, the Strapko Crew of the 840th BS were assigned to "BIG YANK" and to the "tail-end Charlie" position with 816th BS for a mission to Berlin. "BIG YANK" was one of 28 of the 483rd Bombardment Group's B-17s assigned to the mission. The Berlin mission would prove to be the longest escorted bomber mission of World War II in Europe. Included on the mission were replacement crew-members: bombadier Harrison, armorer/waist gunner McIntyre and tail gunner Broyhill. Near the target, the Daimler-Benz tank works, the group was attacked in-force by defending Luftwaffe Me 262 jet fighters.

Radio Operator/Gunner Albert Bishop remembers:

"Our 'Red Tail' 99th (Ftr. Sq. ) fighter escort took off as soon as the Me 262s' presence was announced on combat radios. 'BIG YANK' had 'Tail-end Charlie' position. They dived into us, firing, with flaps down at about 20-30 degrees and noses up attitude setting up a very good target for our gunners at our slow airspeed."
From an interview published May 3, 1945, in the Des Moines, Iowa "Plain Talk"

Tail Gunner Lincoln Broyhill recalled:

"I saw four jets attacking a lone B-17 from another group. The B-17 knocked down one of the enemy fighters before it flew in a crippled manner towards the Russian lines. The remaining three fighters came at our plane. Two of them came right behind each other at my position. They were about 1000 yards away when I started cutting loose with my guns. The first (Me 262) made a pass at 200 yards and my tracers were going right into its fuselage. Suddenly it went down in flames. The second came into my sights after the first had dropped. I kept shooting away because he was getting into my hair. Suddenly, it also spiraled down. Upon hitting the ground, it burst into flames. Because I had my guns spitting lead so rapidly, they jammed."

Ball-turret Gunner Cecil Shellabarger recalled:

"I began shooting at the third enemy plane when it was about 800 yards away and when he came within 100 yards of our tail, he peeled off. He seemed to stand on end when all at once, he fell off on his left wing. I shot at him again and hit him between the wing and fueslage. He went down into a straight dive and about 4,000 feet from the ground, it disintegrated."

Engineer/Top-turret Gunner Howard Wehner recalled:

"They started coming right at me. I kept my guns trained on them and 'bingo', two more jets were going down in flames."

Records achieved March 24, 1945 by the crew of "BIG YANK" and the 483rd BG include:

* Most German Jets destroyed by a single bomb group on one mission - Six.
* Most German Jets destroyed by one bomb group for the entire war - Seven.
* Most German Jets destroyed by a single crew on one mission - Three.
* Most German Jets destroyed by a single crew for the entire war - Three.
* Most German Jets destroyed by a single gunner, Broyhill, on one mission - Two.
* Most German Jets destroyed by a single gunner, Broyhill, for entire war - Two.
* Most German Jets destroyed by a single bomber for entire war - Three.

Due in no small part to the achievements of the Strapko Crew of "BIG YANK" on the Berlin mission of March 24th, the 483rd Bomb Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation - However, the crew was somehow overlooked, on this day, for any personal awards. They did receive a considerable amount of recognition in "Stars and Stripes" and newspapers in the USA. There is a further effort to get awards for the crewmembers in recognition of their significant accomplishments and the connection to FDR.

Credit: The preceding information was pieced together at the home of the Warbirds Resource Group, which can be found at: http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org.

Lt. William S. Strapko, Pilot,  is the third from the left in the back row. This and the following photos are courtesy of William S. Strapko and the "483rd Bomb Group (H)" by Donald E. Stern. The Museum has a copy of the book in its reference library.

Bill Strapko parking "Big Yank" after the Berlin mission.  His crew took part in destroying six M262 jets and received credit for three.  Flight Engineer Howard Wehner shot dow two of the jets.  All three of these feats are WWII Combat Records for a single crew for a single mission.  The man directing the parking is Irv Davis.

Crew Chief Davis is seen congratulating the crew after the Berlin Raid on March 24,1945, where the crew made three WWII Combat Records by single mission. Davis is shaking the hand of Lt. William S. Strapko, Pilot.

Lt. William S.Strapko is shown receiving the Air Medal from Colonel Paul L. Barton, C.O.

Four friends at a stop over on their way home to the U.S. after the war, Lt. Edwin F. Levin, Navigator on the Strapko crew; Lt. Lee Dickerson, Co-Pilot on the C. Byrd crew, Lt.Charles Byrd, First Pilot, and Lt. William S. Strapko, First Pilot.

Jason Law, our volunteer Oral History Program Coordinator and a student at D'Youville College, with Stephanie Sadler, a SUNY Fredonia student, interviewed Lt. William S. Strapko on January 10 as part of the Oral History Program.