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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art World War Two Veteran Signatures United States Surname A  Asmussen, John |
[UP] - Adams, Milton - Adrianse, Lyle - Aines, Howard - Alcorn, Lavern - Allen, Bill - Allen, Luke - Altman, Robert - Ames, Roger - Ananian, Stephen - Anderson, Bill - Anderson, C - Ardery, Philip - Arreola, Albert - Arthur, Robert - Ash, William - Asmussen, John - Atwood, Lee |
John Asmussen
Tail gunner, B-17 Flying Fortress 'Yankee Queen'. Sadly John Asmussen passed away on 31st July 2007.
| John Asmussen - Signed Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
Her Majesty the Queen by Brian Bateman. April 26, 1943. The Yankee Queen, a sturdy and rugged B-17F, lumbered its way home on a steamy, hot and arid late afternoon. She was coming in to land, almost miraculously, as if being held up by Gods own hand. The Yankee Queen had been in on the bombing raid of the German airfield at Grosseto, Italy. A hot, long day with nothing but dust and heat and nerves all jumbled together in the souls of ten young airmen. The raid had not been an easy one. As they approached the airfield, they were discouraged to find that the target was covered by cloud. This was a bomber formations worst fear. If there was a chance to complete the mission they had to go around again at the same altitude and airspeed to approach the target, this time giving the German flak gunners on the ground much more time to gauge the bomber stream for their deadly 88mm guns. On second approach the target was clear, and going in on the bomb run the German gunners were deadly accurate. Yankee Queens right wingman took a direct flak hit in the bomb bay - the plane disintegrated with parts hitting the Queen - the tremendous force of the blast nearly knocking them out of the sky! The number three engine was hit by flak after the bombing run, severing the oil line with the prop having to be feathered. Number two engine, oil line severed, had oil draining from the engine so quickly that the prop could not be feathered. The prop windmills, making handling the crippled B-17 very difficult. Finally able to flatten out the prop before the engine siezed, the Queen, vibrating and falling out of formation, was now easy prey for the Luftwaffe fighters that hovered above waiting for a kill. Once out of the safety of the formation, the B-17s guns were now down to ten from what the strength of the box once had. Sitting ducks. Slow and losing altitude, the pilot gave the standby for bail out- but the signal never came. The pilot and co-pilot, fighting the bucking 17, are able to keep her under enough control to maintain flight. The crew stood ready at their stations, scanning, searching for that 109 or 190 to come at them from out of the sun and finish them off - they never came. Lady luck so far was with the Queen as she struggled and lumbered for any altitude she could muster. The crew threw out anything that had any weight as they reached the African coast, in order to keep her high enough to get over the mountains that lay ahead. But it was not enough as the Queen did not have it in her to get over the top - they would have to go through the valley and the surrounding mountains. Finally, the base! Home! The Queen struggles for every inch, groping, smoking, and vibrating as she reaches for the ground. Ever so slowly she touches down. The crew, hot, tired, and exhausted, realizes that this was their closest call to date. Nerves on end and wet with sweat; the crew emerges into the early African evening, thankful to be home and once again on the ground. Total flying time for this mission was 7 hours and 30 minutes. |
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This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com
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