Crew 22 by Jarink
| Produced By: | Jarink |
3.3/5 stars (48 votes)
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| Release Date: | Feb 2006 | Movie Image: |
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| Movie Category: | Awards: | |
| Movie Website: | Crew 22 | |
| Movie Download Link: | Download Crew 22 | |
| Movie Length: | 8 mins | |
| Game Engine Used: | 1C Maddox - IL2 Forgotten Battles |
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The story of this movie is one close to my heart since it is about the
wartime experiences of my grandfather, Edwin Rinkenberger. He and his
crewmates were orginal members of the 385th Bomb Group, joining it
shortly after it's formation in Spokane, Wa. The group transferred to
England in July of 1943. The crew was part of the 550th Bomb Squadron
and was carried on the group books as it's 22nd crew or the "Fryer"
crew after the pilot, Lyle Fryer. Lyle gave their first B-17 it's name
"Mary Ellen" after his girlfriend and had the name painted in large
black and white script on the nose.
the Fryer crew's flight
across the Atlanic was unusual. Groups normally crossed as a unit as a
safety measure. Delayed because of engine problems, they were supposed
to tag along with a B-24 group crossing the next day, July 3rd. Since
they were not part of the group, they were the last to take off. On the
way, they encountered some heavy thunderstorms and decided to fly above
the weather, alone. Since their B-17 could fly higher than the B-24s,
they managed to catch a strong tailwind from the jet stream (they
didn't realise what it was until later). Arriving in England, they
actually were the first to land, which earned them a rebuke from the
B-24 group commander for "cutting" in front of his planes!
To
the crew's displeasure, the original "Mary Ellen" was taken from them
almost immediately after arriving for depot modifications such as
adding nose guns and cheek windows. Their next aircraft, predictably
named "Mary Ellen II", was their main mount for the rest of their short
combat career. Due to shortages of both crews and planes, they would
fly in several other planes as well, like the "Hesitatin' Hussy" and
"Roundtrip Jack". The "Mary Ellen II" was lost on August 16, 1943 while
being flown by the Schley crew, so they were assigned a new aircraft,
the "Mary Ellen III".
They only got the opportunity to fly it on
one mission, though, the October 18th mission to Duren. They were
originally supposed to stand down for a few days, but losses the
previous week from the infamous "Second Schweinfurt" raid on Oct 14th
(which the crew flew on in "Roundtrip Jack") dictated them being added
to the follow-up Duren mission two days later. Since "Mary Ellen III"
was already assigned to another crew because it was equipped with the
"Gee" navigation aid, they were forced to borrow "Shack Bunny" from the
551st squadron.
The crew was awakened late and missed breakfast
to make the mission briefing. Since they were a "fill-in" crew, they
drew what was left in aircraft. The aircraft to which they were
assigned was not in good mechanical shape. Lyle Fryer called the crew
together and asked them if they wanted to go or abort. It was actually
the pilot's decision and responsibility, but Fryer wanted the crew to
have a say. They decided to go. The crew and the "Shack Bunny" were
behind the rest of the group and were struggling to catch up, but an
under performing engine prevented them joining the formation. Over
France, another engine was hit by flak, caught fire, and they bailed
out over Holland.
Taken prisoner by the Germans, the crew was
separated; officers wound up going to Stalag Luft I in Barth, Germany.
There they remained for the rest of the war fighting boredom and at
times near starvation. The camp housed an ever-growing population of
British and American airmen and by all accounts was fairly well-treated
by the Luftwaffe commandant, at least compared to some other camps. One
of the diversions the prisoners used to keep themselves busy and annoy
the Germans was digging tunnels. Since my grandfather was farily short,
he often drew duty as a tunnel-digger. These tunnels were not like the
ones seen on TV shows like "Hogan's Heroes", but tiny, cramped and
dangerous. The Germans usually found them quickly but let the prisoners
dig for a while before collapsing them and throwing the diggers in the
cooler.
As the war progressed, the prisoners eagerly anticipated
the arrival of Russian forces advancing from the east, keeping up to
date on the ground war by means of a radio hidden in a wall in the
British compound. Suddenly, on May 1st, the Germans notified the senior
POW, Col. 'Hub' Zemke, that they would be leaving the next morning to
escape the Russians. They actually snuck away during the night. The now
ex-POWs stayed in the compound for the most part since there was
considerable danger from scattered German and Russian forces in the
area, not to mention civilians that held no love for the Allied
"Terrorflieger". Several groups and individuals struck out to reach
Allied lines to the west anyhow. One of the Fryer crew, Lt. John
Durakov, spoke some Russian so was often called in to help work out
arrangements with the local Russian commander.
Back in England,
there was some concern as to how the Russians would treat the ex-POWs.
The Russians proposed to evacuate them through the port of Odessa on
the Black Sea, a trip of several hundred miles. At this point in the
war, most American and British leaders were becoming very distrustful
of the Russian's motives and feared (erroneously) that Allied POWs
would be held hostage in order to force territorial concessions on the
western powers. In the end the Eighth Air Force was allowed to mount
evacuation flights to retrieve the airmen in Stalag Luft I. This became
konwn as "Operation Revial" and was put into action May 13th-16th,
1945. B-17s were stripped of armament and had crude benches and floors
put in the bomb bays. Flying with minimal crew, each plane was thus
able to carry about 30 POWs. Flying into an airfield very close to the
Stalag, the planes flew over 8,000 allied aircrew back to Britain and
camps in France.
Sites to visit for more information:
385th BG page - http://welcome.to/385BombGroup
Friends of the 385th BG (a museum in Luxembourg) - http://www.385bg.com
Stalag Luft I Online - http://www.merkki.com
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