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THE PLAINSMANDecember 17, 1943MISSING IN ACTION FOR THREE MONTHSLt. Robertson Has Exciting ExperienceThe eighth bombing mission of Lt. Archibald Lawson Robertson, former API student from Auburn, began the same way the previous seven had begun. The flying field was put on the alert in the late afternoon of July 9, 1943. The crews were awakened at 1:30 the following morning by the squadron operations officer and told to be ready for briefing at 2:30. In the briefing room the airmen were tense, anxiously waiting for the group intelligence officer to come in and remove the blankets that covered the maps. The entire crews listened with fixed attention as the officer outlined the course and told them how much flak to expect and how many fighters to expect.After this came a special briefing for each group of crew members: pilots, bombardiers, navigators, gunners, and radio operators. As dawn began to crack, the ships had been checked thoroughly, the gunners had checked their guns and were into their electrically-heated suits. The planes were lining up on the runway, ready to take off. At the appointed time the first plane took off, the others followed at thirty-second intervals, and took their places in formation over the field, then headed for the tarket.Unable to bomb the airfield in northern France because of an overcast, the formation turned toward the secondary target, at Caen, when they were attacked by several enemy fighters.“After a head-on attack by anenemy fighter,” said Lt. Robertson, “I looked out and saw number one engine on fire, and knew we had to go down. All crew members bailed out, and I didn’tknow whether we would hit water or land.”“The wind blew us back inland, three miles from the coast,” he continued.The details of his three-month journey back to England cannot be revealed, but it is no secret that he was glad to see Allied soil in October. The first thing the young pilot did was to senda cable to his mother, who had been notified that he was missing in action. He says he is not superstitious, but on all previous raids he had carried an English half-penny.Lt. Robertson, who was studying electrical engineering when he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, will go to Miami for his next assignment.
Newspaper Details
Auburn Plainsman
Auburn, Alabama, US
Fri, Dec 17, 1943
Page 1
Full Page
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USA 05 Jan 2024
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