"TOO MUCH of TEXAS"

THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF THE CREW.


PILOT "1st. Lt. R. C. FRY 0-728069
CO-PILOT "2nd. Lt. D. U. WALLACE 0-792327
NAV-BOMBER "1st. Lt. C. F. ALLEN 0-791545
ENG-GUNNER "T/SGT. E. RESNER 18044426
RADIO GUNNER "T/SGT. C. D. WILLIS 14071397
TAIL-GUNNER "S/SGT. S. LUPOLE 12081480

Then one day we got some new planes with longer wing spans and a more powerful engine. Each crew got one of these new planes and that was the one they would fly . Hey were we proud of that ship. Now was the time to name her. We sat around and tried to think of a good name. It seem as we were getting no where and I spoke up and said “the only thing wrong was that there were too many Texans in this crew“. You see most every one was from Texas but me and another one of the crew. It was then that every one said “Let’s call her "Too Much of Texas".”

This crew worker hard to be sure that Too much of Texas would stay in the air. Others were dropping one a day in Tampa Bay. We were on the ball and made sure that she would do what the pilot told her to do. Lt. Fry was a good pilot, his nick name was "Fearless" This he proved a lot of times.

There was on day we nearly dropped her in the Bay. We came very close to drowning her. If Sgt. Resner had not been on the ball and was watching his engines it would have been too bad. Yes “Katie would have bought the farm”. We were taking off and about half way down the run way Sgt. Resner reached over and cut both engines. Lt. Fry looked at him and with a stern voice said “Why in the hell did you do that” by this tine we had slowed down and Fry taxied the ship back to the pad. Sgt Resner said that the right engine was running away and we would not be able to get air bound with it acting that way. Sure enough when the plane was checked it was found to be true. A few minor repairs and Too Much of Texas was ready to go again. I believe that was the only time we had any trouble with that beautiful ship.

Well we went to have some checking done on her at Dayton Ohio and when they got through which took a couple of days. Fry red lined the ship so we had to stay there for another day. We went out on the town and had a good time. And when the ship was turned over to us again it was Reasner who red lined her and there we were in for another day. It looked as we were finding things that the others at Dayton check out to be OK. The next day when the ship was turned over to us they told me “Well Willis it is your time to find something wrong with the radio“. To which I did I made the command set inoperative and we had to red line her again. Hey another night on the town. After this we could not find anything wrong so off to Mac Dill we went. You see we had near about a week in Dayton to have fun. Every night out on the town.

We made several trips to Texas just to show her off. We were not scheduled to go there. Well we did any way that was not that on the flight record but that was the way it was. We wanted Texas to see a good ship and one that would fight for Texas. Yes we were in love with the B-26 and at that it was a hot ship. Even though it looked like a flying cigar.

One day on our training flights we were too low and brought back a long piece of cable wrapped around our compass antenna. It was the ground wire from one pole to another. The ground wire was the top wire that run along the power line. We felt the ship jerk when we caught the wire and we just keep on flying. It wasn‘t until we landed and saw the long string of wire that we knew just what we had snagged.

Lt. Fry did several training which he switched off one of the engines and flew the ship on one engine. This paid off as on our first mission in enemy air space the enemy shot out the right engine. That made Lt. Fry had to fly across the North sea on one engine. This was the first ship that ever done that feat. Yes you know we made it back OK. A third of the tail was shot off and the right engine. Gee that was some sight as we left the old girl at Great Ash Field air base that was ten miles from our home base. By the way that was a new Base one can read about it in “Great Ash Field” in my page and we were the first plane to land on that field.

I looked back at her as we walked away and “Too Much of Texas” as a sad sight. The Ship look as if she was crying with her bomb bay doors open and one engine was gone and about a third of the tail was shot off. A solder from my home town drove a truck and picked us up. His name was Wilford Powell. I did not know him before this and I did not have long to get to know him later. As I was shot down on my second mission three days later.

There were relief tubes around on the plane and one was right at the radio compartment where I had to work. Hey we had to keep them clean because one would never know if some one user the tubes or not. I would carry a bottle of bleach water out every time I went and poured it in the tube. One can wonder what would happen in that hot Florida sun and no one having cleaned out the tube. Yes it was an bad odor.

There was a potty on the plane and if it was used the person who used it had to clean it when we landed or when the flight was over. It was metal and I was talking to an Air man who was on the B-17. He told about one of his crew using the potty and it was so cold that he got stuck to it. The other boys joking said that they would have to use a blow torch. I had to go one day and before I used the potty I had a large brown envelope marker Secret across it. I use it and sealed it then threw it out over the Florida Everglades. I hope some one did not find it.

Our first real flight mission here in the States was to fly up and down the west coast of Florida on Sub Patrol and hunt for German subs We were promised if we got a Sub that we would have a month leave and boy did we look hard.

Some where off the coast line we spotted a long ship that was going very slow so we circled it several times and I tried to get them on the radio. I asked for the code of the day but to no answer. Sgt Resner said he would try the signal light. He tried but no answer. All the time we were flying around that ship. So Lt Fry open up the bomb bay doors and started to make a run on it. Yes we were going to have a month leave. I was standing in back of the pilot and co-pilot so I could see better as a rule that was Sgt. Resner’s place but he had to go back and see if the depth charge bomb was ready. O boy when we approached that ship you could see the men running to raise the signal flags. Yes it was the right code. So we just turned off and Lt. Fry closed the bomb Bay doors, waved our wings and flew off. Heck we sure came close to having a month vacation. That ship’s crew did not know it but we were ready to do our best to get it.

WE made several other missions and did not see anything. We were told we may not have see any Subs but one could be sure that they would seen us. Could this be true just off the coast here in Florida in the United States. I heard later that there were a couple of tankers sank in the Gulf. I often wondered if we did a good job.

Our Ground crew had been shipped off to England and the flight crew had to remain here in the states for a little while. We were stationed at Drain Field in Florida which was a little ways from Mac Dill Field. We did some real hard training and we flew every day and some times twice a day. Yes I did get enough flying but it was OK as I was counting on my flight pay. We would drop flour sacks and see if we could hit a target. On several trips I had to take a camera and shoot pictures. I never did see how they turned out as I just turned the camera in and I never saw what I had taken. It was fun as I was seated in the nose of the plane It sure was a different place than in the radio compartment as I could see a lot more of where we were going.

Now it was time for us to join our ground crew. Lt. Fry would take a slide ruler and figure out where every thing was to be placed in the plane. I bet we moved things around a dozen times or more. We moved cargo from here to there and then Fry would say no it will have to go there or some place else. That was so the ship would be on even keel. When it came time to fly Too Much of Texas over seas we went the southern route. That is to South America and over to the Ascension Island in the Atlantic then to the British Gold coast in Africa. There we had to wait until they got some more orders as it was they wanted us to go to Africa and our ground crew was in England. We stayed there around two weeks Then on to England.