Howard Conlee, Mission Nov. 15, 1942

Howard Conlee, Mission Nov. 15, 1942

Mission #7 Time 13:20 This was the first mission we pulled on Tripoli. There were 27 planes in the formation and Col. McGuire led the formation. We ran into a bad front 20 minutes from the target and had to turn back. We were attacked by 5 ME109's as we hit the coast below Benghazi. They shot one of our ships down injuring the tail gunner. They were picked up the next morning by an RAF Patrol. We were the 2nd worst hit ship with 18 holes in all. One was from a 20mm cannon, which cut through the upper part of the fuselage putting the radio out of commission. Another bullet went between the Pilot and the co-pilots - through the windshield. We emptied almost all the ammunition from our 50 calibers but couldn't see that we were getting any results.