Text for the above print
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Returning to base following the ordeal of a gruelling daylight raid,
when barrages of flak and the persistent attendance of enemy fighters were
an accepted feature of the mission were, for the weary aircrews, moments
of pure exhilaration. The entire airfield suddenly transformed into
a cacophony of noise and activity as, one after another, the mighty
bombers landed and came to rest. Jeeps scurried about collecting
crews, whisking them away for debriefing and well-earned nourishment while
groundcrews, after their anxious wait, milled around their
charges.
The 34th Bomb Group's Queenie, first home to Mendlesham today, has come
to a standstill, the co-pilot already briefing the crew chief on the state
of the aircraft. Another B-17 taxies while a jeep scurries across
the tarmac to collect the crew of a third aircraft. Other B-17s are
already parked as the last man home makes his final approach, streaming
vapour from a badly overheating engine. It is April 1945. The
fickle English weather greets the returning airmen with a mixture of
brilliant spring sunshine and passing April showers.
