Benjamin Homer Moon Jr. |
| Benjamin H Moon Lt. USAF |
| SWOOSE CREW |
8th Air Force 1st Bomb Wing 398th Bomb Group 600th Bomb Squadrons Crew #9 Plane Name - "Swoose" Based - Nuthampstead, England |
(Standing) Lt. Earl Noble - Navigator Lt. Don Lowe - Pilot Lt. Carl Bergquest - Bomberdier Lt. Ben Moon - Co-Pilot (Kneeling) Sgt Arman Fugge - Engineer Woody Woodall - Waist Gunner Al Reiser - Tail Gunner Al Domnissey - Ball Gunner Leo Cunningham - Waist Gunner Derold Lyman - Radio Operator
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ON APRIL 20, 1943 Ben Moon took of in a Ryan PT-22 from Hemet, California (Primary Flight School) to start his training as a pilot. Ten days later on April 30th after an hour of practice, he took of in a PT-22 for his first solo flight. At Hemet and Bakersfield (Secondary Flight School), Ben learned how to pilot. He learned take off's, landings, spins, stalls, S - turns, Chandelles, slow rolls, verical reversments, loops, lazy 8's and more. He added the Vultee BT-13a to his list of planes flown. ON JUNE 06, 1943 Ben and the other student pilots were reminded of the dangers of flight when one of their numbers and the instructor (Zamoro) died in a crash. Ben had flown with this instructor just before the accident. Zamoro had a habit of slapping the stick out of the hand of his students to make sure that they held it properly, and Ben beleives that this may have caused the accedent on take-off. By OCTOBER 02, 1943 Ben was in Douglas, Arazona (Advanced Flight School) and flying an AT-17. In December of 1943, Ben was flying a B17-F and G out of Rapid City, South Dekota (B-17 Flight School) with the 398th Bomb Group/600th squadrin. He became a member of Crew #9 and the B-17 they flew was the Swoose. On March 1st of 1943, the 398th Bomardment Group was formed and based at Nuthampstead, England. On April 13th 1944, Ben and the crew of the Swoose flew from Grand Island, Nebraska to Grenier Field, New Hampshire. On the 20th, from Grenier Field to Goosebay, Labrador. On the 21st on to Meeksfield Iceland, via Greenland. On the 24th he left Iceland for Preswick, Scotland, and on the 25th of April, 1944 he arrived at his new station in Nuthampstead, England to join the rest of the 398th. |
Missons |
19445-7 " Berlin 5-9 " St. Bizier 5-20 Combat bombing airfield 8 miles from Paris, France 5-24 Berlin, Germany - Air Battle 5-27 Mission #6 - Air Metal - RR yards Ludwigshafen, Grm 5-30 Dessau Grmy - SW of Berlin 6-2 Boulogne - Sur - Mer, France, Gun Positions 6-3 Boulogne - Sur - Mer, France, Gun Positions 6-6 D-Day Caen, Invasion Coast (bomb away 0709) 6-7 Airfield at Lorient, France 6-10 Mission #12 - 1st Oak Leaf Cluster to Air Medal - Gun Position - Le Touquet, France 6-12 Airfield at Lille, France 6-13 Airfield at Bouvais, France 6-18 Hamburg, Grm - Bad Battle Damage 6-21 Berlin, Grm - Bandits ME 109s 6-23 Fiefs, France - sw of Lille 6-24 Belloy Sur Somme, France - 2nd OLC Mission#18 6-25 Toulouse, France - Airfield 6-27 St. Saens, France 7-12 Munich, Grm 7-13 Munich, Grm - Again 7-16 Munich, Grm - Still Again 7-18 Mission #24 3rd OLC Peenemuncle, Grm No. of Berlin 7-19 Letchfield Gr. Near Augsburg 7-24 Anti Personnel Bombs Tactical Bombing West of St. Lo, France 7-25 Anti Personnel Bombs Tactical Bombing West of St. Lo, France 7-29 Oil Plant at Lunna in Leipzid area - Whatta Fire 7-31 A rail road station so they say - Poor Civilians - Munich Germany 8-3 4th AM Railroad yards at Saarbruken Grm - A good Job 8-8 Last Mission and Toughest - Tactical Support of Troops - Caen, France 8-5 Oil Plant - No Flak - A Good Job - Dollburg, Grm |
Hamburg Germany |
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Ben said that you could watch the bursts from the anti-aircraft as it walked toward the plane. The Swoose was taking damage as shells were exploding around it, and if not for the self sealing fuel tanks, the plane would have run out of fuel from the large number of holes that puctured every tank on board. The tail gunner reported that a scrapnal peice punched holes in the fusloge inches behind him just missing him in the prossess. The co-pilot, Ben Moon, said that scrapnal puctured the plane zipping up between his knees and out the top of the cockpit. At one point the pilot (Don Lowe) and Ben were looking out over the nose of the Swoose and saw a hole the size of a shell suddenly appear. No noise, just suddenly there was a large hole right over the navagator's seat. The pilot turned to Ben and told him, "There goes Earl (Noble)." Both were sure that Lt. Noble had been killed, but were reassured that he was still alive as the navigator, who had been standing over the bombadier watching the bombs away, sat down. Ben said that he could be heard all the way back to base as he sat down on the hole in his seat. The Swoose and her crew made it back to an auxilery base in England, and due to bad weather, waited there until morning. With the sun, came the master machanic from Nuthampstead to check out the Swoose. He called the crew over to the crippled plane and asked the pilot and co-pilot "why did you bring it back?". The Swoose had over one hundred holes in her, and was declared unfit to fly. The Swoose finished out the war providing parts for other less unfortunate craft. Still she did what she was designed to do. The Swoose brought home Crew #9 and for all the holes in that plane, not one crew member was wounded. |
Vertigo |
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One of the dangers of flying in cloud cover is vertigo. Without a clear indication of up or down, a pilot can loose his since of direction, and that is what happened to Lt. Don Lowe. Suddenly off ballence and unable to safely fly the Swoose, Don reached over and tapped the co-pilot Lt. Ben Moon, telling him to take over, and that he had vertigo. Lt. Moon looked up and also was over taken with vertigo, and the plane, which was already in a downward spiral, contenued it fast decent. To the other planes in the flight, the Swoose disapeared in the clouds and was lost. The co-pilot, Ben, took his eyes off the sceene outside of the plane and focused on the insturments. "You had to beleave your insturments. If you trused them, they would get you out of trouble.", he said. He got control of the craft and decided to take the plane below the cloud cover to see where they were. Once below the clouds, the crew of the Swoose could see that they were between two mountain ranges. He took the plane back above the clouds, spiraling upward to avoid the mountains around them. Once above the clouds, the Swoose flew home, staying just above the clouds incase they needed to avoid enemy fighters. Thanks to the piloting skill of Lt. Moon, the crew made it home, but not before some of the other crews could go through their belongings. They got most, if not all of their belongings back. |