Louis DeLary mission December 15, 1944

Dec. 15, 1944

Completed my sixth combat mission. Bombed Marshalling yards at Insbruck, Austria. Had ten 500 lb bombs "RDX" Alt. 22,500. Temp approx -38 below zero. Lost 1 plane. It landed in friendly territory. We flew the 120th combat mission on "Boomerang" pride of -376 Bomb group. We were hit hard by flak. We lost the vacuum instruments. Had two elevator cables shot off. And one throttle cable shot off - two others very badly damaged and two damaged. Also a couple in the bombay I didn't know about til later. Spliced the elevator cables and one throttle cable. Could have fired vacuum but no time and had my auxiliary fuel to transfer. Engine #2 had tube changed - flak put hole through it.

December 15, 1944, the day "Boomerang" came close to being shot down of its 120th combat mission to Marshaling Yards at Innsbruck, Austria, I was the Engineer of Lt. Bill Stump's crew, altitude 22,500 Ft. temperature –42o bomb load 10-500/B RDX bombs. We ran into very heavy flack and the plane was quite badly damaged, as flack had exploded beneath the open bombay, "1 located the damage in the bombay left side and on Flight Deck outer wall. I managed to', make temporary repairs to throttle and elevator control1 cables by forming a loop, such as that of a chain link at each end of the severed cables, then by inner linking one loop within the other. in chain fashion, with bomb arming. wire making a crude, but very effective splices to the cables.

The splices held there by allowing a certain amount of travel and limited use of the controls, and control engine R.P.M.'s.

Apparently the Engineering Officer and others felt my actions greatly enhanced the safe return of the plane. And some form of an award was in order, as the Squadron Engineer Officer was heard to say "The Engineer of Boomerang earned himself a D.F.C., today" D.F.C. was awarded March 18, 1945.