The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1945-03-02
Was s!!sI[:1 on Die
Bombs Steel Center
In Imaginary Flight
'Briefed' at Army Air Forces School for Raid
On YaWata; Follows Course Over
Huge, Realistic Map.
BY BAUKHAGE
Nesos Analyst and Commentator.

d Commentator.
ing, which pointed out on the map
every hazard, every advantage, ev-
cry varying condition. Special areas
were blown up in large size: as
lake serving as a landmark where
the planes start their ocean jump,
a peculiarly shaped river where
they reach land again. Sketches are
furnished by meteorologists, Show
ing just the types of clouds they
will encounter, some "full Of rocks
covering mountain peaks which
are to be avoided.
The known location and number
Of enemy fighter planes is marked,
as are the antiaircraft guns, and the
temperature and the wind velocity
at various levels.
Targets There,
Then Gone
AS to the target itself, large
scale aerial pictures were shown
which looked very much as the
actual terrain would look to the pilot
and bombardier. Also, map Of
the whole city. Then a map of the
target area, then photos Of the tar
get area, taken from an angle, as
it will look when the plane APP
proaches it from a distance, and
another as it will look when it is
directly below-the important mo-
ment.
That last statement directly be-
low" is misleading, as I found out.
What you see when you look through
the glass walls of the bomber's
''nose' and what you see when you
look through the bombsight are two
quite different pictures. What you
see when you look through the
bombsight Is the area (far ahead Of
where your plane is) upon which
the bomb will hit if released at that
precise instant. Naturally, at the
speed at which a plane travels, the
inertia of the bombs carries them
far ahead as they fall.
This is disconcerting to the lay
man. I looked through the glass OF
the nose and picked me out little
Florida lake upon which ] decided
to drop my imaginary bomb. Then
looked into the sight and there was
no lake therel Too late! If had
released my bombs then, they
would have hit far beyond the dis
tant shore although the plane
hadn't even reached the near shore,
yet.
But to return to my synthetic
fight. find 1t impossible to recount
it with half the realism with which
it was presented to me as my eyes
followed that moving pointer from
base to assembly point to "bomb
line" (where the planes cross into
enemy occupied terrain) on to the
target itself, with the looping tracks
that bounded it and then back, north
and west again, over water and
land, lake and mountain, on the long
trek home.
After the briefing was finished
four men in uniform took seats on
the platform. They were men with
stars on their service ribbons and
some purple hearts, too. Men OF
many missions just such as the one
described, or they would not have
been chosen as instructors in this
post graduate university Of the air.
And they acted out with startling
conviction the briefing of returned
crew. One, his nerves on razor edge
from what he had gone through, an
other little dazed, as if he had had
few drinks too many, another sol
emn, wide-eyed, another jumpy, To-
quacious, controversial, all true-to-
life types, we are told.
Carefully and tactfully the officer
checked their conflicting statements
until finally all were nodded into
q reasonable and rational report.
''How many enemy fighters
here?"
"Oh, 80, easy" said the junpy
one.
''How many do you say?" Ito the
fellow in the half-daze).
'Well, q lot Of 'em, ] didn't
count"
Enough anyhow. And you didn't
warn us about the others here"
says the slap-happy one as he jumps
up and jabs the map.
Finally it settles down to about so.
This estimate will be checked as
other crews are checked, and
an accurate estimate Is obtained.
The same careful and studied analy-
sis Of data on troop concentrations
observed, movements along high
ways, conveys, new landing strips,
as well as the damage done to the