Operation Halyard

The young lieutenant noticed that the gun's hits did more damage than expected, as dark clouds of smoke continued to emerge from the aircraft.

Although scattered through the region, the German AA guns still posed a threat to the American bomber formations in Yugoslavia.

The bombing of the objectives was successful, but the cost to pay was the loss of some B-24 bombers that caught the fire of the Anti-Aircraft guns.

One of those unfortunate B-24's was commanded by Lt. Thomas Oliver and his crew.

He growled as he felt the ruggedness of the aircraft's controls and a sudden convulsion of the B-24. The third engine was now gone. The crew was not returning to Italy airborne anymore.

It was time to retrieve, he thought. He hit the crew alarm button and yelled through the intercom: "Bailout, everybody! Bailout!"

AA fire intensified as well as the smoke floating around the ship. The crew began to exit the B-24 without hesitation. Lt. Oliver let go of the wheel in a furious dash and ran for the escape hatch.

Next thing he was parachuting to the unknown, watching how his warhorse, his B-24, slammed the ground and exploded in bursts of flames and debris.