NOTE: Whenever you see the blue colored font on this page (aside from links), that indicates a direct quote from radio-gunner Quentin C. Kaiser of the 489th bombardment squadron.

"As I reported to you my plane picked up 30 holes on December 10, 1944 (mission #47). I may not have told you but it was 9Y I flew in that day. The target is listed as Ossenigo in the Brenner Pass. The mission report is not too readable and it does not show which aircraft were used. The squadron records show each box sent out with the aircraft and crew listed in their positions in the box. I imagine that every B-25 on Corsica was out that day hitting the Brenner Pass." Here's a picture of B-25J 9M (serial# 43-27655) that my father, Quentin Kaiser, took on a mission over the Brenner Pass:

Middle picture: "This picture was taken on December 25, 1944 when I came back from Christmas dinner. Holiday dinners were very good in the Army and you had to develop the dexterity needed to balance a fully loaded mess kit."

The picture on the right shows the crew of my dad's main plane called Stella (9F). This is the original crew that flew across the Atlantic via Ascension Island which was "the long way" over. "I don't remember where it was taken but it may have been in north Africa on the way over since we are all dressed up. I guess it was taken by George Carter our tail-gunner. I'm not sure about Voss and I don't remember his first name. We had several copilots. Voss was a real hot pilot and on a training mission on Corsica he flew his B-25 under some high-tension lines up in the mountains but he did not get low enough and he caused a blackout. I don't remember what they did to him. George Fitch was killed in a training mission after he returned to the states. He used to invite me over to his tent to play chess and one day he had a visitor who chastised him for fraternizing with an enlisted man after I left. The Air Force was different I guess. Norman Moerbe was our bombardier/ navigator. He was very fond of saying, "This is it!" whenever we saw any evidence of the war as we flew over to Europe. We all knew what he meant when we got out after landing at Alesan just three days after the big raid. That was the ultimate "This is it!" with all the wreckage spread out before us. He was the old man of the crew."

Here's what Bob Silliman had to say about the German air raid on Alesan: "I served in the 380th Bomb Sqdn., 310th Bomb Group, also part of the 57th Bomb Wing, and was stationed at Ghisonaccia, Corsica, a few miles south of Alesan. I was an armorer in the 380th and I'll never forget the night the German's bombed the 340th up at Alesan. We were out on our airfield and could vividly see the German Chandelier flares that they dropped over Alesan and we were sure that our field would be their next target. Fortunately for us, this never happened."

Dana Craig of the 486th squadron/ 340th bombardment group was actually at Alesan during the attack. He had this to say: "Fortunately the 486th bivouac area was about 1/2 mile north of the air strip. On the night of the German raid I was awakened by the blast of the 90mm anti-aircraft battery on the next ridge between us and the airfield. In the days prior to the raid, being a latent coward, I had dug a slit trench to hide in, just in case. It didn't come as much of a surprise that we four tent mates wound up in the same trench, protected, up to our knees. From that vantage point, we watched the explosions at the air field and the fuel dump. At times we could actually see the German aircraft in the glow of the fires. The one string of anti-personnel bombs aimed at us just missed our ridge and exploded, like a bunch of fireflys, in the valley next to our position. An important note is that after losing all of our aircraft at Vesuvius, we were temporarily equipped with the cast-offs of other B-25 units. When we arrived on Corsica we received new, bright and shiny "J's". Because we had 'air superiority', these new craft were not weighed down with camouflage paint. Needless to say, in the glare of the first flare dropped by the German 'pathfinder' these beautiful aircraft shown like mirrors. The next day, we had just enough aircraft to field a token raid on a couple of mainland airfields. By that time the German aircraft had gone to safer locations."

Just before attacking the 340th bombardment group's base at Alesan, the Germans attacked the airfield at Poretta, Corsica about 15 miles to the north. Click here to see photographs contributed by Alexandre Durastanti of the damage done at Poretta Air Field - May 12, 1944.

"Not shown is the ammunition cannister for that gun which hangs on the side of the aircraft aft of that position. It was the most frightening of my experiences when flak hit the ammunition and the aircraft filled with smoke. I have some of the burst 50-caliber shells from that incident. I had pulled the red handle on my flak suit and taken off my flak helmet and was standing by the hatch with my hand on the red handle that made the hatch drop away when I realized the airplane was still flying. Gradually the smoke cleared off and I reconnected my headset and throat microphone - the falling flak suit had separated them. I connected the headset first and I heard the pilot droning "pilot to radioman" over and over before I could connect the mike. Later I heard that the pilot had called the tail-gunner when the smoke burst forth and the tail-gunner responded but he said he was not about to crawl through the smoke to see what had transpired. Later I reamed him out because he could have given first-aid if needed. I really could not blame him, however. All this occurred on July 15, 1944. I think this is the only time I flew two missions in one day. My mission notes say 'hit alternate' for the morning mission #16 in B-25J 9J That's All Brother, Ferrara, Italy. This was when they told us to eat lunch and go after Ferrara again. My notes for the afternoon mission #17 also in B-25J 9J That's All Brother, Ferrara, Italy, say 'Hit in neck - over 50 holes. Hit northern approach to R.R. bridge.' This was the day Moerbe (bombardier Norman Moerbe) got his Purple Heart."

"I remember two chaff missions. The Germans used radar to aim their flak guns and we looked at a chaff mission as a milk run because they aimed at the bombing aircraft. Chaff is like Christmas tree tinsel which acts as a reflector to the radar thereby hiding the real aircraft. The coldest I have ever been was tossing out chaff by hand at -40 F. About the scaredest I have ever been was flying top-turret on another chaff mission where the Germans got wise and aimed at the chaff ships. To my surprise my flight record does not show which were chaff missions. On Dec. 10, 1944 (mission #47) I flew apparently a regular 489th mission to Ossenigo in the Brenner pass where we encountered flak and fighters. My plane received 30 holes!"

"You can just imagine the German gunners at Avignon loading their 88s and seeing the black puffs get closer as they tune their radars and finally seeing pieces of B-25 come down. They must have jumped out of their shoes and gone out that night and guzzled French eau de vie. But, of course six guys didn't come home that night. We did see some guys who did make it back with the help of the French underground- the Maquis- named after the Corsican undergrowth. They were in local clothes and we could not question them because they did not want the Germans to find out who had helped them."

Here are two pictures of another B-25J (serial # 43-27667) from the 489th bombardment squadron with the tail lettering 9Z. "My fifth mission was in 9Z on June 10th, 1944. The target was Bucini. My note says "all boxes hit" but I don't know if that means each box of six aircraft hit its target or if each box of six aircraft was hit by flak. The note also says I missed seeing flak. 9Z had a scantly clad damsel lying on her back for nose art according to the 489th book." The second photo shows 9Z taking off from Alesani, Corsica. Note the different color schemes and tail-lettering in these pictures of 9Z. Both photographs taken by Quentin Kaiser.




In this picture showing 9Z note that all three B-25s are flying on only one engine. This was a practice mission for the 340th over Alesan Air Field. The planes from the 340th bombardment group had tail letters starting with either 6, 7, 8 or 9 for the 486th, 487th, 488th and the 489th bombardment squadrons, respectively. The letters designated a particular plane within each squadron. (Photograph courtesy of Dominique Taddei).



Here's a B-25 from the 489th bombardment squadron named Knockout with tail letters 9S. My dad flew 3 missions in this plane. Who knows? This may be one of them. (Photograph courtesy of Dominique Taddei).



My dad also flew three missions in this 489th B-25 named Mission Completed with tail letters 9T. (Photograph courtesy of Dominique Taddei).





Picture on left: "On October 22, 1944 I flew into Cairo, Egypt flying in a B-25C with 638 as the last three numbers of its serial number and with tail marking of 99. This was one of our war-weary aircraft used to take people on rests and to gather produce from Africa. The picture shows Carter and me in front of the Sphinx just outside of Cairo. Egypt was like being home 'cause it was a neutral country. Alexandria and Cairo are big cities with buses and stores and that made the war seem far away. Rome was very similar because the Germans just left it without blowing things up but the thing I remember about Rome was that it was much cleaner than New York City whereas Naples was a lot dirtier." Picture on right: "On September 30, 1944 Devine and I flew to Lyon, France in a B-25C with tail marking 98. I did not record its serial number. We were transporting some general's staff people. Lyon had just been liberated and the "Free French" guerillas were active and displayed this 'Cross of Lorraine' ." (Photograph by Quentin C. Kaiser.)




I'll bet Lt. Johnny Moyer and his copilot never imagined they'd be appearing on the internet one day. Dana Craig who flew in a crew with these guys in the 486th bombardment squadron took this picture around June of 1944 right after a mission. I know they're not from the 489th but I like the sign of the 340th which was the 489th's group too at Alesan, Corsica.

The B-25J Mitchells of the 489th were equipped with the famous Norden bombsight, a technological advance invented by a Dutch immigrant named Carl Norden. This device made bombing so accurate at the time that it was classified as 'top secret' and the bombardiers were required to swear an oath, the Bombardier's Oath, to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. "From the initial point until you dropped the bombs about two minutes later the bombardier flew the airplane by twisting the knobs on the bombsight. There was no evasive action so you were a sitting duck. The bombsight dropped the bombs at the right instant. Then the radioman checked to make sure the bombs had cleared the bomb bay and when he said "bomb bay clear!" the lead pilot was free to maneuver his box out of the flak - usually by a sweeping turn including a change in altitude. When you figure the six planes were as close as they could get them it is a wonder we did not have more collisions. We did have some." The picture on the lower right is of some bombs falling toward the target (top of picture) after being released from a 489th B-25 on an actual mission.




My father, technical sergeant, radio-gunner Quentin C. Kaiser, titled this picture Going Home. I'd say he looks pretty happy to be going home after 65 missions with the 489th bombardment squadron. The Memorial Slab at Ghisonaccia-Gare airfield, Corsica is dedicated to the airmen of the 57th Bomb Wing.

More pictures and history of the 489th Bombardment Squadron in Corsica.

Check out Nick Webster's pictures of Corsica today.


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