Editor’s note: Today marks the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord, aka D-Day, when Allied troops stormed onto the beaches of Normandy, France. The Allied air war over Germany and German-held territory began years earlier, helping to set the stage for the successful amphibious invasion. This story about Carmen Fox was written by his grandson.
“My dad’s flown to Germany a lot – he just never landed,” said Denis Fox, the son of the U.S. World War II bomber crew member Carmen Fox.
The late Carmen Fox, a longtime Shelby resident, was a radio operator in a B-24 Liberator bomber. This is his story. But you should hear it first, in his own words.
After his service ended, in a Speech 401 class at The Ohio State University in 1946, Fox talked about someone he admired – the pilot of his B-24 Liberator that flew 26 missions during the war.
The survival mark was 25 missions, where the expectation was that if you made it through that many trips across enemy lines, that you got to go home.
From the speech, “Do men ever get too old to have their heroes?“
On a mission to Kiel, Germany — we were about three minutes from the target, we lost our No. 3 engine, and consequently our hydraulic pressure, because that was the source of hydraulic pressure on the B-24.
Carmen fox
We dropped our landing gear to signal to the rest of the element not to follow us and headed for home.
About a minute later, two Ju 88s, Germany’s most lethal, two-engine fighters, jumped us.
We had our gear down and 6,000 pounds of bombs, yet there was no “bailout” order.
Mac [the pilot] attempted to out-fly a fighter.
Eventually, our emergency hydraulic systems functioned, built up the pressure, so we could get our gear up, giving us additional speed.
By sheer force, Mac fought that ship, turning it into the attacking fighters, losing altitude quite rapidly. Until we went from 18,000 to 3,000 feet in the cloud cover, where of course we were safe for a while.
So there you have it — a man who is as impartial as a judge, as friendly as a father, as kind as a chaplain, yet as dependable as a son, who could fly like a bird.
Is it any wonder, I ask, Do men ever get too old to have their heroes?
Full 3 minute speech:
Fox’s son, Leonard, noted his humble father didn’t mention how the landing gear was raised in that life and death situation.
“Dad got up from his radio post and went back to inspect the motor tied to the landing gear. If that gear doesn’t go up, not enough speed and they’d be shot down in a heartbeat,” Leonard Fox said.
“He noticed the motor needed time to build up hydraulic pressure, so he radioed the pilot to stop hitting the switch, let it build up, and then they got the landing gear up.”
While low and in the clouds, the pilot radioed the crew and asked if they wanted to ascend or descend, as they couldn’t stay in the cumulous cover due to the moisture, according to Leonard.
The navigator said down wasn’t an option, afraid of hitting the ground below, so they went back up, but luckily, were on the opposite side of the fighters, who were looking the wrong way for the bomber.
The Americans opened fire on the unsuspecting Germans and made it back to England safely.
Joining the fight in World War II
Carmen Joseph Fox was born on Aug. 22, 1921, in Lancaster, Ohio, where he grew up and graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 1939.
For a timeline perspective, two and a half years after Fox graduated, on Dec. 7, 1941, (“a date which will live in infamy” — Franklin D. Roosevelt [FDR]), Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entered the war later that month.
Less than a year later, Fox enlisted to join the fight on Oct. 29, 1942.
He trained in Sioux Falls, S.D., Las Vegas, Tucson, and Pueblo, Co., before being shipped off to England.
26 Missions
“Hitler built a fortress around Europe, but he forgot to put a roof on it,” FDR famously said.
The Allied forces wanted to take advantage of that flaw, and planned to launch air offenses from the British mainland.
One of the first bomber groups to arrive in England was the “93rd,” specifically, the 93rd Bomb Group of the Second Air Division of the 8th U.S. Army Air Force. Fox joined the 93rd as a member of the 328th Bomb Squadron, stationed at RAF Hardwick airfield.
RAF Hardwick was located between two Norfolk villages, Topcroft and Hardwick, and recently gained more attention from the documentary, Return to Hardwick. The doc followed old soldiers and their decedents as they returned to the airstrip that launched so many bombing runs.
Apple TV’s “Masters of the Air” also painted a pretty nice picture of bomber life in WW2.
As part of the 93rd, Fox would fly on 26 missions across the European Theatre, with the first being a flight to Wilhelmshaven, Germany.
Every B-24 Liberator had a name and corresponding nose art, usually of an attractive woman and/or verbiage alluding to death and destruction.
“On the Ball” was Fox’s first B-24, and there was a lady sitting on a beach ball. After many missions, the crew of On the Ball were given a short leave to London, so another crew took over their aircraft and went on a mission.
Unfortunately, On the Ball was shot down, proving how much random time, place and luck goes into surviving a war.
Production estimates of the B-24 at the end of the conflict were between 16,000-18,000. Over 6,000 of those were lost in combat. Meaning those crews had a 33-38% chance of being shot down– insane odds when your life is on the line.
General Dynamics reported that more than 600,000 tons of bombs were dropped by B-24s along with over 4,000 downed enemy aircraft to their credit.
In terms of speed, the aircraft topped out at 300 mph and usually cruised around 200 mph. But what made it an exceptional craft was the distance it could cover, backed by four Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines, the B-24 could fly over 3,000 miles per trip.
“Dad never said anything about being scared in the air battle to win WWII, but I could see it still in his eyes when he told us about certain missions,” Denis Fox said.
“His bomber crew had been reporting to morning briefings for 19 combat missions by early 1944, but when the mission map curtain for number 20 was pulled back on March 6, 1944, he said that the room suddenly became quiet.
“The bombers were headed for Berlin, the German capital and everyone knew that it was likely the longest and most dangerous trip of their combat career.”
There’s great irony in a statement about bombing to prevent bombing, but the U.S. Army was attempting to do just that.
In addition to going after obvious military targets and missile sites in France that were controlled by the Nazis, the 93rd attacked “heavy water” plants and facilities. It was believed that those factories would help contribute to the construction of an atomic bomb for the Axis powers, so eliminating those sites was a huge priority.
The devastation the planes carried came in two different bomb sets. The cargo usually had the massive 2,000-pound bombs, where four could fit in the middle of the plane. Or they were fitted with 500-pound bombs, which a dozen could be stacked inside. Overall, the B-24 could carry over 8,000 pounds of bombs if needed.
The second plane Fox joined was called, “Naughty Nan,” and again it was an attractive woman who may or may not have been up to no good.
No words are going to be able to describe the intensity and horror the pilots and crew had to endure while making those flights across Europe (not to mention what was going on in the South Pacific and Africa).
Part of the experience was watching their fellow countrymen, Allies and friends explode right next to them in the sky. Germans would fire flak into the clouds from huge artillery weapons on the ground, and flak was basically like hundreds of grenades going off in the sky. Black metal chunks would rip through the sides of planes, puncture engines and tear flesh from bone.
“Returning from a mission, dad said he was standing by the big window, with the .50 cals [guns] on the sides, and a big piece of flak blew in right beside him. Just missed him,” Leonard said.
Often they flew amid beyond cold temperatures in the plane, as the unpressurized open cabins could get to negative 50F with the elevation changes, and frost bite was a real concern among the crew.
German fighters were constantly stalking and shooting at the procession, trying to break up the formation and take down as many planes as possible. It was a harrowing scene with endless flak ash filling the skies, explosions all around, the sound of bullets hitting the metal sides of the plane, fighters wizzing by, all the while checking the engines for damages and signs of smoke. And navigating with paper maps, low visibility and no GPS.
Sometimes, after the air crews endured all that, and landed safely back on the Hardwick runway, they were told another mission awaited the very next day. That was the case in Feb. 24 and 25 in 1944, when Fox and his crew were assigned to bomb Gotha and Furth, respectively, on consecutive days.
At the Hardwick airfield, the mechanic and ground crews worked endlessly to repair bombers and escort planes that were severely dismantled. Piecing them together and getting them ready to go another round.
At age 22, then Sgt. Fox was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for “extraordinary achievement.” In addition, Fox received the Air Medal with over three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Distinguished Unit Badge and war ribbons.
On April 24, 1944, Fox flew his last bombing run, just six weeks before D-Day on June 6, 1944.
Fox was commissioned a second lieutenant. Then, before he left the service, he achieved the rank of first lieutenant.
Making Shelby home
After the war, Fox married Ellen Cecelia Shaw on Sept. 23, 1946.
Fox attended The Ohio State University where he received a bachelor of science degree in agriculture in 1949.
Working for the Sealtest Milk Company, Fox accepted an offer to manage a facility in Shelby, where he permanently moved in 1966.
The couple stayed on West Smiley Street for the rest of their lives, raising six children: Ted, Denis, Leonard, Sheila, Karen and Victor, all graduating from Shelby High School. And they ended up with 20 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren.
Fox enjoyed pruning his apple trees and loved to square dance with his wife. They both were members of the Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic church congregation and he was forever focused on “doing things the right way.”
Shaw died on Jan. 22, 2006, while Fox died on May 11, 2017.
