KEEP ‘EM FLYING
Accidental disaster struck the 412th Bomb Squadron’s ground crew and B-17s at Alconbury, May 1943.
The tragic loss of ground crewmen and aircraft was a devastating blow to the 412th.
minor repairs. We also started doing second-echelon maintenance, which included changing engines, tires, and sometimes even wings. We worked outside, and could do engine changes in 10 hours or so, since we used built-up engines prepared by the sub- depot,” says Peek, “If there was much wrong with an engine, we didn’t fool with it; we changed it because it was quicker. Our sub-depot had two large maintenance hangars on the field and they took care of the intricate overhaul work.” Fast turnaround time was, of
course, essential during the war, and every effort was extended to ensure that aircraft on the ground were promptly returned to airworthy status.
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DOMmagazine.com | june 2020
“We normally had until 9 o’clock in the morning the next day to make any necessary repairs to the airplanes or perform maintenance. If there was a lot wrong, we’d tell the crew that it would take two days’ worth of work. Engine changes were common, and we could change the engine in a day, and then run it four hours in the air. So we could accomplish engine changes and have the airplane ready in two days. The air crew would get transferred to another ship to fly their next mission. Sometimes we had situations where the plane was assigned to a crew and it didn’t check out – maybe one engine wasn’t performing. We usually had a spare airplane, so they’d have to get their
flight gear out and transfer it to the spare. Maintenance was surprisingly routine, partly because the war went on so long. We had 300 and some missions, and you get good at anything you do a lot.” Peek and his ground crews realized
they had it good, overall – they had the satisfaction of fulfilling important roles while being at a safe distance from the front lines. Peek thoughtfully reflects, “We had good jobs, and we were remote from everything. It sounds kind of ridiculous to say, but I don’t know how to say it otherwise; they kind of treated us as if what we did was sort of magic. We were the technicians and the engineers, and most of us had
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