The first Schweinfurt raid

Soon after taking command of the 1st Bombardment Wing, Williams led a large mission beyond the range of escort fighters to bomb ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt, on 17 August 1943. Production of ball bearings was concentrated at Schweinfurt and was identified by Allied planners of the Combined Bomber Offensive as a key "bottleneck" target, the destruction of which could impair German war production. The 1st Bomb Wing consisted of nine combat groups and so was organized for the mission into four "provisional combat bomb wings" to facilitate command and control, a restructuring that foreshadowed the reorganization of the wing into the 1st Bomb Division a month later.^[6]

Schweinfurt was the primary target of a larger mission in which aircraft factories at Regensburg were to be attacked simultaneously by B-17s of the 4th Bombardment Wing, to divide Luftwaffe interceptor reaction, with the Regensburg force continuing on to North Africa instead of returning to its home bases. The "double strike" had already been postponed once by bad weather. Timing was crucial to success of the plan, complicated by the 11-hour length of the Regensburg mission, which required a takeoff soon after dawn to allow it to reach North African bases while it was still daylight. A thick fog covered the bases of both forces at the scheduled takeoff time, however, forcing a postponement of launch of the mission. The Regensburg force delayed its takeoff 90 minutes but then proceeded, while Williams' force was delayed a further four hours. Rather than postpone the mission again, the Schweinfurt force also took off, completely disrupting the timing of the mission. The Regensburg force was nearly to its target, which allowed the entire German interceptor force to refuel and rearm before concentrating on the second mission.^[6]

During the intense air battle that ensued, more than 300 German fighters attacked the Schweinfurt force, shooting down 36 of its 222 bombers. Williams flew the mission as co-pilot of a B-17 in the lead group and manned a machine gun in the nose of the bomber, firing until the barrel burned out. Despite a loss of 60 B-17s to the combined force, bombing efforts on the whole were good, causing an immediate drop in ball bearing production and forcing German industry to dip into its limited stockpiles to continue manufacturing. However planners were unaware that an immediate follow-up strike was necessary to overcome the resiliency of German industry until intelligence reports indicated a frantic effort by the Germans to rebuild and obtain ball bearings. A second mission utilizing the entire B-17 force was flown 14 October, once again beyond escort range, and another 60 bombers were lost. Further deep penetration strikes were abandoned until long range fighter escort became available in early 1944.^[6]

After the war, Major Major General Haywood S. Hansell wrote about Williams,^[5]

Bob Williams's achievements are less well known, but his stature looms as great in the eyes of his men and associates. Actually, neither could exercise much command control during the mission. Their contribution had come in the months of training and indoctrination and inspiration. But their presence on the mission meant a lot to the crews and to the conduct of the operation.

Bob Williams was a few years senior to the rest of us. He had been one of the few chosen to pilot a B-17 in the early days of the 2d Bombardment Group at Langley Field, Virginia. To me he seemed the very personification of "the officer and gentleman." As a commander he was urbane and personable without any hint of familiarity. He was an exacting but an understanding taskmaster, and whatever the job he demanded, he could do it better himself. It has seemed to me that the perfect achievement of leadership lies in getting other people to do what you want them to do because you are convinced that it is both right and necessary to do, and they are inspired to want to do it. To my mind, Bob Williams provided that kind of leadership. He was the "follow me" kind of leader.

Bob Williams had been selected to go to England as an observer before the U.S. entered the war. He was wounded and lost an eye during a heavy air raid on London. He had chosen to view the scene from the roof of his hotel rather than seek safety in a shelter. A bomb falling close at hand blasted nearby windows, and glass shards damaged one eye beyond repair. This would have sent most men to retirement or to inactive posts. Williams recovered enough to keep right on going.

On the Schweinfurt mission, Williams and his division went through torture during the hours of waiting for the weather to clear enough to permit takeoff. They knew that the carefully integrated plan of operations had been thrown out of balance by the fog that held the 1st Bomb Division on the ground long after the 3d Bomb Division had departed.

General Nathan Twining, who served many years with Bob Williams, says: "He is a wonderful man. Solid. Calm. Strong character. Competent. Great pilot. Great leader. One of the best."

Later Action

Williams commanded the 1st Bomb Division in the first largescale daylight attack against Berlin on March 6, 1944.^[7]

Return to U.S.

Williams returned to the United States in October 1944 to become commanding general of the Second Air Force, Colorado Springs, Colorado.^[1] In this capacity he directed the training of B-29 units and crews for service in the strategic bombing campaign by Twentieth Air Force against the Japanese home islands.^[8] Williams served in that capacity until November 1945.^[9]