The month of June began auspiciously with an excellent mission against the Marshalling Yards at Szolnok, Hungary. Captain Dooley led the Group with Colonel Glantzberg leading the second section. Good weather, but little flak, no enemy fighters.
The target for this mission was a pinpoint target in the Alps Mountains. A railroad bridge and viaduct at Orelle, Italy. The Group maintained its poor record against bridges by missing the target because of the failure of the formation leaders to properly identify the target.
On this mission Lt. Colonel Hawes took his turn at missing a railroad bridge. The primary target was a railroad bridge at Borgo Val di Tare on the East side of the Apennines. This target was obscured by built-up cumulus clouds. After making three unsuccessful attempts to locate the target, the Group flew across to the west side of the Apennines to attack the First Al...
Major Dooley celebrated his promotion by leading the first successful Group mission ever flown by this Group against a railroad viaduct. The target was at Antheor, France. A high overcast made it necessary to drop the bomb run to 18,000 feet. Using 1,000 pounders the bombardiers turned in a score of 49 percent in placing several hits directly on the viaduct. All plan...
On the 6th of June many of the groups in the Fifteenth Air Force had gone to Ploesti. On the 10th of June, the Air Force resumed its policy of bombing the enemy sources of oil supply. Our mission was against the oil refinery of Porto Marghera, Italy. The 765th Squadron Bombardier, Lt. Murphy, found the target for the other bombardiers who turned in an excellent scor...
The busy month of February ended with another double header mission. The target for both Forces was the marshalling yard at Ora, Italy. Major Roberts, still flushing from his promotion, completed his tour of combat duty by leading the Red Force on this mission. The bombs were dropped visually on this "hot" target for a score of 15.6 percent. Nine of th...
Lt. Colonel Hardy led a six box formation in attacking the Wels Main Marshalling Yard, Austria, on 20 March. Again 100 pound general purpose bombs were used. Despite an eight-tenths cloud coverage at the target, the bombing was done visually. As had repeatedly been the case during the month when the Group was attacking marshalling yards of secondary - importance, t...
The primary target for Mission No. 177 was the Schwechat Oil Refinery near Vienna. Because of an ordered delay in take-off due to weather over the Alps, the formation finally got off at 1110 hours. Due to the delay, the target of last resort, the shipyards at Trieste, Italy, became the primary target. The formation was led by Captain Roberts. A great deal of dam...
On 16 February the Group finally came through with a superior bombing mission when Major Baker led a large formation against the Rosenheim West Marshalling Yard in Germany. A concentrated pattern of bombs fell across the East half of the small marshalling yard with many hits on freight cars, through tracks, and the choke point. With CAVU weather and no flak the ...
Mission No. 173 finally turned out to be another double header mission, each with a different target. A TWX which was received from the Air Force through channels, however, directed that in the future double header missions should be counted as one mission.
The target of the Red Force was the Central Repair Shops at Vienna, Austria. Major Poole l...
Thick Cirrus at the head of the Adriatic with tops over 23,000 feet compelled the Group leader, Major Mixson, to abandon the Bolzano Marshalling Yard, Italy, as a primary target on 20 February 1945. The second alternate target, the shipyards at Fiume, Italy, was bombed visually for a score of 37.3 percent. The main concentration of bombs fell in the built-up are...
Colonel Lawhon took off in the lead of a thirty-plane four box formation to attack the marshalling yard at Ingolstadt, Germany, on 22 February. Due to impassible weather he was compelled to abandon the primary target and search for a target of opportunity to be bombed visually. The target selected was the marshalling yard at Kempton, Germany. The choke point of ...
On 24 March the Group bombed again in Czechoslovakia on the first mission in a long time to this country. The target was the marshalling yard at Ceske Budejovice. Captain Thackston led the formation against this undefended target. The patterns around the two aiming points were scattered but both of them carried completely across the marshalling yard. The two roundh...
One hundred pound general purpose bombs were used by the Group in attacking the marshalling yard at Muhldorf, Germany, on 19 March. A great deal of damage was done to the target, but the bomb pattern was scattered over a comparatively large area. Of the thirty-five planes led over the target by Captain Thackston, only one was hit by flak. Unfortunately, however, a ...
Major Phillips led the successful mission of 20 April against the Lusia Bridge in Northern Italy. This bridge, one of the few left standing, spanned the Adigo River and was being used by the retreating Germans.
One thousand pound RDX bombs were dropped to obtain excellent results. Flak at target, described as slight, inaccurate, and heavy, damaged o...
The Bridge was bombed by 18 B-26's, which dropped 139 x 500 lb demolition bombs and 5 x 500 lb demolition bombs with 6 hour delay fuses at 15:39 hours from 9600 to 8600 ft.
At 12:46 hours, 18 B-26's were over the primary target and dropped 131 x 500 lb demolition bombs and 6 demolition bombs with 6 hour delay fuses from 11600 to 10600 ft.
18 B-26's dropped 66 x 1000 lb demolition bombs and 5 x 1000 lb demolition bombs with 6 hour delay fuses on the primary target at 12:05 hours from 11600 to 10600 ft.
The picture shows the first wave of bombs dropped by the allied B-17's.
519 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards Hengstey (113), Giesecke (91), Holzwickede (184) and the Unna yard at Dormund (38); secondary targets hit are Meschede (19) and marshalling yards at Siegen (93) and Marburg (10); targets of opportunity are Herdecke (10), Haliger (1) and...
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 15th Air Force):
In Italy, 719 B-24s and B-17s attack bridges over the Brenta and Adige Rivers (at Bonavigo, Zevio, Albaredo d'Adige, 2 at Legnano, Badia, 3 at Padua, and Cavarzere) and hit a supply dump at Peschiera del Garda
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