DOCUMENT 53530

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401st Bomb Group, Mission No. 239, 30 Mar 1945, Bremen, Germany. Briefing took place at 0720 hours for this mission. Aircraft were loaded with twelve 500 pound GP's and 2,300 gallons of gas. By 1132 hours all aircraft were airborne on the mission. One spare returned early because unneeded. At 1505 hours gale winds of 40 to 45 miles per hour are noted. On this mission the Group again furnished three squadrons, which made up the 94th Combat Wing "C" Group. Because of the usual cloud cover, the bombing run was begun using PFF (radar) techniques. However, just before bombs away the clouds broke, and the three Lead Bombardiers attempted to make corrections for visual runs. Unfortunately, it was too late to make the necessary corrections, and the bombs of all three squadrons missed the MPI. However, the bombs did land in the middle of the dock area at Bremen. No enemy aircraft appeared, but the Group was tracked by accurate flak for five minutes over the target area. As a result, three aircraft suffered major battle damage and twenty others sustained minor damage. Two crew members were wounded. By 1829 hours all operational aircraft had returned from the mission. However, Flying Control observed sourly, "Very 'screwed up' return. All aircraft came home individually and there was so much chatter over R/T that it was almost impossible to maintain R/T contact."

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Units

Aircraft

  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Miss Gee Eyewanna Go Home
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 614th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 614th Bomb Squadron
A flight of B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 401st Bomb Group. B-17 (serial number 44-8153) is visible in the foreground. Printed caption on reverse: '59329 AC- 8th AF Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses over Mannheim, Germany, 1 February 1945. A- 8th AF Beoing B-17 Flying Fortresses near Ludwigshafen, Germany, 1 February 1945.' Handwritten caption on reverse: 'IW-N Becomin Back, 338738. IN-C, IW-F,-Q.'
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Gaposis, Becomin’ Back
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 614th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Heavy Date
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 612th Bomb Squadron
  • Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
  • Nicknames: Mrs Knobby
  • Unit: 401st Bomb Group 612th Bomb Squadron

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Mission

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Date:
Contributoracbernstein1
ChangesCreated entry with caption, unit associations, place associations, aircraft associations and mission associations