7 April 1945
Unit Citation for 452nd Bomb Group for mission 931
401st Bomb Group, Mission No. 243, 7 Apr 1945, Luneburg, Germany. Briefing was again held at an early hour--0230 hours. Pilots were briefed for a cross-wind takeoff. At 0440 hours all times were moved forward three hours, with Engines now scheduled for 0850, Taxi at 0900 and Takeoff at 0910 hours. Later, these scheduled times were delayed for still another hour, so it was not until 1047 hours that all operational aircraft were off on the mission. The two spares returned early as there were no aborts, and all operational aircraft had landed by 1859 hours--sixteen and a half hours after briefing! The 401st formed the 94th Combat Wing "C" Group on this mission, whose primary target was the airfield at Reinsehelsen. However, as the primary was not visible, the Group turned to the secondary target, the railroad marshalling yards at Luneberg. Bombing was carried out at 15,000 feet rather than the customary 25,000 feet. The Group history reports good results for the bombing and that "much of the rolling stock in the railroad yards was damaged". The only opposition the 401st faced was meager flak, which caused no damage. However, other Groups were attacked by the Luftwaffe, which was met by violent resistance on the part of both American fighter escort aircraft and bomber crews. A large number of Luftwaffe aircraft were shot down in the fray. The exceptionally long day referred to above was also the subject of comment in squadron histories.
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1,200 Heavies Hit Reich After 1-Day Nazi Air Bid
The flaming air war which the Luftwaffe rekindled Saturday appeared yesterday to have been extinguished once more by the U.S. fighters and bomber gunners as over 1,200 Fortresses and Liberators, protected by approximately 750 fighters, bombed rail yards, airfields and oil targets in central Germany without opposition from enemy planes.
The only air activity along the route of the bombers came in the form of three training planes, which were promptly shot down by the fighters. On Saturday, when the Luftwaffe daringly attacked a force of 1,300 heavies in strong groups, fighters of the 8th downed 64 planes while bomber gunners accounted for 40, making a grand total of 104.
It was the strongest opposition thrown at the bombers since Mar. 2, when fighters and gunners knocked down 73 planes. The renewal of opposition Saturday cost the 8th 22 bombers and three fighters. Ten bombers and one fighter are missing from yesterday's missions.
Visual Bombing Over Targets
The bombers had ideal weather yesterday, with visual bombing prevailing over all targets except a rail yard at Plauen, 40 miles southwest of Chemnitz. The targets area stretched from west of Berlin to 15 miles south of Nuremberg.
Three airfields were hit, one southwest of Dessau and the other southwest and south of Nuremburg. Rail yards beside those of Plauen were at Stendal, 70 miles west of Berlin; at Hof, 15 miles southwest of Plauen; and the Eger, 30 miles southwest of Plauen.
Ordinance depot in the Bayreuth area, 40 miles northeast of Nuremberg, were pounded and another objective in the Nuremberg area was a jet-propelled repair planet at Furth, north of the city. Fifty-five miles west if Berlin, the bombers hit an oil depot at Derben.
Flak, described as meager by airmen, represented the only opposition for the day. One fighter pilot called it a quiet day everywhere in enemy territory, with 'not a thing moving.'
Heavy bombers of the 15th Air Force made their third consecutive raid on the Brenner Pass Route yesterday, besides plastering railroad bridges along the northern Italy front.
OIL DEPOT
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EXPLOSIVES PLANT
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AIRFIELD
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MUNITIONS PLANT
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Group
The 385th Bomb Group, who took the nickname "Van's Valiants" after their first Commanding Officer Col. Elliot Vandevanter, flew B-17s from Great Ashfield, Suffolk. The Group led the famous attack on the Focke-Wolfe aircraft factory at Marienburg on 9...
OIL DEPOT
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AIRFIELD
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The Germans are getting very desperate throwing whatever Luftwaffe resources remaining at the bomber formations. They have very poorly trained fighter pilots with little or no combat experience and their losses are dramatic this late in the war.
AIRFIELD
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EXPLOSIVES PLANT
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A mix of 252 P-47s and P-51s provide escort. Mix not given in available data.
INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
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MARSHALLING YARDS
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AIRFIELD
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AIRFIELD
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MARSHALLING YARDS
B-17 Flying Fortress
Primary – Airfield outside of Domitz (50 miles SE of Hamburg)
Secondary – Town of Schwerin, 45 miles east of Hamburg.
The mission looked like a lot of fun. No flak, bombing altitude was only 15,000 and the met. officer promised us visual conditions. The course consisted of hitting the Dutch coast about 20 miles north of Amsterdam & flying directly east over Zuyder Zee which is what the British are trying to reach at present in order to encircle Holland completely. Once on the east coast of the celebrated Zee, we whooped down toward Osnabruck and north of Hannover. Then a little further east to the primary's I.P. which was about 45 miles east of Hannover (Klotze, was the town's name) From there we cut sharply to the North into Domitz (prim.) Our course out was SW a little past Hannover, west from there (passing barely10 miles north of the Ruhr pocket) until reaching the Belgian coast, we cut up to Southwold and home.
MARSHALLING YARDS
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AIRFIELD
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Military | Second Lieutenant | Pilot | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 612BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 21 x combat missions.
Awards: AM (2OLC), WWII Victory, EAME.
Military | Second Lieutenant | Co-Pilot, Tail Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 466th Bomb Group
Military | Sergeant | Waist gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Assigned to 612BS, 401BG, 8AF USAAF. 21 x combat missions. Harry Ahlers crew.
Awards: AM (2OLC), WWII Victory, EAME (1 x Battle Star).
Military | Sergeant | Radio Operator, Tail Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Military | First Lieutenant | Pilot | 401st Bomb Group
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Military | Flight Officer | Bombardier | 401st Bomb Group
Military | Sergeant | Tail Gunner | 401st Bomb Group
Member of Ford's Crew. Sgt Clarence Bailey flew 10 missions, from 04/04/1945, mission #241, to 04/20/1945, mission #254. He served as a Tail Gunner.
Military | Lieutenant | Navigator | 95th Bomb Group
John Barnes was born January 31, 1922 in Philadelphia, PA, the son of Leonard and Gertrude Barnes of Emporium, PA . He received his undergraduate and Ph.D from Penn State University. He served in WWII as the navigator of the “Spirit of Martinez with...
Military | Major | Navigator | 447th Bomb Group
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 27/2/44; Hunter 22/3/44; Grenier 2/4/44; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-R] Deenethorpe 16/4/44; 111m, Returned to the USA Bradley 8/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 12/6/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 29/2/44; Gr Island 22/3/44; Grenier 20/4/44; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-H] Deenethorpe 13/5/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 6/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 8/6/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 5/3/44; Hunter 7/4/44; Dow Fd 29/4/44; Assigned 615BS/401BG [IY-C] Deenethorpe 3/5/44; 614BS [IW-S]; 106m, Returned to the USA Bradley 7/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 14/6/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 21/4/44; Kearney 2/5/44; Grenier 26/5/44; Assigned 613BS/401BG [IN-S] 27/5/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 8/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 12/6/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA) Kingman...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Tulsa 7/3/44; Kearney 22/3/44; Grenier 7/4/44; Assigned 614BS/401BG [IW-B] Deenethorpe 15/4/44; Returned to the USA Bradley 8/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 12/6/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA)...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 26/11/43; Wendover 9/12/43; Grenier 20/1/44; Assigned 457BG Glatton 25/1/44; transferred 613BS/401BG [IN-J] Deenethorpe 11/3/44; Missing in Action Pas de Calais 19/3/44, force landed continent; Salvaged 1 SAD Troston 22/4/44; mission...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 10/12/43; Kearney 27/12/43; RAF Nutts Corner 15/1/44; Assigned 615BS/401BG [IY-B] Deenethorpe 31/1/44; 613BS [IN-O]; 112m, Returned to the USA 121 BU Bradley 7/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 9/6/45; 4100 BU Patterson 9/10...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Denver 29/12/43; Kearney 12/1/44; with Wilmot Chamberlain force landed Morrison, FL 31/1/44; Memphis 19/4/44; Kansas City 20/4/44; Kearney 24/4/44; Presque Is 28/4/44; Grenier 30/4/44; Assigned 335BS/95BG [OE-P] Horham 2/5/44; battle damaged...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 31/12/43; Kearney 12/1/44; Assigned 612BS/401BG [SC-P] Deenethorpe 15/2/44; Returned to the USA 121 BU Bradley 1/6/45; 4168 Base Unit, South Plains, Texas 8/6/45; Reconstruction Finance Corporation (sold for scrap metal in USA)...
B-17 Flying Fortress
Delivered Cheyenne 13/1/44; Kearney 28/1/44; Presque Is 18/2/44; Grenier 2/3/44; Assigned 615BS/401BG [IY-G] Deenethorpe 7/3/44; detailed Munich 13/7/44 with L.H. Haskett, Tail gunner: Ed Page (Killed in Action); Returned to the USA 121 BU Bradley 6/6...
| Date | Contributor | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 18 September 2018 03:01:56 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to description |
| Sources | ||
Newspaper article |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 18 September 2018 02:42:41 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to description |
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Newspaper article |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 18 September 2018 02:17:53 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to aircraft associations |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 18 September 2018 02:13:59 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to event |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 18 September 2018 02:13:14 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to event |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 18 September 2018 02:09:16 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to aircraft associations |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 18 September 2018 00:28:39 | spiritofmartinez45 | Changes to person associations and aircraft associations |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 July 2017 18:50:06 | Virginiawise50 | Changes to event |
| Sources | ||
Virginia Wise, eldest child of Lester Allen Wise, B-17 (43-39056) pilot 8th Air Force, 385th Bomb Group, who flew on this mission from Great Ashfield, England to Gustrow, 7 Apr 1945 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 July 2017 18:46:59 | Virginiawise50 | Changes to person associations and aircraft associations |
| Sources | ||
Virginia Wise, eldesthild of LesterAllen Wise B-17 (43-39056) pilot, 8th Air Force, 385th Bomb Group, who flew on this mission from Great Ashfield, England to Gustrow, 7 Apr 1945 |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 01 December 2016 23:55:31 | daveb@dalitech.com | Changes to event |
| Sources | ||
Information from original, hand-written combat logs of Maj. I.J. Barrios dated Feb-Apr 1945. |
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| Date | Contributor | Update |
| 27 September 2014 18:43:13 | AAM | AAM ingest |
| Sources | ||
Lee Cunningham, 8th Air Force missions research database / Stan Bishop's 'Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces', the Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces and the work of Roger Freeman including the 'Mighty Eighth War Diary'. |
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