Mission 58

Mission Summaries > April 1944

TUESDAY, 25 APRIL 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force):

Mission 317:

554 bombers and 719 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards and airfields in France and Germany; 7 bombers and 2 fighters are lost; the bombers make no Luftwaffe aircraft claims. Details follow:

199 B-24s are dispatched to the marshalling yard at Mannheim, Germany; 7 bomb the primary, 16 bomb the marshalling yard at Landau, Germany and 8 hit targets of opportunity; 5 B-24s are lost and 26 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 4 WIA and 49 MIA.

229 B-17s are dispatched to Nancy/Essay Airfield (42 bomb) and Metz/Frascaty Airfield (98 bomb), France and 2 hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 33 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 20 MIA.

121 of 126 B-17s hit Dijon/Longvic Airfield, France; 29 B-17s are damaged; 2 airman are WIA.

27 of 28 B-24s bomb V-weapons sites at Wizernes, France without loss. Escort is provided by 40 P-47s.

Escort is provided by 177 P-38s, 296 P-47s and 246 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; the fighters claim 5-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 29-7-42 on the ground; details are: P-38s claim 5-0-9 aircraft, 1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair and 2 damaged, no casualties; P-47s claim 5-0-8 aircraft; 3 P-47s are damaged; 1 pilot is KIA; P-51s claim 24-7-26 aircraft, 2 P-51s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged, 2 pilots are MIA.

Mission 318:

6 of 6 B-17s drop 4.2 million leaflets on 20 towns in France including Calais, Metz, Blainville, Paris, Mulhouse and Reims without loss.

Target: Landau, Germany - Last Resort Target - Railroad Marshalling Yards
8th Air Force F.O. No:	317
Aircraft Taking Off:	25
Aircraft Dispatched:	22
Aircraft Aborts:	6
Aircraft Over Primary:	0
Aircraft Over Secondary:	0
Aircraft Over Last Resort:	16
Aircraft Bomb Load:	10 x 500 lb. AN-M43 General Purpose bombs
Group Bomb Load:	160 x 500 lb. AN-M43 General Purpose bombs
Results:	Excellent
Tactical Mission Report:	Mission Data: Date: 25 Apr 44 Primary Target: Mannheim, Marshalling Yards Secondary Target: Mannheim, Center of City Last Resort Target: Kaiserslautern, Marshalling Yards and Railroad Workshops Units Participating: 96th CBW (458th, 466th, 467th BGs) 2nd CBW (453rd, 389th, 445th BGs) 20th CBW (93rd, 446th, 448th BGs) Narrative: Assembly: This Group had a little difficulty with Buncher #6, thus causing some confusion in the assembly. However we were in good formation before leaving for the Wing Assembly. The Wing Assembly was made difficult by the 2nd Squadron of the 453rd Bomb Group which was flying low. They did not play the turns at Buncher #6 and were too far back from then on until the Enemy Coast. The Division Assembly was accomplished without incident. Climb: The climb to altitude was made without any difficulties. Route In: We departed the Coast five minutes early and made landfall at the briefed I.P. We then turned South of course, but it was unknown how far. We picked up some Flak and turned North to avoid it. We fell behind the 'A' Group at this point and did not get back into proper formation for another ten minutes. We turned North to avoid Flak at Karlshrue, then East again, at which time Burbon Blue (389th BG) took over lead of the Wing. Bomb Run: We turned North at the Combat Wing I.P. and then West at the Group I.P. as briefed. The cloud cover was 9-10/10 and we were not able to see any checkpoints. The first time we saw the briefed target we were South of it, and it was only visible for about a minute through a break in the clouds. Burbon leader was contacted and was asked if we were going to make a second run, but the reply was to go onto the Secondary or Last Resort Targets. The 'B' Group at that time was North of the 'A' Group and the Last Resort Target was North of both Groups. Our Group continued straight ahead expecting the 'A' Group to turn North at which time we would play the turn to rejoin the Wing. However, the formation of 'A' Group continued to turn South, so we turned South to rejoin them, realizing that we were not going to bomb the Secondary or the Last Resort. The cloud cover was from 9-10/10 but through a break in the clouds we saw Landau just slightly off our course. On the belief that it was unlikely we would get another opportunity as good so the Lead Bombardier was told to make a run on the Marshalling Yards spotted in the town. After dropping our bombs we turned South and rejoined 'A' Group. Route Out: The return route was uneventful and we came out slightly South of the briefed course. Enemy Fighters: A few were observed but no attacks were made. Fighter Support: Excellent. Flak: Flak was generally meager and accurate along the route and moderate and accurate in the target area. Light and accurate gunfire was encountered over the Pas de Calis area on withdrawal.
Losses: None.
Note: None.

No target photo of Landau Marshalling Yards