 |
|
|
The missions given to the Mighty 8th on 12 May 44 had two purposes. The first was to hit the the oil production facilities located deep into Germany and Czechoslovakia. The other was to draw Hitler's attention away from England as the Allies began Operation Eagle, their dress rehearsal for the Normandy landing.
|
|
The 492nd was ordered to attack the oil refineries near Zeitz, Germany. This was a Pathfinder led mission since the weather couldn't be counted on for good visibility. But all of the crews took their bombardiers along just in case the weather was clear. Major Turnbull, the Group's Operations Officer led the Group sitting in the Pathfinder plane from the 44th BG.
|
|
The Group dispatched 38 ships along with one PathFinder plane and assembled in 3 sections. For some of the participatng crews this would be their second mission. The rest of the crews were taking their maiden mission. In this way, Turnbull's group wouldn't be totally green.
|
|
|
Again, the 492nd had excellent fighter protection all the way to target. We haven't confirmed who their assigned fighters were, but we have read that they were escorted by P-38s, P-47s and P-51s.
|
|
|
Just like the day before, the Group caught some flak as soon as they got past the Channel. Again, the damage was light and there were no casualties. They didn't see flak again until they got to their target, which was lighter in terms of accuracy. The new guys went through their realization process that they were in war. Just like the other guys yesterday did.
|
|
Occasionally crewmen did see enemy fighters off in the distance. But the Luftwaffe never came within their range because of the escorts.
|
|
|
The visibilty over the target was good. If we read the reports right, they did so well on their primary target that they held some of their bombs for a second refinery at Zeitz hitting it, too. They still had some payloads left over and hit another refinery at Meresburg on their way home. The reports didn't say why, but 3 of the credited sorties weren't able to attack a target.
|
|
|
The return trip was long but without any serious incident. However, many of the planes came back dangerously low on fuel. Perhaps there was a different reason why two of the planes ran out of gas yesterday. Maybe it was because they were flying using the gas hog techniques they had been taught and not because they spent too much time over target. See the "Gas Hogs" link to the right.
|
|
Arnett Crew 717 barely made it back across the Channel. They landed at the first base they saw. By the time they got refueled and returned to base, their personal GI stuff had already been taken by others. The men had no trouble in getting all of their things returned to them, but that was what happened when crews were thought to be goners.
|
|
|
After the Group got back, a message of commendation and encouragement was sent to all of the groups in the 2nd Air Division for such a fine mission. The men were feeling good that night. But what nobody told them was, "smooth missions are usually paid for by other groups." The Mighty 8th lost 46 heavy bombers and 7 fighters that day. See the "Bigger Picture."
|
