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This day called for the mission to be planned in a shotgun fashion. Meaning, a whole bunch of little targets were going to be hit at about the same time throughout France, Germany and Belgium. The 492nd drew a V-2 rocket site north of Paris near a small town called Mery-sur-Oise.
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The Group dispatched 36 crews for the job under the command of Major Heaton, the 857th Squadron Commander. He flew with the Gossett Crew 708. During assembly one of the planes had to abort the milk run because of a mechanical failure.
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They had plenty of fighter protection. Like all missions into France, the skies were owned by the Allies. The Crossbow raiding force of 159 bombers had 96 escorts with them. There was no sign of the Luftwaffe on this day.
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Flak wasn't heavy but it did give Lt DeGood, the Co-Pilot on the Koltun Crew R-10, a head wound.
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On the way to target, the formation ran into a heavy cloud formation. While the other five groups broke off to look for targets of opportuity, the old vets in the 492nd were able to show off their skills by flying through it and nailing their target. They achieved one of the best bombing runs of the 1,138 bombers dispatched that day. But, the Group wasn't entirely made up of old vets, as 9 of the crews were unable to drop their bombs.
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For the last week or so, news had been circulating around the base that something big was going to happen to the Group. The stories were different, but they all had one thing in common: the Group would be leaving North Pickenham. They hoped somehow that their achievement today would rescue the Group. Afterall, they were the only group in a six-group formation that attacked their primary target.
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Mock Crew 804 completed their 30 mission tour and were received back at North Pick with a hero's welcoming. They were the second crew to do so. For the crews that were almost done, they were hoping to finish before whatever was going to happen to the Group happened. Nobody wanted to be transferred.
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| Mission Data |
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61
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Date:
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3 Aug 44
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Mery-sur-Oise,
France
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Crossbow
V-2 rockets
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Aircraft
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Bomb Load
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Tons:
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65
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Type:
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n/a
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Result:
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Excellent
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Enemy Action
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Flak:
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Light
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GAF:
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None
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Counter Action
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Kills:
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0
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492 Casualties
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KIA:
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WIA:
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POW:
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INT:
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