CHAPTER XI UP AND DOWN THE BOMBING SCALE WITH NEW CREWS, AUGUST 1944

(A) Narrative History.

The month of August brought its first anniversary if the 461^st Bombardment Group. The anniversary date was actually Friday, 11 August. On that day each squadron celebrated the occasion with a party for its enlisted men and another one for its officers. The Headquarters party for officers was held the evening of the 13^th of August. This particular party was unique in that it was held on the “Liberaiders’ Flight Deck” or the terrace of the headquarters building. Among the guests were the 49^th Wing Commander, Colonel William L. Lee; the 451^st Group Commander, Colonel Robert E. Eaton; the 484^th Group Commander, Colonel William B. Keese; and approximately twenty South African nurses of the British Army from Trani.

Combat crew members who had completed their missions began in August to leave the Group for return to the United States. As a preliminary to their departure they were assembled in the briefing room for a farewell from Colonel Glantzberg. Each officer and enlisted man was given a copy of the “First 50 Missions of the 461^st Bomb Group (H), April 2 – June 26, 1944” as well as a copy signed by Colonel Glantzberg of the Group’s “Cheek Twitcher” certificate. This particular certificate was signed by 1^st Lt. William B. Marshall, a bombardier who had completed his tour of duty.

One of the individuals returned to the United States was Captain David P. McQuillan, the Operations Officer of the 767^th Squadron. He left the Group on the 11^th day of August after exactly one year of service with the Group. His departure was both singular and ironic in that he was the last of the original command or executive pilots of the Group, and the only one of the original eleven command or executive pilots of the Group to complete a year of service in the same position in the Group. Captain William J. Franklin Jr., the original Operations Officer of the 766^th Squadron, still remained with the Group but during part of his year of service with the Group he had been Assistant Squadron Operations Officer.

Captain George V. Leffler, the Group Bombardier, was grounded early in August following his mission to Budapest on 30 July. He became the first Group flying staff officer to complete a tour of duty in this theatre. He was replaced by 1^st Lt. Jack H. King who had originally been the bombardier on Captain Strong’s crew and who was first designated as the Assistant Group Bombardier. Shortly after this both Leffler and King were promoted.

On 15 August the Group participated in its second “D” Day operation with the bombing mission to the landing beaches in Southern France.

The first bond raffle in the Group was conducted by Special Forces on 15 August. $2320.00 dollars worth of bonds were sold.

On 23 August S/Sgt. Joe Louis visited the Group and addressed the officers and men who had assembled in the Group Theatre to greet him.

On 24 August Captain Joseph J. Mente, the Special Services Officer, began a daily broadcast at noon of current events.

The second party of the month of August for the Group officers was held on the 30^th of the month. One of the features of this party was the awarding of the Silver Star to Colonel Glantzberg by Colonel Lee.

(B) Operations.

The Group flew a total of 20 combat missions during the month of August. Combat crew members logged a total of 4064 hours. Of the 586 planes that took off, 54 were early returns. The average number of aircraft on each mission was 29.3. Of the 1220 tons of bombs that were airborne, 1059 were dropped on targets.

Bombing accuracy during the month was most erratic. The scores ran all the way from that of 0 on mission No. 81 to that of 73.9 on mission No. 91. The Group ranked thirteenth in the Air Force for the month with an average score of 42.2 per cent.

Airplane losses during the month were comparatively light: one being lost to fighters, three to flak, and four to other causes. Enemy fighters were encountered on both August 22^nd and 23^rd on missions against targets in the Vienna area. Sixteen of these fighters were destroyed, six were probably destroyed, and one was damaged.

In early August, Colonel Glantzberg asked the Group Communications Officer, Major Wagener, for information and a recommendation on radio bombing which would permit all planes in the formation to drop their bombs on the lead plane by use of radio. Major Wagener requested Master Sergeant Wilford L. Irwin and Corporal George Kufta of the Communications Section of the 764^th Squadron, and Sergeant Marshall Johnson of the 765^th Communications Section to work with him on the project. The investigation of this committee carried the personnel to Corsica and to other places where experimentation had been conducted on radio bombing. Presently the 461^st began experimenting on combat missions with this manner of bombing.

On 18 August on Mission No. 85 against the Aibunar Airdrome in Yugoslavia one flight in the formation dropped their bombs by radio with satisfactory results. Two days later the method was tried again, this time with two flights using the experiment. The results obtained by the first flight were satisfactory but bombs in the second flight were intermittently scattered all the way from the IP to the target. While Major Wagener and his committee were working to improve their techniques the Wing and the Air Force became interested in the experiment. Higher headquarters directed that plans, methods, and diagrams that had been devised in working this scheme should be sent to Headquarters of the Fifteenth Air Force for study. This ended the experiment by this Group on radio bombing at least temporarily and possibly permanently.

On the 24^th of the month, 2^nd Lt. Arthur E. Farnham Jr. and his skeleton crew washed out the “Kissed Off Kids” in a practice flight when compelled to crash land it in a field near the Base. 1^st Lt. Ralph T. Seeman, to whom the plane had originally been assigned in the United States, had completed 50 missions in this plane previous to this accident. This was the first plane ever to be lost to this Group on a practice mission since the beginning of combat operations on 2 April 1944.

The experience level of combat crews of the Group during the month of August was the lowest in the history of the Group since it began combat operations. Of the seventy crews that were members of the Group at some time during the month, an average of fifty were available for combat. Seven of the eight crews lost to combat during the month were crews with only a few missions. Not more than one crew was lost on any one mission.

A total of forty-seven new complete crews were assigned to the Group during the month. Shortly after each shipment of new crews arrived at the Group all of them were called to the Group Briefing Room by Colonel Glantzberg. The Colonel’s senior staff officers and the squadron commanders were repeatedly required to attend these meetings. In his remarks to the new crew members, the Colonel stated that the purposes of the meeting were three in number: (1) To provide him with an opportunity to welcome personally each new officer and enlisted man to the Group; (2) To present his senior and command staffs to the new personnel; and (3) To outline the policies of the Group to new arrivals. Thus, during the month, a policy was definitely established and rigidly adhered to of welcoming every new crew to the Group and of bidding farewell to all old crew members leaving the Group.

New Crews

Paragraph 1 of Group Special Orders No. 75, dated 2 August 1944, reads as follows: “The VOCO 23 July 44, assigning the fol combat crew personnel to squadrons as indicated is hereby confirmed and made a matter of record. Auth: VOCG 23 Jul 44.”

764^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. Sol Sklanski

2^nd Lt. John L. Underwood

2^nd Lt. John L. Turner, Jr.

2^nd Lt. Edward A. Nahkunst

1^st Lt. John G.L. Oliver

1^st Lt. George H. Miller

2^nd Lt. Hubert W. Souther

2^nd Lt. Donald E. Tiffany

2^nd Lt. Lloyd D. Emmert

2^nd Lt. William M. Powell

765^th Squadron

1^st Lt. David E.A. Johnson

2^nd Lt. Willard R. King

2^nd Lt. Bernard J. Mohan

2^nd Lt. John B. Moore, Jr.

2^nd Lt. Robert T. Blake

2^nd Lt. Leo F. Cooper

2^nd Lt. Burnis E. Presho

1^st Lt. Robert K. Baker

1^st Lt. Robert T. Chalmers

2^nd Lt. William N. Beatty

1^st Lt. Frederick A. Gray, Jr.

2^nd Lt. William J. Kelleher

766^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. John R. Wren, Jr.

2^nd Lt. Albert W. Townsley

2^nd Lt. Arthur H. Trier

2^nd Lt. Girard L. Vanderhoeven

2^nd Lt. Harold F. Ehrlich

2^nd Lt. Arthur E. Farnham, Jr.

2^nd Lt. David J. Thomas

1^st Lt. Stockton B. Shaw

2^nd Lt. Howard C. Wilson

2^nd Lt. Thomas J. Sobieski

2^nd Lt. Robert R. Friedersdorf

2^nd Lt. Robert D. Falkner

767^th Squadron

F/O Paul H. Millikin

2^nd Lt. Thomas G. Moore

2^nd Lt. Ralph K. Newton

2^nd Lt. Floyd C. Stockton

2^nd Lt. Edward K. George

2^nd Lt. George R. Podwolsky

2^nd Lt. Gordon W. Rosencrans

F/O Truman L. Horn, Jr.

1^st Lt. Bertrand J. Arents

2^nd Lt. Donald J. Herbert

1^st Lt. Robert W. Hess

2^nd Lt. Nicholas Rawchuck

2^nd Lt. Harry L. Walsh

Paragraph 2 of Group Special Orders No. 75, dated 2 August 1944, reads as follows: “The VOCO 24 Jul 44, assigning the fol combat crew personnel to squadrons as indicated is hereby confirmed and made a matter of record. Auth. VOCG IV AF 24 Jul 44.

764^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. Edward A. Nahkunst and crew

765^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. Bernard J. Mohan and crew

2^nd Lt. John B. Moore, Jr. and crew

Paragraph 3 of Group Special Orders No. 75, dated 2 August 1944, reads as follows: “The VOCO 26 Jul 44, assigning the fol combat crew personnel to squadrons as indicated is hereby confirmed and a matter of record. Auth: VOCG XV AF 26 Jul 44.”

764^th Squadron

1^st Lt. John G.L. Oliver and crew

765^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. Robert T. Blake and crew

766^th Squadron

2nd Lt. Harold F. Ehrlich and crew

767^th Squadron

2nd Lt. Edward K. George and crew

Paragraph 4 of Group Special Orders No. 75, dated 2 August 1944, reads as follows: “The VOCO 27 Jul 44, assigning the fol combat crew personnel to squadrons as indicated is hereby confirmed and made a matter of record. Auth: VOCG XV AF 27 Jul 44.”

764^th Squadron

1st Lt. George H. Miller and crew

765^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. Leo F. Cooper and crew

766^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. Arthur E. Farnham, Jr., and crew

767^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. George R. Podwolsky and crew

2^nd Lt. Gordon W. Rosencrans and crew

Paragraph 6 of Group Special Orders No. 5, dated 2 August 1944, reads as follows: “The VOCO 30 Jul 44, assigning the fol combat crew personnel to squadrons as indicated is hereby confirmed and made a matter of record. Auth: VOCI XV AF 30 Jul 44”.

764^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. Hubert W. Souther and crew

2^nd Lt. Donald E. Tiffany and crew

765^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. Bernis E. Presho and crew

766^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. David J. Thomas and crew

767^th Squadron

F/O Truman L. Horn, Jr. and crew

Paragraph 3 of Group Special Orders No. 85, dated 19 August 1944, reads as follows: “The fol Off, V/O, and EM, combat crew members, having been asgd this Op per VOCG XV AF, 18 Aug 44, are hereby assigned crew members and to squadrons as indicated”.

765^th Squadron

1^st Lt. Robert K. Baker and crew

1^st Lt. Robert T. Chalmers and crew

2^nd Lt. William N. Beatty and crew

766^th Squadron

1^st Lt. Stockton B. Shaw and crew

2^nd Lt. Howard C. Wilson and crew

767^th Squadron

1st Lt. Bertrand J. Arents and crew

Paragraph 1 of Group Special Orders No. 88, dated 22 August 1944, reads as follows: “The fol Off, F/O, and EM having been asgd this orgn per competent authority (VOCG IV AF, 22 Aug 44) are further asgd to squadrons as indicated”.

764^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. Lloyd D. Emmert and crew

2^nd Lt. William M. Powell and crew

766^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. Thomas J. Sobieski and crew

767^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. Donald J. Herbert and crew

Paragraph 1 of Group Special Orders No. 90, dated 24 August 1944, reads as follows: “The fel Off, F/O, and EM, having been asgd this orgn per competent authority (VOCG XV AF, 23 Aug 44) are further asgd to squadrons as indicated”.

765^th Squadron

1^st Lt. Frederick a. Gray, Jr., and crew

767^th Squadron

1^st Lt. Robert W. Hess and crew

2^nd Lt. Nicholas Rawchuck and crew

2^nd Lt. Harry L. Walsh and crew

Paragraph 1 of Group Special Orders No. 94, dated 29 August 1944, reads as follows: “The fol Off and EM having been asgd this orgn per competent authority (VOCG XV AF. 28 Aug 44) are further asd to squadrons as indicated, off 26 Aug 44”.

765^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. William J. Kelleher and crew

766^th Squadron

2^nd Lt. Robert R. Friedersdorf and crew

Paragraph 2 of Group special Orders No. 94, dated 29 August 1944, reads as follows: “The fol Off and EM having been asgd this orgn per competent authority (VOCO XV AF, 29 Aug 44) are further asgd to the 766th Bomb Squadron:”

2^nd Lt. Robert D. Falkner and crew

MISSIONS

Mission No. 74, 2 August 1944 – Avignon Railroad Bridge, France

As had been the case in certain previous months, superior bombing marked the first mission of a new month. Lt. Colonel Knapp led a four-flight formation against a railroad bridge across the Durance River south of Avignon. Lt. King became the first bombardier in this Group to really hit a bridge hard when 73.l percent, almost all of the bombs of three flights cut the railroad bridge in two different places near the south end.

Mission No. 75, 3 August 1944 – Zahnradfabrik Aircraft Factory, Friedrichshfen, Germany

The primary target for this mission was the Ober Raderach Chemical Works at Friedrichshfen, Germany. Because of nine-tenths cloud coverage in the target area, the Group was forced to bomb by the pathfinder method. Being unable to satisfactorily pick up the primary target on his instruments, Lt. Marangelo selected the first alternate target that was the Zahnradfabrik Aircraft Factory at Friedrichshafen. The target was hit but many of the bombs fell short into the water. 2^nd Lt. Robert E. Schweisberger and his crew became the first of the many new flying personnel who failed to return from a mission during the month of August.

Mission 76, 6 August 1944 – Miramas Marshalling Yard, France

For this mission the strategy of the Fifteenth Air Force, which as the time was not being revealed to Group personnel, continued to anticipate the invasion of Southern France. The target was a large marshalling yard in the comparatively small town of Miramas, France. With excellent weather, no fighter opposition, and not much flak at the target, Major Goree and Lt. Cran turned in an excellent mission with a score of 52.7 percent. This was the first five-box formation flown during the month.

Mission No. 77, 7 August 1944 – Blechhammer South Oil Refinery, Germany

The mission for 7 August was the South Plant of the Synthetic Oil Refinery at Blechhammer, Germany. Although the weather was CAVU over the target, it was necessary to bomb by instruments because of the very effective smoke screen put up by the enemy. Photographs of the bomb strikes were taken but it is impossible to plot the coverage. No fighters were seen or encountered, but twelve of the nineteen bombers over the target were hold by flak. The plane piloted by 2^nd St. Robert E. Sterrett was last seen in the target area with two engines feathered. He and his crew became the second new crew to be lost during the month.

Mission No. 78, 9 August 1944 – Almasfuzito Oil Refinery, Hungary

The veteran team of Lt. Colonel Knapp, Captain Strong, Lt. King, Lt. Coles, and Lt. Sullivan came through with their second superior mission of the young month when they scored 62 percent on the oil refinery at Almasfuzito, Hungary. Conditions for the attack were ideal – CAVU weather, no fighters, and not too much flak. Although Captain Strong and Lt. Sullivan did not know it at the time, this mission marked the completion of their tour of duty with the Fifteenth Air Force. This made the nineteenth mission that they and Lt. King had flown in the lead place of an Air Force, Wing, Group, or Second Section formation.

Mission No. 79, 10 August 1944 – Ploesti Xenia Oil Refinery, Roumania

Back again to the guns out in the fields at the old familiar target, the Xenia Oil Refinery, Ploesti. Back again to smoke screens, high towering black clouds from burning oil, and to pathfinder bombing. The results: no score; photographs which show nothing but smoke; and thirteen airplanes with holes in them. Crew members who had become accustomed to results like these at Blechhammer and at Ploesti frequently wondered how much or how little damage they were inflicting on these targets.

Mission No. 80, 12 August 1944 – Genoa Gun Positions, Italy

For weeks members of the Group who visited Rome had been returning with rumors of another invasion of the continent of Europe. When the Group was suddenly swung from its oil targets to fly a tactical mission against coastal gun positions south of Genoa, Italy, on the 12^th of august, many believed that the time had come for a fulfillment of those rumors. The weather for this mission was ideal, there were no enemy fighters, and not a great deal of flak. The target, however, which was approached over land was most difficult to identify. Only 6.4 percent of the bombs were dropped on the target. The plane flown by F/O James H. Cain blew up over the target and several pieces from the destroyed plane were brought back to Base lodged in the wigs and fuselages of other planes in the formation. It is believed that the plane suffered a direct hit on the fuse of a bomb.

Mission No. 81, 13 August 1944 – Genoa Gun Positions, Italy

Having failed to knock out its target on the l2th of the month, the Group tried again on the 13^th with even poorer results. It seemed impossible for the Group to identify the assigned gun positions.

Mission No. 82, 14 August 1944 – Gun Positions near Frejus, France

When the Group was assigned its third consecutive tactical mission against coastal gun positions, speculation ran rampant as to when the invasion would start and as to whether it would be aimed at the Genoa area of Italy, or at the Marseilles area of France. Lt. Colonel Knapp, flying this mission with a new flight leader crew, turned in his third consecutive superior mission of the month when 64.5 percent of the bombs were dropped within a thousand feet of the assigned coastal gun positions on the beach near Frejus, France. Conditions for this mission were ideal. A few weeks after this mission, a member of this Group who visited the scene of this target returned from France with the information that there the coastal guns had once been located, there was nothing but the biggest crater he had ever seen.

Mission No. 83 - 15 August 1944 – Frejus Beach, France

During the afternoon of the 14^th, the “hot information” on the big push came down through channels. “H” Hour of “D” Day was to be the break of dawn the morning of 15 august. The invasion was to be aimed at the southern coast of France. Missions of the Fifteenth Air Force in support of the invasion were four in number: (1) To cause maximum destruction to enemy coast and beach defenses within the assault area; (2) To isolate the battle field by the destruction of the remaining rail and road bridges across the Rhone River up to its junction with the Iser River as well as those across the Iser and Durance Rivers; (3) To block defiles and rail lines running through the Alps from Iser River southward; and (4) to drop propaganda leaflets from the water’s edge to approximately 30 miles inland.

The field order for the mission revealed that many of the Groups were to hit their targets at the break of dawn. This was the explanation of why the planes of the Groups in the 304^th Wing had for weeks been disturbing the nightly sleep of the 461^st Group with their constant night take-offs, formation flying and landings. Target time assigned to the 461^st was 12:10 o’clock. The target was a section of the beach in front of the Town of Frejus and just to the left of a concentration of friendly troops that were scheduled to be ashore.

As soon as Colonel Glantzberg saw the field order and the annexes that accompanied it, he made his decisions rapidly. The Group would attack its target with five boxes staggered to the left. The Colonel would lead the first box and a squadron commander would lead one of each of the other four boxes. All Group and Squadron operations officers, navigators, and bombardiers would fly. Lt. Colonel Hawes, the Deputy Group Commander, would be the only flying officer of the Group and/or Squadron Staffs not to fly. Captain John Specht, probably the most outstanding original flight leader left in the Group, would be the lead pilot; Major Marian Pruitt, long believed to be without equal in the Fifteenth Air Force, would be the lead navigator; 1^st Lt. Jack H. King, formerly the bombardier on Captain Strong’s outstanding crew and currently the hottest bombardier in the Group as well as the acting Group Bombardier, would be the lead bombardier; 1^st Lt. John W. Coles, a squadron navigator and a veteran of many missions on which he had done pilotage from the nose turret of the lead plane, would be the pilotage navigator; and 1st Lt. Leonard C. Gizelba, the prima-donna of the mickey operators, would fly in the lead pathfinder plane.

The decision of the Commanding Officer to permit all but one of his flying staff officers to participate in this mission was an outstanding example of the methods he continually used in making every deserving officer and man feel that he as an important personage in this Group. Special briefing was held in the afternoon that was attended by all flying staff officers as well as by the officers of all flight leader crews who were to participate in the mission.

Conditions for the missions would not have been better. In the complete absence of enemy fighters and flak, with CAVU weather, with all flights in formation, with many friendly vessels in the water near the target, and with many friendly troops on the ground near the target, the Group did an excellent job in spraying the assigned section of the landing beach with 100 pound general purpose bombs. On the top rack of each plane were two bombs with carried propaganda leaflets addressed to the enemy personnel. All crews returned to the base without incident.

Mission No. 84, 17 August 1944 – Ploesti Romano Americana Oil Refinery, Roumania

With the invasion of Southern France from the Mediterranean now successfully under way, the Fifteenth Air Force swung back for targets to sources of German oil. The target assigned the 461^st Group was the Romano Americana Oil Refinery at Ploesti, Roumania. This target was the largest and most important of all the vital oil installations at Ploesti. This was the target that the Group had failed to reach on 22 July when the formation was stopped short of its objective by flak.

This mission was the seventh to be flown by this Group to Ploesti. Although no one knew it at the time, this was destined to be the last mission to be flown by this Group against this first priority target which had long since been recognized by all United Nations as one of the most important and well defended target areas possessed by the enemy. On 30 August 1944 what was left of the famous Ploesti oil supply and industry was captured by the Russian Army.

Despite the fact that it took a lot of explaining on the part of some of the twelve pilots who were early returns from this mission, in many ways the mission was the most successful ever flown by this Group against a Ploesti target. The nineteen planes over the target dropped 45.6 percent of their 146 five hundred pound RDX bombs within 1000 feet of the briefed aiming point. Numerous hits were scored in the tank farm at the northwest corner of the refinery; one string of bombs fell across the center of the refinery with four direct hits on storage tanks in that area which resulted in large fires; and the distillation units, the boiler house, and some of the administration buildings were also hit.

No fighters were encountered. With CAVU weather at the target, the master anti-aircraft gunners who had been getting plenty of practice all summer were up to par with their effort. As a result, fourteen of the nineteen planes over the target were hit and the one flown by 2^nd Lt. Thomas C. Moore failed to return from this mission.

Most of the twelve planes that returned early from the mission were those that had been flying in the rear positions of the various flights. When Lt. Colonel Hawes was compelled by mechanical failure to abandon the lead position in the formation, the lead was taken over by the Deputy Leader, Captain Ryder. This was the first mission that Captain Ryder had led. Due to his inexperience plus the fact that his plane was not accurately calibrated, he maintained too high an air speed en route to the target. As a result, the “tail-end Charlie” planes were unable to climb and maintain position in the formation.

Mission No. 85, 18 August 1944 – Alibunar Airdrome, Yugoslavia

The mission of 18 August was the first of four missions destined to be flown against German-held airdromes during the last half of August. The target was the airdrome at Alibunar, Yugoslavia. Most of the fragmentation bombs dropped on this mission covered a wide area across the north end of the airdrome, while others fell in the southwest area and continued northwest to the center of the landing ground. Nine enemy aircraft received direct hits and three others received near misses. A total o fifty-five enemy aircraft were counted from the photographs taken by this Group. With good weather and neither enemy fighters nor anti-aircraft defenses, all planes in the Group formation returned safely to the Base without damage or casualties.

Mission No. 86, 20 August 1944- Szolnok Airdrome, Hungary

On the frag mission of 20 August against the airdrome at Szolnok, Hungary, Lt. Colonel Knapp turned in his fourth consecutive highly successful mission of the month as Group leader. The bomb pattern started at the center of the south disposal area and continued southeast across the target with an even pattern of strikes. Seven enemy aircraft received direct hits, and near misses were scored on three others. The weather was good except for haze; the flak was slight, inaccurate, and heavy; and there was no enemy fighter opposition. Only one plane was damaged. All returned safely from the mission.

Mission No. 87, 22 August 1944 – Lobau Underground Oil Storage, Vienna, Austria

Still hammering away at vital enemy installations. This time the target was the underground oil installations at the Lobau Refinery near Vienna, Austria. Flying second in the Wing formation, the Group dropped its thousand pound general-purpose bombs through the smoke from the fires started by the lead Group, the 451^st. Because of this smoke, it was impossible to observe the full extent of the damage done by this Group. A close concentration of hits, however, fell through the center of the target and on underground storage facilities.

A long running fight was had with thirty-four enemy fighters, eleven of which were destroyed. Sixteen of the twenty-three bombers over the target were damaged by the exceptionally intense, accurate, and heavy flak which the enemy was able to aim under CAVU conditions. The plane piloted by 2^nd Lt. Robert G. Swinchart, one of the more experienced pilots in the Group, suffered a bad fuel leak and was lost over Yugoslavia returning to the Base.

Mission No. 88, 23 August 1944– Markersdorf Airdrome, St. Polten, Austria

The third frag job of the month against enemy airdromes. The target was the Markersdorf Airdrome of St. Polten, Austria. The first string of frags started at the southwest corner of the airdrome and continued northeast to the service apron; the second string fell across the western half of the airdrome. Seven enemy aircraft on the airdrome were hit and there others received near misses. Forty-two enemy aircraft parked on the airdrome can be counted in the Group pictures.

Again enemy fighter opposition was encountered. Upward of seventy Me-109s and FW-190s were seen between Lake Balton and the target. As results of repeated attacks, five of these were destroyed, six probably destroyed, and one damaged. The cover provided this Group by the P-51s on this mission was exceptionally good. There was no flak at the target. The plane piloted by 2^nd St. Gordon W. Rosencrans, Jr., was set on fire by the enemy fighters. More than half of the crew members were seen to bail out from the plane.

For the second time since the Group had been operating in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations, a strange airplane joined the bomber formation on this mission. At 46° 25' North and 15° 52' East, a black B-17 with white vertical stabilizers and elevators joined the formation and flew a wing position for approximately thirty minutes. At the end of that time it fired upon the formation and then turned away when the fire was returned.

Mission No. 89, 24 August 1944 – Ferrara Railroad Bridge, Italy

For its 89^th Mission, the Group returned to the target area of its first really great mission. Not since Good Friday, 7 April 1944, had the Group been back to Ferrara, Italy. The target for the mission of 24 August 1944 was a railroad bridge north of the City. The bridge was missed but considerable damage was done in the immediate target area. Some of the bombs fell in a small industrial area south of the bridge; others started large fires, probably in a powerhouse in an industrial area southwest of the bridge; and still others hit the south-elevated railroad bridge cutting the tracks in several places.

Ferrara flak lived up to its highly respected reputation. Nineteen of the twenty-five aircraft over the target were hit by flak, one man was injured, and 2^nd Lt. John R. Wren was compelled to bail his crew out a few miles north of the bomb line at Rimini.

Mission No. 90, 26 August 1944, - Bucharest, Otopeni Airdrome, Roumania

By the 26^th of August, Roumania had requested an armistice with Russia and Roumanian soldiers were fighting the Germans in the city of Bucharest. North of that city at the Otopeni Airdrome, the Germans were using the landing strips for two purposes: (1) as a place to set down large transports bringing in reinforcements; and (2) as a place from which to launch aerial attacks against the City of Bucharest. The mission of the 461^st Bombardment Group for the day was that of post holing the two landing strips on the Otopeni Airdrome with 500-pound general-purpose bombs.

First reports of the results of this mission clearly indicated that Lt. Colonel Knapp had failed miserably in his effort to lead five consecutive exceptionally successful missions during the month of August. With CAVU weather and in the absence of both anti-aircraft and enemy fighter opposition only 4.6 percent of the bombs were dropped on the briefed aiming point. Photographs of the mission revealed that two enemy airplanes, one of which was a six-engine transport, were destroyed on the ground, but most of the bombs fell across barracks, the administration building, and the main highway leading from the airdrome to Ploesti. Only two airplanes were damaged on this mission but still another new crew was lost when 2^nd Lt. Howard G. Wilson, who was flying one of the two damaged planes, was forced to bail his crew out over Yugoslavia when returning from the mission.

A few days after this mission, the City of Bucharest was completely cleared of German resistance by the Roumanians and the Russians. Shortly thereafter approximately 1100 United Nations Flying Officers and Men were released from Prisons in Bucharest and returned to Headquarters of the Fifteenth Air Force. Among these were part or all of the personnel of four different crews lost by the 461^st over Roumania. When these individuals returned to the Group, they enthusiastically reported that our Group had broken the backbone of German resistance in Bucharest on the 26^th of August. The bombs from our planes had practically missed their target, but they had destroyed the headquarters, the transportation equipment, the heavy guns, and a great deal of the personnel and munitions concentrated by the enemy in the area covered by our bombs.

Mission No. 91, 27 August 1944, Venzone Viaduct, Italy

On the 27^th of the month, Lt. Colonel Applegate, in leading a mission against the Venzone Viaduct, Italy, proved that Lt. Colonel Knapp’s accomplishment loading a formation in really hitting a bridge at Avignon, France, on the first mission of the month was no fluke. The score on the Avignon Bridge had been 73.1 percent; the score on the Venzone Viaduct was 73.9 percent. Captain Murphy was the lead bombardier who rang the bell on the 27^th.

Mission No. 92, 28 August 1944 – Szolnok/Szajol Railroad Bridge, Hungary

On the 28^th of August, Colonel Glantzberg took his turn at leading the Group on an excellent mission against a railroad bridge. The target was the Szajol Railroad Bridge at Szolnok, Hungary. The Group bombardier, now Captain King, continued to demonstrate his ability to knock down bridges. The score on this mission was 55.1 percent.

Mission No. 93, 29 August 1944 – Szeged Marshalling Yard, Hungary

Group Operations Officer Donovan, leading the Group formation for the first time after his promotion to Major, finished off the twentieth and last mission for the month in an excellent manner when 49.5 percent of the bombs were dropped within the prescribed area on the marshalling yard at Szeged, Hungary. After the formation had begun its bomb run, a malfunction was discovered in the bombsight of the lead airplane. This required the Group to make a 360° circle during which the lead was taken over by the deputy lead airplane. Six of the planes in the formation did not circle the target but left the formation to bomb the first alternative target, the marshalling yard at Subotica, Yugoslavia.

MISSING IN ACTION

Rank	Name	Home Town	Date	Target
2^nd Lt.	Robert E. Schweisberger	Bremen, Indiana	8/3/44	Friedrichshafen
2^nd Lt.	Bernard J. Mohan	Seneca, Kans	8/3/44	Friedrichshafen
2^nd Lt.	Robert R. Koester	Park Ridge, Ill	8/3/44	Friedrichshafen
2^nd Lt.	R.M. Guy	Dallas, Tex.	8/3/44	Friedrichshafen
Sgt.	Morris J. Frye	Auondale, N.C.	8/3/44	Friedrichshafen
Sgt.	Leon R. Durning	Central Falls, R.I.	8/3/44	Friedrichshafen
S. Sgt.	William C. Haag	Woodside, L.I., N.Y.	8/3/44	Friedrichshafen
Sgt.	Charles A. Tidd	Almond, Ark.	8/3/44	Friedrichshafen
Cpl.	Rocco J. Furfare	Rochester, N.Y.	8/3/44	Friedrichshafen
Cpl.	William W. Kuhn	Chicago, Ill.	8/3/44	Friedrichshafen
2^nd Lt.	Robert E. Sterrett	Independence, N.D.	8/7/44	Blechhammer
2^nd Lt.	Robert K. Thompson	Dayton, Ohio	8/7/44	Blechhammer
2^nd Lt.	Donald R. McGara	San Angelo, Tex.	8/7/44	Blechhammer
2^nd Lt.	Kenneth E. Barnhart, Jr.	San Diego, Cal.	8/7/44	Blechhammer
Sgt.	Robert B. Conrad	Schuyler, Neb.	8/7/44	Blechhammer
Sgt.	Howard W. Kavanaugh	Brooklyn, N.Y.	8/7/44	Blechhammer
S. Sgt.	Felix Cranchelli	Cambridge, Mass.	8/7/44	Blechhammer
S. Sgt.	Daniel Pogorzelski, Jr.	Buffalo, N.Y.	8/7/44	Blechhammer
Sgt.	Harold I. Reeve	Mer Rouge, La.	8/7/44	Blechhammer
Sgt.	William G. Lamb, Jr.	Paducah, Ky.	8/7/44	Blechhammer
2^nd Lt.	Thomas C. Moore	Detroit, Mich.	8/17/44	Ploesti
2^nd Lt.	Morris G. Echternacht	Boulder, Colo.	8/17/44	Ploesti
2^nd Lt.	Howard R. Fox	Glenside, Pa.	8/17/44	Ploesti
2^nd Lt.	Bernard H. Young	Chippewa Falls, Wis.	8/17/44	Ploesti
S. Sgt.	Richard A. Mort	South Haven, Mich.	8/17/44	Ploesti
S. Sgt.	Frederick C. Andrews	Big Flats, N.Y.	8/17/44	Ploesti
Sgt.	Warren G. Keffer	Craswell, Ore.	8/17/44	Ploesti
Sgt.	John E. Koester	St. Peters, Mo.	8/17/44	Ploesti
Sgt.	James G. McGuire	Cheektowaga, N.Y.	8/17/44	Ploesti
Sgt.	Charles J. Bonewell	Deer Creek, Okla.	8/17/44	Ploesti
2^nd Lt.	Robert G. Swinehart	Upper Sandusky, Ohio	8/22/44	Vienna
F/O	Richard F. Carter	Salt Lake City, Utah	8/22/44	Vienna
2^nd Lt.	Dick L. Dorney	Arlington, Ohio	8/22/44	Vienna
2^nd Lt.	Christos Kardulas	Cambridge, Mass.	8/22/44	Vienna
S. Sgt.	James P. Wilson	Morgantown, N.C.	8/22/44	Vienna
Sgt.	Theodore T. Marville	Gibbsboro, N.J.	8/22/44	Vienna
Sgt.	Frederick E. Davis	Danville, Kans.	8/22/44	Vienna
Sgt.	Albert R. Thompson	Highland Park, Ill.	8/22/44	Vienna
Sgt.	Cecil J. Grayson	Charlotte, N.C.	8/22/44	Vienna
Sgt.	William H. McGrady	Canton, Tenn.	8/22/44	Vienna
2^nd Lt.	Gordon W. Rosencrans, Jr.	Columbus, Ohio	8/23/44	Markersdorf
2^nd Lt.	Samuel H. Windham	Forreston, Tex.	8/23/44	Markersdorf
2^nd Lt.	Arthur C. Jaros, Jr.	Mt. Vernon, N.Y.	8/23/44	Markersdorf
2^nd Lt.	Victor H. Besser	Inglewood, Cal.	8/23/44	Markersdorf
Cpl.	Roy V. Houck	Napoleon, Ohio	8/23/44	Markersdorf
Cpl.	Jesse M. Whisenant	S