Mission 665

The sixth mission was a comparatively straightforward one. The target was an airfield at Paderborn, and the route in followed the familiar track over Egmond, Amsterdam, Apeldoorn, and Osnabrück. Flak came up at Osnabrück and Bielefeld but nothing reached the formation over the target itself. Passing near Bad Oeynhausen, the crew counted 25 barrage balloons floating above the railroad bridge over the Weser River. Bombing conditions were good, with clear visual sighting across a formation of 750 aircraft. Results were assessed as very good. The aircraft, "Solid Comfort," came back without a mark. No fighters, no flak holes, all crew safe.

M1 (first mission). Plane: 168 'Y', B-24J, 409th — not found in DB. Captain Kenneth Gilbert (on his 71st mission) rode co-pilot seat per 93rd policy of pairing new crews with a veteran pilot. Prop-wash from another aircraft inverted the plane near bombs-away; crew salvoed bombs while inverted — bombs hit a crossroads dead center. Crew was posted MIA on return. McGuire called the target Paderborn; official target was Lippstadt M/Y.