B-24H · 42-95095 · GO · 328th SQDN
Pos
Airman
Status
Circled P indicates lead/command pilot
29 DECEMBER 1944 · FRIDAY · STATION 104
Mission 769
Schleiden
Aborted
Intended Target
Schleiden
Schleiden, Germany
Operating Group
93rd BG
2BD
Takeoff Base
Hardwick
Station 104
Landing Base
Hardwick
Station 104
Aircraft Effective
9 / 262
effective / dispatched
Bomb Tonnage
24.5
tons
ROUTE PLATE · TAKEOFF → TARGET
TAKEOFF · HARDWICK✛TARGET · SCHLEIDEN
Bearing Out
119° T
Bearing In
303° T
Route Length
800 nmi
Time Aloft
5 h 20 m
§ Outcome
0
Ships Aborting
0
Ships Lost
0
Men Bailed Out
0
Men Lost
§ Times & Distance
- Reveille
- 03:00
- Stations
- 07:45
- Takeoff
- 08:30
- Time Over Target
- 09:30
- Return Time
- 13:50
- Distance
- 800 nmi
- Fuel Aboard
- 2,500 gal
- Fuel Consumed
- 1,500 gal
§ Weather
- Cloud En-Route to Target
- Broken cloud — overcast covering roughly half the sky (5/10), with intervals of clear sky.
- Air Temp at Altitude
- -31 °F
- Lowest Temp
- -35 °F
- Wind Speed
- 48 kt
- Wind Direction
- 350°
§ Bombing & Defense
- Bombing Altitude
- 22,000 ft
- Bombing Run Heading
- 95° True
- Forming Altitude
- 17,000 ft
- Fighter Cover
- 3 P-51, 1 P-47 groups
- Bombing Accuracy
- Fair
Flak Description
Mostly from front lines — meager
§ Sorties · 10 Aircraft Dispatched
Each ship that lifted off, and the men aboard her.
▸ 1 ship carrying your selectionUnknown · 42-50628 · GO · 328th SQDN
Pos
Airman
Status
Circled P indicates lead/command pilot
B-24J · 42-95527 · AG · 330th SQDN
Pos
Airman
Status
Circled P indicates lead/command pilot
B-24J · 44-40480 · GO · 328th SQDN
Pos
Airman
Status
Circled P indicates lead/command pilot
B-24J · 42-50529 · RE · 329th SQDN
Pos
Airman
Status
Circled P indicates lead/command pilot; note entry '1[illegible] 2nd Lt. Milton Q. Alper' and 'Lt. Mitcel 448th' — possibly attached observer or additional crew from 448th BG; transcription unclear
B-24J · 42-51229 · GO · 328th SQDN
Pos
Airman
Status
Circled P indicates lead/command pilot; Bombardier position row has no name — blank entry added
B-24H · 41-29437 · AG · 330th SQDN
Pos
Airman
Status
Circled P indicates lead/command pilot; Bombardier position row has no name — blank entry added
B-24J · 42-110017 · GO · 328th SQDN
Pos
Airman
Status
Circled P indicates lead/command pilot
B-24J · 42-50594 · GO · 328th SQDN
Pos
Airman
Status
Circled P indicates lead/command pilot; Bombardier position row has no name — blank entry added
B-24J · 42-50501 · AG · 330th SQDN
Aborted
Pos
Airman
Status
On December 29th the target was a railroad bridge near Kirchweiler. Crossing the coast at Ossoe, Belgium, an antiaircraft battery found them and put flak through the aircraft. Within minutes the oil pressure on the number two engine dropped and the head temperature climbed. They feathered the engine and turned back. The group was still climbing and they couldn't keep up. Back at the base, an inspection found that a piece of flak had clipped the oil line between two cylinders. All eight gallons of oil had pumped out. The quick shutdown had prevented any further damage, and a five-cent length of hose had Ship A-Able ready to fly the next morning.
Sources
Hughes Memoir - A Bomber Pilot in World War Two
Personal memoir
Walter Hughes · 1990
Load List
Official record
2nd Air Division · 2nd Air Division Digital Archive · 1944
Mighty Eighth War Diary
Published
Roger A Freeman · Jane's Publishing Company Limited · 1981