05 NOVEMBER 1944 · SUNDAY · STATION 104Bombed Primary
Mission 702.Ludwigshafen.
Ludwigshafen, Germany
Intended Target
Ludwigshafen
Ludwigshafen, Germany
Actual Target
Karlsruhe
As bombed
Operating Group
93rd BG
3BD
Takeoff Base
Hardwick
Station 104
Landing Base
Hardwick
Station 104
Aircraft Effective
219 / 454
effective / dispatched
Bomb Tonnage
640.5
tons
The cost.
§ Outcome
0
Ships Aborting
1
Ships Lost
7
Men Bailed Out
3
Men Lost
The route.
§ Takeoff to Target
Bearing Out
121° T
Bearing In
306° T
Route Length
1,400 nmi
Time Aloft
7 h 30 m
Operational data.
§ From the Debrief
Times & Distance
Reveille
03:00
Stations
06:30
Takeoff
07:15
Form-Up
07:30
Time Over Target
09:30
Return Time
14:45
Distance
1,400 nmi
Fuel Aboard
2,500 gal
Fuel Consumed
2,300 gal
Weather
Cloud En-Route to Target
Solid, wall-to-wall stratus overcast (10/10) from departure to target — complete instrument conditions the entire route.
Air Temp at Altitude
-24 °F
Lowest Temp
-24 °F
Wind Speed
48 kt
Wind Direction
260°
Bombing & Defense
Bombing Altitude
24,000 ft
Bombing Run Heading
87° True
Forming Altitude
14,000 ft
Fighter Cover
4 P-51, 1 P-47 groups
Bombing Accuracy
Could not see — 10/10 cloud cover
Flak
Heavy at target — red, white, and black flak bursts
The formation.
2 aircraft · tap a ship for its crew
P1Lt Walter F. Hughes
CP2Lt Peter Scott
N2Lt Louis H. Windsor
B2Lt Ralph Hendershot
E-TTSgt Conway Thorstenson
ROT/Sgt Norbert L. Ecclesfield
WGSgt Michael J. Kusnir
TGSgt Boyd L. Justice
NGSgt Robert T. Lee
GSgt Carroll F. Ruby
Mission eleven carried the crew to the marshalling yards at Karlsruhe. The route came in over Camiers, through Laon, Nancy, and Luxembourg to the target, returning by way of Stuttgart, Lille, and Ostende. Hughes flew on the flight deck. Over the target the flak was heavy, the crews noting bursts in red, white, and black. Cloud cover was complete and results could not be observed. Three 2,000-pound bombs went down through the overcast. One aircraft was lost and three men with it; seven others had bailed out elsewhere. Their own aircraft, "Maulin Mallard," returned without damage and all crew safe.
Sources.
§ Provenance
Mighty Eighth War Diary
Roger A Freeman · Jane's Publishing Company Limited · 1981
Published