Hardwick SkiesStation 104 · 93rd Bomb GroupAdd to the Record
17 JANUARY 1945 · WEDNESDAY · STATION 104Bombed Primary

Mission 798.Harburg/Rhenania O/I.

Harburg, Germany

Intended Target
Harburg/Rhenania O/I
Harburg, Germany
Operating Group
93rd BG
2AD
Takeoff Base
Hardwick
Station 104
Landing Base
Hardwick
Station 104
Aircraft Effective
78 / 84
effective / dispatched
Bomb Tonnage
187
tons

The cost.

§ Outcome
0
Ships Aborting
2
Ships Lost
0
Men Bailed Out
12
Men Lost

The route.

§ Takeoff to Target
Bearing Out
76° T
Bearing In
263° T
Route Length
1,200 nmi
Time Aloft
7 h 00 m

Operational data.

§ From the Debrief
Times & Distance
Reveille
03:30
Stations
06:45
Takeoff
07:45
Time Over Target
10:00
Return Time
14:45
Distance
1,200 nmi
Fuel Aboard
2,500 gal
Fuel Consumed
1,900 gal
Weather
Cloud En-Route to Target
Light stratus coverage (3/10) — mostly clear with scattered low cloud.
Air Temp at Altitude
-54 °F
Lowest Temp
-54 °F
Wind Speed
68 kt
Wind Direction
280°
Bombing & Defense
Bombing Altitude
23,000 ft
Bombing Run Heading
126° True
Forming Altitude
13,000 ft
Fighter Cover
4 P-51, 1 P-47 groups
Bombing Accuracy
Very good
Flak

Heavy tracking flak changing to thick barrage

The formation.

2 aircraft · tap a ship for its crew
A/COpen the service file for “Ole Mort” →
PRobert W. Bieber
CPForest R. McClain
NJohn H. Field
BElmer Benjaris
ROSgt John G. BakerKIA
WGCharles F. Hopp
TGSgt Leon E. FerrellMIA
NGClaude Oliver
TTGEverett C. Harth

B-24H serial 42-51078 was flying with the 93rd Bomb Group, 328th Squadron, on a bombing mission to Harburg on 17 January 1945. The aircraft carried a crew of 10 with no passengers. At 1212 hours over the target area, the aircraft received a flak hit in the bomb bay just before bombs away. Witnesses reported the bomb bay burned for approximately two minutes before exploding. The aircraft went into a dive and broke up completely. Eyewitness accounts from crews of the 44th Bomb Group varied on the number of parachutes observed: Lt. Daily reported three chutes, two of which were on fire; Lt. Erikson reported the aircraft broke up completely; Lt. Lowe reported seven chutes. The MACR confirmed parachutes were used. A German hospital document (Reserve-Lazarett V Hamburg, dated 19 January 1945) confirmed that three crew members — Bieber, Harth (Earth), and Schmidt — were admitted on 17 January 1945 with burns and contusions, having been transferred by the Reichsstatthalter Hamburg.

Sources.

§ Provenance
Mighty Eighth War Diary
Roger A Freeman · Jane's Publishing Company Limited · 1981
Published