05 APRIL 1945 · THURSDAY · STATION 104Bombed Primary
Mission 928.Plauen.
Plauen, Germany
Intended Target
Plauen
Plauen, Germany
Operating Group
93rd BG
2AD
Takeoff Base
Hardwick
Station 104
Landing Base
Hardwick
Station 104
Aircraft Effective
151 / 397
effective / dispatched
Bomb Tonnage
348.4
tons
The cost.
§ Outcome
5
Ships Lost
The route.
§ Takeoff to Target
Bearing Out
102° T
Bearing In
291° T
The formation.
1 aircraft · tap a ship for its crew
PCapt Edward L. McGuire
CP2Lt Victor H. Hanf
E-TTT/Sgt Cornelius J. Leach
ROS/Sgt Donald M. South
WGS/Sgt William H. Gardner
WGS/Sgt Edward S. Powell
TGS/Sgt Barney C. Eller
NGS/Sgt Theodore F. Szajna
Bayreuth. Formed over Charleroi in poor visibility; a B-24 spun in. Descended the Rhine River on the deck in Javelin formation; near Bonn/Cologne encountered barrage balloons in murk. McGuire threw ship into vertical bank right, then left, dodging balloons by reflex and luck. One or two ships lost in the incident. Hanf spotted the second balloon. Form 5: 2:10 CP, 4:10 P, 2:00 P-AI.
Sources.
§ Provenance
Mighty Eighth War Diary
Roger A Freeman · Jane's Publishing Company Limited · 1981
Published