29 DECEMBER 1944 · FRIDAY · STATION 104Aborted
Mission 769.Schleiden.
Schleiden, Germany
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
The cost.
§ Outcome
0
Ships Aborting
0
Ships Lost
0
Men Bailed Out
0
Men Lost
The route.
§ Takeoff to Target
Bearing Out
119° T
Bearing In
303° T
Route Length
800 nmi
Time Aloft
5 h 20 m
Operational data.
§ From the Debrief
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
Mostly from front lines — meager
The formation.
10 aircraft · tap a ship for its crew
P1Lt Leroy A. Dunston
CP2Lt Harry W. Snyder
B2Lt Walter Woodard
E-TTT/Sgt Emil A. Glos
ROT/Sgt Earl W. Bernard
WGS/Sgt John H. Wilson
TGS/Sgt Joseph P. Hadzima
NGT/Sgt Frank J. McGrady
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
Sources.
§ Provenance
Hughes Memoir - A Bomber Pilot in World War Two
Walter Hughes · 1990
Personal memoir
2nd Air Division · 2nd Air Division Digital Archive · 1944
Official record
Mighty Eighth War Diary
Roger A Freeman · Jane's Publishing Company Limited · 1981
Published