Kurzer Bericht eines T/Sgt. Armand Fugge
Von Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson, 363d Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group gibt es folgendes im Netz:
On 27 May 1944, Anderson was escorting bombers to Ludwigshafen and Mannheim, Germany. His group spotted a large number of enemy fighters about to attack the bomber formation. They dropped their tanks and turned sharply to engage the enemy fighters. Immediately, four Me-109s were spotted diving on their formation from five o'clock high. A sharp turn thwarted the enemy attack and the four Germans pulled up and began circling with the Mustangs. One German broke away and was pursued by another pair of Mustangs while Anderson and his wingman pursued the remaining three. He quickly downed two Me-109s and forced the other to run for home. His supporting element disposed of the other Me-109 and rejoined to continue escorting the bombers to their target.
Von der 457th BG gibt es folgenden Bericht über ihre 52. Mission:
Six Combat Wings of the 1st Division were dispatched to the banks of the Rhine River to bomb the marshalling yards in the twin cities of Lu4wigshafen and Mannheim. The 457th, as lead of the 94th A Combat Wing, led the Eighth Air Force in the procession to these targets. The 457th supplied thirty-six craft to form the lead and the low boxes in the Wing. Col. James R. Luper led as Air Commander with Lt. Charles D. Brannan as pilot. Captain Jacob M. Dickinson led the low box with Lt. Malcolm E. Johnson as pilot.
En route to the target, the Group fell victim of a massive frontal attack by Me-109s. The craft piloted by Lt. Artie J. Whitlow was hit on the right wing; a part of the wing came off and the No. 3 engine caught on fire. The ship went into a tight spiral before developing a spin. It crashed into a wooded area and exploded. Lt. Whitlow did not survive.
The craft piloted by Lt. William E. Dee was hit, dropped out of formation and headed back towards the Channel. One crewman was killed, the others became prisoners of war. Lt. Thomas E. Lee received direct hits and his engineer was killed instantly.
Lt. Roger W. Birkman's and Lt. David K. Summerville's planes were knocked out of formation. With an engine on fire and losing altitude, Lt. Birkman left the formation and the crew bailed out. Five of the crew were captured and became prisoners of war. The others evaded capture and later returned to England after the invasion.
Lt. Summerville returned to the base after having fires in three of his craft's engines. Two engines were lost completely With the propeller breaking off of one engine, and the tins breaking off the other. He ultimately made a landing at Glat ton with limited power in only one engine.
The Luftwaffe attack lasted twenty-five minutes before it was brought to an end. The Group continued to the primary arget, bombing it with fair results. The Luftwaffe had succeeded in disrupting the formation, causing the low box to go in before the lead box. The lead box did a 360 degree turn and the second time around found the target covered with smoke that was rising thousands of feet in the air. Flak was heavy over the target area with thirteen aircraft receiving flak damage. To offset the losses, the 457th received credit for destroying one enemy aircraft and damaging five others.
Lt. Roy W. Allen came in to land only to discover one landing gear would not come down. Rather than attempt a belly landing, he chose to attempt a one wheel landing. He touched down, kept the wing up as long as possible, and concluded with a 180 degree ground loop. There were no injuries.
Ein Bericht der 384th BG von ihrer 116. Mission:
The takeoff was at 0830 hours. Mannheim is near the French border, and was clear for visual bombing. Fighter attacks started 15 minutes before the target. A large group of FW-190s had circled the group in preparation for an attack just as the P-51 escort showed up. Two groups of Mustangs attacked and a huge dogfight followed, just out of range of the B-17 gunners. Fighters from both sides went down into the foothills of the Alps. Parachutes were like sky markers in the area of the fight. One B-17 in another group started down, but the attackers were quickly driven off and chutes appeared from the crippled bomber. By this time the group was over the target and the 88-mm FLAK took over the job of trying to destroy the bombers. The 384th escaped this and were then faced with rockets and 155-mm FLAK. Holes appeared in some of the group’s bombers, but all managed to escape. Ten 500 lb. General Purpose bombs per plane had been dropped on Mannheim rail yards, and the 384th headed for home. The target was well marked with smoke and fires.
Just across the river, at Ludwigshafen, some other groups in the Wing had made a carbon copy of the destruction at Mannheim. All our ships made it home once again.