486th Group

27/5/44 1805 S-2

OPERATIONAL NARRATIVE, 486TH GROUP, Woippy MISSION, 27 May 1944.

1. None.
2. Crews report poor to fair results, with majority of bombs landing short of M.P.I.
3. None.
4. Moderate but inaccurate flak was observed in the Château dun and Saarbrücken areas, directed at other formations.
5. Weather did not affect mission.
6. Considerable activity observed in R.R. yards at Namur. 20-25 E/A seen on Château dun A/F, some of which appeared to be bombers.
7. Fighter support good.

*********

A-2 Reporting Section
3rd Bomb. Division

486th Group

27/5/44 2200 S-2

INTELLIGENCE REPORT, 486TH GROUP, WOIPPY MISSION, 27 May 1944.

A. Enemy air opposition.

None.

B. Observations of crews.

1. At 1427 hours, considerable rail activity was noted in M/Y at Namur.

2. At 5102N-02S8E, three large groups of round oil tanks were observed.

3. 20-25 E/A seen on Château dun A/F, some of which appeared to be bombers.

4. Approximately 50 E/A were observed on an A/F between Chartres and Château dun.

5. Three rockets appeared to come from defenses near the city of Luxembourg.

6. Heavy black smoke up to 2000 feet was observed west of Chaumont.

7. At 4812 1/2N-0508E, a large military camp was observed.

8. A camouflaged A/F was reported between Sens and Troyes.

C. Crew reports of friendly aircraft in distress.

1. At 1217 hours, 4814N-0130E, a B-24 was seen to crash off the left of course. No chutes were seen.

2. At 1345 hours, a bomber believed to be a B-24 was observed going down in flames near the city of Saarbrücken. One crew member reported seeing 5 chutes and another reported seeing 9.

D. Crew comments and suggestions.

1. Ball turret gunners should have back-type chutes.

2. Escort fighters should be briefed not to come in towards formation out of sun.

 

HEADQUARTERS
486TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP (H)
APO 559

28 May 1944

SUBJECT: Report of Operations Officer - Mission of 27 May 1944, Woippy, France.

TO : Commanding Officer, 486th Bombardment Group (H)

1. General Narrative: Three squadrons of 13 A/C each were scheduled for the day's operation, with the 486th Group in the lead of the 92nd Combat Wing. Thirty-five A/C took off0825-0855, with spare lead taking off at 0916, late due to the last minute change of ships. Assembly was completed over the field at 12,000 feet, above the cloud layer at 0955. The Wing lead ship fell into position last and immediately set course for Ipswich, the first point on the Wing assembly line. While in the middle of a turn on course at Ipswich, the 486th not the 487th Group heading in an opposite direction on course and had to level out to avoid collision. This set the 486th about 6 minutes behind schedule, and course was set direct for Splasher 5 after the 487th completed Wing assembly by essing. While cutting to the left of course, the 93rd Wing was sighted on course, and after contacting them on VHF they essed and fell in behind the 92nd Wing as scheduled.

On cutting turns short to catch up, Brighten was reached at 1059 two minutes late and left of scheduled departure point. However the end of the Second Division formation was also running late of schedule and it was necessary to make a right before falling in behind them. The 92nd Combat Wing departed the English coast at 1104, seven minutes late, slightly west of course, at 16,000 ft.

Climb to altitude was started immediately, but when the enemy coast was reached at 1142 the formation was still about 3,000 feet short of the bombing altitude of 21,000 feet, and 12 minutes behind schedule. The formation was loose and strung out during this climb, and it was not until the leader leveled off at 20,000 feet at 1205 that any semblance of good defensive formation was attained.

The course was flown from this point to the IP as briefed, with no flak or enemy fighters encountered. The IP was reached at 1343 and bombs were away at 1352 after a good run slightly hampered by haze. The rally was effected quickly and without incident at 1355.

The course out was flown as ordered, crossing the enemy coast at 1457, 1 mile south of Newport. Let down was started with a heading of approximately 20 degrees right of briefed course so as to avoid trailing the 2nd Division, which had been just ahead and to our left coming out. The English coast was crossed 1 mile north of Felixtowe at 1519 after letting down 9,000 feet. The formation continued letting down, arriving over the base shortly thereafter and landing at 1555-1614.

2. Aircraft Not Attacking: Thirty-nine (39) A/C were scheduled to take-off and all thirty-nine (39) were dispatched. A/C #838 aborted after getting into enemy territory because of mechanical difficulty on #3 engine supercharger. A/C #475 aborted while still over England, but in formation, because of Cond. Cylinder and intercooler damage due to backfire. The remaining 37 A/C went over the target as shown in attached diagram B. Diagram A shows the formation after assembly. Of these 37 A/C #121 failed to bomb because of bomb release malfunction and A/C #732 released only five bombs because of malfunction of right bomb rack. For complete details of reasons for not attaching, see Aircraft Not Attacking Report and Bombardiers Narratives.

3. Summary of Lost Aircraft: There were no aircraft lost.