Mission Date: February 2, 1945
BERLIN
Mission Summary
ON THIS DAY...FEBRUARY 2, 1945
The Eighth Air Force did not fly any of their Air Divisions.
At Thorpe Abbotts, Colonel Frederick J. Sutterlin would officially take command of the 100th Bombardment Group, relieving twenty-seven year old Colonel Thomas S. Jeffrey, Jr, a Virginian who had been the Group’s Commander since May 6, 1944, flying his first mission with the Hundredth as Command Pilot on the May 19,1944 to Berlin.
Jeffrey had come to England with the 390th Bombardment Group, remaining as its deputy commander until May 1944. He had been awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Corps with four oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star Medal, and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters and the Polish Cross of Valor.
Lieut. Colonel Thomas Jeffrey led the 390th Group on the historic mission to the German ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt. Jeffrey's lead plane took the brunt of the fighter attacks, "by as many as 100 hostile aircraft attacking singly, in pairs, and five abreast simultaneously from all directions...anti-aircraft fire ripped a hole in the left wing of the lead plane, damaged the windshield of the pilot's compartment, and put the automatic pilot out of commission, preventing its use on the bombing run." This mission earned him the Silver Star.
Under the command of Colonel Jeffrey, the 100th was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for making the first three daylight attacks on Berlin in March,1944, "despite snowstorms, withering flak, and savage German fighter attacks." Although there was much moaning about the constant practice missions Colonel Jeffrey enforced, the boys of the 100th, held “Colonel Jeff” in high esteem. He was reported to have “worked diligently to reorganize its command and staff structure, to emphasize all aspects of crew training and to provide enthusiasm and expertise needed by both flying and ground support personnel.”
Colonel Sutterlin, an original member of the Eighth Air Force, had arrived overseas in May 1942. He had been awarded the Legion of Merit by General Spaatz for "organizational services and establishment of training procedures for "Green" bomber crews after their arrival in England." When the Eighth and Fifteenth air forces were combined into the U.S. Strategic Air Force, Sutterlin was transferred and served as its Deputy Director of Operations. Sutterlin held three aeronautical ratings: senior pilot, bombardier and technical observer.
Colonel Sutterlin had helped design the 8th AF's shuttle missions, flying with the 96th Bombardment Group in the first shuttle mission to Russia. A Kentuckian, he had made his home in Shreveport, Louisiana after marrying before the war.
Bombing Results
Bombing Results: SCRUBBED
Aircraft Lost:
Crew Lost:
Claims of Enemy Losses (CLS):
Aircraft Returned:
