Mission Date: February 9, 1945
BOHLEN , WEIMAR, ARM WORKS (S.T.)
100th BG Mission #: 257
Mission Summary
ON THIS DAY...FEBRUARY 9, 1945
After a scrubbed mission the previous day due to weather, the crew's were again awakened at 0430. At briefing, the thirty-eight crews present learned that their Primary target for the day would once again be the Bohlen synthetic oil plant near Leipzig. The Secondary would be the armaments works at Weimar, a series of buildings that produced grenade launchers, 20 MM flak guns, carbines and other military equipment. The target of Last Resort would be the aero engine works at Eisenach.
The 13th Wing would be lead by the 95th with the 100th flying as its ‘B’ group and the 390th’s as its ‘C.’ Robinson and Deplanque would lead the 100th’s formation with Ferbrache and Williams leading the High and Craft and Dawson leading the Low.
Although CAVU conditions existed for take-off and assembly, the formations experienced cloud coverage on their route in and over the Continent, necessitating a change to the Secondary target when the Primary was covered.
Fortunately, the P-51 fighters had met the rendezvous times because at 1150 hours, three ME 262’s attempted an attack on the 100th’s formation. The first enemy aircraft leveled off for an attack on the #1 and #2 ships in the Lead Squadron, firing its cannons and pressing its attack to 50 yards but a P-51 was on him, chasing the jet right through the formation. The other two enemy fighters were reportedly 1400 yards from the formation at six o’clock and eight o’clock positions. One remained there, reportedly as a decoy, while the other jet came in for an attack but again passed through the formation at rapid speed.
The 100th’s mission summary stated, “Our gunners had very little time to get in any shots and the few bursts that the E/A were able to fire also proved highly inaccurate.” LT Carley’s Tail Gunner, Michael Goff later told a reporter, “Two of the jets came in on our tail. They squirmed around in a unique fashion, skidding first to one side then to the other. I judged they were going about 500 miles an hour and I saw my bullets bounce off them; so they must be strongly armored.” The attacks had happened so quickly that many of the men didn’t even know that the formation had been attacked.
After the attacks, to the relief of the men, the bomb run was flown through “meager and inaccurate flak with a “few bursts low and behind formation.” Bombs were dropped in squadron formation from 25,000 feet at 1228-1230 hours with the boys hitting the Rally Point at 1244. Crossing the enemy lines, the formation headed home, landing that late afternoon with no battle damage reported.
The 100th’s Intelligence Analysis stated, “Although crews reported these jets as ME 262’s, most gunners did not agree that these E/A looked entirely as does the silhouette of the ME 262. Several reported the aircraft as looking more massive and sturdy, with a swept up fuselage, and the wings had squared off tips. The fin and rudder are square cut and the jet turbines were underslung 1.5 feet to 3 feet from the fuselage. The E/A aircraft were painted a bluish white on top, and dull white underneath. Each had a black strip down the side of the side of the fuselage.” The enemy aircraft was later thought to be the Messerschmitt ME-163 Komet. Flying his #1 combat mission that day, Gene Greenwood, copilot on the Lazarri Crew remembered, “A Me-163 rocket plane went straight up in front of our squadron. This was our initiation in air battle and it scared the hell out of all of us.”
Bombing Results
Bombing Results: GOOD
Aircraft Lost: 0
Crew Lost: 0
Claims of Enemy Losses (CLS): 0
Aircraft Returned:
Media Articles
Use your thumb to scroll through the results box below.
| Media Item | Type | Page | Volume/Issue | Broadcast Source | Time | Description | File |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Goff, Robert W. Liggett brush with nazi jets | Oakland Tribune Feb 27 1945 | 12:00 am | |||||
| Michael Goff quote on air battle - Bohlen Feb 9 mission | Oakland Tribune February 10 1945 | 12:00 am |
Photos
Strike photo – Weimar
Strike photo – Weimar 9 Feb 1945
