Mission Date: February 22, 1945
DONAUESCHINGEN, TOWN (100TH "A") ST
100th BG Mission #: 264
Mission Summary
ON THIS DAY...FEBRUARY 22, 1945
February 22,1945 was determined to be the day to implement ‘Operation Clarion,’ a controversial plan devised by General Hap Arnold in September 1944. The plan called for British and American air forces to “swarm” Germany, flying at lower altitudes on targets never before bombed and not well defended. Dividing Germany up, the RAF was to attack the Ruhr, the 8th AF - Middle and N Central Germany, the 9th Air Force - W and NW Germany and the 15th AF - Southern Germany.
With the 349th on a Squadron Stand Down, in that morning’s briefing were thirty-eight crews who listened intently as their targets were divulged - the marshalling yards at Kitzingen for a visual Primary and Ansbach as their Secondary.
The 100th’s formation would fly as its Wing’s ‘C’ Group, last in the entire Division’s column. Lead by Major Cruver in the command ship with LT John Williams, the High Squadron would be lead by Gibbons and Blanding while the Low would be lead by Staples and Ellis.
Weather conditions were CAVU at Thorpe Abbotts and take-off and assembly were uneventful, with the pilots enjoying the same conditions as they flew over the Channel, Belgium and France. However, as the formation entered Germany, they hit bad weather and dense contrails from the column of ships flying ahead, causing the Groups to break up in the “soup.”
As the formation dropped in altitude preparing for the attacks, the weather ship reported the designated targets as totally covered. The 100th began an H2X run on Heilbronn, losing its own High Squadron in the clouds in the process. After abandoning a total of three different runs, the Lead made a final run on Pfohran where it was bombed from 14,900 feet at 1320 hours while the remaining Squadrons found and dropped on targets of opportunity: Watterdingen and Wehingen.
Radio Operator Dan Moore, on the Leroy Forrester Crew, recorded into his mission diary, “…Thrown out of formation three minutes from I.P. Spun down five thousand feet in less than a minute. We were in a bad spot for a while. 8 hours airborne.” Fortunately, the pilots recovered the ship and they returned safely to base. No flak was encountered and the ships all returned without battle damage.
Bombing Results
Bombing Results: FAIR
Aircraft Lost: 0
Crew Lost: 0
Claims of Enemy Losses (CLS): 0
Aircraft Returned:
