Transferred to 15th Air Force......Missions N0 26 & 27 were over Ploesti, Romania

[DaddyMax]

On March 10, 1944, his crew found out they were being transferred to the 15th Air Force. All missions were doubled from England. This is when crews were given credit for two missions over hot targets. The tour of duty ended with 25 missions out of England and 50 missions out of Italy.




Mission No 25
April 17, 1944
Belgrade, Yugoslavia

The target was right aside of the Danube River. We were at an altitude of 22,500 ft and it was 20 degrees below zero. The weather was clear. They shot a little flak at us. We had P-38?s for our escorts.




Mission No 26 & 27
April 24, 1944
Ploesti, Rumania

The target was the Marshalling yards and the oil fields. We were at an altitude of 22,500 ft and it was 30 degrees below zero. The weather was clear. We could see the ground. Over the target they shot a lot of flak at us, filling the sky with black smoke. Enemy fighters (FW190?s & ME109?s) also attacked us. I saw one of our B17?s get hit by flak and seven (7) chutes opened, I didn?t see the other three guys bail out. I saw an enemy fighter (ME109) get shot down by a B17. The fighter hit the ground and blew up.




Mission No 28
April 28, 1944
Piombino, Italy

The target was the Marshalling yards, docks, factories and other things. We were at an altitude of 22,500 ft and it was 20 degrees below zero. There were no flak or enemy fighters. We had P-51?s and P-38?s for escorts.