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Mission No. 157 - Padua, Italy - 11 March 1944 The Group had bombed the marshalling yards in the northern section of this city on a previous occasion. That was on December 16, 1943 (Mission No. 109) and the damage inflicted then wasn't so severe and what was done had been repaired. At this time, the yards were rated as one of the most important communications targets in northern Italy, for it was handling all supply and reinforcements from the Balkans, Vienna and Danube south. This time, the target assignment to the Group was the marshalling yard on the west side of the city, just north of the airdrome. Padua is located just 22 1/2 miles west of Venice. There was confusion over the target that resulted in two runs being made on it. The first time over, about half the bombers dropped their load and the remainder of them waited until the second run was made. About the time the forward elements were ready to drop their bombs, another Group came in on the target on a different axis of attack, so they didn't release their bombs, for fear of hitting planes in that Group. The rear elements did drop their bombs safely, however; then, on the second run, the rest of the bombs were dropped. By being in the target area so long, enemy fighters were alerted, and some thirty-five(35) to forty(40), consisting of ME-109s, FW-190s, MA-202s, JU-88s and ME-110s, attacked after the second bomb run. They came in from three to nine o'clock--high, low, and on the level--to within 150 yards, singly, in pairs, and six abreast. Some were firing rockets, as well as 20mm. cannon. They were very aggressive and made repeated attacks. The fighters caused the loss of two planes, the injury of two men, and the damage of seven of our planes (three severe and four minor). In turn, B-17 gunners claimed five(5) enemy fighters destroyed and three(3) probably destroyed. No flak was encountered over the target, however, some, which was slight and inaccurate, came up from a point some twenty(20) miles southeast of Venice, which damaged three(3) planes (one severe and two minor). The injured were Shelbourne M. Cholson John J. Kilgalen Plane No. 42-5145 from the 96th Squadron was last sighted at 1206 hours, approximately fifty-one(51) miles southeast of Venice. It was afire behind number two engine and was losing altitude and speed. The fire increased in size and parachutes were seen to come out, of which the most anyone saw were eight (8). The plane soon exploded and went down in flames. The missing men included: William F. Peters Jr., Plane No. 42-31429 from the 429th Squadron was last sighted and last contacted by radio at 1241 hours at approximately 43 deg 00 min N-14 deg 30 min E, which is sixty-four(64) miles southeast of Ancona and thirty-one(31) miles off the coast of Italy. Not much information was obtainable regarding this loss. The descent was being made from altitude, however, number 429 did not descend on an even level with the others of the formation. A message came from it, which said that the control cables had been shot out and that it was flying on AFCE. The plane left the formation and headed for Yugoslavia. It didn't appear to be in trouble and no one was seen to bail out. The missing were Joseph F. Santa The men who claimed enemy fighters were
DESTROYED: PROBABLY DESTROYED: The combat crews thought the target was well-covered on the second run; however, those dropping on the first run said their bombs missed the target. Two cameras recorded bomb strike photos, and those show that the bombs fell in the marshalling yards situated in the north section of the city, instead of the one on the west side. There may have been some bombs in the west side; however, no photographs were available to show it. Even so, considerable damage was done to the north yards, for several direct hits were made on the repair sheds and warehouses, as well as some in the yards that caused one explosion, the smoke from which rose from 8,000 to 10,000 feet. Captain Harold L. Chrismon, Commanding Officer of the 20th Squadron, led the twenty(20) planes from this Group and dropped sixty(60) tons of 500-pound general purpose demolition bombs between 1143 and 1146 hours and from an average altitude of 23,200 feet. The 2nd Bomb Group was in the number three position of the four Group formation (97th, 301st, 2nd and 99th) and P-47s from the 325th Fighter Group furnished the escort. The other Groups were on the way back, while the 2nd Bomb Group was making the second bomb run. The escort was covering the three Groups, when the 2nd Bomb Group was first attacked by fighters. When the escort found out that the 2nd Bomb Group was being attacked, they finally came back and drove the enemy aircraft away, but not until severe damage was done. |