DOCUMENT 53598
401st Bomb Group, Mission No. 227, 12 March 1945, Swinemunde, Germany. Briefing took place at 0440 hours, pilots being briefed for low visibility take-off procedures. All aircraft were loaded with five 1,000 pound bombs and 2,780 gallons of gas. All aircraft were off by 0832, and two spares returned early as there were no aborts. The 401st flew as the 94th Combat Wing "C" Group on this very long mission to the port of Swinemunde on the Baltic Sea. The weather again failed to cooperate; the Group found the target blanketed by 10/10ths cloud cover. However, because the target was located along the shoreline of the Baltic Sea, the PFF operators had an ideal opportunity to locate prime targets, and subsequent evaluations by the 1st Air Division confirmed that the bombs had been dropped to good effect. The only enemy opposition consisted of meager and inaccurate flak. The 401st suffered no battle damage, and of the 650 B-17's that attacked Swinemunde only one was missing in action and six others suffered damage. All operational aircraft had returned by 1702 hours.
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Units
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Gambler's Choice
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 614th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 615th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Bottle Baby
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 613th Bomb Squadron 615th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Diabolical Angel
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 612th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Miss Gee Eyewanna Go Home
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 614th Bomb Squadron