April
1945
A few interesting
things happened in April. On the 4th, the 446th's CO, Colonel Crawford,
was shot down behind enemy lines by his own men (see the details below).
The April weather was unusually warm until a freak snow storm at the
end of the month. On the 12th, the group started a 30 period of mourning
after learning of the death of FDR. The blackout in England was ended
on the 23rd. But the biggest news came at the end of the month. Even
though the war was not quite over, the 446th was going home.
Click on a date
for details
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April
4: Wesendorf airfield
The airfield was bombed with good results. Colonel Troy Crawford, 446th
CO, was flying in an RAF Mosquito as an observer. While trying to join
with the group, 2 ME 262 fighter jets flew along side Colonel Crawford's
plane. The RAF Mosquito, like a German ME 262, was a twin engine aircraft
and, from a distance, they look a bit alike. When the crews saw what
they thought were 3 ME 262's coming at them, they opened fire and did
their job well, knocking the Mosquito out of the air. Colonel Crawford
and his pilot parachuted to the ground and were taken prisoner. In just
a week and a half, their POW camp would be liberated. Photos
April
5: Bayreuth
9 planes hit the marshalling yards. 13 planes flew with another group
and hit their targets. "Pin-Up Girl" (42-94941) was shot down
by anti-aircraft fire, killing 4 crewmen. 4 more were taken prisoner,
though one escaped.
April
6: Halle
21 planes attacked the marshalling yards with unobserved results.
April
7: Duneburg
32 planes hit an ordnance depot with good results. Explosions and fires
were seen.
April
8: Roth airfield
1,000 pounders and incendiaries were dropped with good results.
April
9: Landsberg
Numerous hits were reported on runways and planes at this airfield.
April
10: Rechlin airfield
32 planes attacked and good results were reported.
April
11: Regensburg
30 planes hit the airfield with good results. 2 planes collided while
trying to land, killing 22 crewmen. Photo
April
14: Royan area, France
Each plane carried 4 2,000 pounders, and no guns or gunners to conserve
weight, as the group bombed German defensive positions guarding the
port of Bordeaux.
April
15: Royan area, France
The group dropped incendiaries and Napalm on German troops. French troops
broke through an hour later.
April
16: Landshut
Good results were reported as the group bombed a marshalling yard.
April
17: Kladno, Czechoslovakia
18 planes attacked a railroad junction with good results.
April
18: Passau
A marshalling yard was attacked with good results. Photo
April
20: Muhldorf
Excellent results were reported on a rail junction.
April
21: Salzburg
The mission was aborted due to bad weather.
April
25: Salzburg
A bridge over the Salzach river was bombed with good results on the
446th's last mission. 2 days later, 6 crewmen were killed on a night
transition flight when their plane crashed, the last casualties of the
war for the 446th. Photo
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