The 392nd Bomb Group destroy Gotha
24th February 1944: A dramatic eyewitness account of one of the longest air battles of the war - as the 8th Air Force raid deep into Germany
Operation Argument - ‘Big Week’ - continued as the USAAF made sustained attacks on the German aircraft factories while also luring the Luftwaffe fighters into combat with the new long-range escort fighters. At night the RAF hit the same or complementary targets.
On the 22nd February bad weather had forced the cancellation of the attack on “the most valuable single target in the enemy twin-engine fighter complex, the aircraft and component parts factory at Gotha, Germany”. On the 24th they tried again.
The Luftwaffe was now alert to the USAAF strategy and responded on 24th February by sending up every fighter they had. The subsequent Unit Citation for the 392nd noted:
In the bitter aerial battle that ensued, the Group was viciously attacked for over two and a half hours by approximately one hundred and fifty (150) enemy fighters, consisting of FW190s, Me.110s, Me.210s and Ju.88s, who raked them with cannon and rocket fire and even attempted air to air and cable bombing in a vain effort to disrupt the formation.
Of thirty-two B-24s that took off that morning, twenty-nine delivered 348 500-pound bomb' precisely on the Gotha factory as briefed. Outstanding!
Col. Myron Keilman1 was flying deputy lead for the 392nd, on the raid that earned them the Distinguished Unit Citation. On the 24th they targeted the Messerschmitt airplane plant at Gotha:
The intelligence officer briefed on the importance of the big plant to German's ability to carry on the air war; on the fact that it was heavily defended by big 88 and 110 millimeter anti-aircraft artillery like we faced over Bremen. Keil, and Wilhelmshaven, and we were certain to encounter heavy fighter attacks all across enemy territory - 400 miles in and 400 miles out.
After drawing our escape and evasion kits, donning our heated flying suits, gathering up our oxygen masks, flak helmets, maywests, and parachutes we climbed aboard 2 1/2 ton trucks for a cold ride to our airplanes dispersal pad. It was still very dark as we made our airplane inspection, checking all the engine cowling for loose Dzus fasteners; the turbines of the super-chargers; the propeller blades and pushed them through to release any piston hydraulic lock; the fuel cells for being "topped-off' and their caps for security; the guns and turrets; ammunition quantity of 500 rounds for each of the ten 50 caliber machine guns; the Sperry bombsight; the twelve 500 pound bombs, their shackles, fuses and safety wires; the oxygen supply and regulators; signal flares; camera; and many other things. Remember?
The bombardier removed the heated cover blanket from the bombsight. (Bombsights had heated blankets before people did.)
At 0810 we started engines. At 0815 the lead ship taxied to take-off position. At 0830 the green flare from the control tower signaled "Take Off!" It was breaking dawn. Lead crew pilot Jim McGregor "revved-up" his engines, checked the instruments, released the brakes and rolled. Thirty-one B-24Hs followed at thirty second intervals.
In the clear at 12,000 feet, the lead ship fired red-yellow identification flares. Flying deputy lead, I pulled into position on his left wing, and the group formed over radio beacon "21" into three squadrons. Then it flew the wing triangular assembly pattern to Kings Lynn.
Leading the 14th Combat Wing, we fell into number two position of the 2nd Air Divisions bomber stream over Great Yarmouth. Heading east over the Channel and climbing to 18,000 feet, our gunners test fired their guns. We penetrated enemy territory just north of Amsterdam. At 235 miles an hour true air speed over the Zider Zee, our streaming vapor trails signaled our presence and our intent. It was a thrilling moment. Onward over Dummer Lake, past our future Osnabruck target, southeast past Hanover's bombed-out airfields our big formations hurried.
Parallelling our course to the right were the B-17 formations of the 1st Air Division heading for their tough old ball-bearing works at Schweinfurt. Over the North Sea, the 3rd Air Division "Forts" were enroute to their Baltic coast targets. P-47 fighters covered us to the vicinity of Hanover, then P-38s and P-51s orbited over us to Gotha.Luftwaffe fighters made attempts to penetrate our formations but "our little friends" kept them at a distance and, when opportunity prevailed, dove in for a "kill". Using our thick vapor trails as a screen, the Germans often struck from below and from behind to shoot up any lagging bomber.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to World War II Today to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.