THe 449th BG on 14 October 1944

[Russell]

Hello all,

Despite having thousands of pages of records on micrfilm, some 300 or more on each raid, I have a problem. On 14 October 1944 the 47 Bomb Wing consisting of the 98th, 376th, 449th and 450th Bomb Groups were all briefef to attack the Maribor Marshalling Yards and the adjacent rail bridge. Three of the groups did so, The 449th BG was briefed for the taack but appears not to have taken off. Does any one no why. To partly confirm they didnt participate, the 13th Oct 44 mission is listed as No 148 and the 16th Oct 44 mission is listed as No 149. There are only the plan and other briefing documents in the 449th records, no mission reports, sortie reports at all for although they are present for their other missions.

Regards

Russell

[Buckeye30]

Russ could it be weather at Grottaglie? Met reports record poor weather in Oct., low cloud, limited visibility, frequent rain. I don't think the surface was very good either. RAF and others also affected regarding ops. Just a thought.


Regards
Nick

[Laurent Rizzotti]

The book "Fifteenth Air Force against the Axis" by Kevin Mahoney, a chronoloy of 15th AF has aliitle more than a full page on 14 October 1944. Nothing about 449th BG but bad weather is listed several times as hindering the raids and reducing number of aircraft reaching the target.

This is the part for 47th Wing: "The 47th Bomb Wing attacked a railroad bridge and the marshalling yard at Maribor, Yugoslavia, but only fifty-four aircraft from the 98th, 376th, and 450th Bomb Groups dropped their bombs, hitting a bridge approach, but missing the yards. Flak was moderate and accurate and each group lost a Liberator."

It is also possible that 449th took off but aborted too early for this to be considered a mission.

[Russell]

Thanks for the replies Nick and Laurent.

The weather was appalling that month, almost every unit records mentions fighting to make their aerodromes operable.

Russell

[Stig Jarlevik]

Our friend Geoffrey Sinclair offers the following

THe 449th BG on 14 October 1944
15th Air Force Target and Duty Sheets. Maribor Yugoslavia.
If any of the 449th aircraft took off but failed to enter contested airspace at least, it would be
classified as a non sortie, like the entire 464th, 465th and 485th. For the day 386 effective, 72 non
effective and 172 non sorties, 7 aircraft missing, 6 destroyed, 59 damaged, 919.25 short tons of
bombs dropped, 154.75 tons jettisoned.
98th 6/21/1 sorties, 1 destroyed and 3 damaged by flak, 14 tons incendiaries dropped on the
Marshalling Yard, 16 tons of bombs jettisoned due to weather, rack trouble and safety issues. Clear
weather attack at 1110 from around 19,000 feet. “Did not hit target.”
376th 28/0/0 sorties, 1 destroyed and 9 damaged by flak, 80 tons high explosive dropped on the Rail
Bridge, 3 tons of bombs jettisoned due to rack trouble. Attack through 9/10 cloud at 1035 from
around 18,600 feet. “Good concentration on south end of bridge.”
450th 20/7/1 sorties, 1 destroyed by mechanical issues and 1 for “other” reason, 55 tons high
explosive dropped on the Rail Bridge, 8 tons of bombs jettisoned due to mechanical and rack
trouble. Attack through 5/10 cloud at 1035 from around 20,200 feet. “Few direct hits on bridge and
hit on storage building causing large explosion.”
Unusually the HE were 2,000 pound bombs, with standard RDX filling.

[Buckeye30]

Thanks Stig. A couple of examples from the Wing Diaries A-3 Reports.
28 Nov. 44. 449th. didn't fly the aerial training due to 100--300ft. ceiling.
30 Dec. 44. Both fields at Grottaglie (449th) and Manduria (450th) 20 m. apart were unserviceable.


Nick

[Stig Jarlevik]

Don't thank me Nick

I am just the messanger boy, but I appreciate the thought....

Cheers
Stig

[Buckeye30]

My apologies to Geoff. Very inconsiderate.


Nick

[Stig Jarlevik]

No worries Nick

He is a great Guy

Cheers
Stig

[Leendert]

The Morning Reports of the four 449th BG squadrons simply state 'Usual garrison duties' (716th, 717th BS) and 'No mission, usual garrison duties' (718th, 719th BS) for 14 Oct 1944.
On days missions were flown, a small text how many planes participated, target and losses/missing. Also when a take-off had taken place, but RTB because of weather.
Of latter no such remark on 14 Oct 1944, so 449th BG simply not on roster for that day?

Leendert