422nd NF Squadron USAAF + Special Mission April 45
Good night to all!
During my searchs on the net, I came along this small piece of information published by the son of Lieutenant Alfred F. Dorner, a former R/O from 422nd NFS of USAAF ( on P-61 ):
" In mid April he was selected to be the R/O -Navigator on a most daring mission. They were to fly in a small group of eight Commandos to Hitler's mountain resort, Berchtesgaden (the legendary 'Eagles Nest'). In the era of 'dumb' bombs the mission called for the Commandos to locate Hitler and then direct the orbiting A-20J to bomb and strafe that area only. While in flight to the target a message was flashed to the crew, Hitler was not at the resort and was still in Berlin as the Red Army approached."
Please could any expert on USAF NFS help with the date? Did someone have the serial number, codes and aircrew´s names of the people involved on this flight?
How many aircraft took off? It is said that A-20J took off to bomb Hitler´s Eagle Nest. How many of these aircraft were assigned to this mission? Did the P-61 Black Widow took part? Which were the names of the Commandos?
Any data about the crew(s) involved would be great! Who gave the signal Hitler was not at Berchestegaden? An infiltrated spy?
Thank you in advance for any information. I thought this mission quite amazing and swore I never had heard about something like that: a special plan to kill Hitler from the air! I know that the RAF tried to bomb Berchstegaden with Mosquitos, by the end of the war, but we do not know the results of this bombing. Hope other people will find this mission interesting also...this is why I posted the thread: to share with others this incredible mission.
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