TARGET: FW-190 AIRCRAFT FACTORY

SORAU, GERMANY

11 APRIL, 1944

Departure time Glatton: 07.30

Landing time at Glatton: 17.29

Weather at target: 10/10

Total B-17 dispatched: 24

The target for this day was one of the largest and most important to date – the purpose, the destruction of the Sorau or eastern complex of the FW-190 fighter aircraft factories located at an airdrome near Sorau. A thousand heavy bombers and eight hundred escort fighters were involved in the operations of the day.

Remembering the occurrences of 9 April, the Group expected a tough mission. Twenty-four of our B-17’s, led by Air Commander Major Rod Francis and pilot Lt. Edward M. Bender, took off at seven thirty  on what everyone expected to be our toughest mission to date. We were assigned the Sorau assembly plant, the heart of the eastern complex, a hundred miles SE of Berlin. Penetration was to be straight to within fifty miles of Berlin before turning SE to the target.

The 94^th “A” Combat Wing in which we composed the high and part of the lead box was south of course at Hannover and encountered very severe AA fire from the dense concentration of guns defending that area. The fire, made effective and accurate by our 16,000 foot altitude, punished our Group and Wing severely. Lt. Marsden W. Mattatal and Lt. Adrian W. Seabock were knocked out of the formation out of control and returned to England badly damaged. Five of Lt. Adrian W. Seabock’s crew jumped, the navigator Lt. Warren B. Spiedel taking all his maps with him. The bombardier, Lt. William G. Smith, used a silk escape map to find their way home. Major Rod Francis and Lt. Clyde R. Weid were hit and had to salvo their bombs but remained with the formation. On emerging from the FLAK, ME-109’s were waiting but our escort and our gunners did good work. This rather weak attack was the only one of the day, the biggest surprise of the mission.

Sorau was covered with clouds so the formation headed north for the Politz oil refinery, the secondary target, but clouds and other wings over the area prevented bombing; resulting in some small town in the vicinity receiving our missles.

From there our planes took out across the Baltic sea, Danish peninsula, the North Sea, and home; completing a long, hard ten hour trip with no losses although thirteen craft sustained minor, and eight major, damage.