TARGET: ALLACH AERO ENGINE WORKS
MUNICH, GERMANY
13 JULY, 1944

For the third successive day, Munich was the target of the Eighth Air Force bombers. Seven hundred planes were dispatched to Munich, while over three hundred were sent to Saarbrucken. The Allach aero engine works was the visual primary target and the center of Munich the PFF target.

Losses and battle damage on 12 July’s mission limited the 457th Group’s force to one eighteen-plane box on this mission. Major Peresich led the Group. Takeoff was into an overcast that extended from two thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. The assembly altitude had to be raised to 14,000 feet. One plane failed to find the Group formation. It joined the 306th Group. The remainder of the planes assembled into the high box position in the 94th Combat Wing.

No change had been made in the penetration route from that of the previous two missions to Munich. German fighter strength had not offered battle before and the presence of six hundred American fighters did not augur for a profitable Interception. At the moment the 457th Group was crossing the Rhine River between Karisruhe and Mannheim, messages were sent by the German police system to Stuttgart, Nuremburg and Salzburg, telling them to send all available fire-fighting apparatus to Munich.

The formation overshot the briefed IP and did not turn toward Munich until it was almost due north of the city. PFF bombing was announced and as the Wing came down the bomb run, the 457th high box was in its proper place at the left side of the Wing leader. However, the leader had brought the formation in to the west of the center of Munich and made a sharp left turn to correct. This threw the high box over to the right of the lead and bombs were dropped in this position. They fell in a less built up area two miles southeast of the center of the city and on the east side of the Isar River.

After bombing, the lead box turned left instead of right as briefed. The high box turned right and became separated from the lead and low box. An attempt was made to join the other two boxes after they came around Munich, but the 45 7th Group was too far ahead. It then joined the 40th Combat Wing and returned to England without difficulty. No fighters were observed and flak over Munich had been much less accurate than yesterday.

Only eight planes received damage, all minor. Out of 1043 dispatched bombers, sixteen failed to return.