The 457th participated in an attack by nine combat wings on the synthetic oil plant of the I. B. Farbenindustrie at Ludwigshafen. Fifteen other wings of the 8th Air Force heavies struck at gun positions in the Brest area.

Forming the 94th B Wing and flying second in the Division line, Lt. Col. Wilson was Air Commander and Captain Brannan was pilot. The 457th flew south across the English Channel to the former Normandy beachhead, turned and skirted Paris on the north, crossing France to an IP on the German border west of Karlsruhe. The bomb run was made on a heading different from briefed, because the Division leader was south of course.

There was heavy cloud cover over the Continent and a heavy undercast in the target area. Bombs were dropped from 25,000 feet.

Flak at the target was moderate to intense. Thirteen aircraft sustained battle damage.

Two of the craft were involved in a mid air collision 30 miles west of Paris. Both returned to England with no casualties.

From the diary of 751st BS gunner Sgt. Albert G. Williams, flying A/C 43-38026:

“Fourth mission completed today. The target was Ludwigshafen. The course was entirely over what is now friendly territory – France. We bombed with P.F.F. Plenty of FLAK. It’s amazing to think how many ships can pass through such a barrage without getting hit. Now that it’s over, it may be called ‘fairly rough’. Today was the worst I’ve seen yet.”