TARGET: FORD MOTOR PLANT
COLOGNE, GERMANY
15 OCTOBER, 1944

The 457th again attacked Cologne by instruments, along with the remainder of the 1st Division and twelve groups of the 3rd Division. Ten groups of the 2nd Division attacked Cologne’s Ford Motor Plant, as well as oil refineries?

Lt. Col. Watson was Air Commander and Lt. Seesenguth was pilot. The Group’s thirty-six planes comprised the 94th B Combat Wing, and the target was the marshalling yards. Assembly and formation were achieved without incident.

Lead crew Lt. Dawson

Lead crew Lt. Seesenguth (air commander Lt. Col. Watson)

The route to the IP was flown as briefed. The IP and target area were obscured by smoke and cloud cover. The lead and low squadrons bombed the PFF secondary target in trail. Hits from the lead squadron extended along the direction of attack in a southeasterly direction across the southern edge of the old city and inside the perimeter railroad.

Bombs from the low squadron dropped in the same direction as far as the perimeter railroad bridge across the Rhine River. There were six direct hits on the railway intersection and one small explosion followed by afire. The center of this pattern was approximately 15,000 feet to the right of the assigned PFF MPI along the direction of attack.

Target Cologne, Germany

Target Cologne, Germany

Target Cologne, Germany

The high squadron fell behind at the turn before the IP, and unable to get into proper bombing formation, selected a target of opportunity (a railroad junction) and dropped its bombs from 26,100 feet. The bombs fell in a wooded area one mile east of Bad Schwalbach, seven miles northwest of Wiesbaden.

Moderate but accurate flak was encountered in the target area, accounting for the damage to twenty-five aircraft.
Sgt. Albert G. Williams, 457th/751st gunner: Cologne was the target. Didn’t drop our bombs there, instead looked for a target of opportunity. Found out later they dropped in a field.—-shit!!