TARGET: BALL BEARING PLANTS

SCHWEINFURT, GERMANY

24 FEBRUARY 1944

The Eighth Air Force spread its three Air Divisions to lessen the possibility of a massive air battle in a concentrated area. The ball bearing plants at Schweinfurt were the assigned targets for the 1st Air Division. Major Henry B. Wilson led the high box of the 94th Combat Wing and Lt. Albert L. Sikkenga was pilot.

Schweinfurt and its Ball Bearing Works, having been the target of previous Eighth Air Force missions, had become a familiar name to bomber crews. The 457th dispatched eighteen aircraft on the mission. As the Group neared the target area, the town could be seen burning in the distance. When the Initial Point (IP) was reached, with the 457th last over the target, the bomb bay doors of the lead ship would not open. The signal was given to the Deputy Lead to take over the formation. Engine trouble then developed in the lead ship, which veered sharply to the left, temporarily out of control, and the aircraft was followed by the formation, unaware that the Deputy Lead had taken over. The Group Lead managed to make a run on another part of the target area using a different aiming point. The bombs hit a widely scattered area around the arbitrary aiming point. As would be expected, Schweinfurt lived up to its reputation and enemy resistance was fierce, both by flak and by fighters.

The 457th lost one plane, piloted by Lt. Max , over the target. The craft took a flak hit that disabled engines No. 1 and 2, and No. 3 and 4 engines ran away and could not be feathered. The navigator, Lt. Darren McIntyre, was seriously injured and the right waist gunner, Sgt. Italo Stella, was killed at his station. The decision was made to crash land the craft in an attempt to better afford the navigator the opportunity to receive medical aid and survive.

Lt. Morrow successfully crash landed the craft. In a matter of minutes the dead and wounded were removed from the airplane, and the crew completely surrounded by German civilians who had encircled the area. A short time later two German officers, presumably Gestapo, arrived, took charge, and transported the crew to an interrogation center. The survivors of the crew were prisoners of war until liberated in May 1945. Lt. McIntyre later succumbed to his wounds.

Another plane returned with one dead crewman, Sgt. H. R. Pike, a victim of the enemy’s fire power.

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