TARGET: MARSHALLING YARDS
ANGOULEME, FRANCE
15 JUNE, 1944

A German panzer division, which had been disposed in southwestern France, was scheduled to entrain at Angouleme for the Normandy beachhead. The delay or destruction of the division had been requested by the Allied ground forces. The 457th and the 35 1st Groups were assigned the task. The 457th sent thirty-six aircraft aloft to compose the entire 94th B Combat Wing. The 351St compnsed the A Combat Wing. Major William F. Smith was the 457th’s Air Commander with Captain Russell M. Selwyn as pilot of the lead B box. Major Theodore C. Hoffman was Commander of the high B box with Lt. Mark R. Beicher as pilot, and Major Jacob M. Dickinson Commander of the low B box, with Captain Alfred W. Fischer as pilot.

Entry into France was over the Normandy beachhead. CAVU conditions existed for the first time since the commencement of the invasion and the entire fighting area was visible to the crews. The Group bombed the marshalling yards with excellent results, leaving a pile of rubble. The special request of the ground forces had been fulfilled.

En route back to England, along the coast of the Bay of Biscay, across the Brest Peninsula and the English Channel, perfect visibility enabled the crews to observe the vast shipping of both the enemy forces and the Allies There was no enemy aircraft opposition and flak was light and inaccurate.