467th Bombardment Group Research

On this day, 8th AF mission #315 had 754 bombers dispatched to bomb airfields, aircraft production industries and targets of opportunity in Germany. The 2nd BD sent 230 B-24's to bomb the airfields at Gablingen and Leiphelm. The 467th BG was a part of 98 bombers that hit the Messerschmitt assembly and repair shops at the Leiphelm airfield.

Thirty aircraft took off starting at 0750. Of these, twenty-six went over the target. Two (42-52499 'Jerilyne Sue' and 41-29386 'Gerocko') returned before being dispatched due to mechanical difficulty. Two others (42-52512 'Bafflin Brat' and 41-28744 'Go Getter') returned due to similar reasons, after flying a short distance over France. The twenty six ships dropped a total of 260 x 500 lb general purpose bombs on the target.

Lt. Col. Shower led the group in Lt Swearingen’s ship (41-29375 'Lil Peach' with crew #078-R0 of the 791st BS) and Capt Beatty flew deputy lead with Lt. Grace flying 41-29393 'Shoo Shoo Baby' with crew #077-R0 of the 791st BS. Leading the second squadron, Maj Smith flew with Lt. Volk flying 41-28731 'Picadilly Lillie' with crew #030-R0 of the 789th BS and Lt. Hooton was in the deputy lead position with Lt. Lominac flying 41-29363 with crew #028-R0.

The results of this raid were excellent, with bombs concentrated right on the MPI. Everything seemed to click favorably for a successful mission. The weather was clear; there were no enemy fighters; and flak was mild. No losses or casualties were suffered.

The 467th BG lead the 96th Combat Wing (CBW) on this mission and was commended for it's outstanding skill. Especially that of the first squadron which laid 21 bombs within 500', 75 bombs within 1000' and 121 bombs within 2000'. Photo's showed that "...the target had been rendered virtually useless to the German war effort...". Col Shower was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his leadership on this mission.