Eighteenth Mission, 4 April 1945                    Target: Revisiting Dock Facilities, Kiel, Germany


Tony's Mission Log: 

This mission went fairly smoothly for Tony's Bomb Group, which was flying at the vanguard of the 8th Air Force that day, but it wasn't as smooth for the other groups that followed. Three B17s where shot down and 50 damaged, some of them badly. The 95th Bomb Group was one of those groups that followed and they suffered a tough pounding from the anti-aircraft batteries. 

Lt. Tuss's crew, flying with the 95th BG was hit hard and had to land in Sweden, where they were detained and interned for the duration of the war. But thankfully, the crew suffered no casualties.

The most important target in Kiel was the Deutsche Shipyard. The red arrow points to the submarine pen built for the U Boat fleet, which was never penetrated by Allied bombs. But notice the devastation in the area courtesy of the Eight Air Force. 

The Deutsche Werke Shipyard in Kiel photographed in 1945.