Fourth Mission, 7 March 1945   Target Castrop-Rauxel Refinery, Germany

Tony's Mission Log:

The target that day was the Synthetic Fuel Refinery in Castrop-Rauxel, Germany. In 1945, the German war machine was STARVING for fuel,  and refineries were very high on the list of desirable targets. These were some of best defended facilities in Germany as they were absolutely critical for survival. So again, this was a tough target to hit. 

This is what a refinery would look like after a going over from the 8th Air Force: 

Tony's comment "we flew right in low of low squadron" refers to their position in the Combat Wing formation, which evolved into the preferred formation because it offered the maximum protection for the group. Tony's position wasn't ideal, as it was considered a bit exposed: 

Right in Low of the Squadron

Right Low of Low Squadron

Tony also comments about "having a lot of trouble with the bomb bay doors".  He told my cousins an anecdote of having to crank the bomb bay doors by hand and as he did, he saw a German fighter plane coming straight up at him, which is just the type of thing that would happen to you when you were low in the formation. 

March 7th marked a huge milestone in the war. That day, the first US soldiers crossed the River Rhine at Remagen, a crushing blow to German morale. 

Western End of the Luddendorf Bridge over the Rhine.

Between missions, some excitement! Station 174 was attacked by the Germans! Here's the account from SSGT Lyman Huffman, another gunner in the 486th. 

"On March 4, 1945 during the night we had another air raid Designated Purple. We could hear the enemy plane trying to locate our field. He must have found something because he strafed our armament shop. No one was injured and no damage to speak of was done. 

On March 5, 1945 we could hear V2 bombs hitting near here. Four hit in succession about 2:00 P.M. and a few others later. It shook our barracks."

V2 Missile fired from permanent base - V stands for Vengeance Weapon