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My late father-in-law's unit, the 483rd Bomb Group....
"We are all aware of tragic missions like Memmingen, where we lost 14 of 26 aircraft due to an ambush by over 200 German fighter aircraft without any of our own fighter support. Suffice to say we shot down 53 German fighters that day and claimed another 25 probables. We lost six of 28 B-17's over Ruhland on one mission due to an attack by large force of ME 262 jets. In all, 12 were lost over Vienna during those 22 missions there.
"Of the original 646 crew members sent to Italy in March 1944, 38.8 percent were either killed in action or missing in action. By way of recap, a total of 760 crew members were shot down. Of the 760, 214 were killed in action, 315 became POW's, and 231 evaded capture and returned to duty.
"We lost 66 B-17's in actual combat, two others ditched while on combat missions, and another 13 got back to base but were too damaged for further use, for a total of 81. At any given time we had about 70 aircraft in the group, the majority of them in need of maintenance and /or combat damage repair. We normally flew 28 aircraft on each combat mission-- and after damage on a mission over the rough targets we were always hard-pressed to produce 28 in flyable condition.
"A special word here about our ground support, which was recognized as the finest in the 15th Air F`orce. Our aircraft in commission rate was the highest. Flight crews had the greatest trust and confidence in the around-the-clock performance of our maintenance, armament, ordinance, communications, supply and munitions echelons, which directly affected our flight safety and effectiveness. As a result, a strong camaraderie developed between fight crews and support personnel, which prevails today in many close friendships.
"This did not escape the notice of General Ira Eaker, commander of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces. In the early fall of 1944 he released a special commendation to Gen. Twining, commander, 15th Air Force. Gen. Eaker said he 'noticed with great satisfaction the high rate of aircraft in commission during a recent high-volume effort against the enemy during successive days. This showed superior organization, particularly strong on the administrative and maintenance sides.' He asked Gen. Twining that his commendation 'be expressed particularly to the hard-working engineering staff and maintenance crews so that they would know how much he valued and applauded their effort.'
"The 483rd received plenty of battle awards. There were two outstanding unit citations -- one for performance on the Memmingen mission of July 18, 1944, and the other for the mission against the tank works in Berlin on March 24, 1945. Then battle stars were awarded for our participation in 10 ground/air campaigns during our stay in Italy. Our flight crews earned their share of Distinguished Service Crosses, Silver Stars, Distinguished Flying Crosses and Air Medals. One of our crews was the most-decorated in Air Force history: For a single mission all 10 received Silver Stars and four who were wounded also received the Purple Heart. (Editor's note: See the Goesling crew history.)
"More than a few combat records were broken: Most enemy aircraft destroyed by one crew on one mission: 13; most ME 262 jets destroyed by one group in entire war: seven; most German ME-262 jets destroyed by one crew on one mission; three; by one gunner on one mission: two. We even claim the record for the most holes in a B-17 after one mission: 30,748. I am surprised the 53 aircraft shot down at Memmingen is not a record-breaker. So much for our combat performance."
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