Summary:
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On this mission the 401st put up the three Boxes making up the 94th Combat Wing "A" unit. The briefed target once again was the I. G. Farben Industries chemical plant in Ludwigshaven. However, the Group had been ordered not to drop on the primary unless it could be sighted visually, and the target was once again obscured by clouds. Accordingly, the Group turned to the secondary target, the marshalling yards at Mannheim, which were bombed by PFF (radar). Flak over the target was moderate to intense, and one 401st aircraft, "Casey's Strawberry Blonde" (No. 42-97962), flown by the veteran crew of Lt. David Loughlin, received a direct flak hit and went down. Two crew members survived but the other seven were killed.
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