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Summary:
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The 401st provided three squadrons making up the 94th Combat Wing "C" Group. While the weather was clear, the Germans put up an effective smoke screen over the target, with the result that aiming points could not be identified with certainty. In consequence, bombing results were described as only fair, although heavy black smoke was seen coming up from the area of the oil tanks.
Over the target the Group was met with deadly accurate flak. All but one of the 401st aircraft were damaged by flak, four of which were classified as major damage. The flight back from the target was difficult because a number of ships straggled behind the formation with feathered engines or other damage. Fortunately, Allied fighter aircraft provided good cover, which prevented further losses to enemy fighters. Two crews landed their damaged aircraft in France but were subsequently able to return to Deenthorpe.
One 401st crewman, T/Sgt. Dorsey T. Tyree, radio operator on Lt. J.C. Crozier's crew, was struck in the neck by a flak fragment and died a short time later. Five other crew members were wounded.
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