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THE 18 COMBAT & 2 P.O.W. RESUPPLY MISSIONS FLOWN BY LT. TRAETTA'S CREW, 15th Air Force, 49th Wing, 461st Bomb Group, 765th Bomb Squadron.
Rosenheim Marshalling Yard, Germany and Castelfranco Veneto Railroad Junction, ItalyVenzone Viaduct, ItalyZagreb East Sidings, YugoslaviaTreviso Marshalling Yard, Italy Linz North Main Marshalling Yard, AustriaVienna Florisdorf Oil Refinery, AustriaMooshierbaum Oil Refinery, AustriaRosenheim West Marshalling Yard, GermanyVienna South Station Area, ViennaMoosebierbaum Oil Refinery, AustriaGraz Marshalling Yard, AustriaCeske Budejovice Marshalling Yard, CzechoslovakiaSaint Polten Marshalling Yard, AustriaTroop Concentrations Northeast of Lugo, ItalyTroop Concentrations Northeast of Lugo, ItalyRailroad Bridge Diversion, ItalyAvisio Viaduct and Railroad Diversion, ItalyRovereto Marshalling Yard and Gun Emplacements, ItalyStalag XVIII A, Wolfsberg, Austria, P.O.W. Re-supply

The mission logs of
James Springer
&
Tom Moran
   The bombs to the left are links to descriptions of the missions as well as contemporary news clippings which appeared in the Stars and Stripes, Sortie and other military newspapers of the period.
FLIGHT RECORDS
Individual flight records were kept to log every sortie flown. Click on image at left to see records for Shadrich White, a co-pilot with the 451st BG.

Mission briefing
   A mission formation often consisted of 1,000 Liberators or more. It could take over an hour to get all of the planes off the ground. Once in the air they were assembled behind a Formation Leader, usually an older, out of combat service liberator painted bright colors.
Formation Leader
   A large formation could stretch for 90 miles. It's shape, long and narrow, was required for the bombing run. A 10 mile wide formation would be wasted on a target that was likely to be 1/2 mile wide, or perhaps as narrow as a bridge. Also, it was not possible to launch or land all of the planes at one time. A formation's shape meant it provided an easy target for fighters and flak, which could pound the Liberators as they neared the target.
The descriptions, mission photos, and detailed "poop sheets" for the crew's missions were privided by the 461st Bomb Group, and used with their permission.
Detailed mission descriptions for all of the missions flown by the 461st Bomb Group can be found at the 461st BG Web site. Use the numbers in red, below, when locating our crew's missions at their site.
1.   - MISSION #156 27 December, 1944 Target: Venzone Viaduct, Italy
2.   - MISSION #157 29 December, 1944 Target: Rosenheim Marshalling Yard, Germany and         Castelfranco Veneto Railroad Junction, Italy
3.   - MISSION # 160 5 January, 1945 Target: Zagreb East Sidings, Yugoslavia
4.   - MISSION # 162 15 January, 1945 Target: Treviso Marshalling Yard, Italy
5.   - MISSION # 164 20 January, 1945 Target: Linz North Main Marshalling Yard, Austria
6.   - MISSION # 169 7 February, 1945 Target: Vienna Florisdorf Oil Refinery, Austria
7.   - MISSION # 174 14 February, 1945 Target: Mooshierbaum Oil Refinery, Austria
8.   - MISSION # 176 16 February, 1945 Target: Rosenheim West Marshalling Yard, Germany
9.   - MISSION # 180 21 February, 1945 Target: Vienna South Station Area, Vienna
10. - MISSION # 186 1 March, 1945 Target: Moosebierbaum Oil Refinery, Austria
11. - MISSION # 198 21 March, 1945 Target: Graz Marshalling Yard, Austria
12. - MISSION # 201 24 March 1945 Target: Ceske Budejovice Marshalling Yard,                Czechoslovakia
13. - MISSION # 206 2 April, 1945 Target: Saint Polten Marshalling Yard, Austria
14. - MISSION # 210 9 April, 1945 Troop Concentrations Northeast of Lugo, Italy
15. - MISSION # 211 10 April, 1945 Troop Concentrations Northeast of Lugo, Italy Operation
16. - MISSION # 215 15 April, 1945 Nervessa Railroad Bridge Diversion, Italy
17. - MISSION # 217 19 April, 1945 Avisio Viaduct and Railroad Diversion, Italy
18. - MISSION # 221 24 April, 1945 Rovereto Marshalling Yard and Gun Emplacements, Italy
19. - 10 May 1945 Wolfsberg, Austria - P.O.W. Re-supply mission Stalag XVIII A, Wolfsberg,        Austria.
20. - 11 May 1945 Wolfsberg, Austria - P.O.W. Re-supply mission Stalag XVIII A, Wolfsberg,        Austria.