I am continuing my series of articles based on the entries from Kit C. Carter and Robert Mueller’s U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II Combat Chronology 1941 – 1945 and Jack McKillop’s USAAF Chronology: Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces. Both combat chronologies are excellent sources of information regarding combat missions in World War II and I thank the authors for sharing them online.

These articles are concentrated on the operations of the 8th Army Air Forces on the missions on which the John Oliver Buslee crew and James Joseph Brodie crew of the 384th Bomb Group participated. The statistics of other dates and missions and of other branches of the American Air Forces and theaters of operation of World War II are available through the links provided in this article to these two sources for those interested.

Today’s installment is the 5 September 1944 mission in which the Buslee crew and Brodie crew participated.

WWII Combat Chronology – Tuesday, 5 September1944

384th BG Mission 188/8th AF Mission 605 to Ludwigshafen, Germany.

Target: Industry, the I. G. Farben Chemical Works.

The John Oliver Buslee crew of the 544th Bomb Squadron and the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron participated in this mission.

Carter and Mueller’s U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II Combat Chronology 1941 – 1945 entry:

Over 650 HBs attack Stuttgart aero engine plant, Ludwigshafen synthetic oil plant, Karlsruhe M/Y, and various T/Os. 9 ftr gps fly spt and several gps strafe A/Fs. Ftrs claim 19 aerial combat victories. Nearly 150 B-17’s supported by a P-51 gp bomb 5 gun emplacements in Brest area. 5 ftr gps in sweeps over Frankfurt/Main, Stuttgart and Rotterdam areas strafe A/Fs and rail, road, and river traffic and claim 9 air victories and 62 aircraft destroyed on ground. In Germany 2 FB gps bomb 3 A/Fs and strafe 2, claiming destruction of 66 parked aircraft. Nearly 90 B-24’s fly supplies to France.

Note: I do not find an entry in Carter and Mueller’s Combat Chronology for 9/5/44, but do find two entries for 9/4/44. I believe this entry is for 9/5/44 and mislabeled.

Jack McKillop’s USAAF Chronology: Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces entry:

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown:

1. Mission 605 to southeast Germany, a Ludwigshafen synthetic oil plant, and the Karlsruhe marshalling yard. The Buslee crew and Brodie crew participated in this mission.
2. Mission 606, a visual attack on enemy positions in the Brest, France area.
3. Mission 608, a leaflet drop in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany during the night.

Also, B-24’s and C-47’s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.

And VIII Fighter Command fighter-bomber missions included:

1. P-38’s and P-47’s attack transportation targets in west Germany.
2. P-38’s and P-47’s attack 3 airfields in the Hanau/Giessen, Germany area.

Mission 605: 739 bombers and 315 fighters are dispatched to SE Germany; 6 bombers are lost; during the missions, a P-51 shoots down a Swiss Bf 109 near Dubendorf.

1. 203 of 218 B-17s attack a Stuttgart aero engine plant and targets of opportunity (4); 2 B-17s are lost and 109 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 5 WIA and 18 MIA. Escort is provided by 147 of 160 P-51s; they claim 19-0-0 aircraft in the air and 14-0-27 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 4 damaged; 2 pilots are MIA.
2. 277 of 303 B-17s hit a Ludwigshafen synthetic oil plant and target of opportunity (1); 2 B-17s are lost and 163 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 11 WIA and 18 MIA. Escort is provided by 155 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 2 damaged.
3. 183 of 218 B-24s hit Karlsruhe marshalling yard and targets of opportunity (2); 2 B-24s are lost, 4 damaged beyond repair and 78 damaged; 22 airmen are MIA.

Links/Sources

• The Buslee crew’s and Brodie crew’s participation in 384th Bomb Group Mission 188/8th AF Mission 605
• Kit C. Carter and Robert Mueller’s U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II Combat Chronology 1941 – 1945
• Jack McKillop’s Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces

Except for entries from Carter and Mueller’s U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II Combat Chronology 1941 – 1945 and McKillop’s Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces © Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2021