"General Henry H. Arnold, U.S. Air Forces Commander (center), autographs bomb strike photos of the first perfect bombing in the Air Force, while looking on are: (left to right) Brig. Gen. Fay R. Upthegrove, Wing Commander; Maj. Gen. Nathan F. Twining, 15th AAF Commander; and Col. Thomas W. Steed, Commander of the 456th Bombardment Group, which did the 100 percent bombing on a mission over the Tarvisio Motor Transport Depot in Italy."
It is my intent to post a synopsis of every mission flown by the 456th on this website. That will take some time but will be done, one at a time. Eventually these will be posted by mission number, as shown in the following lists. Links to these missions will be here on this page. Check back often for new additions.
The following information was provided by Bob Reichard, a bombardier with the 745th Squadron:
"I was going over the mission list on the 456th web site. On 1 April 1945, Gun Positions North Coast Adriatic is listed. I wasn't on that one. If I remember correctly it was just a squadron effort of four or five B-24's (don't hold me to that number). The planes were loaded with 270 pound frag bombs. It was the first time our group had used proximity fuses and the first time we struck at Flak guns. As I search my brain........The planes headed inland over a known Flak battery, dropped, turned around and flew back over them and not one gun fired at them on their return flight. I worked as an assistant to the squadron intelligence officer. Within days we had a report, from behind the lines, as to the number of guns knocked out, and the causalities.
Also, the 26 Dec 1944, raid on Oswiecium is listed as Austria when in fact it is in Poland. ...my story will place it in the right country."
Liberators coming in at tree top level on a Ploesti, Rumania, raid. Although the 456th hit Ploesti several times, they were not part of the infamous low level raid of 1943.
One of the Ploesti oil refinery complexes on fire after a raid.
Ploesti remains after the raids: cracking plant and crude unit shattered.
Ploesti tank farm after being raided. Not only couldn't Hitler's forces refine fuel, they could not have what had been refined, or store any they could get refined. Ploesti was a target of major importance, that cost many American and Allied lives to crush. But it was one of the death-knells for the Nazi war machine.
