12^th AIR FORCE

57^th BOMB WING

340^th BOMB GROUP (M)

MISSION JANUARY 21, 1945

486^th, 487^th, and 489^th Squadrons January 21, 1945

Ponte Tidone, Italy today

MISSION 697 below was to bomb RR Br at San MICHELE in BRENNER PASS

486^th BS Mission sheet credit: Herman Voss

Jan 21, 1944 488^th

Mission with twelve planes to San Michele rail diversion bridge, Italy. 100% bombing accuracy. 8U with Lt. Simpson, pilot, Lt. Greenig, co-pilot, S/Sgt. J.C. Rice, bombardier, Sgt. Shipley, radio-gunner, Sgt. Hicks, turret-gunner, and Sgt. Jackson, tail gunner crashed into 8P on the turn off the target knocking the tail-gunner, Sgt. A.B. Porter (on his second tour), out of the plane. No one knows exactly how it happened and everyone had to write out his interpretation for Ops to give to Group. Sgt. Tafoya was scheduled to fly on 8U but was taken off to go with the band to Ill Russe and even then the plane in which he was flying, 8Y, made a crash landing. Text Credit: Dan Setzer and 57^th Bomb Wing website