398th Bomb Group
Memorial
Association


T/Sgt. George W. Forsyth's Diary
Engineer/TT Gunner 602nd Squadron

Summary of Missions and Targets
Forsyth Mission
Mission Date
Mission Location via Diary
Target via Diary
Comments
1
October 30, 1944 Hamm Marshalling Yards
-
2
November 4, 1944 Hamburg, but location was probably Harburg. See Comments. Oil Plants
The official 398th Mission for 4 Nov 1944 was to Harburg, Germany. Forsyth's diary indicated that he went to Hamburg on 4 Nov 1944.

Harburg is about 5 miles south of Hamburg and south of the Elbe River. It is presumed that Forsyth wrote the name of the larger city, Hamburg, though the actual target was Harburg that day. Thus the name of the target in the diary was changed to Harburg to be consistent with the 398th Official Mission records.
3
November 5, 1944 Frankfurt Marshalling Yards
-
4
November 8, 1944 Merseburg Oil Plants
-
5
November 10, 1944 Cologne Airfield
-
6
November 21, 1944 Merseburg
-
-
7
November 26, 1944 Misburg Oil Plants
-
8
November 27, 1944 Offenburg Marshalling Yards
-
9
November 29, 1944 Misburg Oil Plants
-
10
November 30, 1944 Merseburg
-
-
11
December 9,1944 Stuttgart Marshalling Yards
-
12
December 15, 1944 Kassel Locomotives and Tank Plants
-
13
December 18, 1944 Cologne Marshalling Yards
-
14
December 24, 1944 Koblenz Marshalling Yards
-
15
December 29, 1944 Binsen Marshalling Yards Binsen appears to be a typo. The spelling is Bingen, Germany.
16
January 3, 1945 Cologne Marshalling Yards
-
17
January 5, 1945 Kall Communications Railroad and Crossroads
-
18
January 8, 1945 Cologne Airfield
The official 398th Mission for 8 Jan 1945 was to Speyer, Germany. Forsyth's diary indicates that he went to Cologne on 8 Jan 1945. Cologne and Speyer are over a hundred miles apart. Speyer is near Ludwigshafen.

The 398th Group Historian has researched this matter and it is now believed that the date should be 10 Jan 1945. On that day, the 398th flew to Ostheim, Gemany, about 100 miles east of Cologne. The secondary target though was Cologne. One plane went to the secondary target. See Editor's Notes for Forsyth's 10 Jan 1945 Diary Entry.
19
January 13, 1945 Germershiem Railroad Bridge at Germersheim
The actual spelling of Germershiem is Germersheim.
20
January 22, 1945 Sterkrade Oil Plants
-
21
January 29, 1945 Koblenz Marshalling Yards The official 398th Mission for 29 Jan 1945 was to Niederlahnstein, Germany. Forsyth's diary indicates that he went to Koblenz on 29 Jan 1945. Niederlahnstein and Koblenz are only about 10 km apart. Mr. Forsyth probably just chose the name of the larger city for his diary.
22
February 9, 1945 Paderborn Railway Bridge The official 398th Mission for 9 Feb 1945 was to Altenbeken, Germany. Forsyth's diary indicates that he went to Paderborn on 9 Feb 1945. Altenbeken and Paderborn are only about 20 km apart. Mr. Forsyth probably just chose the name of the larger city for his diary.
23
February 14, 1945 Prague
-
-
24
February 20, 1945 Nurnberg
-
-
25
February 21, 1945 Nurnberg
-
-
26
February 28, 1945 Schwerte Marshalling Yards
-
27
March 1, 1945 Nerkarsulm Tank Factory The actual spelling of Nerkarsulm is Neckarsulm.
28
March 4, 1945 Ulm Tank Repair Plant
-
29
March 5, 1945 Chemnitz Marshalling Yards
-
30
March 17, 1945 Bohlen Oil Plants
-
31
March 22, 1945 Dorsten General Headquarters and Barracks of an Army Camp
-
32
March 28, 1945 Berlin
-
The official 398th Mission for 28 Mar 1945 was to Berlin, Germany. The Forsyth diary indicated the target was Spandan a subürg of Berlin.
33
April 5, 1945 Grafenwohn Ordnance Outfit
-
34
April 7, 1945 Kohlenbissen Airfield
-
35
April 8, 1945 Derben Oil Storage Plants
-

Table Note:

  1. The above format of the the table is different than in the diary, but was done to improve readability.
  2. The dates, locations, and targets are as they are in the Forsyth Diary Mission Table. If there are discrepancies, they are noted in the comments column.

Notes:
  • S/Sgt. George Forsyth was the engineer and Top Turret Gunner on Al Petska's 602nd Squadron crew.
  • The above transcription was provided by Jim Froelich, son of Sgt. James S. Froelich of the same Petska crew.
  • This transcription is a reproduction of the original. Spelling and punctuation changes have been made to improve readability. In some circumstances, material may not have been transcribed or was rewritten.
  • Clarification of acronyms or special words or guesses of certain words are shown in brackets [ ].

The above diary entry has been placed on the 398th Bomb Group Memorial Association web site to share our history with a wider audience. You may view, download, print, copy and link to our content as you wish as long as the uses are personal or educational. 398th Bomb Group Memorial Association web page content cannot be used for commercial purposes nor placed on other web sites whether commercial, personal or educational, unless authorized in writing by the 398th Bomb Group Memorial Association Official Board and/or the author.