398th Bomb Group
Memorial
Association


S/Sgt. John Veenschoten's Diary
Radio Operator/Gunner, 603rd Squadron

Veenschoten Mission No. 10

9 September 1944
Target Mannheim, Germany

Target - Mannheim, Germany
Date – September 9, 1944

This mission was exceptionally hard to take as we were going back to the same target as the day before where we were so shot up. We again bombed the I. G. Farben chemical works and again the Germans were waiting, sending up a terrific flak barrage. The ship took a large number of holes from shrapnel and one engine was knocked out. The landing gear on the right side was badly hit and we rather expected it to fold up on us when we landed, but fortunately it did not. I saw several ships in our group go down and one blow up. The group had a number of men injured.

Note: The official 398th target for 9 September 1944 for the 398th was Mannheim, Germany. The official 398th target for "the day before", 8 September 1944 was Ludwigshaven. The diary also mentions the I. G. Farben chemical plant in Ludwigshaven on 3 September. Mannheim is just a few miles west of Ludwigshaven so it is essential the same general area.

Notes:
  • S/Sgt. John Veenschoten was a Radio Operator/Gunner on Howard W. Rehme's 603rd Squadron crew.
  • The above transcription was provided by Wally Blackwell.
  • This transcription is a careful reproduction of the original except for occasional spelling and punctuation changes. In some circumstances, based on relevancy, some material may not have been transcribed.
  • Clarification of acronyms or special words or guesses of certain words are shown in brackets [ ].

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