398th Bomb Group
Memorial
Association


Lt. Mark J. Woods, Jr.'s Diary
Navigator, 600th Squadron

Woods Mission No. 13

12 June 1944
Target Lille-Nord, France

Date: June 12, 1944 Mission #13
Location of target: Northern section of the city of Lille-Nord, France

Type of target: Fighter airdrome

Load: 2300 gals of gas & 252-20 lb. bombs
Altitude: 25,000 feet
Flight Time: 4:45 hours
Escort: None (area cover)
Force of raid: One combat group of 36 planes (all 398th Bomb Group)

Position: Number 3 of second low squadron high group
Opposition: Flak, light to moderate

Battle damage: one hole in right wing, shattered astrodome

Results: Bombed visual, but due to height we could not observe results

Remarks: Flak was quite accurate and there was a lot aimed at us. Just after the IP [Initial Point] I stood up and was just going to put my head in the astrodome to observe the flak. Just then a piece of flak hit the astrodome and shattered the plexiglass all over me. Reed, the pilot saw it shortly after it happened and called me up to see if I would answer. I said, “yea, I see it”, and he said “pretty close”. He was more worried about it than I.

Just before bombs away, the leaders went into a sharp 30-degree bank, our whole element racked it up and we all about stalled out. We lost 800 to 1200 feet. The tail gunner almost bailed out. We witnessed the Germans flooding the coastal areas. Found munitions dump and sighted convoy of trucks.

Notes:
  • Lt. Mark J. Woods, Jr. was a Navigator on Stanley R. Reed's 600th Squadron crew.
  • The above transcription was provided by Carolyn Woods and Joe K. Mansell.
  • 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 [ ].

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