The Kassel Raid, 27 September 1944: The Largest Loss by USAAF Group on any Mission in WWII

by Eric Ratcliffe

An account of the 445th Heavy Bombardment Group raid that resulted in the greatest single-day loss to a group from one airfield in aviation warfare history.    On Thursday, 28 September 1944, a force of 283 Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers from the USAAF’s 2nd Combat Bombardment Wing, took off from their bases in Britain and headed out across the North Sea escorted by 198 P-51 Mustang fighters. The bombers’ target was the industrial city of Kassel in northern Germany—specifically the engineering works of Henschel & Sohn which built Tiger and Panther tanks.   Due to a navigational error, the lead Liberator of the 445th Heavy Bombardment Group turned due east instead of east-south-east and the following thirty-five bombers missed Kassel altogether, attacking an alternative target. But the worst was to come. The change of direction meant that the bombers lost their escorting Mustangs and on the return flight they were pounced on by 150 enemy fighters—and massacred. Twenty-five of the Liberators were shot down inside Germany itself; three crashed en route to the coast (two in France and one in Belgium); two made forced landings at an emergency airfield in England; and the last came to grief within sight of home. Just four of the original thirty-five B-24s landed safely back at Tibenham.   In this highly moving account of the Kassel raid, the author, who lives close to the Tibenham airfield, uncovers the painful details of those terrible moments in September 1944 through the stories of those who survived one of the Second World War’s most disastrous operations in the USAAF’s battle against the Luftwaffe.

Genres: History, Aviation, World War II

189 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 30, 2020

Reviews

[Doug Utting · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent effort to convey the events around a disastrous US bomber raid in 1944 that saw almost an entire bomb group wiped out in less than 10 minutes. It conveys the horror of war and the impact of the incident sufficiently well to do justice to the brave men it documents. I hadn’t known about the incident before and those with an interest in WW2 and air warfare will be better informed as a result of reading it.

[Patrick Pillow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good account about the darkest day in the life of any USAAF Heavy Bomb Group in the ETO during World War Two.

While the book doesn’t specifically address the issue, I was left wondering if the decision to remove the ball turrets on the B-24’s was worth the gain in fuel and bomb load. I can’t help but feel that some of those crews would have returned if they had proper protection of their bellies. Rest in peace.

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Definitely was interesting reading about the Kassel raid, the details of German ramming attacks particularly interested me. However, and this may be just because I was tired while I read the book, I feel like the book is strangely written and can be repetitive. But all in all, a good book.