Mission #115
13 October 1944
Target: Vienna North Marshalling Yard, Austria
The target for the mission of 13 October was the North Marshalling Yard at Vienna, Austria. Finding the target obscured by an almost solid undercast, the thirty-four planes over the target dropped their bombs by the pathfinder method. The formation straggled back to base through adverse weather conditions where it was learned that sixteen of them had been hit by flak. A few enemy airplanes were seen in the target area but none were encountered.
After the planes had gained 9,000 feet of altitude and had nearly completed their assembly, the planes flown by 1st Lt. Willard R. King and 1st Lt. Arthur H. Trier collided. The plane flown by Lt. King was knocked to the ground and Sergeant Van V. Smith, Jr. was the only survivor. Despite the fact that his plane had had an engine knocked off and had suffered severe damage to the empennage, Lt. Trier flew out over the Adriatic to jettison his bombs before returning to the base. This marked the first time the 461st Group had ever lost an airplane in take off or assembly on a combat mission.