MISSION BRIEFING
"Good morning, men. Today, we're really going to give it to the Germans today! Over 800 heavies will be attacking targets in Yugoslavia and Austria. The B-24 will bomb industrial areas at Wiener- Neustadt and Atzgersdorf, Austria and troop concentrations at Poderica, Yugoslavia. Meanwhile the six B-17 groups, along with seven Liberator groups have been are assigned to . . . Please remove the curtain now, Sergeant Davis . . . It's the Wiener-Neustadt area again! I know this will be the third time this month we've gone there and I've no doubt we'll be going back there again before the war is over. Our primary target: the Wollersdorf airdrome. The Germans know we want to finish off their all their aircraft manufacturing factories in the Wiener-Neustadt area and they'll be ready for us. Again, expect the Luftwaffe to be in strength around the targets, especially at Wollersdorf."
"Oh, before I turn you over to Major Payne, I have one more thing to say. There is a British-held island called Vis off the coast of Yugoslavia (in zone-2). Navigators, you'll hear about this more at the navigator's briefing. Although it does not have a landing field large enough to make a crash landing, if any of you don't have enough fuel to make it to Italy and your radio or rafts are shot up, you can divert to Vis to either ditch near the island and row in or if your rafts are shot up, you can bail out over the island. But in either case, you won't return to Italy for at least a week or two; that's how long it's going to take a boat to come get you. Well, that's it . . . Major Payne, they're all yours."
"Gentlemen, your squadron formation will be as follows: The 316th will be in the lead, with the Colonel in charge flying with Major Tanner in the lead plane. Half of Major DeFilippo's 399th squadron will form the third flight of the lead squadron, while the other half forms the third flight of the high squadron comprised of the 317th squadron under Captain Shimizu. And the 318th under the command of Major Mikula is low squadron. Take-off is at 0700, form up at 20,000 and rendezvous with the 99th and 301st. The Double-Eights will be the lead group, the Diamondbacks as the low group and with the 301st as the high group. Our task force will be ten minutes ahead of the trailing task force containing the 2nd, 97th and 463rd groups. You will then head north by northeast into the Adriatic Sea . . ."