15th Air Force, 455th Bomb Group, 742 Squadron. Their mission was to bomb the Ponte Cardene Bridge along the Brenner Pass, which is a very important Alpine pass between Austria and Italy. After having been shelled by German anti-aircraft guns, the B-24 was damaged on three engines and the monitoring cable, whereupon the crew parachuted from the aircraft as it exploded in the air. Pilot 1st Lieutenant John H. Aufdeheide landed near the Austrian/Swiss border; the entire crew was detained in Switzerland.
