This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
September 9, 1942
ETO 8th AF: The 423rd Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 306th Bombardment Group (Heavy), arrives at Thurleigh, England from the US with B-17s (first mission is 9 Oct).
September 9, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 69
Target: Vitry-En-Artois Airdrome at Dovai, France
Crews Dispatched: 18
Length of Mission: 4 hours, 25 minutes
Bomb Load: 24 x 120 lb Fragmentation cluster bombs
Bombing Altitude: 22,650 ft
Ammo Fired: 1,684 rounds
View Mission Report
September 9, 1943
303rd BG: The 303rd BG (H) baseball team, the "Moles", became the 1943 Eighth AF champions.
September 9, 1943
8th AF: On D-day for Operation STARKEY (a rehearsal for the invasion of France), the 8th AF dispatches a record number of 330 heavy bombers against various targets in France: 1. 87 B-17's are dispatched to the industrial area at Paris; 20 hit the primary target at 0903 hours and 48 hit the secondary target, the Beaumont Suroise Airfield; they claim 16-2-9 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-17's are lost and 21 damaged; casualties are 3 WIA and 21 MIA. 2. 63 B-17's are dispatched to Beauvais/Tille Airfield; 59 hit the target at 0816-0819 hours; 6 B-17's are damaged. 3. 37 B-17's are dispatched to Lille/Nord Airfield; all hit the target at 0830-0833 hours; 10 B-17's are damaged; casualties are 2 WIA. 4. 56 B-17's are dispatched to Lille/Vendeville Airfield; 52 hit the target at 0830-0840 hours; 7 B-17's are damaged. 5. 56 B-17's are dispatched to Vitry-en-Artois Airfield; 51 hit the target at 0837-0840; no losses or casualties. 6. 38 B-24's are dispatched to St Omer/Ft Rouge and St Omer/Longuenesse Airfield; 28 hit the target; 3 B-24's are damaged; casualties are 1 WIA. 7. 40 B-24's are dispatched to Abbeville/Drucat Airfield; 35 hit the target; no losses or casualties. All missions except 7. above are escorted by 215 P-47's. They claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-47's are lost; casualties are 1 MIA. Operation STARKEY is a disappointment as the Luftwaffe refuses to commit fighter defenses on a large scale, thus preventing possible destruction of many of their aircraft, which Allied air forces hoped to accomplish. VIII Air Support Command Mission 55: 217 B-26's are dispatched to the coastal defenses around Boulogne, France; 202 hit the targets at 0745-0915 hours; 3 B-26's are lost, 2 are damaged beyond repair and 24 damaged; casualties are 11 KIA, 8 WIA and 19 MIA.
September 9, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 238
Target: I.G. Farben Plant at Ludwigshafen, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Crews Lost: Lt. J.A. Newton, 7 KIA, 2 POW
Crew Members Lost or Wounded: Lt. Kiesel WIA
Bomb Load: 12 x 500 lb M43 bombs
Length of Mission: 7 hours, 50 minutes
Ammo Fired: 1,040 rounds
View Mission Report
September 9, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 3 missions are flown. Mission 613: 68 of 72 B-17s fly Operation GRASSY to drop 180 containers of supplies to French Resistance Fighters 25 miles (40 km) S of Besancon without loss. Escort is provided by 30 of 32 P-51s without loss. Mission 614: 1,140 bombers and 435 fighters are dispatched to hit targets in W Germany; the primaries are attacked by both visual and PFF means; 14 bombers and 1 fighter are lost: 1. 419 B-17s are dispatched to hit the marshalling yard at Mannheim (387); 2 others hit targets of opportunity; 5 B-17s are lost and 197 damaged; 10 airmen are WIA and 54 MIA. Escort is provided by 140 of 152 P-51s without loss. 2. 337 B-24s are dispatched to hit the marshalling yard at Mainz (265); targets of opportunity are the marshalling yard at Worms (24) and Koblenz (6); 3 B-24s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 104 damaged; 5 airmen are KIA and 33 MIA. Escort is provided by 125 of 128 P-51s without loss. 3. 384 B-17s are dispatched to an armaments plant at Dusseldorf (251); targets of opportunity are Bonn (12), Leverkusen (11) and others (16); 6 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 148 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 3 WIA and 63 MIA. Escort is provided by 142 of 155 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost. Mission 618: 7 of 7 B-17s drop leaflets on Belgium, France and Germany during the night. VIII Fighter Command fighter-bomber missions: 1. 44 P-47s sweep the Lingen-Munster-Haltern area to spot flak positions and troop concentrations and strafe an airfield; they claim 1-1-0 aircraft in the air and on the ground. 2. 196 P-47s and P-51s bomb and strafe shipping between the German mainland and Schouwen, Overflakee and Walcheren Islands, the Netherlands, installations on the islands, and rail and road traffic NW and NE of Frankfurt/Main; they claim 13-0-5 aircraft in the air and on the ground; 7 P-47s and 1 P-51 are lost; 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are damaged beyond repair and 14 P-47s and 3 P-51s are damaged; 1 pilot is WIA and 7 MIA. 40 B-24s and C-47s fly CARPETBAGGER mission during the night.
September 8
September 10
