This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
March 1, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: HQ and HQ Squadron, VIII Air Force Services Command is redesignated as HQ and HQ Squadron, Air Service Command, US Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF), after functioning as such during Jan and Feb 44 while redesignation was being authorized. 8th Strategic Air Depot Area is redesignated VIII Air Force Services Command. Mission 243: 5 of 5 B-17s drop 250 bundles of leaflets on Brest, Tours, Lorient, Nantes and Reims at 2005-2115 hours without loss. During Mar, HQ 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy) and 852nd, 853rd, 854th and 855th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) move from North Pickenham to Metfield, England with B-24s; first mission is 2 Jun.
March 1, 1945
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 327
Target: Marshalling Yard at Bruchsal, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 27 minutes
Bomb Load: 8 x 500 lb H.E. M43 & 4 x 500 lb M17 Incendiaries
Bombing Altitudes: 21,000, 20,000, & 21,500 ft
View Mission Report
March 1, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 857: 1,228 bombers and 488 fighters are dispatched to attack marshalling yards in C and S Germany; 3 plants suspected of manufacturing Me 262 jet engine parts could not be attack due to clouds; most attacks are made using H2X radar; the fighters claim 12-0-8 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 P-51s are lost: 1. 452 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Bruchsal (115), Reutlingen (69), Neckarsulm (85), Heilbronn (107) and Gottingen (36); 25 hit Heidelberg, the secondary target; some visual attacks are made; 27 B-17s are damaged. Escorting are 92 of 100 P-51s; 2 are lost (pilots MIA) and 2 damaged beyond repair. 2. 253 of 321 B-24s bomb the Ingolstadt marshalling yard; 62 others hit the secondary target, Augsburg; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair. 181 of 194 P-51s escort claiming 1-0-0 aircraft in the air; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 3. 420 of 449 B-17s hit the marshalling yard at Ulm; 2 others hit a target of opportunity; some attacks are visual; 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; 16 airmen are KIA and 2 WIA. The escort is 147 of 152 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 9-0-7 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 4. 6 B-24s fly a screening mission without loss. 5. 31 of 32 P-51s fly a scouting mission. 6. 9 of 10 P-51s escort 8 F-5s on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany. Mission 858: 11 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany.
February 29
March 2
