This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
March 8, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 21
Target: Railroad Marshalling Yards, Rennes, France
Crews Dispatched: 19
Length of Mission: 4 hours, 12 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x 500 lb H.E. M43 bombs
Bombing Altitude: 20,800 ft
Ammo Fired: 23,243 rounds
Enemy Aircraft Claims: 4 Destroyed, 3 Probables, 1 Damaged
View Mission Report
March 8, 1943
8th AF: VIII Bomber Command Mission No. 41: 67 B-17's of the 1st Bombardment Wing and 16 B-24's of the 2nd Bombardment Wing are dispatched against the marshalling yard at Rouen, France. Thirteen B-24's drop 39 tons of bombs on the target at 1402-1403 hours local; we claim 14 aircraft destroyed, 3 probably destroyed and 3 damaged; we lose 2 B-24's, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 3 others are damaged; casualties are 5 KIA, 3 WIA and 17 MIA. 54 B-17's hit the target at 1430 hours dropping 134.75 tons of bombs; they claim 14 enemy aircraft destroyed, 1 probably destroyed and 5 damaged; we lose 2 B-17's, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 9 others are damaged; casualties are 8 WIA and 20 MIA. The bomb run over Rouen is considerably disrupted by the well-executed attack of fighters which down 2 bombers including the lead aircraft. This action is preceded by an earlier wave of German fighters which occupy the fighter escort while the second wave attacks the bombers
March 8, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 119
Target: V.K.F. Ball Bearing Works, Berlin (Erkner) Germany
Crews Dispatched: 22
Crews Lost: Lt. L.B. McGrath, 10 POWs
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 50 minutes
Bomb Load: 8 x 500 lb Incendiaries (M17) / 12 x 100 G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitude: 26,800 ft
Ammo Fired: 1,895 rounds
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March 8, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 252: The primary target is the ball bearing plant at Erkner, a suburb of Berlin; enemy opposition is fierce and 37 bombers and 16 fighters are lost; 320 of 414 B-17s and 150 of 209 B-24s dispatched hit the primary; 36 B-17s hit Wildau and targets of opportunity; 33 B-24s hit Berlin and targets of opportunity; the bombers claim 63-17-19 Luftwaffe aircraft; 28 B-17s and 9 B-24s are lost, 1 B-17 and 2 B-24s are damaged beyond repair; casualties are 4 KIA, 14 WIA and 364 MIA. Escort is provided by 104 P-38s, 613 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 174 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; claims/losses are: 1. P-38s claim 9-2-5 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 P-38s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 2 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA and 4 MIA. 2. P-47s claim 49-6-18 Luftwaffe aircraft; 10 P-47s are lost, 13 damaged beyond repair and 4 damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 2 WIA and 10 MIA. 3. P-51s claim 29-4-9 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 P-51s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged; casualties are 4 MIA. An additional 8-4-7 Luftwaffe aircraft are claimed on the ground. 786th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 466th Bombardment Group (Heavy), arrives at Attlebridge, England from the US with B-24s; first mission is 22 Mar.
March 8, 1944
The US 8th Air Force carries out another heavy attack against Berlin.
March 8, 1945
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 332
Target: Benzol Plant at Essen, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 6 hours, 17 minutes
Bomb Load: 12 x 500 lb H.E. M43 & 2 x 500 lb M17 Incendiaries
Bombing Altitudes: 25,000, 24,000 & 25,700 ft
Ammo Fired: 450 rounds
View Mission Report
March 8, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 3 missions are flown. Mission 872: 1,353 bombers and 326 fighters are dispatched to hit benzol plants, an oil plant and rail targets in Germany using PFF; NO AIRCRAFT ARE LOST AND THERE ARE NO CASUALTIES! 1. 360 B-24s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Betzdorf (70), Siegen (114) and Dillenburg (73); targets of opportunity are Limburg (10) and Frankfurt (10); bombing is by H2X radar; 3 B-24s are damaged. Escorting are 99 of 102 P-51s. 2. 526 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Robert Muser (99) and Bruchstrasse (63) benzol plants at Langendreer, the Gneisenau benzol plant at Dortmund (110) and Heddernheim chemical factory at Frankfurt (122); secondary targets are the marshalling yards at Giessen (69) and Frankfurt (18); 13 others hit Wetzlar, a target of opportunity; bombing is with H2X radar; 26 B-17s are damaged. The escort is 95 of 99 P-51s. 3. 458 B-17s are sent to hit the Emil benzol plant at Essen (114), the Mathies Stinnes benzol plant at Bottrop (37), the August Viktoria benzol plant at Huls (111) and the synthetic oil plant at Buer Scholren (75); 109 hit the marshalling yard at Essen, a target of opportunity; bombing is by Micro-H; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair. 93 of 98 P-51s escort. 4. 9 B-17s fly a screening mission. 5. 27 P-51s fly a scouting mission. Mission 873: 11 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night without loss. Mission 874: 15 B-24s attack the marshalling yard at Dortmund during the night without loss and 4 of 7 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions.
March 8, 1945
According to an 8th Air Force directive, targets would no longer be termed as primary, secondary and last resort. The new designations were first, second, third, etc.
March 7
March 9
