This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
March 27th    

March 27, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 129
Target: Chartres Airdrome, France
Crews Dispatched: 26
Length of Mission: 5 hours, 10 minutes
Bomb Load: 13 x 500 lb G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitude: 18,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 390 rounds
303rd BG(H) B-17F "Knockout Dropper" became the first 8th AF B-17 to
complete 75 combat missions.
View Mission Report

March 27, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 282: Airfields in France are attacked by 701 bombers. 1. 285 of 290 B-17s hit the following airfields: St Jean D/Angely (55), La Rochell/La Leu (59), Chartres (60), Tours/Parcay Meslay Air Depot (74), Usine Liotard Air Depot (35) and targets of opportunity (2); 1 B-17 is lost and 37 damaged; casualties are 1 WIA and 10 MIA. 2. 248 of 256 B-17s hit the following airfields: Bordeaux/Merignac (123), Cayeux (118) and Chartres (7); 2 B-17s are lost and 51 damaged; casualties are 11 KIA, 2 WIA and 20 MIA. 3. All 168 B-24s hit the following airfields: Pau/Ont Long (72), Biarritz (49) and Mont de Marsan (47); 3 B-24s are lost, 4 damaged beyond repair and 18 damaged; casualties are 20 KIA, 1 WIA and 31 MIA. Escort is provided by 132 P-38s, 706 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 122 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; results are: P-38s: 2 lost and 1 damaged beyond repair; 2 pilots are MIA. P-47s claim 6-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 P-47s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 4 damaged; 1 pilot is WIA and 5 are MIA. P-51s claim 2-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 30-1-11 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost and 1 damaged; 3 pilots are MIA.

March 27, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Operations during the day include: 1. 110 of 115 P-47s and P-51s escort 262 RAF Lancasters attacking Paderborn, Germany. 2. 2 F-5s, escorted by 4 P-51s, fly a photo reconnaissance mission over Brunswick and Paderborn. Mission 916: 9 of 10 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night.

March 27, 1945
The 1,115th and last V2 to reach England lands in Kynaston Road, Orpington, Kent, England.

8th AF history extracted from Jack McKillop's USAAF Combat Chronology
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