This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
April 13, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 135
Target: Kuge/Fischer Ball Bearing Works, Schweinfurt, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 20
Crews Lost: Lt. Viets - 9 POW, 1 EVD
Crew Members Lost or Wounded: 3 crewmen wounded
Length of Mission: 7 hours, 30 minutes
Bomb Load: 5 x 1000 lb G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitude: 19,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 8,300 rounds
View Mission Report
April 13, 1944
303rd BG: Bombardier 2Lt Thomas J. Dello Buono was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross Medal for his actions on 13 April 1944 mission #135 to Schweinfurt, Germany in B-17 #42-97546 Idaliza. Despite being badly wounded by a 20mm shell, he returned to his nose guns against attacking enemy fighters and dropped his bombs squarely on the Group's pattern. He refused to leave his post until fighter attacks had ceased and the enemy coast had been passed on the way home.
April 13, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 301: 626 bombers and 871 fighters are dispatched to hit targets in Germany; the bombers claim 22-13-34 Luftwaffe aircraft and the fighters claim 42-8-10 in the air and 35-0-21 on the ground; 38 bombers and 9 fighters are lost; the bombers also drop 5.2 million leaflets on Germany; this mission is flown in conjunction with a raid on Hungary by 500+ Fifteenth Air Force bombers and a Ninth Air Force B-26 raid in S The Netherlands; details are: 1. 154 of 172 B-17s hit the industrial area at Schweinfurt and 1 hits a target of opportunity; 14 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 127 damaged; casualties are 11 WIA and 139 MIA. 2. 207 of 243 B-17s bomb aviation industry targets at Augsburg and 20 hit the city of Augsburg; 18 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 178 damaged; casualties are 3 KIA, 16 WIA and 170 MIA. 3. 211 B-24s are dispatched to hit Lechfeld Airfield; 93 hit the primary, 60 bomb aviation industry targets at Oberpfaffenhofen; 29 hit Lauffern and 2 hit targets of opportunity; 6 B-24s are lost and 45 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 60 MIA. Escort is provided by 134 P-38s, 504 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 233 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; 3 P-38s are lost and 1 damaged beyond repair; 2 P-47s are lost; and 4 P-51s are lost and 1 damaged beyond repair; a total of 11 fighters are damaged; casualties are 2 WIA and 8 MIA. Mission 302: 4 of 5 B-17s dispatched drop 800,000 leaflets on Amsterdam, The Hague and Eindhoven, The Netherlands at 2235-2252 hours without loss. SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE (SHAEF): General of the Army Dwight D Eisenhower formally assumes direction of air operations out of the UK at 0000 hours (though he began informal exercise of this authority in late Mar 44). This assumption of authority gives Eisenhower direction over the Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF), Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command, and US Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF) (the Fifteenth Air Force retains some degree of independence) along with the US 1st Army Group, British 21 Army Group, and Allied Naval Forces.
April 13, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 3 missions are flown. Mission 945: The AAF claims 284-0-220 Luftwaffe aircraft. 1. 212 B-17s, escorted by 256 of 278 P-51s, attack the marshalling yard at Neumunster visually; 2 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; 8 airmen are KIA, 3 WIA and 17 MIA. The escort claims 137-0-83 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air; 6 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 2. 97 P-47s and P-51s fly a freelance mission in support of the bombers; they claim 147-0-137 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost; both pilots are MIA. 3. 8 P-51s fly a scouting mission. 4. 11 of 13 P-51s escort 10 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. Mission 946: 10 of 12 B-24s bomb the Beizenburg rail junction during the night without loss. Mission 947: During the night, 10 of 11 B-24s drop leaflets in France and Germany and 1 of 4 B-24s completes a CARPETBAGGER mission to Denmark. The 328th Fighter Squadron, 352nd Fighter Group, moves from Chievres, Belgium to Bodney, England with P-51s.
April 12
April 14
