This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
June 18, 1942
ETO 8th AF: HQ 8th AF opens in London with Major General Carl Spaatz commanding. The British Air Ministry publishes a tentative list of 87 airfields to be made ready for the 8th AF.
June 18, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 183
Target: Oil Plant at Hamburg, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 36
Length of Mission: 6 hours, 45 minutes
Bomb Load: 18 x 250 lb G.P. M57 & 18 x 300 G.P. M31 bombs
Bombing Altitudes: Group A - 26,000 ft; Group B - 25,000 ft
View Mission Report
June 18, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 421: 1,378 bombers are dispatched to targets in Germany; 11 bombers are lost, 10 to AA fire and 1 to unknown causes: 1. Of 890 B-17s dispatched, 381 bomb Hamburg, 88 hit Hannover-Misburg oil refinery, 85 hit the Bremen area; 60 hit Hannover, 54 hit Hamburg-Eurotank oil refinery, 38 hit Hamburg-Ossag oil refinery, 36 hit Hamburg-Schindler oil refinery, 18 hit Bremen-Oslebshausen; 18 hit Hamburg-Ebano oil refinery and 5 hit targets of opportunity; 7 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 284 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 10 WIA and 70 MIA. 2. Of 488 B-24s, 168 hit Hamburg, 107 bomb Bremerhaven, 58 attack the Watten V-weapon sites, France, 54 hit Brunsbuttel, 45 hit Stade Airfield, 28 hit Wesermunde, 13 hit Husum Airfield, 9 hit Nordenham, 8 hit Heligoland Airfield, 5 hit targets of opportunity and 1 hits Wrist marshalling yard; 4 B-24s are lost and 53 damaged; 8 airmen are WIA and 39 MIA. Escort is provided by 198 P-38s, 172 P-47s and 215 P-51s; 1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair; no losses or claims. Other VIII Fighter Command missions in France are: 1. 94 of 98 P-38s and 82 of 87 P-47s attack railroad bridges in the St Quentin area without loss. 2. 47 P-51s make a sweep of the Dol de Bretagne area; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA). Mission 422: 9 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions in France; 1 B-24 hits a tree at the drop zone.
June 18, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: HQ 4th, 41st, 45th and 94th Combat Bombardment Wings (Heavy) are disbanded at Bury St Edmunds, Molesworth, Snetterton Heath, and Alconbury, England respectively.
June 17
June 19
