This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
July 16, 1943
8th AF: VIII Air Support Command Mission Number 1: 16 B-26B's are dispatched against the marshalling yard at Abbeville, France; 14 hit the target at 2000 hours; 10 aircraft are damaged; casualties are 2 WIA. With this mis-sion, the VIII Air Support Command begins combat operations, having acquired the 322nd, 323rd, 386th, and 387th Bombardment Groups (Medium).
July 16, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 204
Target: City area, Munich, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 20
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 45 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x 500 lb G.P. M43 bombs
Bombing Altitude: 27,700 ft
View Mission Report
July 16, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 476: 1,087 bombers and 712 fighters are dispatched to hit targets in Germany; 11 bombers and 3 fighters are lost: 1. Of 407 B-17s, 213 hit an aircraft engine plant at Munich, 54 hit Augsburg, 52 hit Stuttgart and 50 hit 2 targets of opportunity; they claim 2-3-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 10 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 112 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 7 WIA and 81 MIA. Escort is provided by 240 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot is MIA). 2. Of 238 B-17s, 206 hit Stuttgart and 2 hit a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 45 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 10 MIA. Escort is provided by 214 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot is MIA). 3. 407 of 442 B-24s hit the marshalling yards at Saarbrucken; 2 B-24s are damaged beyond repair and 45 damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 3 WIA. Escort is provided by 169 P-38s and P-47s; 1 P-38 is lost and 1 damaged beyond repair. Mission 477: 5 of 5 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night. 24 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.
July 16, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: HQ Eighth AF issues its last movement order in the ETO; after much reorganization and redeployment of units, HQ relieves the VIII Fighter Command from assignment to Eighth AF and directs HQ and HQ Squadron to move from Charleroi, Belgium back to the UK (the unit moves to High Wycombe the following day, 17 Jul) where VIII Fighter Command is to assume control over all Eighth AF units remaining in UK. HQ Eighth AF is transferred without personnel, equipment, or combat elements to Okinawa, where the Eighth and Twentieth AFs are to comprise US Army Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific (USASTAF) under command of General Carl Spaatz. By this date 90,000+ persons (50+ per cent of the Eighth's strength on 30 Apr 45) have been redeployed to US, N Africa, and various parts of the ETO.
July 15
July 17
