This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
August 7, 1942
ETO 8th AF: HQ 60th Troop Carrier Group and 10th and 28th Troop Carrier Squadrons move from Chelveston and Podington to Aldermaston, England with C-47s.
August 7, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 222
Target: Airfield at Chartres, France
Fuel Depot at St. Ouen, France
Crews Dispatched: 37
Length of Mission: 5 hours, 45 minutes
Bomb Load: 12 x 500 lb G.P., 20 x 250 lb G.P., & 38 x 100 lb G.P.
Bombing Altitudes: 26,810, 27,650 & 25,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 200 rounds
View Mission Report
August 7, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 4 missions are flown: Mission 527: 905 bombers and 471 fighters are dispatched to hit fuel dumps and bridges in France but heavy cloud cover forces many aircraft to return with bombs and other formations to be recalled; 1 bomber and 5 fighters are lost; targets hit (number in parenthesis indicates bombers bombing) are: 1. Of 112 B-17s, 71 hit Montbartier and 34 hit St Loubes; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 26 are damaged; 2 airmen are WIA. Escort is provided by 123 of 139 P-51s; they claim 1-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 0-0-1 on the ground. 2. The primary targets of 224 B-17s are Nanteuil Bridge (36), Sens (26), St Florentin (25), Dueny (24), Bourron Marlotte (23) and Paris-St Quen (12); other targets hit are Chartres Airfield (23), Maintenon Bridge (23), Houden marshalling yard (14), Chateaudun Airfield (11) and Rouglaf (1); 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 80 damaged. Escort is provided by 96 of 97 P-51s. 3. 1 of 182 B-17s hits Montdidier Airfield; 35 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is WIA. Escort is provided by 90 P-38s and P-51s. 4. Of 51 B-24s, 10 hit Andenne Bridge, 8 hit Semuse and 8 hit targets of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost and 19 damaged; 11 airmen are MIA. Escort is provided by 34 of 35 P-47s. 5. The primary targets of 333 B-24s are Doullens Bridge (37), Saleux (24), Recques-sur-Course (23), Frevent Bridge (15), Rieme/Ertveld (11) and Langerbrugge (9); 12 also hit a factory near Wendelghem and 1 hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 45 damaged; 8 airmen are KIA and 1 WIA. Escort is provided by 94 of 100 P-51s. Mission 528: 1 of 3 B-17s flies a Mico H test mission (Micro H was a radar system which combned the Gee-H and H2X radar functionality for use by pathfinders). Mission 529: 271 P-47s and P-51s fly fighter-bomber missions to marshalling yards and railroads N and E of Paris; they claim 4-0-1 aircraft on the ground; 3 P-47s and 2 P-51s are lost and 11 P-47s damaged; 5 pilots are MIA. And, 5 of 5 B-17s fly a leaflet mission over France during the night. In the USSR, a shuttle mission is flown in accordance with a Soviet request; 55 B-17s and 29 P-51s attack an oil refinery at Trzebina, Poland without loss; the aircraft return to Operation FRANTIC bases in the USSR.
August 7, 1945
8th AF: HQ 346th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) arrives at Kadena, Okinawa from the US.
August 6
August 8
