This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
August 24, 1942
ETO 8th AF: Mission 5: 12 of 12 B-17s bomb the shipyard of Ateliers et Chantiers Maritime de la Seine at Le Trait, France; 3 B-17s are damaged and 5 airmen are WIA. Major General Carl Spaatz reports the the RAF attitude towards US daylight precision bombing seems to be changing from one of skepticism to one of tentative approval. Unit moves in England: HQ 6th Fighter Wing from Bushey Hall to Atcham; HQ 1st Fighter Group and 71st Fighter Squadron from Goxhill to Ibsley with P-38s (first mission is 1 Sep); 307th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, from Biggin Hill to Merston.
August 24, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 63
Target: Diversion Mission over North Sea
Crews Dispatched: 18
Length of Mission: 6 hours, 25 minutes
Bombing Altitude: 15,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 1,153 rounds
View Mission Report
August 24, 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: VIII Bomber Command Mission 86 Part I: An air depot and airfields in France are targetted: 1. 110 B-17's are dispatched to the Villacoublay Air Depot; 86 hit the target at 1800-1805 hours; they claim 1-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 64 aircraft are damaged; casualties are 10 WIA. 2. 42 B-17's are dispatched to the Conches and Evreux/Fauville Airfields; 22 hit the target at 1844-1858 hours; they claim 0-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost and 15 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA and 9 WIA. 3. 35 of 36 B-17's fly a diversion without incident. VIII Bomber Command Mission 86 Part II: 85 B-17's, which had flown to North Africa after attacking Regensburg, Germany on 17 Aug, are dispatched to the Bordeaux/Merignac Airfield; 58 hit the target at 1157-1200 hours; they claim 3-3-10 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 B-17's are lost, 2 are damaged beyond repair and 40 damaged; casualties are 30 MIA. 9 B-17's returned to North Africa after encountering difficulties. VIII Air Support Command Missions 33A & 33B: B-26's fly 2 diversions for the B-17's.
August 24, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 231
Target: Leuna Synthetic Oil Plant at Merseburg, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Crew Members Killed or Wounded: 1 crewman KIA
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 15 minutes
Bomb Load: 38 x 100 lb G.P. M30 bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 25,100, 24,950 & 24,500 ft
Ammo Fired: 40,820 rounds
View Mission Report
August 24, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 568: 1,319 bombers and 739 fighters are dispatched on visual attacks on strategic targets in Germany with some PFF on targets of opportunity; 26 bombers and 4 fighters are lost; targets are (numbers in parenthesis indicate bombers attacking): 1. 433 B-24s are dispatched to attack aviation industry targets at Brunswick/Waggum (125), Brunswick/Querum (99) and Hannover/Langenhagen (72) and an oil refinery at Misburg (88); 5 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft; 5 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 183 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 54 MIA. Escort is provided by 248 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 2-0-0 aircraft in the air and 8-0-0 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost and 2 damaged; 1 pilot is MIA. 2. 451 B-17s are dispatched to hit Merseburg oil refinery (185), Weimar (129) and Kolleda Airfield (30); targets of opportunity hit are airfields at Goslar (37), Nordhausen (11), Vorden (11) and Stade (2), and Leipzig (10) plus 7 others; they claim 10-3-3 aircraft; 16 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 189 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 39 WIA and 148 MIA. Escort is provided by 121 of 152 P-51s; they claim 4-0-1 aircraft without loss. 3. 383 B-17s are dispatched to hit oil industry targets at Brux (139), Ruhland (135) and Freital (65); 15 hit targets of opportunity; 3 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 143 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 5 WIA and 18 MIA. Escort is provided by 240 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 4-0-0 aircraft in the air and 6-0-0 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 1 is damaged. 4. 43 of 52 B-24s hit Kiel/Walther; 3 others hit Hemmingstedt Airfield and 2 hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 32 damaged; 27 airmen are MIA. Escort is provided by 17 of 17 P-51s without loss. Mission 569: 1 B-17 drops leaflets on Brest, France during the night.
August 23
August 25
