This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
August 26, 1942
ETO 8th AF: Unit moves in England: HQ 52nd Fighter Group and 2nd, 4th and 5th Fighter Squadrons from Eglinton, Ireland to Goxhill with Spitfires; 27th Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Group, stops operating from Reykjavik, Iceland with P-38s and moves to High Ercall.
August 26, 1943
303rd BG: Drizzle and heavy rain persisted and no flights took place. A mission to
Lille / Vendeville, France was scrubbed.
August 26, 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: VIII Air Support Command Mission 35: 36 B-26's are dispatched to Caen/Carpiquet Airfield, France; all hit the target at 1846 hours; 1 B-26 is damaged beyond repair when it crashes on landing. HQ 67th Fighter Wing arrives at Walcot Hall, England from the US. The wing will remain at this station until Oct 45. HQ 20th Fighter Group arrives at Kings Cliffe, England from the US. The group will remain at this station until Oct 45. The 359th and 360th Fighter Squadrons, 356th Fighter Group, arrive at Goxhill, England from the US with P-47's.
August 26, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 8 missions are flown (numbers in parenthesis indicate number of bombers attacking). Mission 575: 359 B-17s are dispatched to attack gun batteries in the Brest, France area; targets are Brest/Pte de St Mathieu (35) and coastal batteries at Kerandieu (27), Cornovailles (21), Brest/Ile Longue (20), Brest/Kerviniov (9) and Brest/Ponscorf (7); targets of opportunity are Brest/Pte des Espagnoles II (21) and Brest/Pte des Espagnoles III (18); 3 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 4 damaged; 18 airmen are KIA. Escort is provided by 48 of 49 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost. Mission 576: 588 bombers and 402 fighters attack oil refineries, fuel stores and chemical works in Germany; 10 bombers and 3 fighters are lost: 1. 109 B-24 are dispatched to the chemical works at Ludwigshafen (41); secondary targets hit are marshalling yards at Ehrang (33) and Kons/Karthaus (8); 11 others hit Alzey and 2 hit other targets of opportunity; 7 B-24s are lost and 53 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 3 WIA and 70 MIA. Escort is provided by 77 of 81 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost. 2. 259 B-17s are dispatched to oil refineries at Gelsenkirchen/Buer (89) and Gelsenkirchen/Nordstern (85); 19 hit Deelen Airfield, a secondary target, and 11 hit targets of opportunity; 3 B-17s are lost and 89 damaged; 5 airmen are WIA and 26 MIA. Escort is provided by 159 P-47s and P-51s without loss. 3. 220 B-24s are dispatched to Dulmen fuel dump (73) and oil refineries at Salzbergen (71) and Emmerich (36); 36 others hit Eindhoven Airfield; 2 B-24s are damaged. Escort is provided by 129 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-38 and 1 P-51 are lost (pilots are MIA) and 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair. Mission 577: 9 of 10 B-24s fly an AZON bomb mission to Moerdijk rail bridge, the Netherlands but clouds prevent an attack. Escort is provided by 32 P-51s. Mission 578: 37 B-17s are dispatched to hit liquid oxygen plants at La Louviere, Torte and Willebroeck, Belgium but the mission is aborted due to clouds. Escort is provided by 18 of 18 P-51s. Mission 579: 3 of 3 B-17s fly a special bomb test using Micro H radar against aviation industry targets at Meaulte, France. Escort is provided by 7 P-47s. Mission 580: 3 B-17s fly a Micro H test mission; 2 of the aircraft also drop leaflets. Mission 581: 7 B-24s are dispatched on a radio countermeasures mission to aid the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command. Mission 582: 6 of 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France and Belgium during the night. 183 P-47s and 206 P-51s attack transport targets in Belgium, E France and W Germany; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 2 P-47s and 7 P-51s are lost and 9 P-47s and 6 P-51s are damaged; 1 pilot is WIA and 8 are MIA.
August 26, 1945
VIII Fighter Command: Units beginning a move from England to the US: HQ 1st and 14th Bombardment Wings (Heavy) from Alconbury and Bury St Edmunds respectively; HQ 487th Bombardment Group (Heavy) and 836th, 837th, 838th and 839th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) from Lavenham with B-24s; and HQ 490th Bombardment Group (Heavy) and 848th, 849th, 850th and 851st Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) from Eye with B-17s.
August 25
August 27
