This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
November 5, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 81
Target: Center of City, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 19
Crews Lost: Lt. A.G. Grant, 1 crewman KIA, 9 crewmen POW
Length of Mission: 5 hours, 10 minutes
Bomb Load: 42 x M47A1 Incendiaries
Bombing Altitude: 26,500 ft
Ammo Fired: 15,485 rounds
View Mission Report
November 5, 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: VIII Bomber Command Mission 121. Two targets in Germany are hit with the loss of 8 B-17's and 3 B-24's. 1. 323 of 374 B-17's and 9 of 11 B-17 pathfinders hit the marshalling yard and oil plants at Gelsenkirchen, Germany at 1313-1350 hours; they claim 6-1-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 8 B-17's are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 223 damaged. Casualties are 4 KIA, 35 WIA and 84 MIA. The B-17's are escorted by 47 P-38's and 336 P-47's; they claim 18-6-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 P-47's are lost and 1 is damaged beyond repair; casualties are 4 MIA. 2. 104 of 118 B-24's hit the marshaling yard at Munster at 1349-1358 hours; they claim 21-3-7 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 B-24's are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 43 damaged; casualties are 7 KIA, 22 WIA and 31 MIA. 3. VIII Bomber Command Mission 122: 5 B-17's drop 1,004,000 leaflets over Paris, Amiens, Rouen and Caen at 1917-2005 hours; no losses or casualties.
November 5, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 268
Target: Railroad Marshalling Yard at Frankfurt, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Crew Members Lost or Wounded: Lt. Counsell WIA
Length of Mission: 7 hours, 2 minutes
Bomb Load: 6 x 1,000 lb S.A.P. M59 bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 26,000, 25,000 & 24,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 1,450 rounds
View Mission Report
November 5, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 702: 1,272 bombers and 666 fighters in 3 forces attack marshalling yards in W Germany; H2X radar is used by all forces; 12 bombers and 6 fighters are lost. 1. 452 B-17s are dispatched to the marshalling yard at Frankfurt (396); 36 hit the marshalling yard at Hanau and 4 hit other targets; 1 B-17s is lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 126 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 3 WIA and MIA. Escort is provided by 206 P-47s and P-51s; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) 2. 454 B-17s are dispatched to hit the marshalling yard (219) and industrial area (177) at Ludwigshafen; targets of opportunity are the marshalling yard at Kaiserslautern (33) and other (4); 11 B-17s are lost and 298 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 5 WIA and 103 MIA. Escort is provided by 192 P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 3. 333 of 366 B-24s hit the secondary target, the Karlsruhe marshalling yard; 12 others hit Landau; 3 B-24s are damaged beyond repair and 28 damaged; 6 airmen are KIA and 8 WIA. Escort is provided by 228 P-47s and P-51s; 2 P-47s and 1 P-51 are lost (pilots are MIA). Mission 703: 3 B-17s and 7 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night without loss.
November 4
November 6
