This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
December 23, 1943
303rd BG: Ten B-17s participated in an air-sea rescue mission. The search was flown from 100 to 150 feet. No sightings were made.
December 23, 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 92 P-47's are dispatched to Gilze-Rijen Airfield in The Netherlands; 2 squadrons dive-bomb the target while the 1 squadron provides escort; no casualties. HQ 453rd Bombardment Group (Heavy) and its 732nd, 733rd, 734th and 735th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) arrive at Old Buckenham, England from the US with B-17's. They will fly their mission on 5 Feb 44.
December 23, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 289
Target: Railroad Marshalling Yard at Ehrang, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 43
Length of Mission: 6 hours, 35 minutes
Bomb Load: 18 X 250 lb H.E. M57 & 2 x 500 lb M17 Incendiaries
Bombing Altitudes: 25,600, 26,000 & 24,200 ft
View Mission Report
December 23, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 757: 423 bombers and 636 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards, communication centers and a rail junction in the rear of the battle area; 75-150 Luftwaffe aircraft are encountered and the AAF claims 75-5-23; 7 fighter are lost: 1. 148 of 153 B-17s hit the marshalling yard at Ehrang; 45 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 1 WIA. Escorting are 54 of 62 P-51s; they claim 20-0-3 aircraft without loss. 2. 113 B-24s are sent to bomb communication centers at Ahrweiler (48), Junkerath (31) and Dahlem (27); 74 B-24s are damaged; 3 airmen are WIA. Escort is provided by 243 of 254 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 3. 152 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Homburg (58) and Kaiserslautern (40) and the rail junction at Homburg; 6 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim 6-4-5 aircraft; 77 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 7 MIA. Escorting are 112 of 117 P-51s; they claim 2-0-0 aircraft without loss. 4. 6 of 6 B-17s fly a screening mission. 5. 163 P-47s and P-51s fly a fighter sweep of the Bonn, Germany area; they claim 46-1-15 aircraft; 3 P-47s and 3 P-51s are lost (all pilots MIA). 6. 20 P-51s fly a scouting mission without loss. Mission 758: 5 B-17s and 7 B-24s are dispatched to drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night; only 10 aircraft drop leaflets. The 374th, 375th and 376th Fighter Squadrons, 361st Fighter Group, based at Little Walden, England with P-51s, begin operating from St Dizier, France; the 486th and 487th Fighter Squadrons, 352nd Fighter Group, based at Bodney, England, begin operating from Asch, Belgium with P-51s.
December 22
December 24
