This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
December 24, 1942
CHRISTMAS EVE: The first P-47s arrive in England however, because of VHF radio and engine difficulties, the P-47s are not sent into combat until Apr 43.
December 24, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 92
Target: Construction works at Vacqueriette, France
Crews Dispatched: 27 plus 3 spares
Length of Mission: 4 hours, 25 minutes
Bomb Load: 16 x 300 lb G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitude: 14,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 230 rounds
View Mission Report
December 24, 1943
303rd BG: A Group Christmas Party was held in the early afternoon. Two-hundred British children attended. Father Christmas, 1Lt Wightman A. Roach, arrived in a B-17 with his bag of toys, coming directly from the North Pole.
December 24, 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 26 heavy bomber groups are now operational. VIII Bomber Command Mission 164: 23 V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area of France are hit. 478 of 526 B-17's 192 of 196 B-24's hit the targets at 1330-1510 hours; 2 B-24's are damaged beyond repair and 85 B-17's are damaged; casualties are 4 WIA. This is the largest number of aircraft carrying out attacks of any 8th AF mission to date and the first of its major strikes against missile sites. The heavies are escorted by 40 P-38's, 459 P-47's and 42 Ninth Air Force P-51's; 2 P-38's are damaged beyond repair and 2 P-51's are damaged; no casualties.
December 24, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 290
Target: Landing Ground at Merzhausen, near Frankfurt, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 50
Length of Mission: 7 hours, 25 minutes
Bomb Load: 30 x 100 lb H.E. M30; 30 x 100 lb G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 21,500, 19,000 & 21,800 ft
Ammo Fired: 3,200 rounds
View Mission Report
December 24, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 759: 10 of 12 B-24s hit the La Pallice coastal battery in France without loss. Mission 760: A high pressure front across W Europe brings clear weather and the Eighth AF launches a maximum effort against airfields and communications in W Germany; this was the largest air strike of WWII; 2,034 bombers and 853 fighters are dispatched; they claim 92-6-21 Luftwaffe aircraft; 12 bombers and 10 fighters are lost: 1. 858 B-17s are dispatched to hit airfields at Darmstadt (189), Frankfurt-Rheine (143), Bilbis (100), Babenhausen (96), Zellhausen (85) and Gross Ostheim (60); secondary targets hit are marshalling yards at Pforzheim (37) and Kaiserslautern (24) and Haildraum (60); 26 targets of opportunity are hit by 37 B-17s; they claim 18-5-1 aircraft; 8 B-17s are lost, 11 damaged beyond repair and 337 damaged; 15 airmen are KIA, 21 WIA and 76 MIA. Escorting are 343 of 358 P-51s; they claim 53-0-6 aircraft; 7 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 2. 542 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Merzhausen air depot (198) and airfields at Giessen (74), Kirchgons (54), Nidda (53) and Ettinghausen (43); secondary targets hit are Koblenz (42), Darmstadt (7), Kaiserslautern (5) and Babenhausen (4); 20 B-17s hit a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost, 9 damaged beyond repair and 109 damaged; 21 airmen are KIA, 23 WIA and 18 MIA. Escort is provided by 350 of 368 P-51s; they claim 13-1-13 aircraft; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 3. 634 B-24s are dispatched to hit Euskirchen (62), Wittlich (62), Gerolstein (59), Mayen (59), Ahrweiller (54), Bitburg (35), Eller (32), Pfazel (28), Ruwer (27), Schonecken (26), Rheinbach (25), Daun (24), Wetteldorf (18), and Cochem (11); 75 others hit 18 targets of opportunity; 2 B-24s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 150 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 5 WIA and 20 MIA. Escorting are 87 of 92 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 4-0-0 aircraft without loss. 4. 24 of 24 P-51s fly a scouting mission; they claim 3-0-1 aircraft without loss. 5. 9 of 11 P-51s escort 9 Spitfires and 8 F-5s on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft without loss.
December 23
December 25
