This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
December 27, 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: VIII Bomber Command Mission 165: 7 B-17's drop 1.392 million leaflets on Paris, Lille, Evreux, Rouen and Caen, France at 1735-1812 hours; no losses. VIII Bomber Command Mission 166: 1 B-17 is dispatched to Quadrath (??) but drops two 2,000 pound (907 kg) bombs and a Photoflash bomb on an unknown target.
December 27, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 291
Target: Railroad Marshalling Yard at Euskirchen, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 6 hours
Bomb Load: 18 x 250 lb H.E. M57 & 2 x 500 lb M17 Incendiaries
Bombing Altitudes: 23,650, 22,800 & 23,500 ft
Ammo Fired: 7,240 rounds
View Mission Report
December 27, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 764: Freezing fog at bases in the UK restrict operations but 641 bombers and 390 fighters are dispatched against rail targets in W Germany in support of the battlefront in the Bulge; they claim 29.5-1-9 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 bombers and 5 fighters are lost: 1. 227 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Fulda (118) and Andernach (63) and the rail bridge at Neuwied (7); 13 others hit a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 45 damaged; 9 airmen are KIA. The escort is 44 of 46 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 2. 182 B-24s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Neunkirchen (57), Homburg (46) and Kaiserslautern (33) and the rail bridge at Kaiserslautern (19); targets of opportunity are the marshalling yard at St Wendel (9) and the rail junction at Enkenbach (8); 1 B-24 is lost, 5 damaged beyond repair and 60 damaged; 18 airmen are KIA, 11 WIA and 6 MIA. Escorting are 88 of 96 P-51s; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 3. 232 B-17s are sent to hit the marshalling yard at Euskirchen (72), the Gerolstein rail junction (58) and rail bridges at Bullay (34) and Altenahr (25); targets of opportunity are Hillesheim (12) and Eckfeld (1); 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 83 damaged; 9 airmen are KIA, 6 WIA and 9 MIA. Escort is provided by 46 of 48 P-51s without loss. 4. 163 P-47s and P-51s fly a fighter sweep and engage about 200 Luftwaffe fighters; they claim 29.5-1-9 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 5. 15 of 15 P-51s fly a scouting missions without loss. Mission 765: A night leaflet mission is flown over Germany.
December 26
December 28
