This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
December 28, 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: The 20th Fighter Group (P-38) becomes operational, making a total of 11 operational fighter groups in the 8th AF. The VIII Fighter Command has flown over 17,500 sorties and destroyed more than 200 aircraft. The VIII Bomber Command is charged with forming and training a special organization (the Radio Counter Measure Unit) to use radio countermeasures against enemy defenses; 24 specially equipped B-17's are to operate in support of both night and day raids. VIII Bomber Command Mission 167: A B-17 drops two 2,000 pound (907 kg) bombs and a Photoflash bomb on Dusseldorf, Germany in an Oboe test. VIII Bomber Command Mission 168: 6 B-17's drop 2.84 million leaflets on Hannover, Osnabruck, Hildsheim, Germany; Zwolle, The Netherlands; and Amiens, France at 1950-2027 hours. No losses.
December 28, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 291A
Target: Railroad Marshalling Yard at Sieburg, Germany
Three 303rd BG (H) crews dropped two 2,000-lb. and two 1,000-lb.
G.P. bombs on the primary target at Sieburg,
Germany using GEE-H equipment.
View Mission Report
December 28, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 3 missions are flown. Mission 766: 1,275 bombers and 606 fighter are dispatched to hit rail and road bridges and several cities in the W German tactical area; 2 bombers are lost: 1. 361 B-24s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Kaiserslautern (123), Homburg (28) and Neunkirchen (18), the Kaiserslautern rail bridge (31) and the bridge at Bullay (20); secondary targets hit are Bierbach (32) and Zweibrucken (20); 12 other hit a target of opportunity; 2 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 121 damaged; 10 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 22 MIA. Escorting are 147 of 161 P-51s without loss. 2. 535 B-17s are dispatched to hit the rail bridge at Irlich (109); 399 hit the secondary, the Mosel marshalling yard at Koblenz; 2 other hit a target of opportunity; 4 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is KIA. Escort is provided by 236 of 247 P-51s without loss. 3. 379 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Koblenz/Lutzel (131), Bruhl (75), Sieburg (36), and Troisdorf (11), and the Remagen Bridge (71); 1 B-17s hit the secondary, Sinzig; and 5 hit a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 2 damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 2 WIA. Escorts are 158 of 168 P-51s without loss. 4. 27 of 30 P-51s fly a scouting mission. Mission 767: During the night, 7 of 16 B-24s hit de la Colibre, France without loss. Mission 768: During the night, 2 B-24s drop leaflets in Belgium without loss.
December 27
December 29
