This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
December 31, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 94
Target: Blockade Runner Ship "Orsono," at Bordeaux, France
Crews Dispatched: 20 plus 2 spares
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 10 minutes
Bomb Load: B-17Fs, 6 x 500 lb G.P.; B-17Gs 12 x 500 lb G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitude: 15,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 330 rounds
View Mission Report
December 31, 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: VIII Bomber Command Mission 171: Various targets in France are hit; 19 B-17's and 6 B-24's are lost. 1. 200 of 236 B-17's and 57 of 60 B-24's hit the Bordeaux-Merignac, Cognac-Chateaubernard and Landes Bussac Airfields at 1211-1315 hours; they claim 17-13-27 Luftwaffe aircraft; 18 B-17's and 5 B-24's are lost, 8 B-17's and 2 B-24's are damaged beyond repair and 103 B-17's and 5 B-24's are damaged; casualties are 9 KIA, 36 WIA and 231 MIA. 2. 57 B-17's are dispatched to hit a blockade running ship at Gironde but cannot find the target; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; casualties are 2 KIA and 5 WIA. 3. 87 of 94 B-24's hit the St Jean D'Angely Airfield at 1211-1235 hours; they claim 9-1-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-24 is lost, 3 are damaged beyond repair and 5 damaged; casualties are 10 MIA. 4. 120 of 125 B-17's hit the industrial areas at Paris-Ivry and Bois-Colombes at 1207-1227 hours; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 49 damaged; casualties are 2 WIA and 10 MIA. These missions are escorted by 74 P-38's, 441 P-47's and 33 Ninth Air Force P-51's; they claim 9-1-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-38, 2 P-47's are 1 P-51 are lost; 1 P-38 and 6 P-47's are damaged beyond repair and 1 P-38 is damaged; casualties are 3 WIA and 2 MIA. The total bomb tonnage dropped by the 8th AF in Dec 43, 13,142 tons (14,486 tonnes), for the first time exceeds that dropped by the RAF Bomber Command.
December 31, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 294
Target: Railroad Marshalling Yard at Neuss, Germany
Crew Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 5 hours, 55 minutes
Bomb Load: 18 x 250 lb H.E. M57 & 2 x 500 lb M17 Incendiaries
Bombing Altitudes: 26,700, 25,600 & 28,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 3,975 rounds
View Mission Report
December 31, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 772: 1,327 bombers and 785 fighters hit both strategic and tactical targets in Germany; they encounter about 150 Luftwaffe fighters, mostly in the Hamburg area, and claim 88.5-11-21 aircraft; 27 bombers and 10 fighters are lost: 1. 526 B-17s are dispatched to hit oil industry targets at Hamburg (68), the Wilhemsburg refinery at Hamburg (92), the Grassbruk refinery at Hamburg (71) and the Misburg refinery (96), and the industrial area at Wenzendorf (62) and Hamburg (72); targets of opportunity are Stade (13) and Nordholz (9) Airfields, Heligoland Island (1) and other (17); they claim 26-8-16 aircraft; 27 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 288 damaged; 5 airmen are KIA, 29 WIA and 248 MIA. 316 P-47s and P-51s escort and claim 59.5-2-5 aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; 2 P-47s and 7 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA). 2. 418 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Neuss (109) and Krefeld-Urdingen (83), the Kordel railroad at Ehrang (69), communications targets at Buzburg (34), Prum (37), and Blumenthal (34), the Lutzweiler Bridge at Koblenz (48) and the Remagen Bridge (54); 22 hit the secondary target at Monchen-Gladbach; and 2 hit a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 29 damaged; 1 airman is WIA. Escorting are 162 of 171 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft without loss. 3. 371 B-24s are sent to hit bridges at Engers (60) and Irlich (56) and the Gus Rail Bridge at Koblenz (62) and the rail junction and rail bridge at Euskirchen (30); 10 hit the secondary, the Bingen marshalling yard and 36 hit a target of opportunity; they claim 0-1-0 aircraft; 3 B-24s are damaged beyond repair and 49 damaged; 1 airman is WIA. Escort is provided by 198 of 211 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 4. 13 of 16 P-51s escort 7 F-5s and 2 Spitfires on a photo reconnaissance of the Berlin area without loss. 5. 32 of 33 P-51s fly a scouting mission claiming 1-0-0 aircraft. Mission 773: 8 B-24s and 2 B-17s drop leaflets in France, Germany and Belgium.
December 30
January 1
