This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
February 24, 1943
8th AF: Lieutenant General Ira C Eaker, Commander 8th AF, is advised by the War Department of the Combined Chiefs of Staff decision to employ his fighter units primarily in an offensive role in support of the bombers. Spitfire Mk Vs of the 4th Fighter Group fly 14 uneventful sorties on shipping patrols.
February 24, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 112
Target: Kugelfischer Ball Bearing Works, Schweinfurt, Ger.
Crews Dispatched: High Group - 20; Composite Group - 7
Crews Lost: Lt. Henderson and Lt. Smith
Crew Members Lost or Wounded: 20 crewmen missing,
1 crew suffered frostbite
Length of Mission: 7 hours, 40 minutes
Bomb Load: 42 x 65 lb M47A1 Incendiary bombs; 12 x 500 lb G.P.
Bombing Altitude: 23,000 ft; 20,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 2,150 rounds
View Mission Report
February 24, 1944
BIG WEEK continues with co-ordinated RAF and USAAF attacks on the Schweinfurt ball-bearing factory.
February 24, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Missions 237, 238 and 239 are flown today against targets in France; 7 B-17s are lost. Heavy clouds cause over half the bombers dispatched to return without bombing. Mission 237: 49 of 81 B-24s hit the Ecalles sur Buchy V-weapon sites; 1 B-24 is damaged. Escort is provided by 61 P-47s. Mission 238: 258 B-17s are dispatched against V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais; 109 hit the primary target, 10 hit a road junction E of Yerville, 7 hit a rail siding SW of Abbeville and 6 hit targets of opportunity; 7 B-17s are lost and 75 damaged; casualties are 5 WIA and 63 MIA. Escort is provided by 81 P-38s, 94 P-47s and 22 P-51s; 1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair; the P-51s claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground. Mission 239: 5 of 5 B-17s drop 250 bundles of leaflets on Amiens, Rennes, Paris, Rouen and Le Mans, France at 2023-2055 hours without loss.
February 24, 1945
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 322
Target: Oil Target at Hamburg, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 12 minutes
Bomb Load: 12 x 500 lb RDX M64 bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 26,600, 26,000 & 27,500 ft
Ammo Fired: 275 rounds
View Mission Report
February 24, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 845: 1,114 bombers and 592 fighters are dispatched to hit oil refineries and rail targets using H2X radar; they claim 1-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; 2 bombers and 11 fighters are lost: 1. 362 B-17s are sent to hit the Albrecht (278) and Harburg (70) oil refineries at Hamburg; 6 others hit a target of opportunity; 26 B-17s are damaged; 2 airmen are WIA. 181 of 195 P-51s escort; 4 are lost (pilots MIA). 2. 280 B-24s are dispatched to hit the Misburg oil refinery (104) and the marshalling yard at Lehrte (61); 76 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Bielefeld; targets of opportunity are Hannover (11), Lingen (2) and other (5); 1 B-24 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 16 damaged; 4 airmen are KIA, 3 WIA and 12 MIA. Escorting are 166 of 179 P-51s; 5 are lost (pilots MIA). 3. 383 B-17s are sent to hit the Deschimag U-boat yards at Bremen (200) and the Bremen W rail bridge (134); targets of opportunity are Minden (12), Osnabruck (8), Quackenbruck (5) and Brinkum (1); 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 162 damaged; 7 airmen are WIA and 9 MIA. The escort is 93 of 98 P-51s; they claim 1-0-3 aircraft on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 4. 70 of 76 B-17s hit the Wesel rail bridge using Micro H; 22 B-17s are damaged. 29 P-51s escort without loss. 5. 12 of 13 B-17s fly a screening mission. 6. 43 of 46 P-51s fly a freelance mission for the bombers without loss. 7. 28 P-51s fly a scouting mission. 8. 17 P-51s escort 19 F-5s and 4 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. Mission 846: 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night.
February 23
February 25
