This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: November 27th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 27 Nov 2025 22:10:29 -0000

November 27, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 278
Target: Railroad Marshalling Yard at Offenburg, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 40
Length of Mission: 7 hours, 20 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x 500 lb H.E. M43 & 2 x 500 lb M57 Incendiaries
Bombing Altitudes: 24,800, 24,200 & 26,350 ft
Ammo Fired: 20,890 rounds

November 27, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 727: 530 bombers and 770 fighters are dispatched to make PFF attacks on marshalling yards in Germany and fighter-bomber strikes on 4 oil centers in N and C Germany; they claim 102-4-12 aircraft; 15 fighters are lost: 1. 148 of 190 B-17s hit the Bingen marshalling yard; 2 others hit targets of opportunity; 46 bombers are damaged; 2 airmen are WIA. Escorting are 91 of 95 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 2. 181 of 186 B-17s hit the Offenburg marshalling yard; 1 hits Freiburg; 14 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is WIA. Escorting are 105 of 107 P-51s; 2 P-51s are lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 3. 144 of 154 B-24s hit the Offenburg marshalling yard; 7 others hit targets of opportunity; 9 B-24s are damaged. Escorting are 45 of 48 P-51s without loss. 4. 460 P-47s and P-51s fly fighter-bomber missions against oil targets in N and C Germany; about 750 Luftwaffe fighters, the largest sighting to date, attack in the Magdeburg-Munster-Hannover areas when the Germans mistake the fighters for a heavy bomber formation; the AAF claims 98-4-11 aircraft in the air and 4-0-1 on the ground; 2 P-47s and 10 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).