This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: December 4th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 04 Dec 2025 06:32:48 -0000

December 4, 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: VIII Bomber Command Mission 147: 4 B-17's drop 800,000 leaflets on Rouen, Lille and Paris, France at 0222-0333 hours. VIII Bomber Command Mission 148: 4 B-17's drop 800,000 leaflets on Le Mans, Orleans, Tours and Laval, France at 2037-2125 hours. The 367th Fighter Squadron, 358th Fighter Group, transfers from Goxhill to Leiston, England with P-47D's.

December 4, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 282
Target: Railroad Marshalling Yard at Soest, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 8 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x 500 lb RDX & 2 x 500 lb M17 Incendiary bombs
Bombing Altitudes; 25,000, 24,400 & 26,450 ft
Ammo Fired: 1,540 rounds

December 4, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 736: 1,191 bombers and 977 fighters are dispatched to make PFF attacks on rail targets in Germany; 3 bombers and 3 fighters are lost: 1. 419 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Kassel (212) and Soest (188); 2 others hit targets of opportunities; 4 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged. Escorting are 375 P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 2. 315 B-24s are sent to hit the Bebra marshalling yard (199); targets of opportunity are marshalling yards at Koblenz (78) and Giessen (21) and other (1); 1 B-24 is lost and 15 damaged; 10 airmen are MIA. Escorting are 290 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 6-0-11 aircraft on the ground. 3. 457 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Mainz (221) and Giessen (62); targets of opportunity are the Friedburg marshalling yard (119), Fulda (24), barges on the Rhine River (11) and other (6); 2 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 106 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 18 MIA. Escorting are 238 of 244 P-51s; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 4. 36 of 37 P-51s fly a scouting mission. Mission 737: 10 of 11 B-17s and B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.