This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: February 19th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 19 Feb 2026 13:06:46 -0000

February 19, 1943
8th AF: The Spitfire Mk Vs of the 4th Fighter Group fly 26 uneventful sorties during the day; 2 on defensive patrols and 24 on an offensive sweep of the St. Omer, France area.

February 19, 1945
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 317
Target: Coking Plant at Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 38
Crewmen Wounded or Lost: 1 KIA
Length of Mission: 6 hours, 15 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x 500 lb RDX M43 bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 26,700, 25,400, & 26,700 ft
Ammo Fired: 850 rounds

February 19, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 835: 1,135 bombers and 560 fighters are dispatched to hit oil, industrial and rail targets in Germany; they claim 3-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-24 and 7 P-51s are lost: 1. 196 B-17s are sent to hit the marshalling yard at Osnabruck (155); 24 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Munster; 10 hit Haselunne, a target of opportunity; Micro-H and H2X are used; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 21 damaged; 1 airman is WIA. Escorting are 38 of 42 P-51s. 2. 291 B-24s are dispatched to hit military vehicle plants at Meschede (97) and Jungenthal (86) and the marshalling yard at Siegen (94) using Gee-H; 1 B-24 is lost and 8 damaged; 9 airmen are MIA. 122 P-47s and P-51s escort. 3. 422 B-17s are sent to hit benzol plants at Bochum (99) and Gelsenkirchen (36), oil refineries at Dortmund (74) and Alm (37) using Micro H and H2X; 162 hit the secondary target, the Munster marshalling yard (162) visually; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 59 damaged; 1 airman is KIA. 91 of 96 P-51s escort; 1 is lost (pilot MIA). 4. 131 of 144 B-17s hit the marshalling yard at Rheine with Micro H without loss. 48 P-51s escort. 5. 68 of 82 B-17s hit the rail bridge at Wesel using Micro H; 25 B-17s are damaged. 32 of 37 P-51s escort. 6. 163 of 179 P-51s fly a fighter sweep against rail and road targets in the Hannover-Magdeburg-Brunswick area claiming 2-0-0 aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; 5 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 7. 27 of 28 P-51s fly a scouting misson; 1 is lost (pilot MIA).