This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: August 25th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 25 Aug 2026 03:06:08 -0000

August 25, 1942
ETO 8th AF: Units of the Provisional Troop Carrier Command, organized in the UK on 31 Jul pending arrival of the VIII Troop Carrier Command, are transferred to the VIII Ground Air Support Command after plans to organize the VIII Troop Carrier Command are abandoned. 308th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter Group, moves from Kenley to Westhampnett, England with Spitfires.

August 25, 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: US heavy bombers are assigned i role of bombing important Luftwaffe targets in Operation STARKEY, designed to contain enemy forces in the west to prevent their transfer to Eastern Front, and to serve as a dress rehearsal in the Pas de Calais, France area for the invasion of W Europe. The Allies hope to provoke the Luftwaffe into a prolonged air battle. VIII Air Support Command Missions 34A & 34B: Two locations in France are targetted: 1. 21 B-26's are dispatched to the power station at Rouen; all hit the target at 1832 hours; 2 aircraft are damaged. 2. 36 B-26's are dispatched to Tricqueville Airfield; 31 hit the target at 1834 hours; they claim 1-8-5 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-26's are damaged. HQ 45th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) arrives at Brampton Grange, England from the US; it will remain at this station until Sep 43.

August 25, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 232
Target: Airfield at Anklam, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 15
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 52 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x 500 lb M17 Incendiary bombs
Bombing Altitude: 21,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 19,525 rounds

August 25, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Four missions are flown. Mission 570: 1,191 bombers and 708 fighters make visual bombing attacks against aircraft component plants, Luftwaffe experimental stations and the synthetic oil industry; 18 bombers and 7 fighters are lost; numbers in parenthesis indicate number of bombers attacking the target: 1. 435 B-24s are dispatched to hit aircraft component plants at Rostock (116), Schwerin (106), Wismar (91) and Lubeck (81); 11 others hit Grossenbrode Airfield and 4 hit targets of opportunity; 5 B-24s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 55 damaged; 5 airmen are WIA and 64 MIA. Escort is provided by 243 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 11-2-3 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost. 2. 380 B-17s are dispatched to the Rechlin Experimental Station (179) and oil refinery at Politz (169); 6 others hit targets of opportunity; 8 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 182 damaged; 10 airmen are WIA and 64 MIA. Escort is provided by 215 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 4-0-2 aircraft on the ground; 4 P-51s are lost. 3. 376 B-17s are dispatched to the Peenemunde Experimental Station (146), Neubrandenburg Airfield (108) and Anklam Airfield (73); 21 others hit Parow Airfield and 5 hit targets of opportunity; 5 B-17s are lost and 75 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 9 WIA and 45 MIA. Escort is provided by 171 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 36-0-28 aircraft on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost. Mission 571: 10 of 10 B-24s fly an Azon glide bomb mission to Moerdijke, the Netherlands but the target is missed. Escort is provided by 36 of 36 P-47s without loss. Mission 572: 107 bombers and 172 fighters are dispatched to make visual attacks on liquid oxygen and ammonia plants in Belgium and N France: 1. 31 of 38 B-17s hit Henin Littard without loss. 2. 69 B-24s are dispatched to hit Willerbroeck (18), Tertre (17), Tiller/Liege (12) and La Louviere (10); 4 others hit St Trond Airfield and 1 hits a target of opportunity; 24 B-24s are damaged and 4 airmen are WIA. Escort for Mission 572 is provided by 152 P-38s and P-51s without loss. Mission 573: 6 of 6 B-17s drop leaflets on France and Belgium during the night. 1 C-47 flies a CARPETBAGGER mission during the night.

August 25, 1944
Liberation of Paris.

August 25, 1945
VIII Fighter Command: HQ 2nd Bombardment Wing (Heavy) begins a movement from Alconbury, England to the US.