This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: July 29th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 29 Jul 2026 14:20:28 -0000

July 29, 1942
ETO 8th AF: 28th Troop Carrier Squadron, 60th Troop Carrier Group arrives at Podington, England from the US with C-47s.

July 29, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 55
Target: Airfield on Heligoland Island, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 20
Length of Mission: 5 hours, 40 minutes
Bomb Load: 250 lb British Incendiaries
Bombing Altitude: 29,560 ft
Ammo Fired: 18,051 rounds
Enemy Aircraft Claims: 2 destroyed, 2 probables

July 29, 1943
8th AF VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 79: 2 locations in Germany are the targets for this mission: 1. 167 B-17's and a YB-40 are dispatched to the shipyards at Kiel; 91 hit the shipyard at 0901 hours and 48 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 48-6-33 Luftwaffe aircraft; 6 B-17's are lost, 2 are damaged beyond repair and 62 are damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 8 WIA and 61 MIA. 2. 81 B-17's are dispatched to the Heinkel Works at Warnemunde; 54 hit the target at 0922-0924 hours; they claim 0-2-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17's are lost and 7 damaged; casualties are 40 MIA. VIII Air Support Command Missions 8 and 9: 2 airfields are the target: 1. 18 B-26B's are dispatched against Schipol Airfield at Amsterdam, The Netherlands; the mission is aborted due to a navigational error. 2. 21 B-26B's are dispatched against Ft. Rouge Airfield, France; 19 hit the target at 1828 hours; 8 B-26's are damaged.

July 29, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 214
Target: Leuna Synthetic Oil Plant, Merseburg, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 51
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 25 minutes
Bomb Load: 20 x 250 lb M57 bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 26,600, 25,600, 25,200 & 24,600 ft
Ammo Fired: 3,560 rounds

July 29, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 503: 1,228 bombers and 755 fighters are dispatched to hit oil targets in Germany and airfields in France; 17 bombers and 7 fighters are lost: 1. Of 657 B-17s, 569 hit the Merseburg/Leuna synthetic oil plant, 13 hit Gottingen, 11 hit Hildesheim marshalling yard, and 10 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 15-8-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 15 B-17s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 349 are damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 17 WIA and 138 MIA. Escort is provided by 429 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 21-2-3 Luftwaffe aircraft (including a jet aircraft) in the air and 3-0-2 on the ground; 7 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 1 P-47 and 6 P-51s are damaged. 2. Of 473 B-24s, 442 hit Bremen/Oslebshausen oil refinery, 2 hit targets of opportunity and 1 hit Cuxhaven; 2 B-24s are lost and 96 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 15 MIA. Escort is provided by 106 of 109 P-51s. 3. Of 98 B-24s, 38 hit Juvincourt Airfield and 26 hit Laon/Couvron Airfield in France; 2 B-24s are damaged beyond repair; 5 airmen are KIA and 7 WIA. Escort is provided by 142 of 150 P-51s. Mission 504: 6 of 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night. 44 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions; 12 abort.