This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: June 16th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 16 Jun 2026 05:46:16 -0000

June 16, 1943
303rd BG: LtGen Jacob L. Devers, Commanding General of the ETO, Ambassador John C. Winant, and Generals Hill, Eaker and Longfellow visited Molesworth for a Technical Inspection. Ground Crews were congratulated on the excellent job they were doing in keeping the aircraft flying.

June 16, 1943
8th AF: The 566th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 389th Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrives at Hethel, England from the US with B-24's.

June 16, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 182
Target: Airdrome at Juvincourt, France
Crews Dispatched: 40
Length of Mission: 6 hours
Bomb Load: 12 x 500 lb G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitudes: Group A - 25,000 ft; Group B - 24,400 ft

June 16, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 416: 370 bombers, including 22 Pathfinders are dispatched to 4 airfields and 4 CROSSBOW (V-weapon) supply sites in France; 1 B-17 is lost: 1. Of 146 B-17s, 38 bomb Laon/Athies Airfield, 38 hit Juvincourt Airfield, 18 hit railroad targets of opportunity and 17 hit Laon/Couvron Airfield; 1 B-17 is lost and 58 damaged; 3 airmen are WIA and 9 MIA. 2. 224 B-24s are dispatched to bomb airfields and CROSSBOW sites; B-24s attacking V-weapon supply sites are: 48 hit Renescure, 44 hit Sautrecourt, 43 hit Domleger and 21 hit Beauvoir; airfields attacked are: 17 hit Beauvais/Tille, 17 hit Authe and 12 hit St Andre de L'Eure; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 13 damaged; 5 airmen are KIA and 2 WIA. VIII Fighter Command missions for the day are: 1. 165 P-38s, 88 P-47s and 172 P-51s escort the bombers above, they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; no losses. 2. 70 P-51s perform a sweep against stalled trains between Angouleme and Poitiers, dropping external fuel tanks on them and firing the tanks by strafing; the same tactics are used on trains in the marshalling yard at Saint-Pierre-d'Ecideuil; heavy damage is inflicted on both targets, including heavy troop casualties. 3. 50 P-38s and 75 P-47s make fighter-bomber attacks on troops in the Arras-St Pol area; at St-Pol-sur-Ternoise a large number of railroad cars are burned by oil and phosphorus bombs and strafing attacks; other marshalling yards, a power station, railroad station, trains, barges, tanks, trucks, gun emplacements, AA tower and an armored vehicle are attacked; A total of about 400 railroad cars are attacked and about half of them set on fire. In general the fighter attacks are highly effective; 3 P-38s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. Mission 417: 10 of 10 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the evening.