This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: April 30th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 30 Apr 2026 04:27:42 -0000

April 30, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 145
Target: Lyon/Bron Airdrome, France
Crews Dispatched: 20 + 2 Spares
Crew Members Lost or Wounded: S/Sgt. Pesetsky injured
Length of Mission: 7 hours, 40 minutes
Bomb Load: 5 x 1000 lb M-44 G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitude: 18,500 ft
Ammo Fired: 2,500 rounds

April 30, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 329: 295 bombers and 644 fighters are dispatched to 3 targets in France; the bombers claim 3-0-6 Luftwaffe aircraft and the fighters claim 18-1-5 in the air and 11-0-17 on the ground; 1 bomber and 5 fighter are lost: 1. 114 of 116 B-17s bomb Lyon/Bron Airfield; 1 B-17 is lost and 8 damaged; 10 airmen are MIA. 2. 118 of 124 B-17s bomb Clermont-Ferrand/Aulnat Airfield; 9 B-17s are damaged. 3. 52 of 55 B-24s bomb V-weapon sites at Siracourt; 3 B-24s are damaged; 1 airman is WIA. Escort is provided by 128 P-38s, 268 P-47s and 248 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s: 44 P-38s, using the Droopsnoot method, bomb Tours Airfield, 1 P-38 is lost and 1 damaged, 1 pilot is MIA; 14 P-47s dive-bomb Romorantin Airfield plus escort the bombers and claim 9-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft, 4 P-47s are damaged; P-51s claim 20-0-17 aircraft, 4 P-51s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 6 damaged, 1 airman is WIA and 3 MIA. Mission 330: 4 of 4 B-17s drop 2.23 million leaflets on 21 towns in Belgium, France and The Netherlands including Zwolle, Hala, Alost, Louvain, Leeuwarden, Reims, Metz, Strasburg, Epinal, Tours, Saarguemines, Mulhouse, Troyes and Orleans without loss. Mission 331: 128 fighters carry out fighter-bomber attacks in France; 22 P-38s, with 24 escorts, attack Orleans/Bricy Airfield using the Droopsnoot method, 2 are damaged; 21 P-47s, with 10 escorts, bomb the same target shortly later and 5 hit a V-weapon site as a target of opportunity, 3 are damaged; 51 P-51s swept the area before the attacks without loss. 20 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions without loss.

April 30, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 972: 6 of 7 B-17s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and France.

April 30, 1945
Adolf Hitler and his mistress Eva Braum committed suicide in his Berlin chancellery. Their bodies were cremated.