This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: August 12th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 12 Aug 2026 09:34:12 -0000

August 12, 1942
ETO 8th AF: 31st Fighter Group at Westhampnett, England with Spitfire Mk Vs, is declared fully operational and ready for combat operations under Royal Air Force (RAF) control until it gains enough experience to be able to fight as a group; this is first US fighter unit in the UK to reach this operational status.

August 12, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 57
Target: Geisenberg Benzine & Hydrogenation Synthetic Oil Refinery at
Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 20
Crews Lost: Lt. Pentz, 1 KIA, 8 POW, 1 REP
Length of Mission: 4 hours, 50 minutes
Bomb Load: 250 lb incendiary bombs
Bombing Altitude: 27,300 ft
Ammo Fired: 54,707 rounds
Enemy Aircraft Claims: 4 Destroyed, 4 Probable, 1 Damaged

August 12, 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: VIII Bomber Command Mission 81: The Ruhr is targetted with the bombers concentrating on manufacturing installations and synthetic oil.
1. 183 B-17's are dispatched to synthetic oil installations at Bochum, Gelsenkirchen and Recklinghausen; some B-17's become separated on the bomb run and bomb various targets of opportunity; 133 B-17's hit the targets at 0845-0925 hours; they claim 25-5-11 Luftwaffe aircraft; 23 B-17's are lost, 2 are damaged beyond repair and 103 are damaged; casualties are 5 KIA, 49 WIA and 232 MIA.
2. 147 B-17's are dispatched to manufacturing installations at Bonn; 110 hit the target at 0850-0858 hours; they claim 4-2-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-17's are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 69 are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 7 WIA and 21 MIA.
VIII Air Support Command Missions 17 and 18: 71 B-26's are dispatched to the Poix/Nord Airfield in France; 34 hit the target at 1052 hours; 13 aircraft are damaged.

August 12, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 226
Target: Railroad Marshalling Yards, Metz, France
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 45 minutes
Bomb Load: 12 x 500 lb G.P. M43 bombs
Bombing Altitude: 21,000, 20,450 & 19,900 ft

August 12, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: The shuttle-bombing mission UK-USSR-Italy-UK is completed; of the 72 B-17s taking off from Fifteenth AF bases in Italy, 3 have various problems; the others bomb Toulouse/Francazal Airfield, France and then proceed to the UK; 62 P-51s (part of the shuttle-mission force) and 43 from the UK provide escort; no aircraft are lost; 70 B-17s and 58 P-51s land in the UK; 5 B-17s and 6 P-51s, either left in Italy or returning there during this mission, subsequently return to the UK. Mission 545: 577 bombers and 436 fighters are dispatched to make visual attacks on the Metz marshalling yard and airfield in C and E France; 3 bombers and 3 fighters are lost (number in parenthesis are the number of bombers attacking the target): 1. 276 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields at Mourmelon (75), Laon/Athies (63), Laon/Couvron (61) and Juvincourt (52); 3 B-24s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 46 damaged; 10 airmen are KIA, 7 WIA and 32 MIA. 2. 301 B-17s are dispatched to hit airfields at Chaumont (72), Buc (67), La Perthe (58) and Etampes/Mondesir (12); 69 hit the Metz marshalling yard; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 28 damaged; 9 airmen are KIA and 1 WIA. The 2 groups above are escorted by 386 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA). Mission 546: 6 of 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night. 486 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s attack transportation targets in the Paris and Brussels areas; they claim 5-0-0 aircraft in the air and 13-0-0 on the ground; 1 P-38s, 5 P-47s and 7 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA). 220 P-47s and P-51s attack transportation targets in NE France; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 3 are damaged beyond repair. 1 fighter group escorts Ninth Air Force B-26s. The 850th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 490th Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Harrington to Eye, England with B-24s.