This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: May 2nd

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 02 May 2026 06:30:24 -0000

May 2, 1942
ETO 8th AF: Major General Carl Spaatz was appointed 8th AF Commander, replacing Colonel Asa N. Duncan.

May 2, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 335: 50 of 50 B-24s bomb V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area of France without loss; escort is provided by 50 P-47s and 52 P-51s.

May 2, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 975: 401 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies in the Netherlands at Schipol (250) and Alkmaar (20) Airfields, Vogelenznag (40), Hilversum (20), Utrecht (59) and targets of opportunity (4); 4 B-17s are damaged by 20mm fire which ceases as soon as a green flare is fired; a total of 767.1 tons of food are dropped. Mission 976: 8 B-17s, escorted by 9 P-51s, drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during daylight hours.