This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: April 19th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 19 Apr 2026 05:38:54 -0000

April 19, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 137
Target: FW-190 Aircraft Factory, Kassel, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 20 + 2 spares
Crew Members Lost or Wounded: One crewman wounded by flak
Length of Mission: 6 hours, 30 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x AN-43 500 lb G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitude: 20,400 ft
Ammo Fired: 2,100 rounds

April 19, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 137A
Target: Air-Sea Rescue Mission
Crews Dispatched: 6
Length of Mission: 4 hours, 20 minutes
Search Altitude: 300 ft above sea level

April 19, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 308 Part 1: 772 bombers and 697 fighters are dispatched in 3 forces to bomb Germany; they claim 17-1-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 bombers and 2 fighters are lost: 1. 271 of 277 B-17s hit the Kassel area, Eschwege Airfield, Limburg and a target of opportunity; 5 B-17s are lost and 119 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 5 WIA and 47 MIA. 2. 243 of 246 B-17s hit Lippstadt and Werl Airfields and a target of opportunity; 21 B-17s are damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 8 WIA and 55 MIA. 3. 230 of 249 B-24s bomb Paderborn and Gutersloh Airfields, Soest, Koblenz, Buren and targets of opportunity; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 10 are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 8 MIA. Escort is provided by 127 P-38s, 439 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 131 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claim 16-1-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost and 4 P-47s and 5 P-51s are damaged; 2 pilots are MIA. Mission 308 Part 2: 27 of 27 B-24s bomb V-weapon sites at Watten, France; 1 B-24 is lost; escort is provided by 47 Ninth Air Force P-47s without loss. HQ 56th Fighter Group and 61st and 63rd Fighter Squadrons move from Halesworth to Boxted, England with P-47s.

April 19, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 961: 605 B-17s and 584 P-51s are dispatched to make visual attacks on rail targets in SE Germany and NW Czechoslovakia; they claim 18-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 B-17s and 2 P-51s are lost: 1. 284 B-17s are sent to hit the marshalling yards at Elsterwerda (135) and Falkenberg (143); 27 are damaged. Escorting are 191 of 204 P-51s; they claim 5-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 2. 321 B-17s are dispatched to hit the railroad industry and rail bridge at Pirna (115) and Karlsbad (87) and the marshalling yard at Aussig (109); they claim 6-1-2 aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost and 13 damaged; 46 airmen are MIA. The escort is 197 of 206 P-51s; they claim 7-0-3 aircraft. 3. 138 of 154 P-51s fly a freelance mission in support of the B-17s. 4. 14 P-51s fly weather reconnaissance missions. 5. 6 P-51s escort 7 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). During the night of 19/20 Apr, 11 of 16 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions to Norway; 2 B-24s are lost.