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

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 12 Mar 2026 09:38:25 -0000

March 12, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 22
Target: Marshalling Yards, Rouen, France
Crews Dispatched: 18
Length of Mission: 4 hours, 10 minutes
Bomb Load: 12 x 500 lb H.E. M43 bombs
Bombing Altitude: 23,900 ft
Ammo Fired: 1,096 rounds

March 12, 1943
8th AF: VIII Bomber Command Mission No. 42: 72 B-17's are dispatched by the 1st Bombardment Wing against the Rouen-Sotteville marshalling yard; 63 drop 156.5 tons of bombs on the target between 1241 and 1244 hours local. There are no losses and no claims on this mission; good fighter escort is a major factor in this no-loss mission. Eighteen B-24's of the 2nd Bombardment Wing fly a diversionary mission with no losses or claims. The 4th Fighter Group flies 43 sorties in their Spitfire Mk V's; 41 are flown on a flighter sweep and 1 Spitfire is shot down near St. Omer, France; the pilot is listed as MIA; we claim 2 enemy aircraft damaged. The other 2 sorties were shipping patrols.

March 12, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 256: 46 of 52 B-24s dispatched hit a V-weapon site at St Pol/Siracourt, France and 6 hit targets of opportunity, all using blind-bombing techniques; 1 B-24 is lost and 26 damaged; casualties are 1 WIA. 788th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 467th Bombardment Group (Heavy), arrives at Rackheath, England from the US with B-24s; first mission is 10 Apr.

March 12, 1945
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 335
Target: Railway Center at Betzdorf, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 6 hours, 15 minutes
Bomb Load: 21 x 100 lb H.E. M30, 6 x 250 lb M57 Incendiary,
& 4 x 500 lb M17 Incendiary bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 24,000, 23,700, & 25,300 ft
Ammo Fired: 1,240 rounds

March 12, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 883: 1,355 bombers and 797 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards in Germany by PFF; they claim 4-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 and 4 fighters are lost: 1. 220 of 227 B-24s and 441 of 450 B-17s attack the marshalling yard at Swinemunde; 1 other hit the marshalling yard at Husum, a target of opportunity; all attacks are made with H2X radar; 1 B-17 is lost, 6 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 10 MIA. Escorting are 412 of 452 P-51s; they claim 4-0-1 aircraft in the air; 4 P-51s are lost (3 pilots MIA). 2. 154 B-24s are sent to hit the marshalling yards at Friedberg (75) and Wetzlar (74) using Gee-H; 2 airmen are WIA. 3. 298 B-17s are dispatched to attack the marshalling yards at Siegen (141) and Marburg (113); 24 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Frankfurt using Micro H; 4 B-17s are damaged. 4. 226 B-17s are sent to bomb the marshalling yards at Betzdorf (116) and Dillenburg (110) using Gee-H without loss. 5. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th forces above are escorted by 192 P-47s and P-51s without loss. 6. 97 of 108 P-51s fly a sweep to support the bombers without loss. 7. 10 P-51s escort 5 F-5s and 2 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. 8. 23 of 24 P-51s fly a scouting mission. Mission 884: 11 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night and 4 of 10 B-24s fly a CARPETBAGGER mission.