This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: June 26th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 26 Jun 2026 08:59:20 -0000

June 26, 1942
ETO 8th AF: Air echelons of the 31st Fighter Group are established at Atcham and High Ercall, England by this date. These are the first combat personnel of the VIII Fighter Command to reach the UK.

June 26, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 45
Target: Aircraft Works, Villacoublay, France
Crews Dispatched: 20
Length of Mission: 4 hours, 55 minutes
Bomb Load: 500 lb H.E. M43 bombs
Bombing Altitude: 25,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 21,371 rounds
Aircraft Shot Down: 1 destroyed

June 26, 1943
8th AF: Air Marshall Trafford L Leigh-Mallory is given responsibility for drafting air plans for the invasion of the Continent. His deputy is Brigadier General Haywood S Hansell, Jr. 8th AF Mission Number 68: 165 B-17's are dispatched against the Vilacoublay, France air depot; 12 hit the target while 6 hit the secondary target, Poissy Airfield, and 39 bomb Tricqueville Airfield; they claim 17-5-10 Luftwaffe aircraft; we lose 5 B-17's and 14 others are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 51 MIA. 5 YB-40 escort bombers take off to accompany heavy bombers but none are able to complete the attack.

June 26, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 72 B-17s leave Poltava and Mirgorod, USSR, rendezvous with 55 P-51s from Piryatin, bomb the oil refinery and marshalling yard at Drohobycz, Poland (1 returns to the USSR because of mechanical trouble), and then proceed to Italy; Fifteenth Air Force P-51s meet the formation 1 hour after the attack and escort the B-17s to Foggia; it is planned to return the B-17s to bases in the UK on 27 Jun but bad weather delays this move until 5 Jul.

June 26, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Unit moves in England: HQ 1st Bombardment Wing (Heavy) from Bassingbourn to Alconbury; HQ 40th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) from Thurleigh to Istres, France where it oversees the units transporting troops from France to N Africa for return to the US.