This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: April 3rd

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 03 Apr 2026 03:56:27 -0000

April 3, 1943
8th AF: HQ, 78th Fighter Group transfers from Goxhill, England to Duxford, England.

April 3, 1945
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 350
Target: Submarine Works at Kiel, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 7 hours, 8 minutes
Bomb Load: 5 x 1,000 lb G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 26,500, 26,000 & 27,000 feet

April 3, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 924: 752 B-17s and 569 P-51s are dispatched to hit U-boat yards at Kiel; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 bombers and 4 fighters are lost: 1. 693 of 752 B-17s hit the Deutsche U-boat yard and 24 hit the Howardts U-boat yard; 2 B-17s hit Flensburg Airfield a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 121 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 20 MIA. Escorting are 517 of 569 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost and 2 damaged beyond repair. 2. 98 of 100 P-51s fly a sweep of the Kiel area; 1 is damaged beyond repair. 3. 4 P-51s escort 1 F-5 on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany. 4. 17 of 18 P-51s fly a scouting mission; 2 P-51s are lost. Mission 925: 1 B-17 and 10 B-24s are dispatched to drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night; 1 returns to base.

April 3, 1945
The US 8th Air Force launches its heaviest raid to date (717 1st and 2nd Air Division bombers) against Kiel on the Baltic.