This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: March 7th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 07 Mar 2026 18:47:24 -0000

March 7, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: HQ 466th Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrives at Attlebridge, England from the US.

March 7, 1945
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 331
Target: Synthetic Oil Refinery at Dortmund-Harpenerweg, Ger.
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 7 hours, 17 minutes
Bomb Load: 12 x 500 lb H.E. M43 bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 23,250, 22,900, & 23,600 ft
Ammo Fired: 200 rounds

March 7, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 3 missions are flown. Mission 869: 946 bombers and 322 fighters are dispatched to hit oil and communication targets using PFF; 1 P-51 is lost: 1. 246 B-24s are sent to hit the marshalling yard at Soest (144) and the Schildesche water viaduct at Bielefeld (80); Gee-H and H2X radar are used for bombing; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; 10 airmen are KIA. Escorting are 77 P-47s and P-51s. 2. 344 B-17s are dispatched to bomb the Horderverein (24) and Harpenerweg (62) oil refineries at Dortmund; secondary targets hit are the marshalling yards at Paderborn (11), Siegen (113) and Giessen (87); Gee-H and H2X radar are used; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 20 damaged; 1 airman is KIA. The escort is 74 of 85 P-51s. 3. 340 B-17s are sent to hit the Emscherlippe benzol plant at Datteln (173) and the Rauxel benzol plant at Castrop (77); secondary targets hit are the marshalling yards at Siegen (43) and Giessen (28); 1 other hits a target of opportunity; Micro H and H2X radar are used; 56 B-17s are damaged. 75 of 76 P-51s escort the bombers. 4. 6 B-17s and 6 B-24s fly a screening mission. 5. 4 B-17s fly a scouting mission. 6. 37 of 38 P-51s fly a sweep of the Dummer Lake-Kassel-Koblenz area. 7. 23 P-51s escort 5 F-5s and a Spitfire on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 8. 24 P-51s fly a scouting mission. Mission 870: 11 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany and the Netherlands. Mission 871: 19 of 20 B-24s bomb Dortmund during the night using PFF; 1 B-24 is lost.