This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: March 15th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 15 Mar 2026 21:45:24 -0000

March 15, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 259: 185 of 187 B-17s and 145 of 157 B-24s hit the industrial area at Brunswick, Germany and targets of opportunity; they claim 0-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 and 2 B-24s are a lost and 31 B-17s and 15 B-24s are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 4 WIA and 30 MIA. Escort is provided by 121 P-38s and 467 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s; 4 P-38s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 4 pilots MIA; P-47s claim 39-3-13 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground, 1 P-47 is lost and 5 damaged, casualties are 1 MIA. Mission 260: 8 P-47s are dispatched, 2 with 2x1,000 pound (454 kg) bombs, against an enemy barge in the Zuider Zee, The Netherlands to test the feasibility of this type of operation; near misses are scored. Mission 261: 7 of 7 B-17s drop 350 bundles of leaflets on Rennes, Lille, Reims, Le Mans, Paris and Chartres, France at 2115-2152 hours without loss.

March 15, 1945
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 337
Target: German High Command Hdqrs. at Zossen, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 32 minutes
Bomb Load: 6 x 500 lb H.E. M43 & 4 x 500 lb M17 Incendiaries
Bombing Altitudes: 23,000, 22,800 & 24,500 ft
Ammo Fired: 2,850 rounds

March 15, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 889: 1,353 bombers and 833 fighters are dispatched to hit German Army HQ and a marshalling yard at Oranienburg; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 bombers and 4 fighters are lost: 1. 308 of 372 B-24s and 276 of 300 B-17s hit the Germany Army HQ at Zossen, near Berlin visually; targets of opportunity for the B-24s are the Gardlingen rail center (31), the rail bridge at Parey (11) and other (3) and for B-17s, the marshalling yard at Stendal (13) and other (3); 1 B-24 is lost, 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 32 B-24s and 20 B-17s are damaged; 4 airmen are KIA, 8 WIA and 21 MIA. Escorting are 397 P-51s and P-47s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 2. 612 of 675 B-17s attack the marshalling yard at Oranienburg visually; targets of opportunity are Wittenberg (31), Havelberg (12), the marshalling yards at Durstadt (1) and Mellendorf (1), Schmarsau (1) and Dedelstorf Airfield (1) some of which are hit with H2X radar; 8 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 288 damaged; 8 airmen are WIA and 66 MIA. 320 of 352 P-51s escort; 1 is lost. 3. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission without loss. 4. 29 of 30 P-51s fly a scouting mission. 5. 9 P-51s fly a sweep of the Bonn-Koblenz area. 6. 9 of 12 P-51s escort 24 F-5s and 4 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. Mission 890: 14 of 16 B-24s bomb the rail station at Munster during the night using PFF methods.

March 15, 1945
The US 8th Air Force launches a massive attack (384 1st and 2nd Air Division bombers) against the HQ complex of the OKH at Zossen 20 miles south of Berlin.