This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: July 20th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 20 Jul 2026 10:36:12 -0000

July 20, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 208
Target: Junkers Flugzeug Motorwerke, Dessau, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 37
Crew Members Killed or Wounded: 2 Crew Members wounded
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 45 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x 500 lb G.P. & 38 x 100 lb M47 Incendiary bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 26,000, 25,000 & 24,000 ft

July 20, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 484: 1,172 bombers and 542 fighters are dispatched to hit oil and industrial targets in C Germany; 19 bombers and 8 fighters are lost: 1. Of 417 B-17s, 107 hit Dessau, 69 hit Kothen, 56 hit Leipzig/Mockau, 45 hit the Leipzig bearing industry, 36 hit Nordhuasen Airfield, 23 hit Kolleda Airfield, 20 hit targets of opportunity, 12 hit Bitterfeld, 12 hit Giessen Airfield, and 12 hit Rudolstadt; they claim 11-9-7 Luftwaffe aircraft; 15 B-17s are lost and 188 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 10 WIA and 129 MIA. Escort is provided by 253 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 5-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 2-0-0 on the ground; 2 P-47s and 4 P-51s are lost, 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair; 1 airman is WIA and 3 MIA. 2. Of 295 B-17s, 155 hit Merseburg, 53 hit Lutzkendorf, 47 hit Wetzlar and 7 hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 153 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA and 21 MIA. Escort is provided by 178 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-1-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-4 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot is MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 3. Of 460 B-24s, 123 hit Erfurt Nord and 11 hit Erfurt/Bindersleben Airfields; 80 hit Schmalkalden; 72 hit Gotha; 24 hit Freiburg, 18 hit Fulda, 12 hit Idstein, 10 hit Bad Salzungen, 10 hit Wernhausen and 9 hit Homburg marshalling yards; 21 hit Berka, 12 hit Bad Nauheim, 7 hit Koblenz, 6 hit Boppard and 6 hit targets of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost and 31 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA and 9 MIA. Escort is provided by 45 of 47 P-47s; they claim 6-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; 1 P-47s is lost (pilot is MIA). Mission 485: 6 of 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night. 12 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions.

July 20, 1944
German assassination attempt on Hitler fails.