This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: February 9th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 09 Feb 2026 18:17:46 -0000

February 9, 1945
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 313
Target: Synthetic Oil Plant at Lutzkendorf, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Crews Lost: Lt. Nemer, 5 KIA, 1 POW, 3 RTD;
Lt. Barrat, 8 KIA, 1 POW; Lt. Bailey, 7 POW, 2 RTD
Crew Members Lost or Wounded: 1 WIA
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 14 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x 500 lb H.E. M43 bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 25,200, 23,200, & 25,600 ft
Ammo Fired: 1,205 rounds

February 9, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 824: 1,296 bombers and 871 fighters in 6 forces hit oil targets in Germany; except where noted, attacks were made with PFF; they claim 61-4-22 Luftwaffe aircraft; 8 bombers and 5 fighters are lost: 1. 313 B-24s are sent to hit the Rothensee oil plant at Magdeburg (10); 268 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Magdeburg; targets of opportunity are Tarchen (9) and Quackenbruck Airfield (1); the Magdeburg attacks are made using H2X; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft; 3 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 51 damaged; 14 airmen are KIA, 5 WIA and 20 MIA. Escorting are 151 of 173 P-51s; they claim 9-0-5 aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 2. 198 of 311 B-17s hit the secondary target, the munitions industry at Weimar; targets of opportunity are the marshalling yards at Giessen (25) and Gottingen (15), the munitions industry at Eisenach (11), Jena (11) and Fulda (24) and other (4); attacks are made using H2X and visually; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft; 3 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 7 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 28 MIA. The escort is 271 of 274 P-51s; they claim 8-1-3 aircraft in the air and 2-0-9 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 3. 304 B-17s are dispatched to the oil plants at Lutzkendorf (233); 12 hit the secondary target, Erfurt; targets of opportunity are Eisenach (13, using H2X radar), Eisleben (13), Montesada (11) and other (3); all attacks except 1 were visual; 1 B-17 is lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 64 damaged; 6 airmen are KIA, 3 WIA and 26 MIA. 193 of 215 P-51s escort and claim 2-1-0 aircraft in the air and 34-0-3 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 4. 64 of 65 B-24s hit the Schildesche rail viaduct at Bielefeld using Gee-H without loss. 39 of 40 P-47s escort without loss. 5. 151 B-17s are sent to hit the Altenbeken rail viaduct at Paderborn (72) and the Arnsberg rail viaduct (75) using Gee-H; 1 B-17 is lost and 1 damaged. 47 of 53 P-51s escort without loss. 6. 107 of 152 B-17s hit the secondary target, oil plants at Dulmen using Micro H; 21 hit a target of opportunity, the marshalling yard at Munster with H2X radar; 10 B-17s are damaged. Escorting are 55 of 60 P-51s without loss. 7. 33 of 35 P-51s fly a scouting mission; they claim 5-1-0 aircraft in the air without loss. 8 20 of 21 P-51s escort photo reconnaissance missions over Germany.