This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: April 25th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 25 Apr 2026 08:15:27 -0000

April 25, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 141
Target: Metz/Frescaty Airdrome, France
Crews Dispatched: 21
Length of Mission: 7 hours, 40 minutes
Bomb Load: 12 x 500 lb G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitude: 20,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 210 rounds

April 25, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 317 Part 1: 554 bombers and 719 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards and airfields in France and Germany; 7 bombers and 2 fighters are lost; the bombers make no Luftwaffe aircraft claims. 1. 199 B-24s are dispatched to the marshalling yard at Mannheim, Germany; 7 bomb the primary, 16 bomb the marshalling yard at Landau, Germany and 8 hit targets of opportunity; 5 B-24s are lost and 26 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 4 WIA and 49 MIA. 2. 229 B-17s are dispatched to Nancy/Essay Airfield (42 bomb) and Metz/Frascaty Airfield (98 bomb), France and 2 hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 33 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 20 MIA. 3. 121 of 126 B-17s hit Dijon/Longvic Airfield, France; 29 B-17s are damaged; 2 airman are WIA. Escort is provided by 177 P-38s, 296 P-47s and 246 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; the fighters claim 5-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 29-7-42 on the ground; details are: P-38s claim 5-0-9 aircraft, 1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair and 2 damaged, no casualties; P-47s claim 5-0-8 aircraft; 3 P-47s are damaged; 1 pilot is KIA; P-51s claim 24-7-26 aircraft, 2 P-51s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged, 2 pilots are MIA. Mission 317 Part 2: 27 of 28 B-24s bomb V-weapons sites at Wizerenes, France without loss. Escort is provided by 40 P-47s. Mission 318: 6 of 6 B-17s drop 4.2 million leaflets on 20 towns in France including Calais, Metz, Blainville, Paris, Mulhouse and Reims without loss. 852nd, 853rd, 854th and 855th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 491st Bombardment Group (Heavy), move from North Pickenham to Metfield, England with B-24s; first mission is 2 Jun.

April 25, 1945
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 364
Target: Skoda Armament Works at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia
Crews Dispatched: 42
Crews Lost: 1Lt. Mauger - 3 KIA, 4 POW, 1 EVD
Length of Mission: 9 hours, 21 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x 500 lb G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 22,000, 21,500 & 23,000 feet
The Last 303rd BG (H) Combat Mission of World War II
The 303rd: Flew the most 8th AF combat missions from England,
had second highest 8th AF total combat sorties flown (10,721) and
dropped second highest 8th AF tons of bombs (26,346).

April 25, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 968: 589 bombers and 486 fighters fly the final heavy bomber mission against an industrial target, airfields and rail targets in SE Germany and Czechoslovakia; they claim 1-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft (including an Ar 234 jet); 6 bombers and 1 fighter are lost: 1. 307 B-17s are sent to hit the airfield (78) and Skokda armament works at Pilsen, Czechoslovakia; 6 B-17s are lost, 4 damaged beyond repair and 180 damaged; 8 airmen are WIA and 42 MIA. Escorting are 188 of 206 P-51s. 2. 282 B-24s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Salzburg (109), Bad Reichenhall (56) and Hallein (57) and electrical transformers at Traunstein (56); 20 B-24s are damaged; 1 airman is WIA. The escort is 203 of 216 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air. 3. 17 of 19 P-51s fly a sweep of the Prague-Linz area claiming 0-1-0 aircraft in the air; 1 P-51 is lost. 4. 17 of 19 P-51s fly a screening mission. 5. 4 P-51s escort 2 OA-10s on an air-sea-rescue mission. 6. 22 P-51s escort 5 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany and Czechoslovakia. 7. 88 of 98 P-51s escort RAF bombers. Mission 969: During the night of 25/26 Apr, 11 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany. 12 B-24s and 1 A-26 are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions to Norway; 7 aircraft complete the mission.