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

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 25 Jul 2026 07:54:55 -0000

July 25, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 53
Target: Blohm & Voss Shipbuilding Yards, Hamburg, Ger.
Crews Dispatched: 20
Crews Lost: 1 crew, Lt. Van Wie - 4 KIA, 5 POW, 1 REP
Crew members Wounded or Lost: 2 WIA
Length of Mission: 6 hours, 15 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x 500 H.E. M43
Bombing Altitude: 29,220 ft
Ammo Fired: 87,030 rounds

July 25, 1943
8th AF VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 76: Three locations in Germany are targetted; 19 heavy bombers are lost, mostly to effective formation attacks by German fighters. The raid on Hamburg is part of 6 Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) missions against that port city and follows a raid of the previous night during which nearly 750 Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy bombers did tremendous damage to the target. The three targets are: 1. 123 B-17's are dispatched against the diesel engine works at Hamburg but due to cloud cover, 100 hit the shipyard at 1630-1645 hours; they claim 38-6-27 Luftwaffe aircraft; 15 B-17's are lost and 67 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 5 WIA and 150 MIA. 2. 59 B-17's are dispatched against the Kiel Shipyard but return because of cloud cover. 3. 141 B-17's are dispatched against the aviation industry at Warnem-unde; 118 hit the Kiel Shipyard at 1630-1700 hours; they claim 6-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17's are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 50 are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 40 MIA. VIII Air Support Command Mission Number 3: 18 B-26B's are dispatched against the coke ovens at Ghent, Belgium; 13 hit the target at 1458 hours; 6 aircraft are damaged.

July 25, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 212
Target: "Operation Cobra" German Troop Centers
and Concentrations west of St. Lo, France
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 4 hours, 50 minutes
Bomb Load: 38 x 100 lb M1A1 Fragmentation bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 14,000 & 13,300 ft

July 25, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 494: 1,581 bombers and 500 fighters are dispatched to support a US First Army assault (Operation COBRA) with saturation bombing in the VII Corps area in the Marigny-Saint-Gilles region, just W of Saint-Lo; 5 bombers and 2 fighters are lost; 843 of 917 B-17s and 647 of 664 B-24s hit the Periers/St Lo area and 13 B-17s hit targets of opportunity; 1 B-17 and 4 B-24s are lost, 2 B-24s are damaged beyond repair and 41 B-17s and 132 B-24s are damaged; 9 airmen are WIA and 46 MIA. Escort is provided by 483 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s and also provide escort for Ninth Air Force B-26s; they claim 12-1-3 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 2-0-0 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 5 damaged. Due to a personnel error, bombs from 35 bombers fall within US lines; 102 US troops, including Lieutenant General Lesley J McNair, are killed and 380 wounded. Mission 295: Late in the afternoon 106 B-24s are dispatched to bomb the Brussels/Melsbroek Airfield, Belgium but they are recalled because of heavy cloud formations. Escort for this mission is provided by 26 P-38s and 110 P-51s. 1 P-38 and 78 P-47s fly a fighter-bomber mission against the Fournival/Bois de Mont fuel dump; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft; 1 P-38 and 4 P-47s are damaged. 17 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.

July 25, 1945
303rd BG: The 303rd BG (H) was deactivated at Casablanca, French Morocco.

July 25, 1945
VIII Fighter Command: Units beginning a movement from England to the US: HQ 34th Bombardment Group (Heavy) from Mendlesham; 654th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy, Reconnaissance, Special), 25th Bombardment Group (Reconnaissance), from Watton.