This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: May 1st

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 01 May 2025 22:37:55 -0000

May 1, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 32
Target: Harbor Installations, St. Nazaire, France
Crews Dispatched: 19
Crews Lost: Lt. Walsh, Lt. Sterling
Crew Members Wounded or Killed: 15 Killed & 3 Wounded
Length of Mission: 5 hours, 50 minutes
Bomb Load: 2 x 2000 lb G.P. M-34 bombs
Bombing Altitude: 22,700 ft - Ammo Fired: 56,350 rounds
Enemy Aircraft Claims: 9 Destroyed, 7 Probables, 4 Damaged
(23 different attacks made on 303rd formation)

May 1, 1943
8th AF: VIII Bomber Command Mission No. 53: 78 B-17's are dispatched against the Sainte-Nazaire, France U-boat base and shipyard. They find bad weather over the target and only 29 B-17's hit the target between 1125 and 1131 hours local. We claim 18-6-8 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 B-17's are lost, 2 are damaged beyond repair and 20 others are damaged. Casualties are 3 KIA, 17 WIA and 73 MIA. At the same time, 24 B-24's fly a diversion along the Brittany Coast. HQ 351st Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrives at Polebrook, England from the US.

May 1, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 332: Operation CROSSBOW (operations against German missile launching sites) targets are hit in France in the early morning; 531 bombers and 209 fighters are dispatched but weather causes many aborts and only 3 of 23 V-weapons sites targetted are bombed: 1. Of 161 B-17s dispatched,m 18 hit Poix Airfield, 18 hit Roye/Amy Airfield and 15 hit Montdidier Airfield; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 20 damaged. 2. 22 of 187 B-17s and 57 of 183 B-24s hit the Pas de Calais area; 1 B-17 and 1 B-24 are damaged beyond repair; 19 B-17s and 15 B-24s are damaged; 5 B-24 crewmen are KIA. Escort is provided by 119 P-47s and 90 P-51s without loss or claims. Mission 333: In the afternoon, 386 bombers and 558 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards in France and Belgium; 3 bombers and 3 fighters are lost: 1. 110 B-17s are dispatched to Troyes (52 bomb) and Reims (57 bomb), France; 1 B-17 is lost and 52 damaged; 10 airmen are MIA. 2. 125 B-17s are dispatched to Saarguemines (64 bomb) and Metz (42 bomb), France and Brussels, Belgium (13 bomb); 2 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 43 damaged; 20 airmen are MIA. 3. 151 B-24s are dispatched to Brussels (59 bomb) and Liege (40 bomb), Belgium; 21 B-24s are damaged; no losses or casualties. Escort is provided by 120 P-38s, 272 P-47s and 166 P-51s; The P-47s claim 1-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft and the P-51s claim 5-0-2; 2 P-38s and 1 P-51 are lost; 4 P-47s and 1 P-51 are damaged; 4 pilots are MIA. Mission 334: 5 of 5 B-17s drop 1.55 million leaflets on 25 towns in France and The Netherlands without loss. 25 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER operations without loss. HQ 489th Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrives at Halesworth, England from the US.

May 1, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 973: 396 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies in the Hague (237) and Rotterdam (155), the Netherlands; a total of 777.1 tons of food are dropped. Mission 974: During the night of 1/2 May, 4 of 5 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany.