This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: March 10th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 10 Mar 2026 05:27:20 -0000

March 10, 1943
8th AF: The 4th Fighter Group flies 32 uneventful sorties during the day, 14 in P-47's. Aircraft-to-aircraft communication proves impossible because of VHF radio malfunctions in the Thunderbolts.

March 10, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 254: 5 of 5 B-17s drop 250 bundles of leaflets on Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Monceau-sur-Sambre, Belgium at 2127-2137 hours without loss.

March 10, 1945
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 333
Target: Marshalling Yard at Schwerte, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 9 hours, 41 minutes
Bomb Load: 32 x 100 lb H.E. M30 & 2 x 500 lb M17 Incendiaries
Bombing Altitudes: 25,300, 24,800, & 25,550 ft

March 10, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 3 missions are flown. Mission 877: 1,374 bombers and 670 fighters attack rail targets in Germany by PFF methods; they claim 2-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost: 1. 376 B-24s are dispatched to hit the rail viaducts at Arnsberg (115) and Bielefeld (114) and the marshalling yard at Paderborn; 10 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Bielefeld; 1 B-24 is damaged. The escort is 146 of 155 P-51s. 2. 526 B-17s are sent to hit the Sud (109), Erfeld (111) and Eving (153) marshalling yards at Dortmund and the Soest marshalling yard (138); 3 other B-17s fly a scouting mission; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 44 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA. Escorting are 152 of 158 P-51s; 1 is damaged beyond repair. 3. 457 B-17s are sent to hit the Sinsen (89) and Coesfeld (38) rail crossings and the marshalling yards at Schwerte (116) and Hagen (41); 136 hit the secondary, a marshalling yard at Dortmund; 33 others hit Hamm, a target of opportunity; 26 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is WIA. 98 of 100 P-51s escort; 2 P-51s are lost. 4. 12 B-17s fly a screening mission. 5. 144 P-47s and P-51s fly a freelance support mission for the bombers; they claim 2-0-1 aircraft in the air. 6. 72 of 74 P-51s escort Ninth AF bombers on their strikes. 7. 27 of 28 P-51s fly a scouting mission. 8. 5 P-51s escort 7 F-5s and 4 Spitfires on a photo reconnaissance mission over the Ruhr. Mission 879: 13 B-24s attack the marshalling yard at Munster during the night without loss. Mission 880: 12 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night without loss. The 857th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 492nd Bombardment Group (Heavy) (attached to 1st Air Division) moves from Harrington to Bassingbourne, England with B-24s (the 857th begins flying weather reconnaissance missions today).