This Day in 303rd Bomb Group History: March 11th

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 11 Mar 2026 07:33:33 -0000

March 11, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 255: France and Germany are hit in two raids; 1 B-17 and 4 fighters are lost; both forces use blind-bombing techniques due to thick overcast: 1. 120 of 124 B-17s dispatched hit the marshalling yard at Munster; 1 B-17 drops on Bentheim as a target of opportunity and 3 drop on Burgsteinfurt accidentally; 1 B-17 is lost and 24 damaged; casualties are 10 MIA. Escort is provided by 90 P-47s and 50 P-51s; 2 P-51s are lost and 2 P-47s are damaged; casualties are 2 MIA. 2. 34 of 51 B-24s hit V-weapon sites at Wizernes, France; 1 B-24 is damaged. Escort is provided by 40 P-38s and 213 P-47s; 2 P-47s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 2 damaged; casualties are 1 WIA and 2 MIA. HQ 467th Bombardment Group (Heavy) and 789th, 790th and 791st Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) arrive at Rackheath, England from the US with B-24s; first mission is 10 Apr.

March 11, 1945
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 334
Target: Submarine Pens at Bremen, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 9 hours, 41 minutes
Bomb Load: 37 x 100 lb H.E. M30 bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 25,300, 25,000, & 25,500 ft
Ammo Fired: 3,945 rounds

March 11, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 881: 1,256 bombers and 814 fighters are dispatched to make H2X radar attacks on U-boat yards at Kiel and Bremen and the shipyard and refinery area at Hamburg, Germany; 1 B-17 and 4 P-51s are lost: 1. 344 of 352 B-24s attack the Krupp Germania U-boat yard at Kiel; 2 B-24s are damaged. 232 P-47s and P-51s escort; 1 P-51 is lost. 2. 469 of 485 B-17s hit the Wilhelmsburg oil refinery at Hamburg; 1 other hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost and 41 damaged; 3 airmen are WIA and 10 MIA. Escorting are 252 of 265 P-51s; 2 are lost. 3. 406 of 413 B-17s hit the Deschimag U-boat yard at Bremen; 9 B-17s are damaged. 237 of 255 P-51s escort; 1 is lost. 4. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission. 5. 18 P-51s escort 6 F-5s and a Spitfire on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. 6. 27 of 29 P-51s fly a scouting mission. Mission 882: 11 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night without loss.