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

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 11 Oct 2026 10:54:54 -0000

October 11, 1943
303rd BG: The 303rd BG (H) received its first B-17G.

October 11, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 255
Target: Synthetic Oil Plant at Wesseling, Germany (1 & 2 SQ)
Marshalling Yards at Koblenz, Germany (3 & 4 SQ)
Crews Dispatched: 47
Crews Lost: Lt. Lord, 6 KIA, 3 POW; Lt. Price, 9 POW
Length of Mission: 6 hours, 15 minutes
Bomb Load: 6 x 1,000 lb H.E. M43 bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 26,300 & 25,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 2,110 rounds

October 11, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 672: 135 B-17s are dispatched to bomb the Wesseling synthetic oil plant (57); 73 others hit the secondary, the Koblenz marshalling yard; 4 B-17s are lost and 61 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 6 WIA and 38 MIA. Escort is provided by 135 of 139 P-47s; 1 P-47 is lost. Mission 673: 9 aircraft drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.