This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
December 6, 1942
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 5
Target: Carriage & Wagon Works, Lille, France
Crews Dispatched: 20
Length of Mission: 3 hours, 9 minutes
Bomb Load: 10 x 500 lbs H.E. bombs
Bombing Altitude: 22,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 6,456 rounds
View Mission Report
December 6, 1942
8th AF: On Mission 24, 103 heavy bombers are dispatched against France. Nineteen are dispatched against the Abbeville/Drucat Airfield; six bomb the target with one aircraft lost. Sixty six are dispatched against the Atelier d'Hellemmes locomotive works at Lille; 36 bomb the target with the loss of one aircraft. Eighteen other aircraft fly a diversion.
December 6, 1943
303rd BG: M/Sgt Fabian S. Folmer was awarded the Legion of Merit Medal for his outstanding performance as a Crew Chief from 17 October 1942 to 27 August 1943.
December 6, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 283
Target: Leuna Synthetic Oil Plant at Merseburg, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 39
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 15 minutes
Bomb Load: 20 X 250 lb G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 21,600, 21,700, & 23,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 1,710 rounds
View Mission Report
December 6, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 741: 818 bombers and 830 fighters are dispatched to hit oil and rail targets in Germany; all except 9 aircraft bomb using H2X; 4 bombers and 1 fighter are lost: 1. 533 B-17s, in 2 forces, are sent to hit the Leuna oil plant at Merseburg (446); targets of opportunity are Hannover (16), Merseburg (14) and other (24); 4 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 172 damaged; 4 airmen are WIA and 37 MIA. 12 of 12 B-17s fly a screening mission. Escorting are 534 P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA), 1 damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged. 2. 112 of 119 B-24s hit the marshalling yard at Bielefeld; 1 hits a target of opportunity; 52 B-24s are damaged. Escorting are 94 of 104 P-51s without loss. 3. 140 of 154 B-24s hit Minden Aqueduct; 9 hit the Lockum rail junction; 26 B-24s are damaged. Escorting are 91 P-47s and P-51s without loss. 4. 28 of 32 P-51s fly a scouting force mission. Mission 742: 11 of the 4 B-17s and 11 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.
December 5
December 7
