This Day in . . .
303rd Bomb Group (H) History
December 11, 1941
Germany declares war on United States.
December 11, 1943
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 87
Target: Port & Dock Area, Emden, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 20
Length of Mission: 5 hours, 40 minutes
Bomb Load: 12 x 500 lb G.P. bombs
Bombing Altitude: 22,980 ft
Ammo Fired: 4,885 rounds
View Mission Report
December 11, 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: VIII Bomber Command Mission 151: 437 of 490 B-17's and 86 of 93 B-24's hit the industrial area at Emden, Germany at 1220-1312 hours; they claim 86-22-23 Luftwaffe aircraft; 15 B-17's and 2 B-24's are lost, 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 120 B-17's and 18 B-24's are damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 20 WIA and 185 MIA. This mission is escorted by 31 P-38's, 313 P-47's and 44 Ninth Air Force P-51's; they claim 21-0-7 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 P-47's and 1 P-51 are lost; 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are damaged beyond repair and 3 P-47's are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA and 4 MIA. VIII Bomber Command Mission 152: 4 of 4 B-17's drop 800,000 leaflets on Laval, Rennes, Le Mans and Nantes, France at 2026-2039 hours; no casualties.
December 11, 1944
303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 285
Target: Railroad Bridge at Mannheim, Germany
Crews Dispatched: 52
Length of Mission: 8 hours, 10 minutes
Bomb Load: 2 x 1,000 H.E. M44 & 2 x 2,000 lb H.E. M34 bombs
Bombing Altitudes: 21,600, 21,700, 22,400 & 23,000 ft
Ammo Fired: 1,200 rounds
View Mission Report
December 11, 1944
303rd BG: Capt Charles D. McQuaid, 360th BS S-2 Intelligence Officer, became the S-2 Officer of the 303rd BG, replacing Major W. Robert Thompson.
December 11, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 746: The largest number of bombers so far dispatched, 1,586, and 841 fighters are sent to hit rail targets and bridges in W Germany using PFF means; 5 bombers and 2 fighters are lost: 1. 319 of 334 B-17s hit the marshalling yard at Frankfurt; 2 others hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 9 damaged. Escorting are 167 of 181 P-51s without loss. 2. 297 of 353 B-24s hit the marshalling yard at Hanau; 5 hit the secondary, Karlsruhe, and 2 hit targets of opportunity; 4 B-24s are lost and 7 damaged; 36 airmen are MIA. Escorting are 143 of 159 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 3. 353 of 540 B-17s hit the marshalling yard at Giessen; 135 hit the secondary, the marshalling yard at Koblenz; targets of opportunity are Euskirchen (12) and other (11); 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 9 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA. Escort is provided by 349 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 4. 171 of 182 B-17s hit bridges at Mannheim; 1 B-17 is lost and 18 damaged; 9 airmen are MIA. Escorting are 54 of 59 P-51s without loss. 5. 154 of 177 B-24s hit a bridge at Maximiliansau; 6 other hit the secondary, the marshalling yard at Hanau; 8 B-24s are damaged; 2 airmen are MIA. Escorting are 34 of 37 P-47s without loss. 6. 30 of 30 P-51s fly a scouting mission. Mission 747: 3 B-17s and 8 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany; 1 B-24 is lost.
December 10
December 12
