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

glm@303rdbg.com (Gary L. Moncur) — 10 Feb 2012 04:26:33 -0000

February 10, 1943
303rd BG: The primary target was shifted from Lorient to Saint Nazaire, France, but the mission was scrubbed in the early morning. Poor weather prevailed for most of the day.

February 10, 1943
8th AF: German submarine, U-519, is sunk northwest of Spain (47-05N 18-34W) by a B-24 of the 2nd Antisubmarine Squadron (Heavy), 25th Antisubmarine Wing attached to the 1st Antisubmarine Group (Provisional). Spitfire Mk Vs of the 4th Fighter Group fly two uneventful sorties on shipping patrol.

February 10, 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: Mission 216: 141 of 169 B-17s hit the industrial area at Brunswick, Germany and 2 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 42-30-61 Luftwaffe aircraft; 29 B-17s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 52 damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 3 WIA and 295 MIA; escort is provided by 64 P-38s, 357 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 45 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claim 56-1-40 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 0-0-2 on the ground; 5 P-38s and 4 P-47s are lost, 1 P-38 and 1 P-51 are damaged beyond repair and 6 P-47s are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 1 WIA and 9 MIA. 27 of 81 B-24s hit the Gilze-Rijen Airfield, The Netherlands; dense contrails and frost prevent most aircraft from attacking; 4 B-24s are damaged beyond repair; casualties are 26 KIA and 14 WIA; escort is provided by 91 P-47s without loss. Mission 217: In a CARPETBAGGER mission, 5 of 5 B-17s drop 260 bundles of leaflets on Rennes, Caen, Rouen and Amiens, France and Antwerp, Belgium at 2111-2145 hours without loss. HQ 364th Fighter Group and 383rd, 384th and 385th Fighter Squadrons arrive at Honington, England from the US with P-38J's; first mission is 2 Mar.

February 10, 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS 8th AF: 2 missions are flown. Mission 825: 9 of 164 B-17s carry out the first DISNEY mission (Royal Navy rocket-boosted concrete piercing bombs) against the U-boat pens at Ijmuiden, the Netherlands visually; 140 hit the secondary target, the oil storage depot at Dulmen, Germany using Micro H; and 1 hits Lingen, a target of opportunity; 5 B-17s fly a screening mission; 5 B-17s are damaged. Escorting are 102 of 106 P-51s without loss. 3 of 6 P-51s fly a scouting mission and 20 of 21 P-51s escort photo reconnaissance aircraft over Germany. 102 of 104 P-51s fly a strafing mission in the Steinhuder Lake area but abort because of bad weather; 2 P-51s are lost. Mission 826: 1 B-17 and 11 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night; 1 airman is KIA.