Mission 1

Mission Summaries > Decenber 1943

MONDAY, 13 DECEMBER 1943

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force):

2 missions are flown:

Mission 154:

The port area at Bremen and Kiel, Germany are hit; 5 aircraft are lost. This is the first mission where more than 600 aircraft are dispatched.

171 of 182 B-17's dispatched to Bremen hit the target at 1159-1206 hours; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 30 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA and 3 WIA.

367 of 403 B-17's, 93 of 107 B-24's, 12 of 12 B-17 PFF and 6 of 6 B-24 PFF aircraft are dispatched to Kiel; heavy frosting and poor visibility disrupts the formation and 78 B-17's hit targets of opportunity in Hamburg at 1300-1305 hours; the remaining aircraft hit Kiel at 1245-1317 hours; 7-3-17 Luftwaffe aircraft are claimed; 4 B-17's and 1 B-24 are lost; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 136 B-17's and 4 B-24's are lost; casualties are 4 KIA, 16 WIA and 50 MIA. These missions are escorted by 31 P-38's, 322 P-47's and 41 Ninth Air Force P-51's; they claim 1-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost, 1 P-38 and 1 P-47 are damaged beyond repair and 1 P-38 is damaged; casualties are 2 WIA and 1 MIA.

P-51's escorting the heavy bombers reach the limit of their escort range for the first time.

Mission 155:

5 B-17's drop 1 million leaflets on Le Mans, Rennes, Tours, Nantes and Chartres, France at 2138-2155 hours; no losses.

Target: Kiel, Germany - Deutsche Werke Kiel U-Boot-Fabrik
8th Bomber Cmd F.O. No:	154
Aircraft Taking Off:	15
Aircraft Dispatched:	15
Aircraft Aborts:	3
Aircraft Over Primary:	12*
Aircraft Over Secondary:	0
Aircraft Over Last Resort:	0
Aircraft Bomb Load:	10 x 500 lb. AN-M7 Incendiary Cluster bombs
Group Bomb Load:	110 x 500 lb. AN-M7 Incendiary Cluster bombs
Results:	Unobserved
Tactical Mission Report:	Mission Data: Date: 13 Dec 43 Primary Target: Kiel, Germany Secondary Target: Flensburg, Germany Last Resort Target: Any positively identified German city Units Participating: 2nd CBW (93rd, 389th, 445th Gps) 14th CBW (44th, 392nd Gps) Narrative: On this mission, the formations of the 2nd Bombardment Division dropped bombs on the signals of the Pathfinders of the 3rd Division. Assembly was accomplished without difficulty under favorable weather conditions. Group formations were excellent; that of the 445th Group, which was flying its first mission, being exceptionally good. 113 aircraft were dispatched, of which 99 bombed the primary target. The course of 3rd Division enroute to the target was considerably South of briefed, which perhaps accounts for the fact that no fighter rendezvous was made. Towering clouds at the enemy coast forced our formations to 24,500 feet, which resulted in some stringing out. However the clouds thinned out and the formations were well closed up before the IP. No flares were seen at the IP. The smoke bombs were clearly seen and the patterns of our formation bracketed them. Flak was inaccurate, being largely of the fixed barrage type. A few enemy aircraft were seen but did not attack the formations. One B-24, returning early, was attacked by two JU-88's, one of which was destroyed. One aircraft is missing, cause unknown. Comments: The yellow-yellow flares of the B-17's at the IP were missed by all but a few aircraft of this Division. It is recommended that a signal be substituted which can be readily seen.
Losses: None.
Note: * One aircraft over the target did not drop its bombs due to flak damaging the bomb bay doors, preventing them from opening.

December 1943 Recon Photo