Mission 109

Mission Summaries > June 1944

FRIDAY, 23 JUNE 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force):

Mission 435:

At midday, 110 of 134 B-17s and 102 of 106 B-24s attack 12 CROSSBOW (V-weapon) installations, damaging at least 6 of them; 3 B-17s and 2 B-24s are damaged. Fighter support is furnished by 4 P-51 groups (141 of 161 aircraft) all of which afterward strafe transportation targets in the Paris area, destroying 3 locomotives, 100 pieces of rolling stock, and 14 motor vehicles; An exploding ammunition train causes a low-flying P-51 to crash, the only aircraft lost on the mission (pilot is MIA).

Mission 436:

During the late afternoon, 109 B-17s are dispatched to Nanteuil; 13 hit the primary and 2 hit targets of opportunity; the rest abort due to heavy cloud cover; 1 B-17 is lost and 2 are damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 10 MIA. Of 219 B-24s dispatched to airfields in France, 113 hit Juvincourt, 46 hit Leon/Athies, 23 hit Coulommiers and 1 hits Soissons; 6 B-24s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 81 are damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 3 WIA and 58 MIA. Escort is provided by 155 P-47s and 83 P-51s; afterwards part of a P-47 group bombs and strafes a marshalling yard while the remainder of the group bombs and strafes a train carrying trucks and armored cars, destroying the locomotive, 3 trucks, and an armored car, and damaging 20 freight cars.

169 of 195 P-38s fly fighter-bomber missions in the Paris area; 2 P-38s are lost (pilots are MIA).

Target: Sautricourt, France - V-1 Rocket Launch Site
8th Air Force Mission No:	436
Aircraft Taking Off:	24
Aircraft Dispatched:	23
Aircraft Aborts:	1
Aircraft Over Primary:	22
Aircraft Over Secondary:	0
Aircraft Over Last Resort:	0
Aircraft Bomb Load:	40x100 lb. AN-M30 General Purpose bombs 10x100 lb. AN-M41 Incendiary bombs
Group Bomb Load:	880x100 lb. AN-M30 General Purpose bombs 220x100 lb. AN-M41 Incendiary bombs
Results:	Excellent
Tactical Mission Report:	445th Bomb Group Mission Report 1. A/C Scheduled ----------------------- A/C Airborne ------------------------- A/C Dispatched ---------------------- A/C Returned Early ----------------- A/C Over Target --------------------- A/C Returned ------------------------ 2. Assembly: 3. Route In: 4. Bomb Run: 5. Route Out: 6. Enemy Fighters: 7. Fighter Support: 8. Flak:
Losses: None.
Note: None.

Sautricourt, France - V-1 Rocket Launch Site