Mission 11

Mission Summaries > January 1944

TUESDAY, 11 JANUARY 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force):

Mission 182:

Three aviation industry targets in Germany are hit; fierce opposition estimated at 500 Luftwaffe fighters is encountered and 60 bombers and 5 fighters are lost.

177 B-17's are dispatched to Oschersleben; 139 hit the primary and 20 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 174-32-63 Luftwaffe aircraft; 34 B-17's are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 83 damaged; casualties are 9 KIA, 11 WIA and 349 MIA.

114 B-17's are dispatched to Halberstadt; 52 hit the primary and 55 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 35-11-19 Luftwaffe aircraft; 8 B-17's are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 42 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 18 WIA and 81 MIA. 177 P-47's and 44 Ninth Air Force P-51's escort; they claim 29-11-14 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-47's are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 4 P-47's and 1 P-51 are damaged; casualties are 2 KIA and 2 MIA. Major James H Howard, a P-51 pilot of the 354th Fighter Group, shot down an Me 110 and then found himself the lone escort for a B-17 group being attacked by 30 Luftwaffe aircraft. For the next 30 minutes, he kept turning into the enemy fighters and firing until only one gun was firing; by this time, he was credited with 2-1-2 Luftwaffe aircraft and saved the B-17's. Major Howard was awarded the Medal of Honor.

234 B-17's and 138 B-24's are dispatched to Brunswick; 47 B-17's hit the primary, 114 hit Osnabruck, 25 hit Bielefeld, 22 hit Peine, 10 hit Herford and 1 hit Nienburg; no B-24's hit the primary, 58 hit Meppen, 21 hits Lingen and 7 hit other targets; they claim 19-17-16 Luftwaffe aircraft; 16 B-17's and 2 B-24's are lost, 1 each damaged beyond repair and 47 B-17's and 7 B-24's damaged; casualties are 5 WIA and 176 MIA. This mission is escorted by 49 P-38's and 322 P-47's; they claim 2-1-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-38 and 2 P-47's are lost and 1 P-47 is damaged; casualties are 1 MIA. Among the PFF aircraft are 4 B-24's, this being the first time B-24's are used in this capacity.

Target: Brunswick, Germany - Braunschweig Assembly Plant - Power Station - Target of Opportunity: Lingen, Germany - Railroad Marshalling Yard
8th Air Force F.O. No:	182
Aircraft Taking Off:	25
Aircraft Dispatched:	21
Aircraft Aborts:	0
Aircraft Over Primary:	0
Aircraft Over Secondary:	0
Aircraft Over Last Resort:	21
Aircraft Bomb Load:	10 x 500 lb. AN-M17 Aimable Incendiary Cluster bombs
Group Bomb Load:	210 x 500 lb. AN-M17 Aimable Incendiary Cluster bombs
Results:	Unobserved due to 10/10ths cloud cover
Tactical Mission Report:	Mission Data: Date: Primary Target: Secondary Target: Last Resort Target: Units Participating: Narrative: Assembly: First ship took off at 0815 and the assembly had no difficulty forming over Splasher #6 in our regular assembly pattern. The second section had a tendency to straggle. We made rendezvous with the 389th Group to form the Wing with no particular trouble and on time. Our rendezvous altitude was 2,000 feet lower than briefed due to weather conditions. Climb: The climb was made successfully but the formations had a very difficult time because we climbed through the clouds on numerous ocassions. Target: A Red-Red flare was fired as signal the wing was abandoning the mission. We started a slow turn to the left changing our heading to the north. A few moments later another flare was fired and some of the Groups ahead started dropping bombs. No Yellow-Yellow flares were seen nor communications were heard by this leader. However, the deputy lead ship, seeing the PFF flares, dropped his bombs and the Group did also. The Leader seeing the rest of the formation drop did his also. The town was unidentified and results were unobserved. Return: The return, like the climb, was made through clouds. Very hazardous but necessary. Flak: Met some accurate light flak on entering the enemy coastline. Enemy Fighters: None.
Losses: None
Note: None

Lingen Marshalling Yard