Mission 20

Mission Summaries > February 1944

TUESDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force):

Mission 214:

53 of 54 B-24s hit the V-weapon site at Siracourt, France while 57 of 73 B-24s hit the V-weapon site at Watten, France; 41 B-24s are damaged and 10 airmen are WIA; escort is 89 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s.

88 of 236 B-17s hit the marshalling yards at Frankfurt, Germany using blind-bombing techniques; 107 other B-17s hit targets of opportunity; they claim 1-3-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 13 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 108 damaged; casualties are 11 KIA, 4 WIA and 130 MIA; escort is provided by 77 P-38s, 435 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 41 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claim 16-1-8 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-38s, 3 P-47s and 4 P-51s are lost, 1 P-47 is damaged beyond repair and 4 P-47s are damaged; casualties are 9 MIA.

Mission 215:

6 of 6 B-17s drop 360 bundles of leaflets in a CARPETBAGGER operation over Caen, Rouen, Paris, Rennes and Amiens, France at 2106-2136 hours without loss.

Target: Watten, France - V-1/V-2 Rocket Launch Site
8th Air Force F.O. No:	214
Aircraft Taking Off:	22
Aircraft Dispatched:	17
Aircraft Aborts:	0
Aircraft Over Primary:	17
Aircraft Over Secondary:	0
Aircraft Over Last Resort:	0
Aircraft Bomb Load:	4 x 2,000 lb. AN-M34 General Purpose bombs 8 x 1,000 lb. AN-M65 General Purpose bombs
Group Bomb Load:	42 x 2,000 lb. AN-M34 General Purpose bombs 32 x 1,000 lb. AN-M65 General Purpose bombs
Results:	Unobserved due to cloud cover
Tactical Mission Report:	445th Bomb Group Acft Scheduled: 25 Acft Airborne: 22 Acft Dispatched: 17 Acft Abort: 0 Acft Over Target: 17 Acft Returned: 17 Assembly: First ship off at 0740. Normal assembly accomplished 14,000 feet over Buncher #6, with the Gee H from the 93rd Bomb Group. From Buncher #6 the formation made all times throughout the route to Splasher #9, while the navigator complained of difficulty in operating his equipment which caused the formation to deviate from the briefed course. Target: Bombing was done by Gee H. Formation into the target was fair, considering the fact that constant and almost violent S-ing was continued from the Initial Point to the target. Bombs were dropped in Group formation pattern upon release of our smoke bombs. Return: Upon release of bombs at the target, the lead ship slowed up to allow the formation to close up, and 1,000 feet was lost as briefed. Group turned left to enemy coast and returned to base. Flak: Intense and extremely accurate. Enemy Fighters: None. Fighter Support: Excellent.
Losses: None
Note: None

Watten, France V-1/V-2 Rocket Launch Site