Mission 21

Mission Summaries > February 1944

THURSDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force):

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.

Target: Rijen, The Netherlands - Gilze-Rijen Airfield
8th Air Force F.O. No:	216
Aircraft Taking Off:	11
Aircraft Dispatched:	9
Aircraft Aborts:	3
Aircraft Over Primary:	6
Aircraft Over Secondary:	0
Aircraft Over Last Resort:	0
Aircraft Bomb Load:	12 x 500 lb. AN-M43 General Purpose bombs
Group Bomb Load:	66 x 500 lb. AN-M43 General Purpose bombs
Results:	Unobserved
Tactical Mission Report:	445th Group Report Acft Scheduled: 13 Acft Taking Off: 12 Acft Aborts: 2 Acft Over Target: 10 Acft Returned: 10 Assembly: First ship off at 1000. Group used standard 2nd BD instrument take off procedure. Gee H ship took off from Hardwig at 0953. Pilot of Gee H ship was Lt. Vanderhoek. Gee H ship made good 1117 over Buncher #6 at 21,000 feet, the briefed time. Assembly ship of 445th was out of commission and without it Gee H ship had difficulty in assembling with 445th. Maj Stewrt fired numerous flares from the Gee H ship but departed Buncher #6 with only 6 A/C of the 445th at 1131. Although the lead ship went wide around both Splasher #5 and Buncher #5 the 445th could not get behind the 20th CW and the 389th and still make time good. Between Buncher #5 and Orforfness a 360 was made and 10 ships joined the formation and we took position in trail of 389th. Wing departed coast 7 1/2 minutes late. Initial Point: Contrails became very heavy and persistent as we neared I.P. We climbed to 23,000 feet just above contrail level formed by the Groups ahead of us. Yellow-Yellow was fired at I.P. Navigator reported that the Gee H ship equipment worked properlyand that the bombing run was good. Dropped bombs by Gee H at 1302. Formation over target was sloppy due to contrails. Return: Remailed at 23,000 feet until after enemy coast. Let down with formation through a hole northwest of Ipswich and came in under at 900 feet. Enemy Fighters: None. Fighter Escort: Excellent. Flak: Very weak and not accurate.
Losses: None
Note: Lead Bombardier's Report: Bombing Approach Run: At I.P. a heading of 168 degrees was taken. Yellow Yellow flares were fired at I.P. Generally the cloud cover was 6/10 but in the target area coverage was 10/10. Bombing run was about 15 minutes long. Disposition of Bombs: 9 A/C in formation over the target. Bombs were dropped on Gee H ship with intervalometer setting of minimum. Each ship was loaded with twelve (12) ANM 43-500 Demo Bombs. Due to mechanical issues with some of the bomb racks, A/C 42-7515 released prematurely about four minutes before release time and the bombs fell into a canal; A/C 42-7619 Salvoed bombs over the target; A/C 41-29123 jettisoned 3 bombs due to a rack failure to release electrically; and A/C 42-7601 returned 3 bombs due to a rack failure to release electrically. Release Settings: Bombs were dropped on Gee H ship electrically with intervalometer setting of minimum.

Gilze-Rijen Airfield as seen today

Image courtesy of Google Earth Pro™