Mission 84

Mission Summaries > May 1944

TUESDAY, 30 MAY 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO):

Loading of assault forces for Operation OVERLORD (invasion of Normandy) begins.

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force):

Mission 380:

928 bombers and 672 fighters in 6 forces are dispatched to hit aircraft industry targets in Germany and marshalling yards in France and Belgium; they claim 65-8-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 12 bombers and 9 fighters are lost:

268 B-17s are dispatched to attack aviation industry targets at Dessau (83 bomb), Halberstadt (107 bomb) and Oschersleben (51 bomb); 5 other hit targets of opportunity; they claim 8-5-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost and 81 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA and 86 MIA.

369 B-24s are dispatched to hit aviation depots at Oldenburg (135 bomb), Rotenberg (147 bomb) and Zwischenahn (71 bomb); 1 other hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 36 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 2 WIA and 9 MIA.

46 of 91 B-24s hit Munster/Handorf Airfield and 36 others hit Diepholz Airfield; 2 B-24s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 36 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 6 WIA and 9 MIA.

122 of 126 B-17s hit French marshalling yards; 62 hit Reims and 60 hit Troyes; 24 B-17s are damaged.

39 of 40 B-17s hit Brussels/Schaerbeck marshalling yard, Belgium; 12 B-17s are damaged.

76 of 84 B-17s hit V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais, France; 12 B-17s are damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 10 MIA.

Escort is provided by 186 P-38s, 184 P-47s and 302 P-51s; 3 P-38s are damaged; P-47s claim 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft with 1 loss (pilot is MIA); P-51s claim 48-3-2 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 7-0-3 on the ground with the loss of 8 P-51s (pilots are MIA), 2 damaged beyond repair and 4 damaged; 637 Ninth Air Force fighters support the mission; they claim 8-0-2 aircraft in the air and 0-0-4 on the ground for the loss of 3.

Target: Oldenburg, Germany - German Airfield
8th Air Force Mission No:	380
Aircraft Taking Off:	36
Aircraft Dispatched:	36
Aircraft Aborts:	1
Aircraft Over Primary:	35
Aircraft Over Secondary:	0
Aircraft Over Last Resort:	0
Aircraft Bomb Load:	Lead Squadron - 10 x 500 lb. AN-M43 General Purpose bombs Low Left & High Right Squadrons - 52 x 100 lb. AN-M47 Incendiary bombs
Group Bomb Load:	120 x 500 lb. AN-M43 General Purpose bombs 1,196 x 100 lb. AN-M47 Incendiary bombs
Results:	Good
Tactical Mission Report:	445th Bomb Group Mission Report 1. A/C Scheduled ----------------------- 36 A/C Airborne ------------------------- 36 A/C Dispatched ---------------------- 36 A/C Abortive ------------------------- 1 A/C Over Target --------------------- 35 A/C Attacking ------------------------ 34 A/C Returned ------------------------ 35 2. Assembly: The first aircraft took off at 07:45, and assembled visually over the field at 5,000 feet. We started our climb at 08:30 with 36 ships in formation. Wing assembly and Division assembly were made good and we departed theEnglish Coast 5 miles south of course at 09:37. 3. Route In: Landfall on the Enemy Coast was made 5 miles south of course 1 minute late. We got back on course and followed the briefed route to the target. 4. Route Out: The route out was flown as briefed with slight deviations to avoid flak. The Wing got together well at the rally point after bombing. 5. Flak: Moderate, accurate, and some tracking flak over the target. 6. Enemy Fighters: None encountered or seen. 7. Fighter Support: Excellent 8. Bombing Results: All three squadrons were good.
Losses: None.
Note: 34 of 35 445th Bomb Group B-24s dropped a total of 144x500# M-43 GPs and 1144x100# M-47 Incendiary bombs. 12 aircraft dropped on the lead ship in the target area. 22 aircraft from the other squadrons drop their bombs in the general area. One aircraft dropped early due to a rack malfunction.

Oldenburg, Germany - Luftwaffe Airfield