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8th Air Force Europe in July 1943
THURSDAY, 1 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
A memo by Major General Barney Mc Giles for General Henry H "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General, USAAF, stresses great need for more fighter escort for strategic bombing missions. The present ratio of less than 1 fighter group to 4 heavy bomber groups is held to be completely insufficient and a minimum ratio of 1 to 2 is suggested.
Brigadier General Frederick L Anderson Jr replaces Brigadier General Newton Longfellow as Commanding General VIII Bomber Command.
HQ 14th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) transfers from Hethel, England to Camp Thomas, England.
HQ 20th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) transfers from Camp Lynn, England to Cheddington, England.
The 556th, 557th, 558th and 559th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 387th Bombardment Group (Medium) arrive at Chipping Ongar, England from the US with B-26's.
During the month of July, HQ 99th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) arrives at Aldermaston, England from the US.
SATURDAY, 3 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
Lieutenant General Jacob L Devers, Commanding General European Theater of Operations, US Army (ETOUSA), in a report to General Henry H "Hap" Arnold, praises the proficiency of the VIII Bomber Command bombardiers but stresses a dire need for high-altitude gunnery training.
SUNDAY, 4 JULY 1943 (INDEPENDENCE DAY)
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 71: 192 B-17's are dispatched against aircraft factores at Le Mans and Nanes, France; 166 make a very effective attack; we claim 52-14-22 Luftwaffe aircraft; we lose 7 with 1 damaged beyond repair and 53 others damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 9 WIA and 70 MIA. 83 other B-17's are dispatched against submarine yards at La Pallice, France; 71 hit the target between 1201 and 1204 local; we claim 0-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; we lose 1 and 1 is damaged; casualties are 10 MIA. Bombing is extremely accurate.
TUESDAY, 6 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
HQ 385th Bombardment Group (Heavy) and it's 549th, 550th, and 551st Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) with B-17's arrive at Great Ashfield, England from the US joining the 548th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) which arrived on 29 Jun 43. The group will fly it's first combat mission on 17 Jul 43.
WEDNESDAY, 7 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
HQ 7th Photographic Reconnaissance and Mapping Group arrives at Mount Farm, England from the US.
HQ 352d Fighter Group and it's 328th, 486th and 487th Fighter Squadrons with P-47D's arrive at Bodney, England from the US. The group will fly it's first combat mission on 9 Sep 43.
THURSDAY, 8 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
HQ 479th Antisubmarine Group is activated at St Eval, England. The group is assigned to the AAF Antisubmarine Command and controls all Antisubmarine Squadrons in England.
The 354th, 357th and 358th Fighter Squadrons, 355th Fighter Group, arrive at Steeple Morden, England from the US with P-47D's. They will fly their first combat mission on 14 Sep 43.
FRIDAY, 9 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
HQ 56th Fighter Group and it's 63d Fighter Squadron with P-47D's transfer from Horsham St Faith, England to Halesworth, England.
HQ 355th Fighter Group arrives at Steeple Morden, England from the US to join the three squadrons that arrived yesterday.
SATURDAY, 10 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VII Bomber Command Mission Number 72: 121 B-17's and 5 YB-40's are dispatched to the Caen/Carpiquet Airfield and 64 B-17's are dispatched to the Abbevile/Drucat Airfield, both in France; 34 hit Caen at 0832 hours while 36 hit Abbeville at 0729-0735 hours; they claim 17-7-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost while 33 others are damaged; casualties are 1 WIA and 10 MIA. In a second raid, 101 B-17's are dispatched against Le Bourget Airfield, Paris but the mission is abandoned due to cloud cover.
WEDNESDAY, 14 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 73: Three targets are struck in France, i.e.:
1. 111 B-17's and 5 YB-40's are dispatched against the aircraft works at Villacoublay, France; 101 hit the target at 0811-0815 hours; they claim 15-7-16 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 B-17's are lost and 67 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 21 MIA.
2. 64 B-17's are dispatched against Amiens/Glisy Airfield; 53 hit the target at 0742 hours; they claim 9-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost, 3 are damaged beyond repair and 34 are damaged; casualties are 6 KIA, 3 WIA and 10 MIA.
3. 84 B-17's are dispatched against LeBourget Airfield, Paris; 52 hit the target at 0750-0820 hours; they claim 41-27-32 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17's are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 50 damaged; casualties are 16 WIA and 41 MIA.
FRIDAY, 16 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Air Support Command Mission Number 1: 16 B-26B's are dispatched against the marshalling yard at Abbeville, France; 14 hit the target at 2000 hours; 10 aircraft are damaged; casualties are 2 WIA. With this mis- sion, the VIII Air Support Command begins combat operations, having acquired the 322d, 323d, 386th, and 387th Bombardment Groups (Medium).
SATURDAY, 17 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 74: The two primary targets are the rail industry at Hannover, Germany and the aviation industry at Hamburg, Germany. Both missions are recalled due to weather but the bombers hit three targets, i.e.:
1. 205 B-17's and 2 YB-40's are dispatched against Hannover; 33 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 32-7-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost, 2 are damaged beyond repair and 50 are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 9 WIA and 3 MIA.
2. 125 B-17's are dispatched against Hamburg; 1 hits a convoy and 21 attempt to bomb the Fokker plant at Amsterdam, The Netherlands which is obscured by clouds; the target is missed and 150 civilians are killed; they claim 28-9-33 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 41 are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 14 MIA.
VIII Air Support Command Mission Nubmer 2: B-26's fly a diversion to the Cayeux, France area.
THURSDAY, 22 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
The results of the first phase of the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) are good according to a report of the British Joint Intelligence Commit- tee. The report maintains the CBO has caused Germany to adopt a defensive air strategy resulting in more than half its fighter strength being employed on the Western Front at the expense of the Eastern and Mediter- ranean Fronts as well as causing considerable damage to transportation, the synthetic rubber industry, and the fuel, iron, and coal industries of the Ruhr.
SATURDAY, 24 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 75: Three targets in Norway are attacked. This is Eighth's first mission to Norway and its longest (1,900 miles or 3,040 km round trip) to date.
1. 179 B-17's and 1 YB-40 are dispatched against the nitrate works at Heroya, Norway; 167 aircraft hit the target at 1317-1414 hours; they claim 9-2-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost and 53 are damaged; casualties are 3 WIA and 10 MIA. Work at the plant is disrupted for 3.5 months, and unfinished aluminum and magnesium plants are damaged and subsequently abandoned by the Germans.
2. 45 B-17's are dispatched against the port area at Trondheim; 41 hit the target; they claim 4-2-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 9 are damaged; casualties are 3 WIA.
3. 84 B-17's are dispatched against the port area at Bergen; they find 10/10 cloud cover and return to base with their bombs.
Crews successfully experiment with a new assembly procedure for occasions when bad weather conditions prevent ascent in formation. Aircraft take off individually on instruments, proceed to a designated splasher beacon for group formation, and then along line of 3 splasher beacons for force assembly. The method works well and makes possible many future missions which might otherwise have been abandoned.
SUNDAY, 25 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 76: Three locations in Germany are targetted; 19 heavy bombers are lost, mostly to effective formation attacks by German fighters. The raid on Hamburg is part of 6 Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) missions against that port city and follows a raid of the previous night during which nearly 750 Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy bombers did tremendous damage to the target. The three targets are:
1. 123 B-17's are dispatched against the diesel engine works at Hamburg but due to cloud cover, 100 hit the shipyard at 1630-1645 hours; they claim 38-6-27 Luftwaffe aircraft; 15 B-17's are lost and 67 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 5 WIA and 150 MIA.
2. 59 B-17's are dispatched against the Kiel Shipyard but return because of cloud cover.
3. 141 B-17's are dispatched against the aviation industry at Warnem- unde; 118 hit the Kiel Shipyard at 1630-1700 hours; they claim 6-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17's are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 50 are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 40 MIA.
VIII Air Support Command Mission Number 3: 18 B-26B's are dispatched against the coke ovens at Ghent, Belgium; 13 hit the target at 1458 hours; 6 aircraft are damaged.
MONDAY, 26 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 77: Two targets in Germany and a convoy are hit, i.e.:
1. 119 B-17's and 2 YB-40's are dispatched against rubber factories at Hannover; 96 hit the target at 1200-1243 hours; they claim 40-9-28 Luftwaffe aircraft; 16 B-17's are lost; casualties are 4 KIA, 22 WIA and 126 MIA.
2. 49 of 61 B-17's dispatched against Hannover hit a convoy and other targets of opportunity; they claim 15-1-7 Luftwaffe aircraft; 6 B-17's are lost; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 51 MIA.
3. 54 of 121 B-17's dispatched against Hannover hit the U-boat yards at Hamburg at 1159-1200 hours; they claim 5-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-17's are lost; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 20 MIA.
A total of 3 B-17's are damaged beyond repair and 86 are damaged on this mission. Mission results are good but costly; 24 aircraft are lost, mostly to enemy fighters.
VIII Air Support Command Mission Number 4: 18 B-26B's are dispatched against the Saint-Omer/Longuenesse Airfield in France; 15 hit the target at 1112 hours; 4 aircraft are damaged.
HQ 41st Bombardment Wing (Heavy) arrives at Brampton Grange, England from the US. This unit will be redesignated 41st Combat Bombardment Wing (Heavy) on 13 Sep 43.
HQ 390th Bombardment Group (Heavy) and it's 568th, 569th, 570th and 571st Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) arrive at Framlingham, England from the US with B-17's. The group will fly it's first mission on 12 Aug and remain at this station until Aug 45.
TUESDAY, 27 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Air Support Command Mission Number 5: 18 B-26B's are dispatched against Tricqueville Airfield, France; 17 hit the target at 1825 hours.
WEDNESDAY, 28 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 78: The aviation industry in Germany is targetted but bad weather hampers the raids. The targets are:
1. 182 B-17's are dispatched against the Fieseler Works at Kassel, Germany; 58 hit the target at 1027-1054 hours; they claim 27-15-22 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 B-17's are lost, 4 are damaged beyond repair and 54 damaged; casualties are 15 WIA and 71 MIA.
2. 120 B-17's are dispatched to the Fw 190 plant at Oschersleben, Germany; 37 hit the target; they claim 56-19-41 Luftwaffe aircraft; 15 B- 17's are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 64 damaged; casualties are 11 WIA and 134 MIA.
This is the deepest US bomber penetration into Germany to date. The raid achieves good results however, 22 B-17's are lost as fighters score first effective results with rockets. 105 P-47's, equipped with jettison- able belly tanks for the first time on a mission, escort the B-17's into Germany; other P-47's, going more than 30 miles (48 km) deeper into Germany than they have penetrated before, meet the returning bombers. They surprise about 60 German fighters and destroy 9 of them; 1 P-47 is lost.
VIII Air Support Command Mission Numbers 6 and 7: The primary targets are in Belgium and France, i.e.:
1. 18 B-26B's are dispatched against the coke ovens at Zeebrugge, Belgium; 17 hit the target at 1105 hours; 3 B-26's are damaged.
2. 18 B-26B's are dispatched against Tricqueville Airfield, France but the mission is recalled when the accompanying fighters do not join up.
THURSDAY, 29 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 79: 2 locations in Germany are the targets for this mission:
1. 167 B-17's and a YB-40 are dispatched to the shipyards at Kiel; 91 hit the shipyard at 0901 hours and 48 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 48-6-33 Luftwaffe aircraft; 6 B-17's are lost, 2 are damaged beyond repair and 62 are damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 8 WIA and 61 MIA.
2. 81 B-17's are dispatched to the Heinkel Works at Warnemunde; 54 hit the target at 0922-0924 hours; they claim 0-2-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17's are lost and 7 damaged; casualties are 40 MIA.
VIII Air Support Command Missions 8 and 9: 2 airfields are the target:
1. 18 B-26B's are dispatched against Schipol Airfield at Amsterdam, The Netherlands; the mission is aborted due to a navigational error.
2. 21 B-26B's are dispatched against Ft. Rouge Airfield, France; 19 hit the target at 1828 hours; 8 B-26's are damaged.
FRIDAY, 30 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 80: The aviation industry at Kassel, Germany is targetted for today:
1. 119 B-17's are dispatched to the Bettenhausen Fieseler Works; 94 hit the target at 0910-0917 hours; they claim 40-7-29 Luftwaffe aircraft; 6 B-17's are lost, 5 are damaged beyond repair and 64 are damaged; casualties are 11 KIA, 10 WIA and 52 MIA.
2. 67 B-17's are dispatched to the Waldau Fieseler Works; 40 hit the target at 0925-0928 hours; they claim 8-6-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 6 B-17's are lost and 18 are damaged; casualties are 1 WIA and 45 MIA.
107 P-47's with auxiliary tanks escort these raids and they surprise the attacking Luftwaffe fighters over Bocholt, Germany as the enemy is not yet accustomed to fighter escort penetration beyond the coastal fringe. They claim 25-4-8 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 P-47's are lost and 1 is damaged beyond repair; casualties are 6 MIA.
VIII Air Support Command Mission Numbers 10A and 10B: 2 airfields are targetted:
1. 24 B-26B's are dispatched to the Woensdrecht Airfield, The Nether- lands; 11 hit the target at 0657 hours; 1 B-26 is lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 5 are damaged; casualties are 7 WIA and 6 MIA.
2. 24 B-26B's are dispatched to the Courtrai/Wevelghem Airfield, France but the mission is recalled because the escorting fighters are fog bound on the ground.
In the 2 B-26 missions, the B-26 crews claim 6-5-1 Luftwaffe aircraft.
SATURDAY, 31 JULY 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Air Support Command Missions Number 11A, 11B, 11C and 11D: The targets are 4 airfields in France:
1. 21 B-26B's are dispatched against Merville Airfield; 20 hit the target at 1120 hours; 2 B-26's are damaged.
2. 21 B-26B's are dispatched against Poix/Nord Airfield; 19 hit the target at 1122 hours; 1 B-26 is lost and 5 ared damaged; casualties are 7 MIA.
3. 21 B-26B's are dispatched against Abbeville/Drucat Airfield and all hit the target at 1617 hours.
4;. 21 B-26B's are dispatched against Tricqueville Airfield; 18 hit the target at 1623 ours; they claim 0-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 B-26's are damaged.
Lille and Amiens, France are bombed by Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers, also fighter-escorted, in conjunction with US raids.
HQ 392d Bombardment Group (Heavy) and it's 576th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) arrive at Wendling, England from the US with B-24's. They will fly their first combat mission on 6 Sep 43 and remain at this station until Jun 45.
Source:
COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
Jack McKillop
USAF (Airways and Air Communications Service)
1955-59
used sources by McKillop:
AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1961, ISBN 0-912799-02-1
COMBAT SQUADRONS OF THE AIR FORCE, WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF 1982
THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by the Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1973
