384th BG Mission

MISSION SUMMARY

Mission Date	28 May 1944
Eighth Air Force Operations	Show Operations > Mission 376: 1,341 bombers and 697 fighters are dispatched to hit oil targets in Germany; 32 bombers and 9 fighters are lost; they claim 64-30-31 Luftwaffe aircraft: >> Air Task Force 1. 610 B-17s are dispatched against an oil target at Ruhland/Schwarz-Heide (38 bomb) and aircraft factory at Dessau (12 bomb); secondary targets are aviation factories at Zwickau (15 bomb) and Leipzig (28 bomb); 14 bombers hit Bohlen, 15 hit Meissen, 19 hit Brandis/Polenz Wusten-Sachsen Airfield, 12 hit Frankfurt marshalling yard, 32 hit Ubigau, 20 hit Dessau, 4 hit Frankfurt, 5 hit Camburg and 22 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 20-21-18 Luftwaffe aircraft; 17 B-17s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 107 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 15 WIA and 155 MIA. >> Air Task Force 2. 255 B-17s are dispatched to an oil dump at Konigsburg/Magdeburg (105 bomb) and oil industry at Magdeburg/Rothensee (55 bomb); 17 hit Dessau and 6 bomb the marshalling yard at Gera; they claim 16-8-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost and 64 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 90 MIA. >> Air Task Force 3. 106 B-24s are dispatched to Lutzkendorf/Halle (66 bomb); 10 hit Wetzlar and 6 hit a target of opportunity; 3 B-24s are lost and 16 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 3 MIA. >> Air Task Force 4. 311 B-24s are dispatched to oil targets at Merseburg/Leuna (63 bomb) and Zeitz-Troglitz (187 bomb); 10 hit Limburg, 8 hit Memmingen, 9 hit Saalfeld and 10 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 B-24s are lost and 23 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 1 WIA and 26 MIA. >> Air Task Force 5. 58 of 59 B-17s hit Cologne/Eifeltor marshalling yard without loss; glide bombs are used but the weapon proves unsuccessful. >> Escort is provided by 182 P-38s, 208 P-47s and 307 P-51s; no P-38s are lost; P-47s claim 2-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 0-0-1 on the ground with the loss of 4 P-47s (pilots are MIA), 2 damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; P-51s claim 25-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft with the loss of 5 (pilots are MIA), 1 damaged beyond repair and 8 damaged. 527 >> Ninth Air Force fighters also fly escort and claim 33-0-10 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 5-0-7 on the ground for the loss of 5 fighters. > Mission 377: 5 of 5 B-17s drop leaflets in Belgium and Norway. 22 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions; 1 is lost. Source: Jack McKillop, Rutgers University, used with permission. Hide Operations
Mission	384th BG Mission Number 118, Eighth AF Force Mission Number 376 The "Grapefruit" Mission Next Mission Previous Mission For the second mission of the day - identified as 'Grapefruit Mission' in Group records - the 384th Bombardment Group (H) formed the High Group of the 41st Combat Bombardment Wing, the sole wing comprising Air Task Force 5. This was an experimental attack using first-generation glide bombs. The primary target is identified as 'Railroad Marshaling Yards' or 'Industrial Center of City' in various Group documents. A great deal of practice and experimentation was involved in preparing crews and equipment for this mission. Results were inconclusive; however, it should be noted that the 384th did not repeat an attack of this type again.
Primary Target	Target: Railroad Marshalling Yards Type: Transportation Location: Cologne / Köln, Germany
Target Attacked (Mode)	Primary (Visual)
Sortie/Aircraft Summary	Completed Mission, not including spares - 18 Flying Spare, Completed Mission - 2 Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused - 2 Scrubbed - 2
Mission Personnel	Mission Personnel Roster⇗ or Mission Loading Lists⇗
Mission Documents	Combat Mission Records and Plans obtained from the National Archives⇗
Other Mission Documents	28 May 1944, Group Lead, Nuttall, L. Armstrong⇗

24 AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED TO THIS MISSION
Table is sorted by Pilot, and may be sorted by any column: click the column head.
Aircraft	Pilot	Results	Mission/Sortie Information
42‑3429⇗	Halasz, John Julius⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑3441⇗	Dean, Ralph Merrick⇗	Spare, Completed Mission	Flying Spare Aircraft. Joined formation. Ground Spare Aircraft. Replaced 42‑107064. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑31484⇗	Armstrong, Lloyd Rowland⇗	Completed Mission	Group Lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37758⇗	Birckhead, Robert Bruce⇗	Completed Mission	High Squadron Deputy (original assignment). However, he became separated from the 384th formation. He joined the Low Squadron of the Lead Group (303rd BG) as #7; released bombs on target but didn't arm them due to a blown fuse. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37776⇗	[N/A]	Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑37785⇗	Strong, Bert Franklin⇗	Completed Mission	Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑38013. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37974⇗	Kelley, Robert Encil⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37982⇗	James, Robert Huey⇗	Spare, Completed Mission	Flying Spare Aircraft. Joined formation. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑38013⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑37785. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑39888⇗	Gottfried, Raymond Nathan⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97139⇗	[N/A]	Lead Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑97178⇗	Peterson, Walter Thomas⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97188⇗	Maggart, Richard Lee⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97271⇗	Adams, William Lowell⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97282⇗	Boger, Eugene Arthur⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron Lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97309⇗	Burkhard, James Albert⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97573⇗	Kirkpatrick, William Hugh⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102430⇗	Bagby, Donald Woods⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102442⇗	Van Every, Russell Meredith⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102617⇗	Rimbold, Arthur Arimese⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron Deputy. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107057⇗	Lane, Edward William⇗	Completed Mission	High Squadron Lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107064⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑3441. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107125⇗	Helmley, Loyd Elmer⇗	Completed Mission	Group Deputy. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107148⇗	Peterson, Harold William⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗

Mission # 118

MISSION SUMMARY