Mission # 143

MISSION SUMMARY

Mission Date	22 June 1944
Eighth Air Force Operations	Show Operations Because of the attack on B-17s at Poltava, USSR, on yesterday's shuttle mission, the B-17s at Mirgorod and P-51s at Piryatin are moved farther East; they are to be returned to Mirgorod and Piryatin to be dispatched to bases in Italy as soon as the weather permits; the move is fortunate as German bombers strike both Piryatin and Mirgorod during the night of 22/23 Jun. > Mission 431: In a morning mission 85 of 108 B-17s and 132 of 194 B-24s attack 12 CROSSBOW (V-weapon) installations in the Pas de Calais area; 1 B-17s is lost; 64 B-17s and 59 B-24s are damaged; 10 airmen are MIA. Escort is provided by 165 P-47s and 97 P-51s; some of the support fighters strafe coastal defenses; 1 P-51 is lost and 2 P-47s are damaged beyond repair; 1 pilot is KIA and 1 MIA. > Mission 432: During the afternoon 797 bombers are dispatched to attack 22 targets in France and Belgium; 9 bombers are lost: >> Air Task Force 1. Of 319 B-17s dispatched, 76 hit Lille/Fimes marshalling yard, 69 hit Ghent/Maritime marshalling yard, 35 hit Rouen oil depot, 13 hit La Vaubaliers, 13 hit Furnes Airfield, 13 hit Tingry, 12 hit Abbeville, 12 hit a tank area N of Rouen, 12 hit Douai railroad, 11 hit Mazingarbe, 10 hit Pont a Vendin, 1 hits Douai railroad; 3 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 81 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 5 WIA and 29 MIA. >>> Escort is provided by 108 P-47s; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft. >> Air Task Force 2. Of 149 B-24s, 46 hit Guyancourt/Caudron Airfield, 43 hit St Cyr Airfield, 36 hit Buc Airfield, 13 hit targets of opportunity and 5 hit Tours/La Riche bridge; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 67 B-24s are damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 3 MIA. >>> Escort is provided by 187 of 200 P-38s and 36 of 46 P-47s; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 P-38s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. >> Air Task Force 3. Of 216 B-17s, 70 hit Nucourt V-weapon site, 38 hit Brie-Comte-Robert Sug, 33 hit Etampes Airfield, 11 hit Lieusant railroad, 11 hit Melun bridge and 11 hit Melun marshalling yard; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 187 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA and 30 MIA. Of 113 B-24s, 101 hit an oil dump at Paris and 1 hits Dreux Airfield; 2 B-24s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 37 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 2 WIA and 23 MIA. >>> Escort is provided by 78 of 86 P-51s; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA). >> Air Task Force 4. 9 of 10 B-24s use Azon glide bombs against the Samur Bridge. >>> Escort is provided by 41 of 43 P-51s. > Mission 433: 1 B-17 flies a daylight leaflet mission to La Glacrie, France. > Mission 434: 9 of 9 B-17s drop leaflets in France and the Low Countries during the night. > 10 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions in France during the night. Source: Jack McKillop, Rutgers University, used with permission. Hide Operations
Mission	384th BG Mission Number 143, Eighth AF Force Mission Number 431 V-2 Underground Bunker Next Mission Previous Mission The 384th Bombardment Group (H) flew as the high group of the 41st Combat Bombardment Wing on the first of today's two missions. The target was a heavily reinforced underground facility for storage, servicing, and launching V-2 rocket weapons. Each aircraft carried two 2,000-pound bombs which were released on the target using Gee-H aiming.
Primary Target	Target: V-2 Storage & Launch Site Type: CROSSBOW (V-Weapons) Location: Wizernes, France
Target Attacked (Mode)	Primary (Gee-H)
Sortie/Aircraft Summary	Completed Mission, not including spares - 12 Flying Spare, Completed Mission - 2 Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused - 1 Scrubbed - 1
Mission Personnel	Mission Personnel Roster⇗ or Mission Loading Lists⇗
Mission Documents	Combat Mission Records and Plans obtained from the National Archives⇗

16 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
42‑38014⇗	[N/A]	Lead Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑39888⇗	Gottfried, Raymond Nathan⇗	Spare, Completed Mission	Flying spare; joined formation. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97178⇗	Kirkpatrick, William Hugh⇗	Completed Mission	High Squadron lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97237⇗	Adams, William Lowell⇗	Completed Mission	Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 44‑6109. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97263⇗	Lynch, Edward Thomas⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97273⇗	Gowder, Charles Fred⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97309⇗	Bagby, Donald Woods⇗	Completed Mission	Bomb release malfunctioned; bombs were not dropped. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97367⇗	Menke, Robert Arthur⇗	Completed Mission	Bomb release malfunctioned; bombs were not dropped. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97824⇗	Strong, Bert Franklin⇗	Completed Mission	Group lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102566⇗	Heim, Gerard Anthony⇗	Spare, Completed Mission	Flying spare; joined formation. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102601⇗	Carey, Gates Chapman⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron deputy. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102661⇗	Kelley, Robert Encil⇗	Completed Mission	Group deputy. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102959⇗	Fairfield, William Adelbert⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
43‑37713⇗	Peck, Harland Kenneth⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6105⇗	Hannaford, Vernon Lloyal⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6109⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑97237. SORTIE REPORT ⇗