Mission # 152

MISSION SUMMARY

Mission Date	6 July 1944
Eighth Air Force Operations	Show Operations > Mission 455: In the morning, missions are flown to France and Germany. >> Air Task Force 1. 800 bombers and 224 fighters are dispatched to bomb 18 V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area; 556 of 641 B-17s and 133 of 159 B-24s bomb; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair; 161 B-17s and 59 B-24s are damaged; 2 airmen are KIA and 3 WIA. Escort is provided by 141 P-38s and 83 P-51s; they claim 4-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-38 is lost (pilot is MIA). >> Air Task Force 2. 229 of 262 B-24s bomb the dock area at Kiel, Germany and 1 hits a target of opportunity; 3 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 105 damaged; 8 airmen are WIA and 22 MIA. Escort is provided by 168 of 189 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot is MIA). > Mission 456: In the late afternoon 73 of 104 B-17s and 148 of 176 B-24s strike 6 V-weapon sites and supply installations, 3 railroad bridges, a highway bridge, and an airfield in N France. Escort is provided by 443 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-47 is lost; afterwards a squadron of P-47s dive-bombs 3 airfields in the Conches area. > 212 P-38s and P-47s, fly fighter-bomber missions against rail and road traffic in the Paris area; they claim 11-1-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-47s are lost (pilots are MIA). > Mission 457: 7 of 7 B-17s drop leaflets in Belgium and France during the night. > 20 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions; 1 B-24 is lost. A C-47 makes the first landing at a secret airstrip in the Ain, France area. Source: Jack McKillop, Rutgers University, used with permission. Hide Operations
Mission	384th BG Mission Number 152, Eighth AF Force Mission Number 456 Overcoming Weather Diffuculty Next Mission Previous Mission For today's second mission, thirteen aircraft of the 384th Bombardment Group (H) flew as a group (but designated as the 41st Combat Wing). The target name given is 'BLANC/PIGNON/FERME', which was located within the commune of Cléty, France. Obscuration of the target and maneuvering difficulties led the group to make three bomb runs, finally dropping on a target of opportunity (TOO) two miles north of the primary target, which the bombardier believed was a V-1 launch site under construction.
Primary Target	Target: NOBALL (V-1 Launch Site) Type: CROSSBOW (V-Weapons) Location: Blanc Pignon Ferme, Cléty, France
Target Attacked (Mode)	TOO (Visual) Target: NOBALL (V-1 Launch Site) Type: CROSSBOW (V-Weapons) Location: Two miles north of Cléty, France
Sortie/Aircraft Summary	Completed Mission, not including spares - 11 Flying Spare, Completed Mission - 1 Flight Completed - 1 Scrubbed - 1 Aborted - 1
Mission Personnel	Mission Personnel Roster⇗ or Mission Loading Lists⇗
Mission Documents	Combat Mission Records and Plans obtained from the National Archives⇗

15 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
42‑31484⇗	Pompe, Bernard Joseph⇗	Flight Completed	Weather aircraft; remainder of crew (CP, N, RO, Eng) not identified SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑38014⇗	Gowder, Charles Fred⇗	Completed Mission	Group deputy. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97072⇗	Murchan, Lawrence Aloysius⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97237⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑6080. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97320⇗	James, Robert Huey⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Turned back with a feathered prop. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97367⇗	Menke, Robert Arthur⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102617⇗	Allred, Frank Lavon⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102933⇗	Ungerman, Kenneth Armistead⇗	Completed Mission	Group lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107058⇗	Rucker, David Leroy⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
43‑37717⇗	Seitz, Harold Meade⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6080⇗	Rooker, Billy Roy⇗	Completed Mission	Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑97237. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6105⇗	Sweeney, Ned Hardy⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6109⇗	Bagby, Donald Woods⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6141⇗	Melsen, Howard Carl⇗	Spare, Completed Mission	Flying spare; joined formation. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6147⇗	Olson, Norman (NMI)⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗