384th BG Mission

MISSION SUMMARY

Mission Date	7 July 1944
Eighth Air Force Operations	Show Operations > Mission 458: 1,129 bombers and 756 fighters are dispatched to attack synthetic oil plants, aircraft assembly plants and engine works, airfields, and an equipment depot, marshaling yards, railway station, and railway repair shops in Germany; 37 bombers and 6 fighters are lost: >> Air Task Force 1. Of 373 B-24s, 102 hit Lutzkendorf and 64 hit Halle oil plants, 90 hit Bernburg and 73 hit Aschersleben aircraft plants and 8 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 39-5-10 Luftwaffe aircraft; 28 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 126 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 11 WIA and 274 MIA. Escort is provided by 224 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 46-1-16 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-38 and 3 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA). >> Air Task Force 2. Of 303 B-17s, 64 hit Bohlen and 51 hit Merseburg oil plants, 67 hit Kolleda and 32 hit Lutzkendorf Airfields, 22 hit targets of opportunity and 16 hit Gottingen marshalling yard; 2 B-17s are lost and 112 damaged; 3 airmen are WIA and 20 MIA. Escort is provided by 185 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 9-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 3-0-1 on the ground; 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost (pilots are MIA). >> Air Task Force 3. Of 453 B-17s, 114 hit Leipzig/Taucha, 79 hit Leipzig/Mockau, 35 hit Leipzig/Heiterblick and 15 hit Leipzig/Abtnaundorf oil plants, 46 hit Leipzig bearing industry[A group], 35 hit Kolleda Airfield, 19 hit Leipzig Station and 7 hit Nordhausen; 7 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 152 damaged; 15 airmen are KIA, 5 WIA and 50 MIA. Escort is provided by 247 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 20-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair (pilot is WIA). > Mission 459: 6 of 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France and Belgium during the night. > 19 B-24s participate in CARPETBAGGER operations during the night. Source: Jack McKillop, Rutgers University, used with permission. Hide Operations
Mission	384th BG Mission Number 153, Eighth AF Force Mission Number 458 Me-109 Factory Targeted Next Mission Previous Mission The 384th Bombardment Group (H) provided the high groups for the 41st A and B Combat Bombardment Wings on today's mission. The A group encountered little difficulty completing the mission as briefed, but the story was quite different for the B group. Following assembly, the 41st B CBW leader led the formation through a very heavy cloud layer, causing the formation to deteriorate. Once clear of the clouds, few 384th ships were able to locate any formation. Those who did tacked on to the low B group and bombed the target using PFF. In addition, two of our ships collided in the cloudy conditions, with fatal results.
Primary Target	Target: Me-109 Aircraft Factory Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Leipzig, Germany
Target Attacked (Mode)	Primary (Visual)
Sortie/Aircraft Summary	Completed Mission, not including spares - 22 Flying Spare, Completed Mission - 2 Crashed - 2 Flight Completed - 1 Flying Spare, Returned As Briefed - 1 Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused - 1 Scrubbed - 3 Aborted - 12 Some Crewmembers Bailed Out - 1
Mission Personnel	Mission Personnel Roster⇗ or Mission Loading Lists⇗
Mission Documents	Combat Mission Records and Plans obtained from the National Archives⇗

45 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
42‑32106⇗	Young, Daniel Monroe⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	High group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; returned to base. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37788⇗	Hannaford, Vernon Lloyal⇗	Flight Completed	Weather aircraft; remainder of crew (CP, N, RO, Eng) not identified SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37974⇗	Combs, William Felix⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; tacked on to the low group of the 41st B wing and bombed with them. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37982⇗	Durdin, Larkin Clayton⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	High Squadron deputy, high group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; tacked on to the low group of the 41st B wing and bombed with them. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑38013⇗	Menke, Robert Arthur⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑38208⇗	Hale, Charles Eugene⇗	Completed Mission	High group deputy, 41st A wing. Deputy Grp Leader SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97072⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑97251. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97142⇗	Melsen, Howard Carl⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron deputy, high group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97201⇗	Coleman, Lee Browning⇗	Flying Spare, Returned As Briefed	High group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97237⇗	Brown, Billie Barnard⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97251⇗	Rosborough, James Edward⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	High group, 41st A wing. Turned back; reasons unknown. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97263⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	High group, 41st A wing. Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 44‑6149. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97271⇗	Seitz, Harold Meade⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; tacked on to the low group of the 41st B wing and bombed with them. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97273⇗	Pranger, Nicholas Vincent⇗	Completed Mission, Some Crew Bailed Out	High group, 41st A wing. Tailgunner bailed out during violent prop wash, apparently believing the aircraft was in trouble. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97367⇗	Sweeney, Ned Hardy⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97449⇗	Griggs, Frederick Monroe⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97521⇗	Melzar, Raymond Augustus⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; tacked on to the low group of the 41st B wing and bombed with them. Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑97072. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97941⇗	Dean, Ralph Merrick⇗	Completed Mission	High group lead, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; tacked on to the low group of the 41st B wing and bombed with them. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97948⇗	Gibson, James Allen⇗	Completed Mission	High Squadron deputy, high group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97960⇗	Shelley, John Keith⇗	Completed Mission	High group lead, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102430⇗	Herzog, John Henry⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; tacked on to the low group of the 41st B wing and bombed with them. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102442⇗	Anderson, Earl Overlade⇗	Crashed In Allied Territory	High group, 41st B wing. Collided with 44‑6147 over England due to weather conditions; crashed 8 miles NW Ridgewell at Withersfield, Suffolk, UK. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102500⇗	Gowder, Charles Fred⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron lead, high group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102501⇗	Endelicato, Marion (NMI)⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102518⇗	Olson, Norman (NMI)⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	High group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; returned to base. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102566⇗	Minor, Henry W⇗	Spare, Completed Mission	High group flying spare, 41st B wing; joined formation. Lost group in heavy clouds; tacked on to the low group of the 41st B wing and bombed with them. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102601⇗	Carey, Gates Chapman⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102617⇗	Allred, Frank Lavon⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	High group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; returned to base. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102620⇗	Stills, James Vernon⇗	Completed Mission	High Squadron lead, high group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102661⇗	Strong, Bert Franklin⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	High group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; returned to base. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102933⇗	[N/A]	Lead Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑102959⇗	Thompson, Paul Waldron⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Low Squadron deputy, high group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; returned to base. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107064⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	High group, 41st A wing. Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑107121. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107083⇗	Myrick, Kenneth Delay⇗	Spare, Completed Mission	High group, 41st A wing flying spare; joined formation. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107121⇗	Blackburn, Keith Monroe⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st A wing. Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑107064. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107148⇗	Burkhard, James Albert⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	High group deputy, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; returned to base. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107224⇗	Cole, Alfred Holton⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	High group, 41st B wing. Turned back with instruments out. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
43‑37703⇗	Murchan, Lawrence Aloysius⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	High group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; returned to base. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
43‑37713⇗	Sullivan, James Dominic⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
43‑37717⇗	Norton, Paul E⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	High group flying spare, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; returned to base. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6105⇗	Dudock, Edward Peter⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st A wing. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6109⇗	Adams, William Lowell⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; tacked on to the low group of the 41st B wing and bombed with them. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6141⇗	James, Robert Huey⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	High group, 41st B wing. Lost group in heavy clouds; returned to base. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6147⇗	Bagby, Donald Woods⇗	Crashed In Allied Territory	High group, 41st B wing. Collided with 42‑102442 over England due to weather conditions; crashed 8 miles NW Ridgewell at Withersfield, Suffolk, UK. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6149⇗	Bahten, John Irwin⇗	Completed Mission	High group, 41st A wing. Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑97263. SORTIE REPORT ⇗

Mission # 153

MISSION SUMMARY