384th BG Mission

MISSION SUMMARY

Mission Date	21 July 1944
Eighth Air Force Operations	Show Operations Mission 486: 1,110 bombers and 795 fighters are dispatched in 4 forces to bomb targets in Germany, among them 4 aircraft plants and 2 ball bearing plants; 31 bombers and 8 fighters are lost: >> Air Task Force 1. Of 433 B-24s, 106 hit Munich, 93 hit Saarbrucken marshalling yards, 78 hit targets of opportunity, 54 hit Oberpfeffenhofen, 33 hit Neuabuing, 13 hit Bullay Bridge, and 9 hit Schorndorf; they claim 10-2-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 22 B-24s are lost, 3 are damaged beyond repair and 181 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 7 WIA and 205 MIA. Escort is provided by 262 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 2-0-1 aircraft in the air and 3-0-10 n the ground; 5 P-51s are lost. >> Air Task Force 2. Of 96 B-24s, 48 hit targets of opportunity, 17 hit Duren, 12 hit Walldrun marshalling yard and 9 hit Indenboden; 2 B-24s are lost and 12 damaged; 20 airmen are MIA. Escort is provided by 109 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft. >> Air Task Force 3. Of 241 B-17s, 90 hit Regensburg/Obertraubling, 44 hit Regensburg/ Prufening, 40 hit Stuttgart and 18 hit targets of opportunity; 4 B-17s are lost and 88 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 1 WIA and 38 MIA. Escort is provided by 148 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 3-0-0 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost. >> Air Task Force 4. Of 340 B-17s, 99 hit Schweinfurt, 70 hit Ebelsbach, 59 hit Ludwigshafen, 13 hit Bad Kreuznach, 13 hit Ebelsbach, 13 hit targets of opportunity, 12 hit Bad Munster, 12 hit Lachen, 12 hit Simmern marshalling yard, 8 hit Wurzburg, and 5 hit Neckargemund; 3 B-17s are lost and 81 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 3 WIA and 25 MIA. Escort is provided by 187 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-38 is lost. > Mission 487: 8 of 8 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night; 1 B-17 is damaged. Source: Jack McKillop, Rutgers University, used with permission. Hide Operations
Mission	384th BG Mission Number 163, Eighth AF Force Mission Number 486 Ludwigshfen Industries Attacked Next Mission Previous Mission The 384th Bombardment Group (H) provided all three groups of the 41st B Combat Bombardment Wing on today's mission, except for the high section of the high group which was made up of three aircraft from the 303rd BG at Molesworth, Station 107. The wing leader decided to bypass the primary target when he found it unsuitable for visual bombing. He opted to attack the PFF secondary, an industrial district that was better-suited to PFF attack.
Primary Target	Target: Airfield Type: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Location: Schwäbisch Hall, Germany
Target Attacked (Mode)	Secondary (PFF) Target: Industrial Area Type: Industry Location: Ludwigshafen, Germany
Sortie/Aircraft Summary	Completed Mission, not including spares - 32 Returned To Base - 1 Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused - 3 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⇗
Other Mission Documents	1944-07-21, Low Group Lead, G. June, R. Meland⇗ 1944-07-21, High Group Lead, M. Wortman, R. Koch⇗

38 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
42‑3441⇗	Bennett, Dewayne (NMI)⇗	Returned To Base	Assembly ship; remainder of crew not listed on mission documents. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑31222⇗	Patella, Joseph David⇗	Completed Mission	High section deputy, low group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑31484⇗	Spiers, Paul Robert⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37822⇗	Bahten, John Irwin⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37982⇗	Cole, Alfred Holton⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Lead group. Turned back over England because he could not locate formation after taking off late - navigator had overslept, and in his report stated he had difficulty performing navigation tasks. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97072⇗	Allred, Frank Lavon⇗	Completed Mission	High section lead, low group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97142⇗	Clements, Ben Hill⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97150⇗	Dudock, Edward Peter⇗	Completed Mission	High group hot camera ship. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97201⇗	Hannaford, Vernon Lloyal⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97251⇗	[N/A]	Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑97271⇗	[N/A]	Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑97282⇗	Norton, Paul E⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97320⇗	Melzar, Raymond Augustus⇗	Completed Mission	High section lead, lead group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97574⇗	Wilson, Quentin (NMI)⇗	Completed Mission	Wing lead. PFF aircraft and unidentified crew members provided by the 305th BG, Chelveston, AAF Station 105. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97941⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑107125. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97948⇗	[N/A]	Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑97960⇗	Koch, Robert Bruce⇗	Completed Mission	High group lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102430⇗	Herzog, John Henry⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron deputy, lead group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102459⇗	Thompson, Paul Waldron⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102500⇗	Jennings, William Cornelius⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron deputy, low group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102518⇗	Young, Daniel Monroe⇗	Completed Mission	Lead Squadron hot camera ship. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102566⇗	Minor, Henry W⇗	Completed Mission	Lead Squadron hot camera ship. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102601⇗	Strand, Robert Earl⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102620⇗	Davis, L K (IO)⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102933⇗	Meland, Ralph Wendell⇗	Completed Mission	Low group lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102959⇗	Combs, William Felix⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron deputy, high group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107058⇗	Donohue, William Roberts⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron hot camera ship, low group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107083⇗	Peterson, John Wright⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107121⇗	Shearer, Wilbur Lee⇗	Completed Mission	Low group deputy and hot camera ship. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107125⇗	Keate, Richard Clifford⇗	Completed Mission	Wing deputy. Lead Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑97941. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
43‑37713⇗	Myrick, Kenneth Delay⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron lead, low group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
43‑37822⇗	Maggart, Richard Lee⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
43‑37870⇗	Stevens, Raymond Robert⇗	Completed Mission	High group deputy and hot camera ship. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
43‑37917⇗	Cranstoun, Richard Leroy⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron lead, lead group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6080⇗	MacFarlane, Menzies James⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron lead, high group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6109⇗	Farra, Robert Leslie⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6135⇗	Bagby, Donald Woods⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6149⇗	Bennett, John R⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗

Mission # 163

MISSION SUMMARY