384th BG Mission

MISSION SUMMARY

Mission Date	3 November 1943
VIII Bomber Command Operations	Show Operations Eighth Air Force Operations VIII Bomber Command Mission 119: 539 of 566 B-17's and B-24's dispatched to the Wilhelmshaven, Germany port area hit the target at 1307-1335 hours. They claim 21-3-24 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 B-17's are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair, and 47 damaged; casualties are 12 WIA and 70 MIA. The mission includes 11 Pathfinders, 9 using new H2X blind-bombing device (first time on a US mission) and 2 using H2S. This is the first Eighth Air Force blind-bombing mission in which the aiming point is completely destroyed and is also the Eighth's first 500-plane mission. 333 P-47's and 45 P-38's escort the bombers with the P-38's escorting the heavy bombers almost the entire trip and see their first real ETO combat, claiming 3-5-5 Luftwaffe aircraft. VIII Bomber Command Mission 120: During the night of 3/4 Nov, 2 B-17's drop 1.5+ million leaflets on Antwerp at 1915 hours and Rotterdam at 2008 hours. The 612th and 613th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 401st Bombardment Group (Heavy), arrive at Deenethorpe, England from the U.S. with B-17's. They will fly their first mission on 26 Nov. Source: Jack McKillop, Rutgers University, used with permission. Hide Operations
Mission	384th BG Mission Number 34, VIII BC Mission Number 119 Pathfinder Leads Attack Next Mission Previous Mission The 384th Bombardment Group (H) flew as high group of the 41st Combat Bombardment Wing (CBW), which was the fourth (and last) wing on this mission, and contributed the High Squadron of the High Group of the Composite Wing (second wing) on today's mission. The target was completely obscured by a solid cloud cover. Bombs were dropped when the wing lead, a 'Pathfinder' aircraft, dropped theirs. This was the first 'Bombing Through Overcast' (BTO) operational mission led by radar-equipped B-17s of the 482nd Bombardment Group.
Primary Target	Target: Port Area Type: Transportation Location: Wilhelmshafen, Germany
Target Attacked (Mode)	Primary (PFF)
Sortie/Aircraft Summary	Completed Mission, not including spares - 24 Scrubbed - 1
Mission Personnel	Mission Personnel Roster⇗ or Mission Loading Lists⇗
Mission Documents	Combat Mission Records and Plans obtained from the National Archives⇗

25 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
41‑24557⇗	Sundlun, Bruce George⇗	Completed Mission	High Squadron lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
41‑24560⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑3429. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
41‑24575⇗	Jorgenson, Henry (NMI)⇗	Completed Mission	FLIGHT TIME 7:15 SORTIE REPORT ⇗
41‑24578⇗	MacPhail, Philip Ray⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑3218⇗	Thompson, Siguard (NMI)⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑3259⇗	Bedsole, Joseph Linyer⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑3429⇗	Merritt, James Melvin⇗	Completed Mission	Ground Spare Aircraft, replaced 41-24560. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑3440⇗	Sprague, Alfred Lee⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑3441⇗	Goulder, Edmund Samuel⇗	Completed Mission	Squadron of composite group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑5051⇗	Morrison, Donald Sylvester⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑5444⇗	Ross, Burton Raymond⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑5838⇗	Willing, Mark Skinner⇗	Completed Mission	Squadron of composite group lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29632⇗	Ashcraft, Archie Bertis⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29636⇗	Ulrey, Edgar Ellsworth⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29651⇗	Wilson, William Monroe⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29717⇗	Carpenter, Walter Richard⇗	Completed Mission	Kennedy (CP) and Hedin (N) wounded by flak burst in nose of aircraft. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29768⇗	Fields, Leon (NMI)⇗	Completed Mission	Squadron of composite group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29927⇗	Carter, T L (IO)⇗	Completed Mission	Squadron of composite group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29935⇗	Wolf, Richard Vance⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29987⇗	Price, William Merriman⇗	Completed Mission	Squadron of composite group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑30026⇗	Algar, Philip Morris⇗	Completed Mission	Group lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑30033⇗	Kelly, James Henry⇗	Completed Mission	Group deputy. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑31073⇗	Yelvington, Melton Albert⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37758⇗	Jones, William Arch⇗	Completed Mission	Squadron of composite group. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37828⇗	Robinson, Robert Lawrence⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗

Mission # 34

MISSION SUMMARY