Mission # 118

MISSION SUMMARY

Mission Date	28 May 1944
Eighth Air Force Operations	Show Operations > Mission 376: 1,341 bombers and 697 fighters are dispatched to hit oil targets in Germany; 32 bombers and 9 fighters are lost; they claim 64-30-31 Luftwaffe aircraft: >> Air Task Force 1. 610 B-17s are dispatched against an oil target at Ruhland/Schwarz-Heide (38 bomb) and aircraft factory at Dessau (12 bomb); secondary targets are aviation factories at Zwickau (15 bomb) and Leipzig (28 bomb); 14 bombers hit Bohlen, 15 hit Meissen, 19 hit Brandis/Polenz Wusten-Sachsen Airfield, 12 hit Frankfurt marshalling yard, 32 hit Ubigau, 20 hit Dessau, 4 hit Frankfurt, 5 hit Camburg and 22 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 20-21-18 Luftwaffe aircraft; 17 B-17s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 107 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 15 WIA and 155 MIA. >> Air Task Force 2. 255 B-17s are dispatched to an oil dump at Konigsburg/Magdeburg (105 bomb) and oil industry at Magdeburg/Rothensee (55 bomb); 17 hit Dessau and 6 bomb the marshalling yard at Gera; they claim 16-8-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost and 64 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 90 MIA. >> Air Task Force 3. 106 B-24s are dispatched to Lutzkendorf/Halle (66 bomb); 10 hit Wetzlar and 6 hit a target of opportunity; 3 B-24s are lost and 16 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 3 MIA. >> Air Task Force 4. 311 B-24s are dispatched to oil targets at Merseburg/Leuna (63 bomb) and Zeitz-Troglitz (187 bomb); 10 hit Limburg, 8 hit Memmingen, 9 hit Saalfeld and 10 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 B-24s are lost and 23 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 1 WIA and 26 MIA. >> Air Task Force 5. 58 of 59 B-17s hit Cologne/Eifeltor marshalling yard without loss; glide bombs are used but the weapon proves unsuccessful. >> Escort is provided by 182 P-38s, 208 P-47s and 307 P-51s; no P-38s are lost; P-47s claim 2-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 0-0-1 on the ground with the loss of 4 P-47s (pilots are MIA), 2 damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; P-51s claim 25-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft with the loss of 5 (pilots are MIA), 1 damaged beyond repair and 8 damaged. 527 >> Ninth Air Force fighters also fly escort and claim 33-0-10 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 5-0-7 on the ground for the loss of 5 fighters. > Mission 377: 5 of 5 B-17s drop leaflets in Belgium and Norway. 22 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions; 1 is lost. Source: Jack McKillop, Rutgers University, used with permission. Hide Operations
384^th Bomb Group Mission	384th BG Mission Number 118, Eighth AF Force Mission Number 376 The "Grapefruit" Mission Next Mission Previous Mission For the second mission of the day - identified as 'Grapefruit Mission' in Group records - the 384th Bombardment Group (H) formed the High Group of the 41st Combat Bombardment Wing, the sole wing comprising Air Task Force 5. This was an experimental attack using first-generation glide bombs. The primary target is identified as 'Railroad Marshaling Yards' or 'Industrial Center of City' in various Group documents. A great deal of practice and experimentation was involved in preparing crews and equipment for this mission. Results were inconclusive; however, it should be noted that the 384th did not repeat an attack of this type again.
Primary Target	Target: Railroad Marshalling Yards Type: Transportation Location: Cologne / Köln, Germany
Target Attacked (Mode)	Primary (Visual)
Sortie/Aircraft Summary	Completed Mission, not including spares - 18 Flying Spare, Completed Mission - 2 Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused - 2 Scrubbed - 2
Mission Personnel	Mission Personnel Roster⇗ or Mission Loading Lists⇗
Mission Documents	Combat Mission Records and Plans obtained from the National Archives⇗
Other Mission Documents	28 May 1944, Group Lead, Nuttall, L. Armstrong⇗

24 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
42‑3429⇗	Halasz, John Julius⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑3441⇗	Dean, Ralph Merrick⇗	Spare, Completed Mission	Flying Spare Aircraft. Joined formation. Ground Spare Aircraft. Replaced 42‑107064. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑31484⇗	Armstrong, Lloyd Rowland⇗	Completed Mission	Group Lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37758⇗	Birckhead, Robert Bruce⇗	Completed Mission	High Squadron Deputy (original assignment). However, he became separated from the 384th formation. He joined the Low Squadron of the Lead Group (303rd BG) as #7; released bombs on target but didn't arm them due to a blown fuse. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37776⇗	[N/A]	Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑37785⇗	Strong, Bert Franklin⇗	Completed Mission	Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑38013. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37974⇗	Kelley, Robert Encil⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37982⇗	James, Robert Huey⇗	Spare, Completed Mission	Flying Spare Aircraft. Joined formation. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑38013⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑37785. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑39888⇗	Gottfried, Raymond Nathan⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97139⇗	[N/A]	Lead Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑97178⇗	Peterson, Walter Thomas⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97188⇗	Maggart, Richard Lee⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97271⇗	Adams, William Lowell⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97282⇗	Boger, Eugene Arthur⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron Lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97309⇗	Burkhard, James Albert⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97573⇗	Kirkpatrick, William Hugh⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102430⇗	Bagby, Donald Woods⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102442⇗	Van Every, Russell Meredith⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102617⇗	Rimbold, Arthur Arimese⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron Deputy. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107057⇗	Lane, Edward William⇗	Completed Mission	High Squadron Lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107064⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑3441. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107125⇗	Helmley, Loyd Elmer⇗	Completed Mission	Group Deputy. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107148⇗	Peterson, Harold William⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗