Mission # 120

MISSION SUMMARY

Mission Date	30 May 1944
Eighth Air Force Operations	Show Operations Loading of assault forces for Operation OVERLORD (invasion of Normandy) begins. > Mission 380: 928 bombers and 672 fighters in 6 forces are dispatched to hit aircraft industry targets in Germany and marshalling yards in France and Belgium; they claim 65-8-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 12 bombers and 9 fighters are lost: >> Air Task Force 1. 268 B-17s are dispatched to attack aviation industry targets at Dessau (83 bomb), Halberstadt (107 bomb) and Oschersleben (51 bomb); 5 other hit targets of opportunity; they claim 8-5-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost and 81 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA and 86 MIA. >> Air Task Force 2. 369 B-24s are dispatched to hit aviation depots at Oldenburg (135 bomb), Rotenburg (147 bomb) and Zwischenahn (71 bomb); 1 other hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 36 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 2 WIA and 9 MIA. >> Air Task Force 3. 46 of 91 B-24s hit Munster/Handorf Airfield and 36 others hit Diepholz Airfield; 2 B-24s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 36 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 6 WIA and 9 MIA. >> Air Task Force 4. 122 of 126 B-17s hit French marshalling yards; 62 hit Reims and 60 hit Troyes; 24 B-17s are damaged. >> Air Task Force 5. 39 of 40 B-17s hit Brussels/Schaerbeck marshalling yard, Belgium; 12 B-17s are damaged. >> Air Task Force 6. 76 of 84 B-17s hit V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais, France; 12 B-17s are damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 10 MIA. >> Escort is provided by 186 P-38s, 184 P-47s and 302 P-51s; 3 P-38s are damaged; P-47s claim 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft with 1 loss (pilot is MIA); P-51s claim 48-3-2 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 7-0-3 on the ground with the loss of 8 P-51s (pilots are MIA), 2 damaged beyond repair and 4 damaged. >> 637 Ninth Air Force fighters support the mission; they claim 8-0-2 aircraft in the air and 0-0-4 on the ground for the loss of 3. > 100 P-47s are dispatched to bomb 4 rail bridges in NW France; 37 hit Longueil bridge, 26 hit Beaumont-sur-Oise bridge, 23 hit Canly-le-Jouque bridge and 12 hit the Creil bridge; 1 P-47 is lost (pilot is MIA). Source: Jack McKillop, Rutgers University, used with permission. Hide Operations
384^th Bomb Group Mission	384th BG Mission Number 120, Eighth AF Force Mission Number 380 Airfield Targeted Next Mission Previous Mission The 384th Bombardment Group (H) flew as the Lead and Low Groups of the 41st B Combat Bombardment Wing, the last of six Wings in Air Task Force 1, on today's mission. With good conditions for visual bombing, the target was hit hard.
Primary Target	Target: Aircraft Hangars and Repair Sheds Type: Aircraft Industry Location: Halberstadt, Germany
Target Attacked (Mode)	Primary (Visual)
Sortie/Aircraft Summary	Completed Mission, not including spares - 31 Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused - 2 Scrubbed - 2 Aborted - 5
Mission Personnel	Mission Personnel Roster⇗ or Mission Loading Lists⇗
Mission Documents	Combat Mission Records and Plans obtained from the National Archives⇗
Other Mission Documents	1944-05-30, Low Group Lead, Lead Crew Photo, O. Parks, D. Bennett⇗ 1944-05-30, Wing Lead, Lead Crew Photo, Beckett, J. Kelly⇗

40 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⇗	[N/A]	Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑31484⇗	Bennett, Dewayne (NMI)⇗	Completed Mission	Low Group Lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37776⇗	Malone, John James⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37792⇗	Maggart, Richard Lee⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Low Group, original Low Squadron Deputy. Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑37822. Turned back over field shortly after takeoff because #2 engine became inoperative and had to be feathered. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37822⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑37792. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑37974⇗	Eakins, Robert Nathanial⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑38013⇗	Gottfried, Raymond Nathan⇗	Completed Mission	Low Group, Low Squadron Deputy. Assumed this role after original Deputy aborted. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑38014⇗	Kelly, John Thomas⇗	Completed Mission	Lead Group, Wing Lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑39888⇗	Strong, Bert Franklin⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97072⇗	Brown, Billie Barnard⇗	Completed Mission	Lead Group, Wing Deputy. Assumed this role after original Deputy aborted. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97139⇗	Thoma, Edward Paul⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97150⇗	MacFarlane, Menzies James⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97178⇗	Kirkpatrick, William Hugh⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97201⇗	Hannaford, Vernon Lloyal⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97237⇗	Inman, Loren Alexander⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97251⇗	June, Glenn Joseph⇗	Completed Mission	Lead Group, Low Squadron Lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97263⇗	Hale, Charles Eugene⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Lead Group, original Wing Deputy. Turned back at 0948 hrs because #2 and #3 engines failed. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97271⇗	Birckhead, Robert Bruce⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97273⇗	Meland, Ralph Wendell⇗	Completed Mission	Lead Group, High Squadron Lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97282⇗	Johnson, William T⇗	Completed Mission	Low Group, Low Squadron Lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97309⇗	Peterson, Harold William⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97320⇗	Melzar, Raymond Augustus⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97449⇗	Wortman, Marshall (NMI)⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Turned back at 0926 hrs because radio operator became ill. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97521⇗	[N/A]	Scrubbed: Did Not Take Off	Replaced by Ground Spare Aircraft 42‑102442. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑97824⇗	James, Robert Huey⇗	Completed Mission	Low Group, High Squadron Deputy. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102430⇗	Burkhard, James Albert⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102442⇗	Liebert, Jack Louis⇗	Completed Mission	Ground Spare Aircraft; replaced 42‑97521. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102449⇗	[N/A]	Lead Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑102459⇗	Sullivan, James Dominic⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102500⇗	Gowder, Charles Fred⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Lead Group, original Low Squadron Deputy. Turned back at 0952 hrs due to illness of tail gunner. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102501⇗	Rosborough, James Edward⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102518⇗	Dean, Ralph Merrick⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102601⇗	Carey, Gates Chapman⇗	Completed Mission	Lead Group, Low Squadron Deputy. Assumed this role after original Deputy aborted. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102617⇗	Rimbold, Arthur Arimese⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102620⇗	Shearer, Wilbur Lee⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑102661⇗	Sammons, Gerald Busby⇗	Completed Mission	Low Group, High Squadron Lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107057⇗	Melsen, Howard Carl⇗	Completed Mission	Lead Group, High Squadron Deputy. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107064⇗	Stevens, Raymond Robert⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Turned back at 0942 hrs because of a leak in the glycol system behind #2 engine, which pilot thought was an excessive gas leak. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑107148⇗	Pompe, Bernard Joseph⇗	Completed Mission	Low Group Deputy. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
44‑6080⇗	Menke, Robert Arthur⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗