Mission # 24

MISSION SUMMARY

Mission Date	16 September 1943
VIII Bomber Command Operations	Show Operations Eighth Air Force Operations VIII Bomber Command Mission 97: 5 targets in France are hit: Air Task Force 1. 131 of 147 B-17's dispatched hit two targets in Nantes; 79 hit Nantes harbor installations at 1502-1512 hours and 52 hit Nantes/Chateau-Bougon Airfield at 1509-1512 hours; they claim 22-2-5 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 B-17's are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 47 are damaged; casualties are 9 WIA and 60 MIA. This mission is escorted by 79 P-47's; they claim 2-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft and suffer no losses or casualties. Air Task Force 2. 93 of 148 B-17's hit La Pallice harbor installations at 1755-1758 hours, Larochelle/Laleau Airfield at 1755-1758 and Cognac/Chateaubernard Airfield at 1731 hours; they claim 22-3-8 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17's are lost, 5 damaged beyond repair and 17 damaged; casualties are 44 KIA, 9 WIA and 30 MIA. VIII Bomber Command Mission 98: 5 B-17's of the 422d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 305th Bombardment Group (Heavy), join the RAF in a night attack on the marshalling yard at Modane, France; there are no losses or casualties. VIII Air Support Command Mission 59: 67 of 72 B-26's hit the Beaumont le Roger Airfield at 1735 hours and Tricoueville Airfield in France at 1735 hours; 2 B-26's are damaged. HQ 40th and 41st Combat Bombardment Wings (Heavy) transfer from Brampton Grange to Thurleigh and Molesworth, England respectively. Source: Jack McKillop, Rutgers University, used with permission. Hide Operations
384^th Bomb Group Mission	384th BG Mission Number 24, VIII BC Mission Number 97 Ship Gone; Port Facilities Attacked Next Mission Previous Mission The 384th Bomb Group flew as the Low Group of the leading Wing of Air Task Force 1 on today's Mission. Primary target was a supply ship for submarines. The ship was not found in the briefed area, so the Group attacked the secondary target, port facilities and shipping, with good results.
Primary Target	Target: Blockade Runner Ship (in Loire River) Type: Transportation Location: Nantes, France
Target Attacked (Mode)	Secondary (Visual) Target: Harbor Facilities Type: Transportation Location: Nantes, France
Sortie/Aircraft Summary	Completed Mission, not including spares - 11 Ditched - 1 Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused - 3 Aborted - 5 Failed To Return - 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	1943-09-16, Group Lead, R. Ketelsen, R. Lecates⇗

21 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	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
41‑24560⇗	Ingles, John Thomas⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Turned back; unable to locate formation after passing through cloud layer. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑3216⇗	Lecates, Robert Leslie⇗	Completed Mission	Group lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑3218⇗	Van der Haeghen, Joseph Albert⇗	Completed Mission	Group deputy. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑3429⇗	Estes, Thomas Jefferson⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Turned back; unable to locate formation after passing through cloud layer. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑3440⇗	Sprague, Alfred Lee⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑3459⇗	Higdon, Philip Earl⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Turned back; unable to locate formation after passing through cloud layer. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑5086⇗	[N/A]	Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑5404⇗	Thompson, Siguard (NMI)⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Turned back; unable to locate formation after passing through cloud layer. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑5838⇗	Frink, Horace Everett⇗	Completed Mission	Low Squadron lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑5849⇗	Butler, Johnny Addison⇗	Failed To Return	Shot down by enemy aircraft; crashed near Rennes, France; MACR 722. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29651⇗	Jacobs, Randolph George Edward⇗	Aborted Mission After Taking Off.	Turned back; unable to locate formation after passing through cloud layer. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29699⇗	Price, William Merriman⇗	Failed To Return: Ditched	Ditched in the English Channel Near Hope Cove, Knightsbridge, Devon (about 15 miles SE of Plymouth), after being damaged by enemy aircraft; crew rescued by a fishing boat; Leigh was injured and hospitalized in Hope Cove until 2 October; no MACR; all returned to duty. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29768⇗	Willing, Mark Skinner⇗	Completed Mission	Landed away at RAF St. Athan, Wales. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29828⇗	Ashcraft, Archie Bertis⇗	Completed Mission	S/Sgt James R. Fields awarded Silver Star (see 'As Briefed...', page 198). Landed away at RAF High Ercall, Shropshire. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑29935⇗	[N/A]	Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused
42‑30005⇗	Harry, William Russell⇗	Completed Mission	SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑30026⇗	Algar, Philip Morris⇗	Completed Mission	Landed away at RAF Colerne, Wiltshire. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑30033⇗	Kelly, James Henry⇗	Completed Mission	High Squadron lead. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑30043⇗	Yelvington, Melton Albert⇗	Completed Mission	Landed away at RAF Chivenor, Devon. SORTIE REPORT ⇗
42‑30196⇗	[N/A]	Lead Ground Spare Aircraft, Unused