| MISSION DATA: | |||
| DATE | 384th BG Mission # | 8th AF Mission # | 384th PRIMARY TARGET |
| 1944‑06‑08 | 131 | 400 | Target: Railroad Marshalling Yards (41C) & Loire River Railroad Bridge (41D) Type: Transportation Location: Orleans, France |
| Railroads Targeted with Mixed Results: The 384th Bombardment Group (H) provided all three groups of the 41st C Combat Bombardment Wing (41C Wing) and the low group of the 41st D Combat Bombardment Wing (41D Group) on today's mission: these Wings were fifth and sixth of the eleven bomb Wings of Air Task Force #1. In support of the invasion force, bombers aimed to disrupt supply lines and materiel in railroad cars. Bombing by the 41C Wing was prevented by clouds over the primary target, so each group independently sought the secondary target, targets of opportunity (TOO), and last resort targets, which were all hidden by localized cloud cover, so attempts to bomb were abandoned and all bombers returned to base with their lethal loads. The 41D Group found their target in the clear: strike photos confirmed direct hits on the railroad bridge. | |||
| SORTIE DATA: | ||
| COMBAT CREDIT | STATUS | TARGET ATTACKED (MODE) |
| Yes |
Completed Mission Comments: 41C Wing. |
Primary (Visual) |
| SORTIE AIRCRAFT DATA: | ||||
| TYPE | SERIAL NUMBER | SQUADRON | SQ CODE | NAME |
| B-17G | 42‑97188 ⇗ | 544th | SU*A | not known |
| SORTIE CREW DATA: | |||
| POSITION | CREWMEMBER | UNIT | STATUS |
| Pilot | Eakins, Robert Nathanial⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Co-pilot | Summerville, Robert Dana⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Navigator | Schmidtke, George Emory⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Togglier | Witherspoon, Elmer Stanley⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Radio Operator | McClanahan, John Howard, Jr⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Engineer/Top Turret | Holt, Alfred Irwin⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Ball Turret | Kilpatrick, Redin Robert⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Tail Gunner | Harris, Thomas James⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |
| Waist (Flexible) Gunner | Marshall, Sylvester Joseph⇗ | 544 | Completed, Uninjured |