886
14 March 1945
Object Number - UPL 35189
Official Description
Mission 886: 1,262 bombers and 804 fighters are dispatched to hit oil, rail and industrial targets in Germany; they claim 17-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air; 3 B-17s and 2 fighters are lost: 1. 526 B-17s are sent to hit oil refineries at Nienhagen (58) and Misburg (56), the Gebruder munitions plant (75) and Maschnbau (61) and Eisenwerke (74) factories at Hannover and the Seelze marshalling yard (80); secondary targets hit are Osnabruck (29) and the marshalling yard at Hannover; attacks were made visually and with H2X radar; 2 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 188 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 6 WIA and 19 MIA. 192 of 204 P-51s escort; 2 are damaged. 2. 449 B-17s are dispatched to hit the bridges at Vlotho (72) and Bad Ostenhausen (114), the marshalling yard and road junction at Lohne (144) and industrial plants at Hildesheim (60); 39 hit Osnabruck, a secondary target; targets of opportunity are the marshalling yards at Hameln (12) and Wetzlar (1) and Diemonde (1); all but one target is bombed visually; 1 B-17 is lost and 56 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 9 MIA. Escorting are 182 of 194 P-51s; they claim 1-0-1 aircraft. 3. 272 B-24s are sent to hit the marshalling yards at Holzwickede (31) and Gutersloh (126); 110 others hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Giessen; attacks are made visually and with H2X radar; 4 B-24s are damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 5 WIA. The escort is 185 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 3-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-47 is lost (pilot MIA). 4. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission without loss. 5. 29 of 33 P-41s escort Ninth AF bombers. 6. 50 P-51s fly a sweep of the Stein-Huder-Kassel area claiming 11-0-0 aircraft without loss. 7. 82 P-51s fly a sweep over the Remagen bridgehead; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair. 8. 20 P-51s escort 33 F-5s and 3 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany and Czechoslovakia. 9. 26 of 27 P-51s fly a scouting mission claiming 1-0-0 aircraft.
Description
"1,250 Heavies Strike Tanks, Gun Factories Near Hanover"
"The 8th Air Force swung back into the attack yesterday after a one-day lull, when 1,250 Fortresses and Liberators shook naval, industrial and communication targets from the Dutch coast south to Giessen, 45 miles east of the Remagen bridgehead"
"The bulk of the 8th's bombing was done in the hanover area. Two tank plants and a factory making half-tracks and self-propelled guns were hit in the city itself and at Hildesheim, less than 20 miles south of the city, a large castings plant was rocked."
"Other target in the area were oil refineries at Misburg and Nienhagen; marshalling yards at Seeize, and rail bridges across the Weser River at Vlotho and Bad Oyenhausen."
"Some of the Mustags of the 650 escorting fighters ran into a group of 20 Luftwaffe planes apparently headed to attack the heavies, but cut them off before they could reach the bomber formations. Several were shot down, but the exact score was not revealed last night".
-Unknown Newspaper Articles, The day after event(s)
Mission Details
Description: SCOUTING MISSION
BAD OSTENHAUSEN
Description: BRIDGE
Germany
Description: MARSHALLING YARDS
GIESSEN
Description: MARSHALLING YARDS
GUTERSLOH
Description: MARSHALLING YARDS
HAMELN
Description: MARSHALLING YARDS
HANNOVER
Description: MARSHALLING YARDS
HANNOVER/EISENWERKE
Description: INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
HANNOVER/GEBRUDER
Description: MUNITIONS PLANT
Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
HANNOVER/MASCHNBAU
Description: INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
HILDESHEIM
Description: INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
HOLZWICKEDE
Description: MARSHALLING YARDS
Notes: A mix of 185 P-47s and P-51s provide escort. Mix not given in available data.
LOHNE
Description: MARSHALLING YARDS
30629 Misburg, Germany
Description: OIL REFINERY
NEINHAGEN
Description: OIL REFINERY
OSNABRUCK
Description: BOMB TARGETS OF OPPORTUNITY
OSNABRUCK
Description: INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
REMAGEN BRIDGEHEAD
Description: FIGHTER SWEEP
SEELZE
Description: MARSHALLING YARDS
STEIN-HUDER-KASSEL
Description: FIGHTER SWEEP
VLOTHO
Description: BRIDGE
WETZLAR
Description: MARSHALLING YARDS
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 92nd Bomb Group 325th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-771619
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 458th Bomb Group 752nd Bomb Squadron 755th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-433086
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 96th Bomb Group 413th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: 0781263
- Highest Rank: Major
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 446th Bomb Group 448th Bomb Group 339th Bomb Squadron 712th Bomb Squadron 714th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-713163
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 466th Bomb Group 787th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant Colonel
- Role/Job: Co-Pilot/Pilot
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Kathleen Lady of Victory
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Chute The Works
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 614th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Shade Ruff #2
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 614th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 711th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Madame queen
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 614th Bomb Squadron
Revisions
https://95thbg.mmsw.eu/crew/59 owner of source material used
John G. Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner
Source: History of the 447th Bomb Group by Doyle Shields; pp. 292-293
John G. Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner
Source: History of the 447th Bomb Group by Doyle Shields; pp. 292-293
John G. Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner
Source: History of the 447th Bomb Group by Doyle Shields, pp. 292-293.
John G. Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner
Source: History of the 447th Bomb Group by Doyle Shields, pp. 292-293.
Changed location from 'DIEMONDE' to 'Germany' because the only Diemonde Google recognized was in Louisiana.
Lee Cunningham, 8th Air Force missions research database / Stan Bishop's 'Losses of the US 8th and 9th Air Forces', the Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces and the work of Roger Freeman including the 'Mighty Eighth War Diary'.