VIII Bomber Command 60
21 May 1943Identified person based on Freeman, The Mighty Eighth War Diary, p. 64
Description
The German naval and port facilities at Wilhelmshaven and Emden, Germany are the two primary targets for this mission. Once again, there is a two-fold strategic objective: entice the Luftwaffe to commit its fighter forces; and further degrade the naval and port facilites supporting the German U-Boat fleet. A combined force of 98 B-17s is despatched from: 91BG (21); 303BG (19); 305BG (18); 306BG (21); and 351BG (19) to attack the harbour facilities at Kiel, Germany. The Germans know this is a high priority objective for the Allies and have no choice but to vigorously defend it. 77 of the 98 B-17s are effective on the target. The cost is high, at about 7% of the attacking force. 7 B-17s MIA. However, the bomber gunners claim 47-5-17 on the attacking fighters.
A second combined force of 63 B-17s is despatched from: 92BG (6); 94BG (20); 95BG (15) and 96BG (22). 96BG abandoned the mission because of formation assembly problems so none of that group were able to bomb. 46 of the 63 B-17s are effective on the target. Once again the cost is high with nearly 8% of the force shot down. 5 B-17s are MIA, 3 from the 94BG, or 15%. The bomber gunners claim 31-6-6 of the attacking fighters.
While these attacks are achieveing moderate success on the naval facilities, they are taking a toll on the Luftwaffe. However, the 7-8% loss rate among the bomber crews is of great concern, especially on the morale of the bomber crews. Based on the cumulative losses on 8th Air Force bomber crews to this date, the chances of a crew completeing 25 missions has dropped to 41.97%
Mission Details
Description: U-BOAT PENS
Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Notes: 94th Bomb Group one B-17 crash-landed at North Weald, UK, aircraft DBR. 96th Bomb Group one B-17 Damaged Beyond Repair (DBR) at base.
Mission Statistics
- Tonnage Dropped: 111.00
- People killed in action: 39
- People wounded in action: 5
- Prisoners of war: 13
- People returned to duty: 10
- Aircraft sent: 63
- Aircraft effective: 46
- Aircraft missing in action: 5
- Aircraft damaged beyond repair: 1
- Aircraft damaged: 9
Description: NAVAL BASE
Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
Notes: German fighters fire air-to-air rockets. There is no fighter escort on this mission. One 306th Bomb Group was down at sea, but crew of 10 rescued after spending 30 hours in a dinghy. Not included in Missing in Action (MIA) mission count. 306th had 4 aborts.
Mission Statistics
- Tonnage Dropped: 193.00
- People killed in action: 44
- People wounded in action: 9
- Prisoners of war: 28
- People returned to duty: 10
- Aircraft sent: 98
- Aircraft effective: 77
- Aircraft missing in action: 7
- Aircraft damaged: 24
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
People
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Shady lady
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 351st Bomb Group 510th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit: 351st Bomb Group
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Amatol
- Unit: 351st Bomb Group 510th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Linda Ball
- Unit: 351st Bomb Group 511th Bomb Squadron
Revisions
Lee Cunningham 4-Jan-2014. Added description based on "The Mighty Eighth War Diary" Roger A. Freeman; Chances of completing a 25-mission tour calculated by Mr. Cunningham based on the cumulative statistics of number of bombers despatched versus number MIA.
Lee Cunningham 4-Jan-2014. Added description based on "The Mighty Eighth War Diary" Roger A. Freeman.
Associated Media based on images associated with missions in Freeman, The Mighty Eighth War Diary.
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'.