Description

Narrative - Official Air Force Mission Description



Mission 908: The Allied ground assault across the lower Rhine River begins; 1,276 bombers and 499 fighters visually attack rail targets in W and C Germany; they claim 1-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 bombers are lost:

1. 319 B-24s are sent to hit the Rheine Bridge (79) and the Osnabruck (80) and Munster (142) marshalling yards; 2 others hit Hoya Airfield, a target of opportunity; 3 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 95 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 3 WIA and 35 MIA. Escorting are 79 of 80 P-51s.



2. 519 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards Hengstey (113), Giesecke (91), Holzwickede (184) and the Unna yard at Dormund (38); secondary targets hit are Meschede (19) and marshalling yards at Siegen (93) and Marburg (10); targets of opportunity are Herdecke (10), Haliger (1) and Schwerte (10); 3 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 178 damaged; 6 airmen are KIA, 4 WIA and 27 MIA. 82 P-51s escort.



3. 438 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Coesfeld (145), Recklinghausen (120) and Gladbeck (141); targets of opportunity are Hechfeldt (12) and the marshalling yard at Westerholt (13); 1 B-17 is lost; 3 airmen are WIA and 10 MIA. The escort is 71 of 79 P-51s.



4. 125 of 131 P-51s fly a fighter sweep of the Bremen-Kassel area; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 0-0-1 on the ground. 5. 71 of 84 P-51s fly a sweep for the Ninth AF.



6. 16 P-51s escort 15 F-5s and 4 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany.



7. 25 of 27 P-51s fly weather reconnaissance missions.



Source: The Eighth Air Force Historical Society - http://www.8thafhs.org/new/incl_missions.php



Source: THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by Carter / Mueller, the Office of Air Force History









"2,500 Heavies Hit Reich's Industries"



"The giant Allied air onslaught on the Ruhr roared into another day yesterday as estimated 2,500 heavy bombers and fighters joined Continental-based tactical forces in blistering marshalling yards, railroad bridges and troop concentration centers in the Reich's smoldering industrial area.



The 8th Airforce led the attack with a salient of 1,250 heavies and 350 fighters which battled through intense flak to pound at ten marshalling yards and junctions in and around the Ruhr. Once again the bombers, made their assaults through ideal weather, and airmen returned with precisely drawn accounts of bombs plummeting down directly on objectives.

The Fortress and Liberators struck at yards in Osnabruck, Rheine, Munster and Coesfeld, on the northern fringe of the Ruhr; in Reckingshausen and Gladbeck, in heart of the area; and in Hengstey, Unna-Dortmund, Holzwickede and Siegen, east and southeast of the Ruhr.