June
1944
This would be
the group's busiest month of the war, with 30 missions flown. The highlight
was the 446th leading the 8th Air Force over the beaches on D-Day. Much
of the month was spent supporting the ground forces by hitting bridges,
airfields, and other installations not far from the coast. There was
a celebration to mark the group's 100th mission on June 25th. On that
day, a buzz bomb landed just 7 miles from the base, and an enemy plane
dropped 4 bombs on the 707th dispersal area early on the 28th. Personel
were now required to carry weapons at all times. During the month, crewmen
were awarded 19 Distinguished Flying Crosses (DFC), 2 Silver Stars,
1 Bronze Star, 1 Soldier's Medal, 2 Air Medals, 2 clusters to the Air
Medal, and one cluster to the DFC.
Click on a date
for details
|
Date
|
Target
|
| Jun
2nd |
Noball
target; Beavoir, France |
| Jun
3rd |
Berck-Sur-Mer,
France |
| Jun
4th |
Sangatte,
France |
| Jun
5th |
Calais,
France |
| Jun
6th |
D-Day!!!!
Pt. De La Percee, France |
| Jun
6th |
D-Day!!!!
Coutances/St
Lo, France |
| Jun
6th |
D-Day!!!!
Caen, France |
| Jun
7th |
Alencon,
France |
| Jun
8th |
Granville,
France |
| Jun
10th |
Wimereux,
France |
| Jun
11th |
Visconte-Sur-Rance,
France |
| Jun
11th |
Beumont,
France |
| Jun
12th |
Rennes/Ploermel,
France |
| Jun
12th |
Conches,
France |
| Jun
14th |
Orleans/Bricy,
France |
| Jun
15th |
Tours,
France |
| Jun
16th |
Noball
targets; Renescure-Sautrecourt, France |
| June
17th |
Laval,
France |
| Jun
18th |
Hamburg |
| Jun
18th |
Noball
target; Watten |
| June
19th |
Noball
targets; Haute-Cote/Bachimont, France |
| June
20th |
Politz |
| June
20th |
Noball
target; Siracourt, France |
| June
21st |
Genshagen/Marienfelde |
| June
21st |
Noball
target; Siracourt, France |
| Jun
22nd |
Buc
A/F, Paris, France |
| Jun
24th |
Conches,
France |
| Jun
24th |
Noball
target; Haute-Cote, france |
| Jun
25th |
Noball
targets; Boulogne/Calais/Tingry |
| Jun
28th |
Saarbrucken |
| Jun
29th |
Bernburg |
Clicking Photos
in any mission below will show you photos for that mission in a new
browser window. Simply close that window to return here. Click
here for all photos for June 1944.
June
2: Noball target; Beauvoir, France
The target was bombed through heavy cloud cover. There was no flak.
June
3: Berck-Sur-Mer; France
Defense installations were bombed with unknown results. The second section
did not form and flew with the 93rd and 467th. 2 planes flew back on
instruments when a smoke bomb blacked out their cockpit canopy.
June
4: Sangatte, France
168 500-pounders were dropped through clouds with unobserved results
June
5: Calais, France
Enemy gun emplacements were bombed with good results. The second section
reported direct hits on pillboxes. Photo
June
6: D-DAY - Pt. De La Percee, France
The 446th led the 8th Air Force in the bombing of beaches for the massive
allied invasion with the 446th commander, Col. Brogger, taking the lead.
The group dropped 100 and 500 pounders on defense installations at Vierville
with unobserved results. Take off was in darkness, with the crew chiefs
staying with the planes all night. Photo
June
6: D-DAY - Coutances/St Lo, France
Heavy overcast prevented bombing on these missions. Because there were
ground troops about to land on the beaches, a strict timetable had to
be followed and no second chances were allowed.
June
6: D-DAY - Caen, France
10 planes bombed, but missed the target by 2 1/2 miles.
June
7: Alencon, France
This mission was aborted. Shortly after take-off, one plane (42-51116)
crashed, killing 8 of the 10 crewmen.
June
8: Granville, France
Bombs were dropped with unobserved results. One plane, "Daisy Mae
Scraggs" (42-109830), went down in the English Channel with 5 crewmen
killed and 5 more taken prisoner. Read her pilot's fascinating memoir
in the Stories section. Photo
June
10: Wimereux, France
21 planes dropped 63 2,000 pounders on 5 pillboxes. On plane, "Brown
Knowser" (42-7659), crashed near the field on return, killing one
crewman. The other 9 parachuted to safety.
June
11: Visconte-Sur-Rance, France
21 planes bombed a bridge through cloud cover with unobserved results.
June
11: Beaumont airfield, France
An excellent pattern was laid on runways at the airfield. There was
no opposition.
June
12: Rennes/Ploermel, France
After a 1:30 AM briefing, an early raid sent planes to a railroad bridge
at Ploermel, and the Rennes airfield, where they were met by heavy flak.
One plane (42-94859) was hit by flak and then set upon by 12 enemy fighters.
3 crewmen were killed in the ensuing crash, 2 were shot and killed as
they parachuted, 1 was taken prisoner, and 4 evaded capture. Photo
June
12: Conches airfield, France
12 planes dropped 624 100 pounders on the airfield's dispersal area
with good results.
June
14: Orleans/Bricy airfield, France
42 planes hit the airfield with good results. A large explosion and
fire were reported.
June
15: Tours, France
35 planes attacked a railroad bridge in 3 waves with good results reported.
Photo
June
16: Noball targets; Renescure-Sautrecourt, France
The group's 100th mission was to a pair of Noball sites. A total of
190 500 pounders were dropped with unobserved results.
June
17: Laval airfield
21 planes dropped on the airfield through cloud cover with unobserved
results.
June
18: Hamburg
28 planes hit the harbor through clouds with good results observed,
leaving considerable smoke and fire in their wake. Though flak was intense,
there was no battle damage.
June
18: Noball target; Watten, France
A return trip to this site, with unknown results
June
19: Noball targets; Haute-Cote/Bachimont, France
The 2 sites were bombed through cloud cover with unobserved results.
June
20: Politz
A synthetic oil plant was bombed with excellent reults. Intense, accurate
flak caused 3 planes ("Jiggs" 42-52733, 42-51213, and 42-94765)
to land in Sweden, where the 30 crewmen were interned. Photo
June
20: Noball target; Siracourt, France
2 planes were sent to drop on this Noball site, but missed the target.
Flak was intense and accurate.
June
21: Genshagen/Marienfelde
The dual attack was especially successful at Genshagen, where the marshalling
yards recieved direct hits. One plane, "Connie" (41-29124),
went down with only 1 crewman of the 10 surviving. This ended the 707th
squadron's streak of 68 missions without the loss of a plane. One plane
suffered severe engine damage and flew over Germany and Holland at tree-top
level. It made it safely back. Photo
June
21: Noball target; Siracourt, France
4 planes again bombed this site with poor results.
June
22: Buc airfield, France
24 planes hit this airfield near Paris. Their bombing was so successful,
a column of smoke could be seen as far away as the coast. Photo
June
24: Conches, France
The airfield was bombed with excellent results. 2 runways, hangars,
and the dispersal area were all hit.
June
24: Noball target; Haute-Cote, France
This mission was aborted due to bad weather.
June
25: Bologne/Calais/Tingry, France
3 Noball power sites were hit with good results. On plane (42-95175)
took multiple flak hits, killing one crewman and disabling most of the
plane's controls and communication. The pilot managed to return the
heavily damaged plane to base, where he made a belly landing. For his
efforts, Capt Laning received the Distinguished Flying Cross.
June
28: Saarbrucken
This day started with the shoe on the other foot; the 446th's base was
bombed by an enemy aircraft. 4 bombs were dropped but did not damage
any equipment or cause injury. Meanwhile, the group bombed the marshalling
yards at Saarbrucken with fair results. Flak was intense and accurate.
Photo
June
29: Bernburg airfield
The busy month of June ended at Bernburg, with the airfield receiving
direct hits. One plane (42-95306) received direct flak bursts. When
the pilot warned the crew to prepare to bail out, 2 crewmen jumped immediately.
The pilot was then able to save the plane and return to base. The 2
crewmen who bailed were taken prisoner. "Wistful Vista" (44-40104)
was hit by 2 bursts of flak on the way to the target. The ball turret
gunner was killed, but the plane made it back to base in spite of severe
damage. Photos
Top of page