July
1944
July saw a bit
of a calming at the base, with just 17 missions flown. All of the original
lead crews finished their tours of duty by the end of July except for
2, which finished in early August. There were quite a few new faces
at the field as new crews were brought in. A GI production called "Browned
Off" was performed. A couple of barbecues were held, with fresh
steak brought in from Northern Ireland. A snackbar was opened at the
Officers Club. Extensive work was done to the runways and perimeter
strip. Explosions were heard on the 15th coming from the nearby base
at Metfield when an ammo dump detonated, killing 6 men. On the 12th,
an RAF Stirling bomber crash landed on base, hitting a B-24. On the
11th, one plane dropped 3 bombs on the runway, with no damage. 2 crewmen
claimed to see a jet powered enemy fighter during a mission.
Click on a date
for details
|
Date
|
Target
|
| Jul
2nd |
Noballtarget;
Crepy, France |
| Jul
5th |
Noball
target; Foret De Lisle/Bois De Casson, France |
| Jul
6th |
Sully
Sur Loire, France |
| Jul
8th |
Hamme
Sur Somme, France |
| Jul
11th |
Munich |
| July
12th |
Munich |
| Jul
13th |
Saarbrucken |
| Jul
16th |
Saarbrucken |
| Jul
17th |
Rilly
La Montagne, France |
| Jul
18th |
Caen,
France |
| Jul
19th |
Strasbourg,
France |
| Jul
20th |
Eisenach |
| Jul
21st |
Munich |
| Jul
24th |
Granville,
France |
| Jul
25th |
St.
Lo, France |
| Jul
28th |
Rilly
La Montagne, France |
| Jul
29th |
Bremen |
| Jul
31st |
Ludwigshaven |
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 July 1944.
July
2: Noball target; Crepy, France
20 planes dropped on the target through heavy cloud cover.
July
5: Noball target; Foret
De Lisle/Bois De Casson, France
3 squadrons dropped on the target with unobserved results.
July
6: Sully Sur Loire, France
2 bridges, one a railroad bridge, were destroyed.
July
8: Hamm Sur Somme, France
The target was a bridge, but the mission was recalled due to bad weather.
July
11: Munich
27 planes dropped 616 250 pounders on the Bavarian city through solid
cloud cover and with intense flak. 2 planes were lost. "Dissapated
Duck" (42-94994) was hit by flak and headed for Switzerland. It
didn't make it, and 9 of the crew were taken prisoner. The pilot was
shot and killed by German troops on the ground. "Heinie Hunter"
(42-95266) ran out of fuel and ditched in the channel. 5 crewmen were
seen alive in the water afterwards, but only one of the 10 aboard survived.
A crewman in another plane died from anoxia.
July
12: Munich
A return trip saw more heavy clouds and intense flak. "Guess Who's
Here" (42-52598) was shot down, killing the pilot. The remaining
9 were taken prisoner, with one of them not surviving a long, forced
march later in the war. An RAF Short Stirling crash landed at the base.
Photo
July
13: Saarbrucken
27 planes attacked through solid cloud cover.
July
16: Saarbrucken
39 planes dropped 468 500 pounders through cloud cover.
July
17: Rilly La Montagne
32 planes bombed a pilotless aircraft storage site inside a former rail
tunnel with good results.
July
18: Caen, France
43 planes in 4 squadrons bombed in support of ground troops with good
results.
July
19: Strasbourg, France
The marshalling yards were well hit by 468 500 pounders.
July
20: Eisenach
26 planes bombed with no results reported. 8 more planes bombed the
marshalling yards at Fulda with good results.
July
21: Munich
A bad day. Heavy clouds caused the target to be abandoned. Multiple
targets of opportunity were hit, including bridges, railroads, and tunnels.
3 planes were lost in the intense flak. "Quivering Box" (42-100315)
had 2 engines taken out by flak and went down, killing 8 men with 3
more taken prisoner. "Maximum Effort" (42-95188) was hit by
flak and crashed, killing 2 with the remaining 8 taken prisoner. A third,
unnamed plane (42-51257) suffered an engine failure, and was subsequently
hit by flak. 9 crewmen were killed and one was taken prisoner. Photos
July
24: Grannville, France
A railroad and highway intersection were hit in support of ground troops.
July
25: St. Lo, France
49 planes bombed in support of ground troops with fair results. A low
altitude attack, 100 pounders were dropped from 10,600 to 13,300 feet.
July
28: Rilly La Montagne
Bad weather caused this mission to be abandoned.
July
29: Bremen
31 planes bombed an oil plant with unobserved results. A smoke screen
and clouds hampered visibility.
July
31: Ludwigshaven
32 planes dropped, but missed the target by about 4 miles. "Hot
Shot Charlie" (42-95126) crash landed at Manston airfield with
severe damage. The pilot, 1/Lt Donald Cheffer, reported 2 engines out
and flew back on just the other 2, one of them with fluctuating manifold
pressure. The crew threw overboard anything they could to save weight,
including guns and ammo, and limped back home. "Hula Wahina II"
(42-52467) went down, killing 3 with 7 others taken prisoner. It also
lost 2 engines due to flak.
Top
of page