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    303rd Bombardment Group
    303rd Bombardment Group
    303rd Bombardment Group
    Ebook296 pages3 hours

    303rd Bombardment Group

    By Brian D. O'Neill and Mark Styling

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    About this ebook

    The first title in the Elite Units series to deal with an American bombardment group, this title focuses on the 303rd BG, dubbed the 'Hells Angels.'

    One of the very first B-17 units assigned to the newly created Eighth Air Force in England in September 1942, the 303rd was in the vanguard of the daylight bombing campaign through to VE-Day. Awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation in January 1944, the 303rd also had two of its aircrewmen presented with the Medal of Honor, Americas ultimate military decoration.

    Brian O Neill brings the group's colourful combat history to life with a mix of first-hand accounts, raw statistics and concise mission narrative.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateNov 20, 2012
    ISBN9781782006619
    303rd Bombardment Group
    Author

    Brian D. O'Neill

    Brian D O'Neill is the General Counsel of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation, the famous aviation company that manufactured the Curtiss P-40 fighter and the B-17s Wright Cyclone engine during World War 2. Before becoming an attorney, he served with the US Navy as a destroyer gunner officer and shipyard repair officer. An avid student of Eighth Air Force history, he resides in East Windsor, New Jersey.

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      Book preview

      303rd Bombardment Group - Brian D. O'Neill

      303rd Bombardment Group

      Brian D O’Neill

      Series editor Tony Holmes

      CONTENTS

      INTRODUCTION & ACKNOWLEDEMENTS

      CHAPTER ONE

      FORMATION AND TRAINING

      CHAPTER TWO

      THE EARLY MISSIONS

      CHAPTER THREE

      TARGET GERMANY

      CHAPTER FOUR

      MASTERING THE ART

      CHAPTER FIVE

      KEEP ’EM FLYING

      CHAPTER SIX

      WEATHERING THE CRISIS

      CHAPTER SEVEN

      THE TIDE TURNS

      CHAPTER EIGHT

      MASS BOMBING TO VICTORY

      APPENDICES

      COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY

      INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      Displaying an esprit-de-corps fully consistent with its wartime status as an elite B-17 group of the US Army Air Force’s Eighth Air Force, the veterans of the 303rd ‘Hell’s Angels’ Bombardment Group (H) Association (303rd BGA) have amassed a vast amount of literature documenting the group’s activities in World War 2. No single individual has, in my opinion, done more to ‘pull everything together’ than Harry D Gobrecht, 303rd BGA historian. His seminal 900-page history, Might in Flight - Daily Diary of the Eighth Air Force’s ‘Hell’s Angels’ , surely sets an unequalled standard for comprehensiveness.

      Harry’s assistance has been so great that he should be considered a co-author of this Aviation Elite Units volume, although I retain sole responsibility for any errors. Much here is the result of his research, and he has carefully reviewed the manuscript for accuracy. Harry and his wife, Barbara, graciously made their home available to me to review the vast 303rd BG Association photo archives. A majority of the photographs come from it, ensuring that the colour profile section contains almost all new B-17s.

      Gary Moncur, webmaster of the 303rd BG Association’s Internet site (www.303rdbga.com) and principal force behind its CD-ROM, has been equally generous in sharing the journal of his father, Vern Moncur, and in countless other ways. Special thanks are due to Lorraine Shelhamer, widow of David Shelhamer, for making David’s diary available. She spared no effort to find his colour photographs of VICIOUS VIRGIN and Spirit of Wanette and of YB-40 Tampa Tornado in 303rd livery. Heartfelt thanks also go to Francis Hinds and Mel Schulstad of the original air echelon, to Quentin Hargrove and Peter Zimba of the ground echelon, to Bill Bergeron, Darrell Gust, Henry Eich and Walt Mayer for their personal accounts and to Robert Hand for permission to quote from his late-war memoir, Last Raid. Everyone else helping me on this ‘group effort’ has my very sincere thanks.

      With the wealth of information available, selecting material has been a great challenge. I have chosen to highlight the 303rd’s history during the ‘pioneer’ period, and the usually overlooked contributions of the ground echelon. Chapters one to four cover group formation to the end of the pioneer period in May 1943. Chapter five is a pictorial essay dedicated to the ground echelon. Chapter six assesses 303rd performance during the ‘crisis period’ in daylight bombing from June 1943 to December 1943. Chapter seven covers the group’s finest moments, over Oschersleben on 11 January 1944, its participation in the Big Week battles of February 1944 and the first major Eighth Air Force mission to Berlin on 6 March 1944. Finally, chapter eight covers the period of mass-bombing and ultimate victory.

      Brian D O’Neill

      January 2003

      FORMATION AND TRAINING

      The attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 found the United States woefully unprepared, not only to meet the surprise Japanese assault but also to wage any kind of mass, mechanised war against the Axis Powers.

      The lack of readiness was nowhere better shown than in the well-known incident of 12 B-17Cs – six each from the 38th and 88th Reconnaissance Squadrons – flying into Hickam Field from California, en route to augment American forces in the Philippines. They met the Japanese north of Oahu at around 0800 hrs, with aircraft stripped of armour to allow extra fuel and with machine guns packed in Cosmoline and stored in bomb-bays. They lost the Japanese in the clouds and proceeded to Oahu. Nine B-17s landed at Hickam and two at nearby Haleiwa in the teeth of the Japanese attack. The twelfth, with two engines gone, landed on a golf course. At the day’s end the Fortress units were fortunate to have sustained only three casualties – one dead and two wounded. One B-17 was destroyed and two badly damaged.

      The ground echelon of the 38th RS was also on its way to the Philippines, having departed San Francisco by ship on 6 December 1941. In the chaos that followed the attack, the ship returned and on the 9th the ground echelon was temporarily assigned to Bakersfield, California. It would get into the war eventually, but not in the Pacific. Instead, these experienced mechanics and support personnel would join one of the most famous B-17 units in the European theatre of operations – the 303rd Bombardment Group (H).

      The US Army Air Force (USAAF) was pitifully ill-equipped to fight Japan, much less Germany when that nation declared war on 11 December 1941. When the Japanese struck, the USAAF had an inventory of about 3000 aircraft, of which 1157 were actually fit for combat and only 159 of these were four-engined bombers. Despite aggressive plans to expand USAAF personnel, the number of combat-ready men was equally small.

      Following weeks of initial war planning, the Eighth Air Force was officially ‘activated’ – assigned personnel and equipment – on 28 December at Savannah, Georgia. The same day, the 303rd Bombardment Group (BG) was officially ‘constituted’ – created on paper with a numerical designation ready for activation – as an Eighth Air Force unit. Initial plans had the Eighth supporting an invasion of north-west Africa. When they were abandoned, Gen ‘Hap’ Arnold, USAAF Chief of Staff, accepted a suggestion that the Eighth form the nucleus of US air power in Britain. In February 1942 Gen Ira Eaker flew to England with a small staff, some of whom had only recently been civilians, to begin the process of getting the Eighth off the ground.

      The Eighth’s story is one of citizen-soldiers joining a small cadre of military professionals. Their first task was to master the rudiments of bombardment aviation. Their next was to learn the rough art of war against seasoned, determined enemies as the Eighth’s leaders advanced an agenda of ‘daylight precision bombing’ against strategic targets in Europe. Having mastered the art of strategic bombing, it was then their duty to ‘press on regardless’ until ultimate victory was achieved.

      The process was far from smooth. There were delays and disappointments because some career officers were not up to the task in the abrupt transition from peace to war. It took time and many lives for the true combat leaders to emerge and create the tactics and doctrines necessary to assure success in the daylight bombing campaign. Winning the air war also took unparalleled numbers of aircraft, an immense infrastructure of ground personnel and support facilities and highly experienced aircrew fighting in the most lethal combat environment faced by any Americans in World War 2.

      In Eighth Air Force history four B-17 groups – the 91st, 303rd, 305th and 306th – are known as the ‘pioneers’ because, while other units flew missions earlier, these were the first whose assignment to the Eighth was permanent. They were the ones who faced the enormous job of translating pre-war strategic bombing theory into war-winning reality. As one of the pioneer groups, the 303rd was part of the effort from the daylight campaign’s very beginnings to its very end. The ‘Hell’s Angels’ accomplishments throughout easily make it one of the elite formations in one of the most respected military organisations in history.

      The 303rd was activated on 3 February 1942 at Pendleton Field, Oregon, with a small nucleus of personnel under the command of Lt Col Ford Lauer. On the 13th the group was transferred to Gowen Field near Boise, Idaho, where it began to receive men and equipment from other units to make up its first three bombardment squadrons, the 358th, 359th and 360th BSs. Three days later the group was assigned its first four B-17Es, together with three Douglas C-39s (essentially a DC-3 with the narrow fuselage and smaller outer wings of a DC-2) which were temporarily assigned to it. Multi-engine familiarisation in C-39 and B-17 transition flights began next day for the group’s ‘green’ pilots, many of whom had only just received their wings following single-engine training. Parallel training was also performed for the ground echelon.

      A scenery backdrop from Twelve O’Clock High? This evocative mural’s carefully painted picture-story of each mission could easily be mistaken for a backdrop from Twelve O’Clock High, the classic 1950 film about combat leadership during the Eighth Air Force’s difficult early days in England. However, it was photographed in a now forgotten common area of Station 107, Molesworth, home of the 303rd ‘Hell’s Angels’ Bombardment Group (H). Personnel from the ‘pioneer’ 303rd were at Molesworth between 12 September 1942 and 6 July 1945

      The plan was for the 303rd to acquire increasing numbers of aircraft and men as it completed ten weeks of initial training at Gowen Field by mid-April 1942. The emphasis was on development of individual aircrew skills, especially for B-17 first pilots. Preliminary aircrew and groundcrew team training would then take place. The group was to complete simulated combat training elsewhere, and be fully combat-ready when it deployed to England in June 1942 as the Eighth’s first heavy bomber group.

      Snowed-in – the 303rd first assembled as a complete military unit at Gowen Field, near Boise, Idaho, in mid-February 1942 to familiarise its fledgling pilots with the B-17 and teach crews to fly it. This 1942 winter scene of two 303rd B-17Es at Gowen shows why it was difficult to get in as much flight time as the group needed. Heavy snows played havoc with the flying schedule for much of February and March

      The timetable was in trouble from the start. Bad weather played a part – heavy snow during the third week of February resulted in flight cancellations, and only two first pilots were qualified by the 22nd. Inclement weather continued to hamper operations in the following weeks.

      Other problems, though, were attributable to human error and leadership lapses. A collision on the ramp put two Fortresses out of commission on the 23rd, and although the group had eight B-17Es assigned to it in early March, seven were unserviceable for mechanical reasons on the 5th. Only 30 officers out of 170 assigned and 45 attached had qualified as B-17 first pilots. To make matters worse, the three C-39s were transferred out on 10 March.

      Maintenance help arrived on the 13th when the ground echelon of the 38th RS became part of the 303rd. The 38th would receive additional personnel from other disbanded reconnaissance units and form the nucleus of the group’s fourth bombardment squadron, the 427th, on 22 April. The group remained seriously behind schedule when two A-20Cs were assigned to it on 22 March as gunnery training target-tugs. Far too many officers had still to qualify as first pilots, yet, inexplicably, the group CO declared 29 March a unit holiday and no training flights took place. A peacetime atmosphere still pervaded group operations.

      April 1942 was certainly the nadir of the group’s pre-combat training days. The number of B-17Es had been increased to 12 when the month began, but the 303rd suffered its first training fatalities – three flying officers and five enlisted aircrew – when a Fortress crashed on the 3rd. Three days later 18 B-17Es arrived, but there was a significant organisational setback the next day. New regulations required all flying officers to have 100 hours of B-17E co-pilot time before they could be checked out as first pilots. This caused a dramatic reduction in the number of qualified first-pilots. One young officer who clearly did qualify was 1Lt Lewis E Lyle, who would duly become a key figure in the group.

      A light moment at Gowen Field, this scene capturing a social event during early group training. The officer pointing at the ‘chow hound’ is Capt Edgar Snyder Jr of the 427th BS. A pre-war officer, Snyder gave outstanding service to the group throughout the war. He became 427th CO and later Deputy Group CO in England. An accomplished mission leader, he led the 303rd on the second Schweinfurt raid, on 14 October 1943, in Mr Five by Five. Today, Gowen Field is a USAF Reserve base

      Worse was to come on 10 April when Second Air Force representatives conducted a surprise operational readiness inspection (ORI) six days ahead of schedule. The group failed, and now the pressure was on to pass the final ORI on the 22nd, and unfortunate shortcuts were taken. Each B-17 and crew was to be inspected on the ground prior to group take-off for a simulated bombing and gunnery mission. Incredibly, the lead crew selected by the group CO had not been trained to operate the B-17’s Nor-den bomb-sight. They planned to hit the target by using predetermined visual checkpoints on the pre-established bombing run. This scheme came to naught when the inspectors changed the route and target. The lead crew had no idea what to do and the target was missed by thousands of feet. The rest of the group also performed poorly. The group therefore failed its second ORI, and plans to deploy it to England in June 1942 were put on indefinite hold.

      This had a definite effect on group leadership, and training flights increased dramatically. By early May air training was taking place seven-days-a-week, and by the first weel of the month the air echelon was beginning to muster full formations of 24 aircraft. Two weeks into May, bombing, formation, instrument and gunnery flights were being performed with excellent results. The 303rd was beginning to shape up so it could ship out. The CO even received a promotion to full colonel on 18 May.

      But any hopes that improved performance would make up for the failed ORIs were dashed on 22 April when four of the best 303rd crews were transferred to the 97th BG to assist that group in its deployment to England. On 20 May four more crews were transferred, and on the 27th a significant contingent of personnel and aircraft – 17 B-17Es, two recently-acquired B-18s (an obsolescent bomber version of the C-47) and a C-39 – were sent on temporary special assignment to Muroc, California. Augmented by additional group flying officers on 1 June, their mission was to fly anti-submarine patrols and guard the West Coast against Japanese sea borne attack. This was just before the Battle of Midway on 3-6 June 1942, and the nation’s leaders were taking no chances. The Japanese actually invaded American soil at Kiska and Attu Islands in the Aleutians as part of their ill-fated Midway operation.

      Gowen Field on 10 April 1942. This photogrpah of 303rd B-17Es and flying personnel was taken during the group’s first operational readiness inspection (ORI), which was conducted by the Second Air Force, and came as a rude surprise as the inspectors arrived six days ahead of schedule. The aircraft in the centre is B-17E 41-2553, assigned to the 359th BS on 6 April 1942. It remained in

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