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VIII Bomber Command 5

24 August 1942

Official description

12 Heavy Bombers hit the shipyard of Ateliers et Chantiers Maritime de la Seine at Le Trait.

General Spaatz reports RAF attitude towards US daylight precision bombing seems to be changing from one of skepticism to one of tentative approval.

Description

97BG despatches 12 B-17s on a mission to bomb the shipyards at Le Trait, France.

Mission details

1.

Description

FIGHTER INTERCEPT

Aircraft type

Spitfire

Notes

One group of 12, and another of 6, Spitfires of 31st Fighter Group are despatched to intercept an enemy raider. No enemy aircraft is sighted.

Units

  • 31st Fighter Group

    31st Fighter Group

    Group
    The 31st Fighter Group only flew missions from England between June and September 1942 but during this period they supported the Dieppe raid, the assault on occupied Europe, predominantly by the Canadian army. The attack was forced into early retreat...

Mission Statistics

Number of aircraft Sent 18

2. LE TRAIT

Description

SHIP YARD

Aircraft type

B-17 Flying Fortress

Notes

No fighters escort this mission. The general consensus of opinion by 8th Air Force Staff at this time in the war was that the B-17 "FLYING FORTRESS" was such a formidable aircraft, and so well armed, that fighter escort would not be needed. It will take some time and unacceptable losses before this attitude changes.

Units

  • 97th Bomb Group

    97th Bomb Group

    Group
    The 97th Bomb Group flew the Eighth Air Force's first heavy bomber mission from the UK when they bombed a marshalling yard at Rouen on 17 August 1942. Just a month later though the Group were reassigned to the Twelfth Air Force and left England for the...

Mission Statistics

Tonnage dropped None
Number of aircraft Sent 12
Number of aircraft Effective 12
Number of aircraft Damaged 3
Number of people Wounded in Action 5
Number of people Returned To Duty 5

Service

People

  • Woodford Thompson

    Military | Captain | Bombardier | 97th Bomb Group
    Woodford Ross "Tommy" Thompson, Jr. Bombardier on B-17F "Berlin Sleeper II" A/C 41-24370, 97th BG, 342nd Sqdn, 1942-1943, completed 50 missions from England and North Africa

Aircraft

  • 41-9175

    B-17 Flying Fortress
    Delivered MacDill 29BG 7/5/42; Assigned 340BS/97BG Polebrook /6/42; 92BG Bovingdon /9/42; CCRC /43; Salvaged NBD 6/10/44. (? first B-17 to crash landed ELG Manston, UK 24/8/42 ?).

Revisions

Date Contributor Update
24 September 2019 13:20:23 Emily Changes to official description
Sources

Air Force Combat Chronology
Date Contributor Update
05 September 2019 11:14:11 Emily Changes to official description
Sources

Air Force Combat Chronology
Date Contributor Update
25 October 2014 21:08:11 Lee8thbuff Changes to description
Sources

Lee Cunningham 25-Oct-2014. Mission description based on "Mighty Eighth War Diary" Roger A. Freeman.
Date Contributor Update
19 October 2014 19:44:31 Lee8thbuff Changes to aircraft associations
Sources

Lee Cunningham 19-Oct-2014 Connection within AAM website data.
Date Contributor Update
27 September 2014 18:43:17 AAM AAM ingest
Sources

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'.

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