898
20 March 1945Owner of source material (newapaper)
Description
Narrative - Official Air Force Mission Description
Mission 898: 451 bombers and 355 fighters are dispatched to hit the shipyard and dock area at Hamburg and an oil refinery; they claim 14-3-17 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 bombers and 2 P-51s are lost:
1. 13 of 152 B-17s hit the Blohm & Voss U-boat yard at Hamburg; 133 others hit the secondary, the port area at Hamburg; bombing is visual; they claim 1-0-3 aircraft; 1 airman is KIA and 2 WIA. Escorting are 70 of 79 P-51s; they claim 0-0-2 aircraft.
2. 149 of 162 B-17s hit the secondary target, the Hamburg port area, using H2X radar; 1 other hits the Nordholz Airfield, a target of opportunity; they claim 5-3-2 aircraft; 3 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 54 damaged; 27 airmen are MIA. The escort is 72 of 75 P-51s; they claim 0-0-2 aircraft.
3. 114 of 129 B-24s attack the oil refinery at Hemmingstedt; 1 B-24 is lost and 9 damaged; 12 airmen are MIA. 75 P-51s escort; they claim 2-0-1 aircraft in the air and 1-0-2 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA). 4. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission without loss.
5. 2 B-17s and 26 of 27 P-51s fly scouting missions.
6. 78 of 82 P-51s fly a strafing mission in the Bremen-Hannover area; they claim 2-0-3 aircraft in the air and 3-0-2 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
7. 17 P-51s escort 11 F-5s and 2 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany.
Source: The Eighth Air Force Historical Society - http://www.8thafhs.org/new/missions.php
Source: THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by Carter / Mueller, the Office of Air Force History
"A Force of 400 heavy bombers of the 8th Air force, with some 300 Mustang providing protection, boomed over northwest Germany yesterday to attack oil target and submarine building yards in the area of Hanover."
" While Fortresses struck at a small oil refinery, the Blohm and Voss U-boar works and harbor targets in Hamburg. Liberators planted bombs on the Hemmingstedt oil refinery near Heide, 60 Miles northwest of Hamburg".
-Newspaper Article March 21, 1945.
Mission Details
BREMEN-HANNOVER
Description: STRAFING MISSION
HAMBURG
Description: HARBOUR INSTALLATIONS
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
HAMBURG/BLOHM and VOSS
Description: Blom & Voss U-Boat Yard
Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
HEMMINGSTEDT
Description: OIL REFINERY
NORDHOLZ
Description: AIRFIELD
Connections
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People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 3rd Air Division 13th Combat Bomb Wing 95th Bomb Group 335th Bomb Squadron
- Highest Rank: Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 547th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-2073028
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Navigator, Commanding Officer
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 546th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-522720
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Pilot / Co-Pilot / Commander
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-779085
- Highest Rank: First Lieutenant
- Role/Job: Pilot, Passenger
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 447th Bomb Group 711th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: Serial Number: T5393 / Service Number: 16135585
- Highest Rank: Flight Officer
- Role/Job: Bombardier
Aircraft
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: El's Belles
- Unit: 95th Bomb Group 334th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Damn Yankee
- Unit: 384th Bomb Group 545th Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Midge
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 562nd Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Worry Bird/Miss Bea Haven
- Unit: 388th Bomb Group 562nd Bomb Squadron
- Aircraft Type: B-17 Flying Fortress
- Nicknames: Butch II
- Unit: 401st Bomb Group 447th Bomb Group
Revisions
owner of original copy of news paper article pertaining to date of mission.
John G. Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner
Source: History of the 447th Bomb Group by Doyle Shields; p. 297
John G. Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner
Source: History of the 447th Bomb Group by Doyle Shields; p. 297
John G Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner
Source: History of the 447th Bomb Group by Doyle Shields, p. 297
John G Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner
Source: History of the 447th Bomb Group by Doyle Shields, p. 297
John G. Huck, nephew of Edward Blattner
Source: The Eighth Air Force Historical Society - http://www.8thafhs.org/new/missions.php
Source: THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by Carter / Mueller, the Office of Air Force History
Official Website of 385th Bomb Group Associations Database-Missions
Official Website of 385th Bomb Group Association Database-Missions
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'.