The 303d Bombardment Group consisted of the following squadrons:
358th Bombardment (Code VK)
359th Bombardment (Code BN)
360th Bombardment (Code PU)
427th Bombardment (Code GN)
The 358th flew the first mission for the group on November 17, 1942. The group would become one of the legendary units of the Eighth Air Force. Initially missions were conducted against targets such as aerodromes, railways, and submarine pens in France until 1943, then flying missions into Germany itself.
The 303d took part in the first penetration into Germany by heavy bombers of Eighth Air Force by striking the U-boat yard at Wilhelmshaven on January 27, 1943 then attacked other targets such as the ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt, shipbuilding yards at Bremen, a synthetic rubber plant at Huls, an aircraft engine factory at Hamburg, industrial areas of Frankfurt, an aerodrome at Villacoublay, and a marshalling yard at Le Mans.
The 303d received a Distinguished Unit Citation for an operation on January 11, 1944 when, in spite of continuous attacks by enemy fighters in weather that prevented effective fighter cover from reaching the group, it successfully struck an aircraft assembly plant at Oschersleben.
The group attacked gun emplacements and bridges in the Pas de Calais area during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944; bombed enemy troops to support the breakthrough at St Lo in July 1944. It struck airfields, oil depots, and other targets during the Battle of the Bulge, and bombed military installations in the Wesel area to aid the Allied assault across the Rhine in March 1945.
The last mission for the 303d was flown on April 25, 1945. when it attacked an armament works in Pilsen. During its combat tour the group flew 364 missions comprising 10,271 sorties, dropped 26,346 tons of bombs and shot down 378 enemy aircraft with another 104 probables. The group also saw 817 of its men killed in action with another 754 becoming prisoners of war.
On May 31, 1945, the 303d Bomb Group left Molesworth, moving to Casablanca, French Morocco.
Wulf Hound
On 12 December 1942, a 303rd B-17 named Wulf Hound (41-24585) became the first B-17 to be captured intact by the Luftwaffe. During a raid on the marshalling yards in Rouen-Sotterville, Wulf Hound was damaged and began losing altitude. Over the Netherlands it was intercepted by a Messerschmitt Bf 110. Deciding that their only chance for survival was surrender, the pilot lowered the wheels on the bomber and it was escorted to Leeuwarden airfield. The B-17 was subsequently studied intensely by the Germans who used this information to refine their tactics for attacking B-17 bomber formations. The final fate of Wulf Hound is unknown although it is believed to have taken part in multiple clandestine missions as late as May and June 1944.
Legacy
The 303d Bomb Group was deactivated in Morocco on July 23, 1945. Personnel demobilised and the B-17 aircraft sent to storage.
During the Cold War, the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command 303d Bombardment Wing, Medium flew Boeing B-29 "Superfortresses" and later Boeing B-47 "Stratojet" from Davis-Monthan AFB Arizona beginning in 1951. The wing was bestowed the honours and history of the USAAF 303d Bombardment Group in 1952. The wing was inactivated in 1964 with the phaseout of the B-47.
In the late 1980s, the USAFE 303d Tactical Missile Wing was reactivated at Molesworth with BGM-109G Gryphon Ground Launched Cruise Missiles (GLCMs). The GLCM era however, was short lived as the wing was discontinued and deactivated in 1989.