November 7th 1943

[Tony 858]

Hello all

Can anyone tell me more about the operation from the US air force on Sunday the 7th nov 1943 . There was an bombartment on a small village near Weert ( this is in the south of Holland ).
This attack was in the afternoon that day .
What was the target that day and how many airplanes tok part on this mission .

regrads

Ton

[Alex Smart]

Hello Tony,
I think that this must have been from a 9th AAF B26.

8AAF raids were 91,351 & 381BG's to Wesel
390 & 100BG's to Dúren
95BG to Randerath
482BG 3 a/c were Pathfinders.
Poor weather restricted the operations.

Alex

[RSwank]

I don't think it was the 9th airforce. On Sunday, 7 Nov 43:
(Ninth Air Force): 200+ B-26's dispatched to attack airfields at Montdidier and Meulan-Les Mureaux, France are forced to abort the mission because of bad weather. The B-26's are escorted by 54 P-38's and 49 P-47's of the Eighth Air Force; 2 P-38's are lost.



Here is a full description of the 8th activities on that day.
(Eighth Air Force): VIII Bomber Command Mission 124. Three targets in Germany are hit without loss. Poor weather restricts operations. 1. 53 of 59 B-17's bomb the Wesel industrial area at 1124-1125 hours; 4 B-17's are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA and 2 WIA. 2. 60 B-17's are dispatched to the industrial area at Duren; 37 hit the primary target at 1114 hours and 20 hit Randerath, the secondary target, at 1114-1125 hours; 2 B-17's are damaged. 3. 2 of 3 B-17 pathfinders escort the B-17's dispatched to Duren but an Oboe PFF failure resulted in the bombs being widely scattered. The bombers are escorted by 283 P-47's; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 6 P-47's are lost; casualties are 6 MIA. HQ 20th Combat Bombardment Wing (Heavy) transfers from Hethel to Hardwick, England.

The problem seems to be the time of day. These attacks in Germany seem to be before noon. Not sure when what time the 3. attack occurred which resulted in "widely scattered bombs". Planes returning from Germany could possibly be over Weert in the afternoon but I am not sure why they carry bombs back that far back then drop them.