30 July 1943

FRIDAY, 30 JULY 1943

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 80: The aviation industry at Kassel,
Germany is targetted for today:
1. 119 B-17's are dispatched to the Bettenhausen Fieseler Works; 94
hit the target at 0910-0917 hours; they claim 40-7-29 Luftwaffe aircraft;
6 B-17's are lost, 5 are damaged beyond repair and 64 are damaged;
casualties are 11 KIA, 10 WIA and 52 MIA.
2. 67 B-17's are dispatched to the Waldau Fieseler Works; 40 hit the
target at 0925-0928 hours; they claim 8-6-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 6 B-17's
are lost and 18 are damaged; casualties are 1 WIA and 45 MIA.
107 P-47's with auxiliary tanks escort these raids and they surprise the
attacking Luftwaffe fighters over Bocholt, Germany as the enemy is not yet
accustomed to fighter escort penetration beyond the coastal fringe. They
claim 25-4-8 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 P-47's are lost and 1 is damaged beyond
repair; casualties are 6 MIA.
VIII Air Support Command Mission Numbers 10A and 10B: 2 airfields are
targetted:
1. 24 B-26B's are dispatched to the Woensdrecht Airfield, The Nether-
lands; 11 hit the target at 0657 hours; 1 B-26 is lost, 1 is damaged
beyond repair and 5 are damaged; casualties are 7 WIA and 6 MIA.
2. 24 B-26B's are dispatched to the Courtrai/Wevelghem Airfield,
France but the mission is recalled because the escorting fighters are fog
bound on the ground.
In the 2 B-26 missions, the B-26 crews claim 6-5-1 Luftwaffe aircraft.