447BG Mission Report - Briefing was at 0500 hours. The target was again the Air Depot at Romily-sur Seine. The 447th assigned to bomb from 19,000 feet with 500lb GP bombs. Take off was at 0722 hours. On approaching the target we found is obscured so the decision was made to hit the airfield at Evreux-Fauville. Results of bombong was judged to be "good". The heavies lost four B-17s but accounted for 3 German fighters. One of the losses was Lt. A.S. Reed, 708th Squadron. The Group started landing at 1335 hours.

It has not been determined which Groups from 1st Bomb Division diverted to this target. 60 bomb Caen/Carpiquet Airfield.

Twenty-six (26) aircrews were briefed between 0530-0600 and began take-offs at 0900 hours with Lt Good of the 579th as lead aircraft Bombardier. Friendly fighter cover was good and no enemy fighters were encountered. Target weather was extremely poor and the Group elected not to bomb as a result bringing the weapons home. No losses or casualties were experienced with the mission aircraft recovering around 1320 hours. It also was announced this day that Lt Colonel Johnson, the Group Air Executive, was being transferred to the 14th Combat Wing Headquarters as Operations Officer. Also, on the 4th of February, Captain Whittaker, Group Bombardier, was awarded the DFC for his lead success against a Norway target on 16 November 1943.

Twenty aircraft were airborne and three aborted. Meager and inaccurate flak was encountered. One aircraft had minor flak damage. About five enemy aircraft were seen, but were too far away to be identified. Friendly fighter support was good. Weather at the target was not as described during briefing and was not suitable for visual bombing. All bombs were bright back to Molesworth. One German JU-88 blundered into the path of the bombers and was last seen speeding away at treetop height.

#42-97498, piloted by 1Lt. Julius E. Bass, went down with a fire in the cockpit and crashed near Bricy in the Paris, France, area. Ten parachutes were seen. The cause of the loss was unknown, but it was not believed due to enemy action.

It has not been determined which Groups from 2nd Bomb Division diverted to this target

Only 3 of 24 planes were able to drop, but hit the Noball target, Eclimeux, France. Heavy cloud cover kept the others from dropping.

It has not been determined which Groups from 3rd Bomb Division diverted to this target. B-17 Flying Fortress - Enroute to target, meager AA fire reported from vicinity of Beauvais . Moderate AA fire seen coming from vicinity of Le Havre.

39 aircraft assigned to this mission: Completed Mission - 35. Aborted - 2. Scrubbed - 2
42-29809 Pryor, Raymond T - Aborted at 1031 hrs due to defective bomb racks; bombs were released when bombardier released bomb bay tanks; 6x500GP jettisoned in North Sea
42-37793 LaSeur, William Veryle - Aborted Plane aborted over field; oxygen system was going out

Our 24 a/c took-off between 0735 and 0814 hours. 2 a/c aborted, one for mechanical reasons and one as a spare. Combat Wing formations were effected without difficulty and proceeded to the target on the briefed route. The primary target on this mission was the same as assigned on the previous day. Again the target was covered by an under-cast and the bombs could not be dropped. The formation then circled back looking for a target of opportunity as no secondary target had been named. Due to 10/10 cloud coverage, no target of opportunity could be found, and the bombs were brought back.

There were no enemy fighter attacks on this Group. The 96th Bomb Group which was the low Group in the 45th Combat Wing was attacked by two single engine fighters. One of their a/c was shot down during this attack. Several other FW 190's and ME 109's were seen below the formation in the vicinity of Paris.

Inaccurate heavy flak was encountered at the primary target and in the Paris Area. Only one of our a/c received minor flak damage.

21 a/c returned to base by 1341 hours. Lt. Nelson in a/c # 176 first landed at Pennhurst to refuel before returning to this base at 1515 hours.