Official 398th Mission Narratives
8 August 1944
Couvincourt, France
HEADQUARTERS
AAF STATION 131
APO 557 U. S. Army
10 August 1944
Subject: Narrative Report of Mission, 8 August 1944.
To: Commanding General, 1st Bomb Division, APO #557, U. S. Army.
1. The following is a narrative report of Mission, 8 August 1944, on Couvincourt, France.
a. The take-off, assembly and flight into France was well executed and without incident until the Wing formation approached the I.P. about five minutes prior to reaching the I.P., the Wing Commander [603, Wagner] notified the Deputy, and High and Low Group leaders, that he was going to fly south of the assigned I.P. before turning onto the bombing run. Why this decision was made cannot be determined as the Wing Commander was shot down on the bombing run.
b. The Wing Commander turned onto the bombing run and the Group took proper interval. Intense, heavy, and accurate flak was encountered on the bombing run and continued for the entire run. This flak was more intense than any that has been encountered by this organization. One hundred percent of the airplanes in the Groups suffered damage, seventy percent being major, and many airmen were wounded.
c. As the target was approached the airplane of the Wing Leader was hit and fire appeared on the underside of the fuselage. The airplane started down and turned out of the formation. Simultaneously the bombs of the lead airplane began to fall. It is not known whether the lead airplane’s bombs were intentionally released or whether the flak damage caused the release. All of the lead group airplanes, including the deputy lead airplane, dropped their bombs on the smoke-bomb of the lead airplane. The bombs of the lead airplane fell about twenty five miles short of the assigned target; however, in view of the intense enemy anti aircraft fire in the area, there is no doubt these bombs fell on enemy installations. The deputy leader took over after the bomb release.
d. The low [601] and high [600] groups, which were following the lead group [603], observed the bombfall from the lead group and assumed that they were in the target area. In view of the heavy flak being encountered, they were sure that they were over enemy territory. Both bombardiers, released their bombs on what they believed to be the proper aiming point, or very close thereto. The navigators of these airplanes attempted to check, but the flak was so intense their checks were not accurate (one lead navigator’s maps were blown from his hands by flak fragments). The pilots of the bomb falls reveal that both high and low groups bombed short of the target. |
2. In view of the enemy fire in this area, it is assumed that the bombs into enemy territory despite the fact that the aiming points were not those assigned.
FRANK P. HUNTER, JR.
Colonel, Air Corps,
Commanding
398th History CD File: B0482c
PDF Page:
Numbered Page:
Transcribed by: Joe K. Mansell
Additional Narratives for August 8, 1944 have not yet been transcribed.
Notes:
- The above document was transcribed from the Statistical History of the 398th Bomb Group which are available in the 398th PX. The transcription is as accurate as possible. It should be recognized that the some documents in the files are faded and sometimes difficult to read.
- This transcription is a reproduction of the original. Spelling and punctuation changes have been made to improve readability. In some circumstances, material may not have been transcribed or was rewritten.
- Clarification of acronyms or special words or guesses of certain words and added words are shown in brackets [ ].
- It should be recognized that the format and layout of the material may be different than the original. This is primarily due to the format constraints of web pages.
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