The Missions
The 95th archive of SCANNED MISSION REPORTS.
To search for a specific mission, go to our SEARCHABLE DATABASE.
From May 14, 1943 to May 25, 1945, the 95th Bomb Group flew a total of 334 missions. These missions included strategic bombing missions, food relief missions, POW transport, ground support missions, as well as D-Day invasion support bombing missions. The 95th Bomb Group led the first daylight bombing raid on Berlin.
Every man in the 95th Bomb Group had a critical role to play in completing the missions. The air crews worked as teams aboard the B-17s. Ground crews and armorers made it possible for the planes to head out toward their targets. Briefers and intelligence officers prepped the crews for their missions and de-briefed them upon return. Hundreds of others who spent the war on the ground created and sustained the base – the wartime home for each man – and supported the missions in innumerable ways.
In 1943, P-47 and P-38 fighters provided short-range escort for the bombing missions. Noticeable reduction in losses started in early 1944 with the introduction of long-range P-51 fighters. This video of P-47 and P-38 escort was taken on the 12/11/1943 mission to Emden, Germany. 44 aircraft took off, 35 completed the mission, and 2 aircraft were lost. The following 95th BG aircraft and crews can be identified at the 5:50–8:00-minute mark, and at 13:08–13:12.
Using a total of 346 B-17 Flying Fortresses, the 95th BG completed 8,625 sorties.
BOMBING MISSIONS:
Germany: 214
France: 46
Belgium: 7
Austria: 1
Romania: 2
Poland: 4
CHOWHOUND: 7 (Food relief to Holland)
REVIVAL TOUR: 3 (POW Transport)
D-Day Support: 7 (Normandy, France)
NO-BALL MISSIONS: 12
TACTICAL MISSIONS: 18
COOKS TOUR: 2
VICTORY TOUR: 1
Assembling the Mighty Eighth
Of all the stories that have been written and movies that have been shown about the 8th Air Force, very little attention has been given to what was involved in assembling 1,200 B-17s and B-24s each day, to get them in formation to carry out a strike against Germany. Certainly scenes of bombers under attack by fighters, or encountering heavy flak, were a reality, and are interesting to watch. Also, stories about some of the rougher missions make interesting reading. But what was going on over England, each morning, could get just as scary to the (read more…)
More illustrations of formation flying and Group assembly can be found HERE.
Humanitarian Missions/Last Plane Down
At the end of the war, it was very gratifying to the combat-weary crews to be assigned important humanitarian missions. The 95th participated in six “Chowhound” air drops of food to the starving Dutch people. They also flew four “Revival” missions to repatriate displaced persons and return POWs. Ground personnel sometimes sneaked onto these missions, eager to be aloft in the service of those who desperately needed help. Operation Manna (British term)/Chowhound (American term) was undertaken to alleviate the severe shortages of food in Holland deliberately caused by the Germans in punishment for Dutch resistance to their occupation. By the spring of 1945, more than 12,000 Dutch had died of starvation, and millions more were seriously malnourished.
The Allied Command ordered the Third Combat Wing to undertake this important mission. The B17s were modified and test runs were made in England. For decades thereafter, the Dutch people and their descendants went out of their way to thank any American flyers they met for literally saving their lives at what seemed to them the last minute.
The 95th also helped repatriate civilians liberated from concentration camps, as well as Allied POWs. For these “Revival Missions,” the B17s were retrofitted to hold as many as 40 people and were flown with a slim crew to maximize the room for survivors. The passengers were in pretty bad shape. Despite the fact that at the end of their journey they had to be immediately stripped, deloused, and showered, they were welcomed aboard warmly and enthusiastically.
Preparing for a Chowhound Mission
Pilot Marion Turner remembered picking up concentration camp survivors near Paris and flying them to Czechoslovakia. The POWs from throughout Europe had been marched to a few camps as the Germans retreated. It was imperative to get them out of the dangerously crowded camps as soon as possible and flown to one of three dispersal camps set up by the Allies: Camp Lucky Strike, Camp Old Gold, and Camp Chesterfield. The men of the 95th were ecstatic to see these monikers replace such dreaded names as “Berlin,” Kiel,” “Münster,” etc. as the “target” for their new missions.
Sadly, the last 8th Air Force B-17 downed in the war was a 95th plane on a Chowhound mission May 7, 1945. After making the food drop, the pilot flew directly over a German flak battery. In violation of the truce made just the day before, the Germans opened fire. The aircraft went down. Two crewmen survived, but the rest perished. To the end, the 95th BG served the cause of freedom and paid dearly with lost lives.
“We were ordered to construct and strengthen the huge bomb bay doors in order that each bomber could carry 4,500 pounds of canned C rations in 50-pound cases. They were to be dropped in a free fall from an altitude of 300 feet. We were below steeple level; I think they said it was something like 250 feet, coming in. I could look up and see the steeples. All of a sudden the intercoms were alive with laughter and joy. When we dropped the food, you could see the people picking up the food, putting it in wheelbarrows. I was glad I was an American.”
September 1944
Mission Reports
To view the archive of scanned mission reports, click here.
There were a number of documents created for each mission. These administrative documents were required to track who flew on which mission, in which position, and their status, if injured or missing. There was "intelligence" information collected from the pilots on the amount and type of enemy resistance (flak and aircraft) as well as reporting on enemy fighters downed. There could be more than 100 pages of documentation generated for a specific large 95th BG mission.
Click on the title to view an actual 95th BG mission report of that type.
Aircraft Formation – This shows where each plane should be during the bombing raid. Under each pilot's name is the plane identifier (last 4 digits of the plane number).
Take off Schedule – This provides a list of all planes on the mission and their scheduled take-off time. It also shows what Bomb Squadron the plane was with, the Radio Call Letter of that aircraft, the pilot's name, and the return time or disposition.
Engineering Report – This is a post-mission report that provides a detailed list of status and damage of all aircraft associated with a mission.
Pilot's Interrogation Report – This is a post-mission report that lists all the men on the aircraft for the mission and their position. It also provides the pilot's narrative on the amount and type of enemy resistance (flak and aircraft) as well as reporting on enemy fighters downed or damaged.
Mission Summary – Effectiveness of mission is summarized.
Munitions Report – This summarizes the types and volumes of weapons, ammunition, and bombs used for the mission.