Nothing was easy

From 303rd Bomb Group

11 January 1944, mission 98, to Oschersleben, Germany in the '8' Ball Mk II. B/Gen Robert Travis was flying with LtCol Calhoun as Air Commander and CoPilot leading the entire first Division.

The flight was fairly routine until General Travis told LtCol Calhoun that the 2nd and 3rd Division aircraft were returning to England due to deteriorating weather. He said that because things were going smoothly and his 1st Division was well along, he ordered the 1st Division to proceed to bomb the target - a FW-190 assembly factory.

He later claimed that he did not hear the mission recall order.

The P-47 escort obeyed the recall order and returned to their bases in England. The bomb run was excellent.

As soon as the P-47s left, the 1st Division was attacked by German fighters in groups of 15 to 30 aircraft. 303rd BG(H) gunners claimed 30 fighters destroyed, 4 probables and 9 damaged - the greatest number of claims on any of the 303rd missions.

Eleven 303rd B-17s were shot down. Other Groups lost 31 B-17s.

LtCol Calhoun described the mission as "The roughest he had been on - but it was worth it."

Many of the crewmen on the mission, who lost many of their friends, disagreed with this assessment and thought that the price in lost B-17s and crews was too costly.