I am continuing my series of articles based on the entries from Kit C. Carter and Robert Mueller’s U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II Combat Chronology 1941 – 1945 and Jack McKillop’s USAAF Chronology: Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces. Both combat chronologies are excellent sources of information regarding combat missions in World War II and I thank the authors for sharing them online.
These articles are concentrated on the operations of the 8th Army Air Forces on the missions on which the John Oliver Buslee crew and James Joseph Brodie crew of the 384th Bomb Group participated. The statistics of other dates and missions and of other branches of the American Air Forces and theaters of operation of World War II are available through the links provided in this article to these two sources for those interested.
Today’s installment is the 25 September 1944 mission in which the Buslee crew and Brodie crew participated.
WWII Combat Chronology – Monday, 25 September 1944
384th BG Mission 198/8th AF Mission 647 to Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Target: Transportation, the Railroad Marshalling Yards.
The John Oliver Buslee crew of the 544th Bomb Squadron and the James Joseph Brodie crew of the 545th Bomb Squadron participated in this mission.
Carter and Mueller’s U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II Combat Chronology 1941 – 1945 entry:
About 100 HBs escorted by 14 ftr gps attack 3 M/Ys and a synthetic oil plant at Ludwigshafen and Koblenz, industrial area of Frankfurt/Main and several T/Os. About 175 B-24’s haul fuel to France.
Jack McKillop’s USAAF Chronology: Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces entry:
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 647: 1,306 bombers and 622 fighters are dispatched to attack marshalling yards in W Germany and the synthetic oil plant at Ludwigshafen bombed by PFF; 5 bombers and 3 fighters are lost. The Buslee and Brodie crews participated in this mission.
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534 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Ludwigshafen/Opau oil plant and the marshalling yard at Ludwigshafen (400); 46 others hit targets of opportunity; 3 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 86 damaged; 9 airmen are WIA. Escort is provided by 200 of 216 P-51s without loss.
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444 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Frankfurt industrial area (410); 2 others hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 41 damaged; 18 airmen are MIA. Escort is provided by 210 P-38s and P-51s; 2 fighters are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged.
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257 of 328 B-24s hit the Koblenz/Mosel and Koblenz/Rhein marshalling yards; 14 B-24s are damaged. Escort is provided by 157 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 0-0-2 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 2 damaged.
Also, B-24s on a TRUCKIN’ mission fly fuel to France.
Links/Sources
- The Buslee crew’s and Brodie crew’s participation in 384th Bomb Group Mission 198/8th AF Mission 647
- Kit C. Carter and Robert Mueller’s U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II Combat Chronology 1941 – 1945
- Jack McKillop’s Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces
Except for entries from Carter and Mueller’s U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II Combat Chronology 1941 – 1945 and McKillop’s Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces © Cindy Farrar Bryan and The Arrowhead Club, 2022
The Arrowhead Club 
Did u do one timeline for Aug 1944? That’s the day my dads plane went down. But by then he was flying for the 9th Air Force.
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Hi Ellen. I only wrote about dates of missions on which my dad participated in the 8th AAF, but you can easily look up the 9th AAF on specific dates in August 1944 using this link: https://aircrewremembered.com/USAAFCombatOperations/Aug.44.html. Just scroll through the document until you get to the date you want and then the section for the TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force).
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You do an incredible amount of great research. I’m impressed!
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Thank you, Donna! I’ve been researching my dad’s WWII history for 11 years and still learning new things every day.
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