The Hussey Family

Roy's B-17 Bomber Missions

Nineteen Combat Missions

Roy was assigned to the 398th Bomb Group, 603rd Bombardment Squadron at Nuthampstead, England. He became the navigator for Donavon's crew in a B-17-G that they never got around to naming.

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Mission 1 - Bohlen, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Mar 17, 1945, Saint Patrick's Day 152 aircraft dropped 378 tons of bombs on a Synthetic Oil Production facility. Bombs were dropped from 26,000 ft, air temp was -35f, flak was moderate & inaccurate and no fighters were reported. Flight time was 8:20 hrs.of which 3:00 hrs.on oxygen.",

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 2 - Fulda-Plauen, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Mar 19, 1945, Diverted from their primary target (Fulda) because of weather, 404 aircraft dropped 1007 tons of bombs on the Plauen railroad Marshalling Yard. Aerial photography captured the dramatic explosion of an ammunition train that was parked on a siding in the yard. Bombs were dropped from 26,500 ft. and the flight time was 10:10 hrs.

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 3 - Rheine Salzbergern, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Mar 21, 1945, 180 B-17's attacked Salzberger Airodrome which was an Me-262 Jet Fighter Base dropping 362 tons of munitions. Immediately following the bombing, P-51 fighters strafed the airfield. The Me-252 was the first operational jet fighter in the world. Bombs were dropped from 23,000 ft. Flight time was 6:20 hrs. of which 4:50 on oxygen.

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 4 - Dorsten Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Mar 22, 1945, This was a tactical mission which bombed the headquarters and troop concentrations of the 116 Panzer Division. At the time, the allied advance was 15 miles away. Bombs were dropped from 23,500 ft and the air temp was -31f. Flight time was 6:10 hrs.of which 4:30 on oxygen.,

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 5 - Coesfeld, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Mar 23, 1945, 145 aircraft dropped 148 tons of bombs on the Rail Yard in this Ruhr Valley town. Bombs were dropped from 25,000 ft. and there was no flak or fighters. Flight time was 6:10 hrs.of which 4:45 on oxygen."

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 6 - Achmer/Bramsche, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Mar 24, 1945, 73 aircraft carpet bombed an airfield complex in support of Operation Varsity, which was the crossing of the Rheine River by Allied Forces. Specifically, this mission was to suppress flak and fighter resistance around the drop zones for the British 6th and the US 17th Airborne Divisions.Bombs were dropped from 25,500 ft. and the flak was light. Flight time was 6:30 hrs.

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 7 - Berlin/Spandau, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Mar 28, 1945, The target this day was Tank and Armament Factories on which the 318 aircraft that flew this mission dropped 876 tons of bombs. Bombs were dropped from 26,000 ft, Weather was bad, flak was moderate & accurate and few fighters. Flight time was 9:45 hrs.of which 6:00 on oxygen

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 8 - Bremen, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Mar 30, 1945, 318 aircraft targeted the U-Boat Yards at Bremen with 831 tons of bombs.Bombs were dropped from 25,000 ft, snow and wing icing were a severe problem in Nuthampstead, flak and fighters were heavy. Flight time was 5:30 hrs.of which 4:00 on oxygen. Switch to satellite mode and zoom in to see what the submarine pens look like today.

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 9 - Reinsehlen, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

>Apr 4, 1945, the target was an airfield. Bombs were dropped from 15,000 ft. Flight time was 9:35 hrs.of which 5:00 on oxygen.

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 10 -Grafenwohr, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Apr 5, 1945, A large Munitions Dump was attacked by 94 B-17's using 206 tons of bombs.Bombs were dropped from 16,000 ft and no flak reported. Flight time was 8:15 hrs.of which 2:00 on oxygen.

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 11 - Kohlenbissen, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Apr 7, 1945, 93 aircraft bombed a Luftwaffe Airfield dropping 231 tons of munitions. Bombs were dropped from 16,500 ft, air temp was -6f, and no flak or fighters were reported. Flight time was 8:30 hrs.of which 4:00 on oxygen."

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 12 - Derben, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Apr 8, 1945, An Oil Dump was the target of 77 tons of bombs dropped by 31 aircraft. Bombs were dropped from 24,000 ft. and required 3 passes. Flight time was 9:40 hrs. of which 5:45 on oxygen.

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 13 - Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Apr 9, 1945, 107 aircraft bombed a Luftwaffe Airfield dropping 297 tons of bombs. Bombs were dropped from 25,000 ft, weather was ideal clear and sunny, no flak or fighters reported. Flight time was 8:00 hrs.of which 4:00 on oxygen.

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 14 - Kraiburg, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Apr 11, 1945, 133 aircraft attacked a Munitions Factory in Krailburg with 381 tons of bombs. No other data available.

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 15 - Neiumunster, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Mission 16 - Fort Royal, France

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Apr 15, 1945, The target was in the Rochefort area of France and consisted of Enemy Strongpoints and Flak Batteries. 1303 tons of bombs were dropped by 442 aircraft. Roy vividly remembers approaching the coast of France and having a birds eye view of a devastating naval bombardment that was in progress against coastal targets by allied ships.Bombs were dropped from 15,000 ft. and there was no flak or fighters reported. Flight time was 8:25 hrs.of which 2:00 on oxygen.

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 17 - Munich, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Apr 21, 1945, A Railroad Marshalling Yard was the target of last resort after weather forced the 111 B-17's to divert from both their primary and secondary targets. This made for a long day. Bombs were dropped from 28,000 ft, air temp was -43f, flak was heavy & accurate and fighters were numerous. Flight time was 10:35 hrs.of which 5:00 on oxygen.

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 18 - Pilsen, Czechoslovakia

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

Apr 25, 1945The Skoda Arms Works was the target of 189 tons of bombs dropped by 78 B-17's. With the war all but over, this target had almost no impact on the conduct of the war. However it was one of a list of targets approved by Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill to be destroyed to prevent the capture of important weapons technology by advancing Russian troops. The mission was unique in three other ways. This was the only mission of the war in which Armed Forces Radio broadcast a warning in advance of the raid for workers to leave the facility. This was also the 603rd's final combat mission and in fact was the last B17 combat mission of the war. A more dubious honor was that the 603rd lost the last B17 to be lost in combat during WW II. This was because the 603rd was the last squadron to make its bomb run on Pilsen and in doing so lost 2 aircraft. Bombs were dropped from 19,500 ft., air temp was -17f, flak was heavy because of the warning radio message and few fighters were reported. Flight time was 11:25 hrs. of which 2:25 hrs. was on oxygen."

The 398th Bomb Group website maintains crew member diary entries and articles specific to each mission they flew. Click here for more information about this mission.

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Mission 19 - Barth, Germany

603 Bombardment Squadron Emblem

May 13, 1945 Roy flew a special mission when several aircraft of the 603rd flew to Barth, Germany to repatriate American POW's from Stalag Luft 1. Stalag is an abbreviation for Stammlager or Main Camp while Luft is an abbreviation for Luftwaffe which was the German Air Force. The Stalag was located on the German coast in the small village of Barth near Rostock, Germany. The POW camp was for air crews and was similar to the camps made famous by Steve McQueen in the movie \"The Great Escape\". Stalag Luft 1 had been liberated by Russian troops of Marshall Zhikov's Army earlier that month. The B-17's transported the POW's to Camp Lucky Strike in France where all American POW's were processed for their return to the US. One of the POW's presented Roy with an arm band worn by the SS troops that guarded the camp. Here is an excellent site withphotographs and the history of Stalag Luft 1.

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Headquarters, Nuthampstead, England

Nuthampstead was the Headquarters for the 389th Bomb Group of which the 603rd was a part.

Roy's Fifth Mission Map

This is a photo of the actual mission map used at the mission briefing on March 23, 1945. As shown on this map the route flown was not a straight line to the target. Each planes navigator had to plot their position frequently and be able to identify checkpoints. In an ideal scenario all planes in the formation followed the lead aircraft and dropped their bombs when the lead aircraft dropped their bombs. The challenge was that a malfunction or damage to the aircraft meant making your way home or to an emergency airfield alone.

Coesfeld, Germany mission map

The curved jagged line represents the allied battle front. The irregular circles behind the line are known flak concentrations.

Nuthampstead, England

398th Bomb Group, 603 Bombardment Squadron Headquarters

Nuthampstead, England

Nuthampstead was the Headquarters for the 398th Bomb Group of which the 603rd was a part. 603rd's planes are parked near the upper left corner in the photo above. Their squadron headquarters are located near the Officer's Briefing room and the living area is to the right.

Today the base has reverted to farm land from which it was built. Once you have seen the aerial photos of Nuthampstead you will be able to recognize the outline of the runways in present day Google satellite images.

The 398th Bomb Group Memorial Association has an interesting collection including many operational photos and other documents.