Monday 21st June had offered the possibility of the 384th Bombardment Group finally getting to take part in their first actual combat mission - orders had been received, crews briefed , aircraft readied, engines warmed up. And then - the message came through from High Command, "mission scrubbed" - weather over the target area of Northern France and the low countries had closed in, meaning the mission was cancelled. Aircrew stood down.

There wasn't long to wait for the next orders to come through - just before midnight the teleprinters based in the Control Tower clattered into life - "STANDYBY FOR B/CAST - URGENT SECRET". A message that would become commonplace was the signal for S-2's Capt. William "Pop" Dolan and S-3's Major Thomas Beckett to gather their men, beginning the flurry of activity that they need to complete ahead of aircrew briefing. Shortly after midnight, the coded message carrying the details for the mission were taken from the Control Tower by Lt. Lowell Hansen, Assistant Communications Officer, to the temporary Briefing Room housed on the Technical Site, a short walk away.

As the Intelligence section prepared everything required for the briefing, activity was already underway across the communal sites of the squadrons involved, with aircrew being roused and the Mess Halls busy preparing the pre-mission breakfast. The scene was set which would be played out many times in the future.

The briefing was led by Commanding Officer Budd J. Peaslee, intelligence information on the target and expected enemy activity was provided by Capt. "Pop" Dolan, and finally photo intelligence was provided of the target area by Lt. Charles Moon, a Photo Interpretor.

Engine start was set for 06.00am. Take off was scheduled for 06.10am, with the first aircraft actually setting off from the base slightly later at 06.19am - a total of 20 B-17F's headed off into the early summer morning each carrying a load of five M-44 1,000lb General Purpose bombs. By 06.41am the 384th had completed their formation over the airfield, setting off for Ridgewell where they would be joined by aircraft of the 381st Bomb Group, who would join them on this mission.

The target for today was the General Motors Plant at Antwerp, Belgium. The plant was being used for the repair of German vehicles, and also including machinery captured by the German army. This was to be a diversionary raid whilst a main effort was being flown elsewhere. The formation crossed over the English coast at around 08.37am, reaching the enemy coast a short time later at 08.54am. The target was reached at 09.10am with bombs dropped from an altitude of 24,000ft, with the returning formation reaching the safety of the English coastline at around 09.50am. 

With many eyes straining for the first sight of returning aircraft over the airfield at Grafton Underwood, B-17 #42-30005 "Salvage Queen" was the first to touch down at 10.23am. Flown by 2nd Lt. Lykes Henderson the tail gunner, S/Sgt. John Maxon Price, had been severely wounded which gave the aircraft priority to land. For S/Sgt. Price, this was to be his only mission with him being transferred out of the 384th, after a lengthy hospital stay, on 1st November 1943. In the course of his actions, S/Sgt. Price was to be awared the Purple Heart. By 10.40am, all remaining aircraft had returned to the airfield.

Whilst flak over the target area had been largely ineffectual - correct altitude but lagging the formation - Luftwaffe fighter opposition had been stiff. A force of approximately 40 FW-190's and 20 ME-109's had attacked the formation and had caused damage, although a P-47 escort on the return leg had succeeded in driving enemy fighters away.

The 384th was to suffer its first combat losses today, with two B-17's failing to return.

B-17F #42-30076 was shot down after being attacked by eight FW-190 fighter aircraft, at a reported altitude of 15,000ft. - well below the fomation height of 24,000ft. It was to crash at Wilhelminadoorp, South Beveland Island, The Netherlands - of the crew of ten, six were to become POW's with the remaining four unfurtunately KIA including tail gunner S/Sgt. Harold J. Cooke, whose parachute failed to open after bailing out.

B-17F #42-5853 was forced to ditch in the English Channel on the return leg. Of the crew of ten, three were to become POW's, one was listed as MIA and the remaining six were all KIA.

And so concluded Mission number one for the 384th Bomb Group - ten aircrew were listed as KIA, one MIA and nine POW's. In addition, the returning aircrew included four listed as 'injured'. Of the twenty two aircraft assigned to the mission, one had scrubbbed the mission before takeoff, one was an unsued ground spare, two were lost with a total of eighteen aircraft completing the mission.

With kind thanks to the 384th Bomb Group Heritage Association website (384thbombgroup.com) for permission in using material from their records in the making of this story. It holds a wealth of information, documents and photographs of the Group’s activities during World War 2.

Research courtesy of Helen Childs & Keith Andrews on behalf of 384th Bombardment Group Museum.