21 NOVEMBER 1944 · TUESDAY · STATION 104Bombed Primary
Mission 720.Hamburg/Rhenania.
Hamburg, Germany
Intended Target
Hamburg/Rhenania
Hamburg, Germany
Actual Target
Hamburg/Dpag
As bombed
Operating Group
93rd BG
2BD
Takeoff Base
Hardwick
Station 104
Landing Base
Hardwick
Station 104
Aircraft Effective
171 / 366
effective / dispatched
Bomb Tonnage
474.6
tons
The cost.
§ Outcome
0
Ships Aborting
2
Ships Lost
0
Men Bailed Out
1
Men Lost
The route.
§ Takeoff to Target
Bearing Out
75° T
Bearing In
262° T
Route Length
1,250 nmi
Time Aloft
7 h 15 m
Operational data.
§ From the Debrief
Times & Distance
Reveille
04:30
Stations
07:45
Takeoff
08:30
Form-Up
06:30
Time Over Target
09:30
Return Time
15:45
Distance
1,250 nmi
Fuel Aboard
2,500 gal
Fuel Consumed
2,050 gal
Weather
Cloud En-Route to Target
Dense, multi-layer cloud: heavy stratus (8/10) with a partial stratocumulus layer above (5/10).
Air Temp at Altitude
-27 °F
Lowest Temp
-27 °F
Wind Speed
59 kt
Wind Direction
208°
Bombing & Defense
Bombing Altitude
22,000 ft
Bombing Run Heading
67° True
Forming Altitude
18,000 ft
Fighter Cover
3 P-47 groups
Bombing Accuracy
Missed target — destroyed bridge and canal locks
Flak
Intense at coast inbound; terrific barrage and tracking at target; clouds to coast outbound
The formation.
3 aircraft · tap a ship for its crew
ROT/Sgt William L. Orient
From William Orient's flight log: aircraft '119-U' (44-40119 'Night Knight', 329th BS), B-24J. Target Hamburg oil refineries (matched to Hamburg/Dpag, where the 93BG's records for this mission sit). Log remark: 'Flak Heavy (inter. Dyna. Burned 3 Holes)'. Duration 6:00. Note: 119-U is a 329th aircraft though Orient's home squadron is 328th.
Sources.
§ Provenance
Mighty Eighth War Diary
Roger A Freeman · Jane's Publishing Company Limited · 1981
Published