18 March 1943

THURSDAY, 18 MARCH 1943

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission No. 45: 76 B-17's of the 1st Bombardment Wing
and 27 B-24's of the 2d Bombardment Wing are dispatched against the
submarine yards at Vegesack, Germany; 73 B-17's and 24 B-24's drop 268 tons
of bombs on the target at 1531-1535 local. Seven U-boat hulls appear
severely damaged. This mission marks the first successful combat use of
automatic flight control linked with bombsights. Our claims are 52-20-23;
we lose 1 B-17 and 1 B-24; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair; 9 B-17's and 14
B-24's are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 16 WIA and 20 MIA.