| Original caption: “USAAF hits Berlin again – A heavy concentration of bombs falls on the industrial section of the Zehlendorf district as Liberators and Fortresses of the United States Army Eighth Air Force again strike at the Nazi capital city.” The United States Army Air Force directed the 8th Air Force to execute Mission 344 on May 8, 1944. Ultimately the mission delivered 892 tons of high explosive ordinance on Berlin’s city center. 500 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses are dispatched to bomb Berlin; 386 B-17s hit the primary, 42 bomb Brunswick, 17 bomb Brandenburg and 8 bomb Magderburg; 25 B-17s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 169 are damaged; 1 airman is killed in action, 7 wounded in action, and 261 missing in action. The 45th Combat Bombardment Wing became separated from the Berlin force and came under heavy attack by German fighters. They bombed Brunswick as a target of last resort. 1st Bomb Division was made up of the 91st Bomb Group, 92nd Bomb Group, 303rd Bomb Group, 405th Bomb Group, 306th Bomb Group, 351st Bomb Group, 379th Bomb Group, 381st Bomb Group, 384th Bomb Group, 398th Bomb Group, 401st Bomb Group, 457th Bomb Group. 3rd Bomb Division was made up of the 94th Bomb Group, 95th Bomb Group, 96th Bomb Group, 100th Bomb Group, 385th Bomb Group, 388th Bomb Group, 390th Bomb Group, 447th Bomb Group, 452nd Bomb Group. 96th Bomb Group takes a beating, losing 10 B-17s. The center of Berlin was the target. The 457th put up the lead box and 2/3 of the high box in the 94th Combat Wing. Colonel James R. “Jim” Luper Junior (February 19, 1914 – February 28, 1953) served as Air Commander of the lead A Wing, with Lieutenant Russell M. “Rusty” Selwyn (November 5, 1919 – October 14, 2005) as pilot. Captain William F. Smith (June 3, 1918 – July 28, 1945) was Air Commander of the high box, while Lieutenant Charles D. Brannan (May 30, 1917 – May 7, 1996) was pilot. The 401st Bomb Group comprised the low box. The target was completely overcast, so the 14 attacking aircraft bombed the primary target with unobserved results. 10 aircraft bombed Brandenburg and its vicinity, also with unobserved results; 11 craft attacked targets of opportunity. Bombing was done in a wing bombing formation. The smoke bomb of the wing lead Pathfinder Force (PFF) aircraft failed to operate and trail smoke. This complication caused a problem to develop because the low and lead groups could not see the bombs fall. Upon being advised the bombs had been dropped, the other craft sought optional targets. Flak opposition was intense, damaging 17 aircraft. 1 of the craft in the 401st’s low box took a direct hit causing it to go into a spin and crash. Only 1 chute was observed. Several works and factories were located near and on Steglitz, mainly the big Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (“General Electricity Company”), Telefunken (Literally “Tele-Spark” – commonly “radio”) factory in Goerzallee at Berlin-Zehlendorf. It made radio vacuum tubes and other electronics. Also, the extensive marine traffic of goods that traveled through the Landwehr and Teltow canals made the area an intended target for the strategic bombing campaign. Another factor of the great tonnage of bombs dropped on this sector by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) at night was that the majority of bombs fell in western Berlin on every raid because it was the closest and the 1st area to overfly from the English bases; sometimes due to “easy trigger” too, bombardiers were anxious to start the return home flight and dropped on West Berlin at the earliest opportunity. Low density districts like Spandau, Reinickendorf and Zehlendorf suffered least compared to districts with apartment complexes, where bombs could devastate dozens of families. Yet the low density districts contained the most important war industries and were targets of many raids. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1823.jpg |
| Image Size | 1.12 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 2919 x 3591 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Air Force |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 8, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Berlin |
| State or Province | Berlin |
| Country | Germany |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 342-FH-3A20879-50882AC |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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