Dailies of the 323rd - the 91st Bomb Group!

Pickard and the ”A” crew in lead ship. Capt. Thompson, from group
operations, also went in this ship; #7504, Lt. Hettema and crew;
#2116, Lt. O’Neil and crew; #7234, Lt. Basinger and crew; #7540,
Lt. Mullins and crew; #6308 (322nd), Lt. McConnell and crew;
#7594, Lt. O’Toole and crew; #7887, Lt. Dietrich and crew; #2490,
Lt. Huffman and crew; #7563, Lt. Snow and crew; #7040, Lt. Eblen
and crew; and #7625, Lt. Stunf and crew. All ships returned safely.
8 August 1944: On the 8th, enemy troop concentrations or gun emplacements S.E. of
Bretteville Sur-Laize, France were bombed successfully. Thirteen ships from this squadron
took part: #7956, Capt. Pickard and the “A” crew leading; #7504, Lt. Pullen and crew;
#1579, Lt. Helfrich and crew; #7563, Lt. Dietrich and crew; #7594, Lt. O’Toole and crew;
#2116, Lt. Corman and crew; #7040, Lt. O’Neil and crew; #8035 (401st), Lt. Rizer and
crew; #7625, Lt. Basnight and crew; #7540, Lt. Mullins and crew; #7234, Lt. Faris and
crew; #7913, Lt. Huffman and crew; #7887, Lt. Hettema and crew. There were no
abortives.
9 August 1944: On the 9th, Camp Elsenborn, Belgium, was
successfully bombed. Again thirteen of our ships participated:
#7956, Capt. Peck and crew leading; #7887, Lt. McConnell and
crew; #1579, Lt. Helfrich and crew; #7234, Lt. Basinger and crew;
#2116, Lt. Corman and crew; #7563, Lt. Faris and crew; #7540, Lt.
Rizer and crew; #7625, Lt. Basnight and crew; #7276, Lt. Donohue
and crew; #7040, Lt. Flint and crew; #7913, Lt. Stunf and crew;
#7205 (324th) Lt. O’Neil and crew; #2490, Lt. Kennedy and crew.
All ships and personnel returned safely.
Ship #7276 aborted. At an altitude of 14,000 Ft., No. 2 prop ran
away. The pilot tried to change it by use of pitch control, but
it only made it more and R.P.M. stuck at 2500 R.P.M. with
throttle completely back. In losing altitude, prop ran up to
3,000 R.P.M.; engine ran extremely rough and vibrated, so he
feathered engine and returned to base.
10 August 1944: There was no mission scheduled. Ground school and
training activities were carried out by all personnel. This
consisted largely of critiques and lectures based on information
gained from the previous several missions flown.
11 August 1944: The squadron was “stood down” in its turn. Other
squadrons in the group raided troop concentrations and or gun
emplacements at Brest, France. Our crews engaged in training activities.
12 August 1944: The center of an enemy airfield at Buc, France,
was successfully bombed on the 12th. 13 of our ships took part:
All returned safely to base without loss. Enemy fighter
opposition gave our crews little trouble. Their difficulty is the
flak. It continues heavy and accurate at times. Our ships were:
#7040, Lt. Stunf and crew; #1579, Lt. Helfrich and crew; #1909,