Action This Day

[warshipbuilder]

6-5-45
401 Sqn RCAF (B.116 Wunsdorf – Spitfire XIV)
No flying carried out to-day, but something new has been added. Yes, some of the boys who have been wishing they were pushing Spit XIV’s through the air have got their wish. Our old faithful Spit IX's have been replaced by Spit XIV's from No. 185 Wing.

USAAF
GERMANY: Ninth Air Force P-47s (from the 373d Fighter Group) fly “demonstration” missions over the region around Klotze.

BASE CHANGES
65 Sqn (Mustang IV) moves to Andrews Field
247 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.158 Lubeck
264 Sqn (Mosquito NFXIII) moves to B.108 Rheine
318 Sqn (Spitfire IX) moves to Treviso
350 Sqn (Spitfire XIV) moves to B.152 Fassberg
486 Sqn RNZAF (Tempest V) moves to B.118 Celle

[warshipbuilder]

7-5-45
401 Sqn RCAF (B.116 Wunsdorf – Spitfire XIV)
No flying carried out to-day by 401 Squadron. Everybody is waiting to hear the official announcement by Churchill that Germany has surrendered. It's understood this Announcement will one over the radio to-morrow.

USAAF
ETO: Ninth Air Force P-47s (from the 368th Fighter Group) sweep the area between Chemnitz, Germany, and Prague, Czechoslovakia. Also, Ninth Air Force F-6 reconnaissance aircraft are attacked at various times by four FW-190s, of which one is shot down near Prague.

The last airplane lost on a combat assignment in the war in Europe is a 95th Heavy Bombardment Group B-17 that goes down into the sea.

FRANCE: At proceedings conducted at Reims, the German high command unconditionally surrenders all land, sea, and air forces to the Allies, effective on May 9.

GERMANY: XIX TAC fighters fly “demonstration” missions over prisoner-of-war camps.

NETHERLANDS: In the very last wartime mission of its kind, 231 3d Air Division B-17s drop 426 tons of food supplies to needy civilians at five locations. One B-17 is damaged by fire from German troops on the ground. Also, one B-17 ditches due to an engine fire, and only two crewmen survive.

BASE CHANGES
80 Sqn (Tempest V) moves to B.152 Fassberg
130 Sqn (Spitfire XIV) moves to B.152 Fassberg
137 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.118 Celle
181 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.158 Lubeck
182 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.158 Lubeck
184 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Warmwell
603 Sqn (Spitfire XVI) moves to Drem
611 Sqn (Mustang IV) moves to Peterhead
616 Sqn (Meteor III) moves to B.158 Lubeck

[warshipbuilder]

Dear Reader,

FOR YOU, DA VAR ISS OVER!

8-5-45
401 Sqn RCAF (B.116 Wunsdorf – Spitfire XIV)
Still no flying to-day and Squadron activity consisted mainly of celebrating the surrender of Germany was made official to-day by an announcement by Prime Minister Churchill and a stirring speech by the King.

BASE CHANGES
56 Sqn (Tempest V) moves to Warmwell
486 Sqn RNZAF (Tempest V) moves to B.160 Kastrup

[mark dolby]

Hi.
Thanks for all your effort in giving us this day by day account.
It's been a real joy reading these every morning, fascinating and sometimes emotional.
Mark.

[Zovs]

Totally loved reading this, can't believe it took 93 pages!

You started this on Sun Sep 01, 2019 7:43 pm
And you finished this on Wed May 07, 2025 11:08 pm

Lasted as long as the real war...

Great Job!

[warshipbuilder]

Thanks Mark and Zovs for your kind words. It was a mixture of joy and pain in the a$$ at times doing it.

Shall we do it all over again in 2029? The museum now has an interesting book on the day to day doings of the AASF, so that would make the 1939 first half of 1940 a little more interesting. And now that I have the night raid reports, I could start including those in 1942. If I could only get my hands on the day raid reports for the 1944-45 time period................ Then again, I am up against Father Time here, so not sure if I am going to live long enough to complete another 6 years!

[Zovs]

Its your project, but if you could (and this would be a massive amount of work I suppose) do both the RAF/AASF/NZAF/PAF/CRAF(? Canadian/Poles/NZ/AU). and all the USAAF day by day now that would be really tremendous and awesome.

[Zovs]

I know you have the USAAF in here, but not sure if it went all the way back to 1942.

Your project is almost like reading a book.

[warshipbuilder]

Its your project, but if you could (and this would be a massive amount of work I suppose) do both the RAF/AASF/NZAF/PAF/CRAF(? Canadian/Poles/NZ/AU). and all the USAAF day by day now that would be really tremendous and awesome.

If I pulled that off, I would probably get the Nobel prize for literature.

I know you have the USAAF in here, but not sure if it went all the way back to 1942.

It did.