Action This Day

[warshipbuilder]

27-5-44
BOMBER COMMAND
BOURG-LÉOPOLD
331 aircraft – 267 Halifaxes, 56 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitoes – to attack the military camp. 9 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost, 3.0 percent of the force.

1 Oboe-aimed target indicator fell right on the target and the bombing which followed caused severe damage to the camp. No further details are available.

AACHEN
162 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 1, 3 and 8 Groups to attack the Rothe Erde railway yards. 12 Lancasters lost, 7.0 percent of the force.

The railway lines at the yards, which were not seriously hit in the raid of 2 nights earlier, were now severely damaged and all through traffic was halted. A large proportion of delayed-action bombs were dropped. The bombing also hit the nearby Aachen suburb of Forst which, in the words of our local expert Hubert Beckers, ‘was razed to the ground’. The local hospital, an army barracks, an army-stores office, 2 police posts and 21 industrial buildings were hit, as well as 603 houses. 167 people were killed and 164 injured. The local people were impressed that the whole raid only lasted 12 minutes.

NANTES
100 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitoes of 5 Group to attack a railway junction and workshops. The first 50 Lancasters bombed so accurately that the Master Bomber ordered the remainder of the force to retain their bombs. 1 Lancaster lost.

RENNES
78 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitoes of 8 Group attacked the airfield in good visibility. The marking was good and the bombing was very accurate. Much damage to the airfield installations was caused and there was a large explosion, probably in the bomb dump.

COASTAL BATTERIES
272 aircraft – 208 Lancasters, 49 Halifaxes, 15 Mosquitoes – carried out raids on 5 coastal-battery positions on the French coast. All of the targets were bombed satisfactorily, 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito lost.

Minor Operations: 23 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 6 to Düsseldorf, 7 R.C.M. sorties, 28 Serrate and 10 Intruder patrols, 60 aircraft minelaying from Le Havre to the River Gironde, 10 aircraft on Resistance operations, 7 O.T.U. sorties. 3 Mosquitoes – 2 Intruders and 1 Serrate – lost.

Total effort for the night: 1,111 sorties in 17 separate operations, 28 aircraft (2.5 percent) lost.

USAAF
ENGLAND: 1,155 USAAF fighters are dispatched by VIII and IX Fighter commands (720 and 425, respectively) to escort and support Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber formations dispatched to France and Germany.

FRANCE: Thirty-six 3d Bombardment Division B-17s and 18 2d Bombardment Division B-24s, respectively, attack gun emplacements at Fecamp and the town of St.-Valery with the aid of H2X equipment; 102 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack aircraft-industry targets and a marshalling yard at Strasbourg; and 69 3d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Woippy Airdrome.

USAAF escort pilots down 34 GAF fighters over France between 1045 and 1430 hours, but mostly in a major aerial engagement around Strasbourg at about 1230 hours. Maj George L. Merritt, Jr., the commanding officer of the 361st Fighter Group’s 375th Fighter Squadron, in P-51s, achieves ace status when he downs an FW-190 near Lille at 1430 hours.

Nearly 590 IX Bomber Command B-26 and A-20 sorties, and several hundred P-47 sorties, are mounted against marshalling yards, rail lines, and bridges.

In southern France, nearly 700 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack Montpellier and Salon-de-Provence airdromes, and marshalling yards at Avignon, Marseille, Montpellier, and Nimes. Also, Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Avignon.

The veteran 325th Fighter Group undertakes its first combat escort since transitioning from P-47s to P-51s.

Col Oliver B. Taylor, the commanding officer of the 14th Fighter Group, achieves ace status when he downs an FW-190 over Rimen during a morning mission.

GERMANY: Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attack briefed targets and several targets of opportunity as follows: 150 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack a chemical plant at Ludwigshafen; 125 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Mannheim; 43 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack targets of opportunity; 98 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Karlsruhe; 145 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack a marshalling yard at Saarbrucken; 66 2d Bombardment Divi- sion B-24s attack a marshalling yard at Neunkirchen; and 72 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack a marshalling yard at Kons Karthaus. Nineteen B-17s and five B-24s are lost.

Four GAF aircraft are downed over Germany by USAAF fighter pilots. Capt Thomas L. Harris, a P-51 pilot with the 357th Fighter Group’s 364th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two Bf-109s over Colmar at 1300 hours.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack lines of communication running through and around Orvieto; XII TAC A-20s attack dumps; and XII TAC fighter-bombers continue to hunt for motor vehicles, attack bridges, strafe and bomb gun emplacements, and provide direct and close support for the Allied ground forces.

NETHERLANDS: Twenty-four 56th Fighter Group P-47 fighter-bombers attack a barge convoy.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack port facilities at Razanac.

[warshipbuilder]

Dear Reader,

Back to normal for a few days. And for being so remiss for the last month, I have included all of the night raid report.

28-5-44
622 Sqn (Mildenhall – Lancaster I)
19 aircraft were detailed to attack ANGERS. F/S R. TEAGUEin “N” failed to return. Preliminary reports show this attack was successful.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster I LM108 GI-N. Crew: F/S Teague RNZAF POW, Sgt EG Selwyn POW, Sgt CA Jenkins EVD, F/OJ Frayne EVD, F/S CJ Kenley RAAF POW, F/S S Cohen RNZAF POW, Sgt FB Banford POW.

BOMBER COMMAND
ANGERS
118 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 3 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards and junction. 1 Lancaster lost.

The Bomber Command report describes this as ‘a good, concentrated attack’ with the tracks and rolling stock very seriously damaged. A brief report from Angers, however, shows that much of the bombing must have fallen outside the target. 800 buildings were destroyed and 6,819 were damaged; 254 French people were killed and 220 injured.

COASTAL BATTERIES
181 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitoes bombed 3 coastal gun positions. 1 Lancaster lost.

Minor Operations: 31 Mosquitoes to Ludwigshafen and 6 to a railway junction at Laval, 3 R.C.M. sorties, 6 Intruder patrols, 10 Halifaxes and 6 Stirlings minelaying off Dutch, Belgian and French coasts, 24 aircraft on Resistance operations, 14 O.T.U. sorties. 2 O.T.U. Wellingtons shot down in error by anti-aircraft guns on the Dorset coast.

Total effort for the night: 427 sorties, 4 aircraft (0.9 percent) lost.

2nd TAF
Whilst undertaking a patrol during the early hours of 28th, Plt Off L.J.Kearney/Flg Off N.W.Bradford of 410 Squadron intercepted a Ju 88, which they then pursued right over France, claiming to have shot it down in the Lille area. This proved to be the first success gained over enemy-held territory for an aircraft equipped with Mark VIII A.I. radar.

Among the six losses on the 28th was Sqn Ldr H.A.B.Russell, commander of 164 Squadron, who baled out near Torcy after a Flak hit on his aircraft whilst attacking radar, he became a prisoner.

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USAAF
BELGIUM: IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack rail bridges and marshalling yards.

FRANCE: IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack rail bridges, marshalling yards, naval facilities, and V-weapons sites.

GERMANY: A record 1,341 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers are dispatched against six oil and rail targets in Germany, but heavy clouds force nearly 500 bombers to abort, and several hundred of the remainder salvo their bombs on a dizzying array of targets of opportunity all along and around the bomber routes. The assigned targets attacked are as follows: 38 B-17s against an oil target at Ruhland; 12 B-17s against an aircraft-industry target at Dessau; 15 B-17s against a secondary aircraft- industry target at Zwickau; 28 B-17s against a secondary aircraft-industry target at Leipzig; 105 B-17s against an oil dump at Konigsburg; 55 B-17s against oil-industry target at Magdeburg; 17 B-17s against the city of Dessau; 66 B-24s against Lutzkendorf; 63 B-24s against an oil-industry target at Merseburg; 187 B-24s against an oil-industry target at Zeitz-Troglitz; and 58 B-17s against a marshalling yard at Cologne. Twenty-six B-17s and six B-24s are lost. Twelve of the B-17s are downed from the 94th Combat Bombardment Wing formation, which weathers the heaviest GAF fighter attacks of the afternoon.

In the attack on the marshalling yard at Cologne, B-17s of the 41st Combat Bombardment Wing test a special glide bomb, but the device is rated a failure.

Escort for the heavy bombers is provided by 697 VIII Fighter Command fighters and 527 IX Fighter Command fighters, adding up to a record 1,224 escort sorties. Fourteen escort fighters are lost with their pilots. Capt Alwin M. Jucheim, Jr., a seven-victory P-47 ace with the 78th Fighter Group’s 83d Fighter Squadron, is taken prisoner following a midair collision with another P-47; and 1stLt Don McDowell, an 8.5-victory P-51 ace with the 354th Fighter Group’s 353d Fighter Squadron, is lost without a trace during this mission.

GAF losses are 56 fighters and attack aircraft downed along the bomber routes between 1345 and 1530 hours. 1stLt Carl M. Frantz, a P-51 ace with the 354th Fighter Group’s 353d Fighter Squadron, brings his final personal tally to 11 confirmed victories when he downs a Bf-109 over Neuhaldenleben at about 1400 hours; and 1stLt Leroy A. Ruder, a P-51 pilot with the 357th Fighter Group’s 363d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 over Germany at 1400 hours.

ITALY: Approximately 100 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack port facilities at Genoa and a marshalling yard; Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack bridges, viaducts, and rail lines servicing the battle area; XII TAC A-20s attack an ammunition dump; and XII TAC fighter-bombers provide support for advancing Allied ground forces, especially against roads and bridges.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack German Army troop concentrations around Niksic, and Fifteenth Air Force P-38s attack lines of communication in the Banjaluka-Bihac-Knin area.

[warshipbuilder]

29-5-44
401 Sqn RCAF (Tangmere – Spitfire LFIX)
Clear blue skies, and the hottest day of the year. Visibility was down to 4-5 miles. The Squadron briefed and carried out a dive bombing operations using 500 lb. H.C. bombs The operation was uneventful, except that bombing was good. At 14.50 the Squadron took off for Hawkinge, going on the deck all the way. After ten, the Squadron took off on a dive bombing operation against a Noball Target. On take off P/O Hubbard's engine stopped and he tried to rland at R.A.F. Hawkinge, but undershot, crashed into trees and burst into flames. Fortunately he was dragged clear by 2 soldiers before being burned seriously, and he was taken to a hospital. The operation proceeded according to plan, and was without incident. On landing, F/L A.P. Halorow burst a tyre, and had to make a belly landing, on instructions from Flying Control.

BOMBER COMMAND
MINOR OPERATIONS
31 Mosquitoes to Hannover, 11 to Xanten ammunition dump and 4 to a coastal battery at Mardyck, 6 Halifaxes minelaying off Ijmuiden, Dunkirk and Brest. No aircraft lost.

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2nd TAF
183 Squadron was ordered to scramble two Typhoons over the South Coast during the afternoon to intercept two Bf 109s, both of which were claimed shot down by Flg Off A.R.Taylor for the expenditure of 20 rounds from each of his four 20 mm cannon. Both aircraft reportedly fell into the sea 40 miles south of the Isle of Wight, and are presumed to have again been reconnaissance aircraft.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack various targets around Wiener-Neustadt: 104 B-24s attack the Bf-109 assembly plant, totally demolishing all that has survived previous attacks, and 126 B-24s attack the Bf-109 components factory at Atzgersdorf. Also, 300 B-17s and B-24s cause heavy damage at the Wollersdorf Airdrome, but 150 GAF fighters attack the bomber force, downing five heavy bombers. In all, 18 heavy bombers are lost. In the very heavy fighter engagements attending the bombing attacks, 31st and 52d Fighter group P-51 pilots down 31 Bf-109s and Bf-110s, and P-38 escort pilots are credited with two Bf-110s and a Ju-87.

BELGIUM: Ninth Air Force B-26s, A-20s, and P-47s attack marshalling yards, rail bridges, and airfields.

FRANCE: Ninth Air Force B-26s, A-20s, and P-47s attack marshalling yards, rail bridges, airfields, coastal batteries, and V-weapons sites.

GERMANY: Of 993 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers dispatched, 888 attack aircraft-industry targets at Cottbus, Krzesinski (Poland), Leipzig, Posen (Poznan Poland), and Sorau; an oil terminal at Politz; and Rendsburg and Tutow airdromes. Seventeen B-17s and 17 B-24s are lost.

Escort for the heavy bombers is provided by a record 1,265 VIII and IX Fighter command fighters, of which 12 are lost with ten pilots.

USAAF escort pilots down 41 GAF fighters over Germany between noon and 1500 hours. Of these, four Me-410s are downed by 2dLt Dale F. Spencer near Schwerin at about 1320 hours. 1stLt George A. Doersch, a P-51 pilot with the 359th Fighter Group’s 370th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he shares in the downing of two FW-190s near Stettin at 1215 hours; and 1stLt Glennon T. Moran, a P-51 pilot with the 352d Fighter Group’s 487th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs an FW-190 and a Bf-109, and shares in the downing of a second Bf-109, in the vicinity of Gustrow and Wolgast between 1210 and 1230 hours.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack rail bridges at three locations; Twelfth Air Force B-26s attack the shipyard and a bridge at Voltri, a rail junction and marshalling yard, and several road bridges and viaducts; XII TAC A-20s attack supply dumps and bivouacs; and XII TAC fighter-bombers range against road targets in and behind the battle areas and around Rome.

XII Troop Carrier Command transports evacuate 400 Allied casualties from the Anzio beachhead.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s and their P-38 escorts attack numerous German Army troop concentrations and supply dumps.

[warshipbuilder]

30-5-44
401 Sqn RCAF (Tangmere – Spitfire LFIX)
Today was another good day, still hazy, but a bit cooler, with a light breeze.

We were supposed to be released from operations all day and had 12 aircraft airborne on sight and strafing practice, when we were given orders to have them recalled and fitted with 45 gallon jet tanks for an operation. The Squadron couldn’t handle it in the specified 20 minutes, but at 11.46, after a sketchy briefing in Dispersal, took off to sweep the Eindhoven area. The operation, however, proceeded according to plan, and the Squadron had several good squirts at a barge and 2 trains. The Squadron returned to Manston for refuelling before returning to Tangmere, landing at 1500 hours. F/O. C.B. Cohen had a burst tyre on landing. In the afternoon we defeated 412 Sqn. in a baseball game.

BOMBER COMMAND
BOULOGNE
50 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitoes of 3 and 8 Groups attacked a coastal gun position without loss.

Minor Operations: 30 Mosquitoes to Leverkusen, 12 Stirlings minelaying off the Dutch and French coasts, 11 Stirlings on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

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USAAF
AUSTRIA: Following an assessment of cumulative bomb damage throughout the Wiener-Neustadt aircraft-industry complex, Fifteenth Air Force planners become convinced that one more successful attack will force the Germans and Austrians to write it off. Thus, 299 B-24s attack five separate factories and mills around Wiener-Neustadt, of which several are demolished and one is missed altogether by misdropped bombs.

BELGIUM: Thirty-nine 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard in Brussels, and Ninth Air Force P-47 fighter-bombers attack numerous other targets.

ENGLAND: Loading begins of assault forces that will take part in the OVERLORD invasion of France.

FRANCE: Seventy-six 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack V-weapons sites in the Pas-de-Calais area; 62 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yards at Reims; and 60 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Troyes.

Thirty-seven VIII Fighter Command P-47 fighter-bombers attack a rail bridge at Longueil; 26 VIII Fighter Command P-47s bomb a rail bridge at Beaumont-sur-Oise; 23 VIII Fighter Command P-47s bomb a rail bridge at Canly-le-Jouque; and 12 VIII Fighter Command P-38s bomb a rail bridge at Creil.

IX Bomber Command B-26s attack Denain/Prouvy and Mantes/Limay airdromes, and highway bridges at Meulan and Rouen; and several hundred Ninth Air Force P-47 fighter-bombers attack scores of other targets.

GERMANY: Eighty-three 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack aircraft- industry factories at Dessau; 107 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack aircraft- industry factories at Halberstadt; 51 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack aircraft-industry factories at Oschersleben; 135 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Oldenburg Airdrome; 147 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Rotenburg Airdrome; 71 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Zwischenahn Airdrome; 36 3d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Diepholz Airdrome; and 46 3d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Munster/Handorf Airdrome.

The 490th Heavy Bombardment Group, in B-24s, makes its combat debut with the 3d Bombardment Division’s 93d Combat Bombardment Wing.

Escort for Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber missions to Germany, France, and Belgium is provided by a total of 672 VIII Fighter Command fighters and 637 IX Fighter Command fighters—a new one-day total of 1,309 escort sorties. Of these, 12 fighters and their pilots are lost. Capt Fletcher E. Adams, a nine-victory P-51 ace with the 357th Fighter Group’s 362d Fighter Squadron, is killed in action over Bernburg after sharing in the downing of an Me-410 at 1130 hours; and Capt Willard W. Millikan, a 13-victory P-51 ace with the 4th Fighter Group’s 336th Fighter Squadron, is forced down and captured after colliding with another P-51.

The USAAF fighter pilots down 58 GAF fighters over Germany between 1100 and 1220 hours. Capt Robert H. Becker, a P-51 pilot with the 357th Fighter Group’s 362d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs three Bf-109s near Bernburg at 1115 hours; 1stLt Gilbert M. O’Brien, a P-51 pilot with the 357th Fighter Group’s 362d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 and shares in the downing of an Me-410 near Bernburg between 1130 hours and noon; and Capt William R. O’Brien, a P-51 pilot with the 357th Fighter Group’s 363d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two Bf-109s near Schenebeck at 1130 hours.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack many bridges and viaducts, damaging or destroying ten of them and thus adding further to the woes of the German Army forces attempting to stem the general Allied advance in central Italy. Also, XII TAC A-20s and fighter-bombers attack defended towns and gun emplacements in the battle area, and motor vehicles wherever they are encountered.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifty-six Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Zagreb, and P-38 and P-51 escort fighters strafe numerous targets of opportunity.

RAF BASE CHANGES
1435 Sqn (Spitfire IX) moves to Grottaglie

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
601 Sqn (Venafro) flies its first OM in the Spitfire LFIXB

[warshipbuilder]

31-5-44
401 Sqn RCAF (Tangmere – Spitfire LFIX)
Early morning weather was mistty and a briefing for 08.30 we postponed to 10.30. By 1000 hours, the weather had cleared, and became quite warm, but the show had been indefinitely postponed. Our Squadron was released at 12.00 hours for the rest of the day.

BOMBER COMMAND
31 May/1 June 1944
TRAPPES
219 aircraft – 125 Lancasters, 86 Halifaxes, 8 Mosquitoes – of all groups except 5 Group successfully attacked the railway yards in 2 waves. 4 Lancasters lost.

AU FÈVRE
129 aircraft – 109 Halifaxes, 16 Lancasters, 4 Mosquitoes – of 6 and 8 Groups bombed a coastal wireless transmitting station and destroyed 4 of the 6 masts. No aircraft lost.

MONT COUPLE
115 aircraft – 60 Lancasters, 51 Halifaxes, 4 Mosquitoes – of 6 and 8 Groups bombed a radio jamming station which was ‘rendered completely unserviceable’. No aircraft lost.

TERGNIER
111 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards. The sidings and workshops were ‘squarely hit’. 2 Lancasters lost.

SAUMUR
82 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitoes of 5 Group attacked and destroyed a railway junction without loss.

MAISY
68 Lancasters of 5 Group raiding a coastal gun battery found it covered by cloud and only 6 aircraft bombed. No aircraft lost.

Minor Operations: 14 R.C.M. sorties, 16 Serrate and 9 Intruder patrols, 28 aircraft minelaying off the Dutch and French coasts, 9 aircraft on Resistance operations, 12 O.T.U. sorties. 5 aircraft were lost – 2 Halifaxes and 1 Hudson on Resistance operations, 1 Stirling minelayer and 1 Intruder Mosquito.

Total effort for the night: 820 sorties, 11 aircraft (1.3 percent) lost.

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2nd TAF
Wg Cdr R.P.Beamont, DSO, DFC & Bar, Wing Leader of 150 Wing at Bradwell Bay, led a flight of 3 Squadron Tempests on a 'Rodeo' during which two Ju 88s were claimed destroyed on the ground and two damaged. One of the new fighters force-landed one mile west of Lydd on return, due to engine failure.

USAAF
BELGIUM: Unable to locate their primary target in France because of bad weather, 30 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack Florennes/Juzaine Airdrome, and four B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Namur.

FRANCE: Thirty-six 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Luxeuil.

Four hundred ninety-one of the 495 2d and 3d Bombardment division B-24s dispatched to attack rail targets in France and Belgium are recalled due to heavy clouds in the target areas. Four B-24s attack bridges at Beaumont-sur-Oise and Melun.

Approximately 200 IX Bomber Command B-26s attack highway bridges at Bennecourt, Courcelles-sur-Seine, and Rouen.

GERMANY: As briefed, 88 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack the marshalling yard at Osnabruck, and 54 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Schwerte. Also, after failing to locate their primary targets because of bad weather, 50 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Hamm and 52 B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Oeske.

Escort for the Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber missions to France and Germany is provided by 682 VIII Fighter Command fighters and 647 IX Fighter Command fighters—a new one-day record of 1,329 escort fighter sorties. Three VIII Fighter Command fighters and their pilots are lost. No GAF aircraft are downed by escort fighters.

Forty-three 56th Fighter Group P-47s and 35 353d Fighter Group P-47s attack Gutersloh Airdrome with 100-pound bombs. Also, 35 20th Fighter Group P-38s briefed to attack Lingen Airdrome get lost and attack Rheine/Hopstein Airdrome instead, also with 100-pound bombs. Five GAF FW-190s are downed over Gutersloh at about 1915 hours by 56th Fighter Group P-47 pilots, and the 20th Fighter Group claims five ground kills.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s and XII TAC A-20s and fighter-bombers provide direct support for Allied ground forces in the battle area south of Rome by attacking several defended towns, troop concentrations, and road junctions. XII Troop Carrier Command transports continue to evacuate casualties from the Anzio beachhead.

NETHERLANDS: Unable to locate their primary target in France because of bad weather, 23 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack Gilze-Rijen Airdrome, and 12 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard.

ROMANIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack oil facilities at Ploesti. Fifteen heavy bombers are lost.

P-38 and P-51 escort pilots down 21 GAF and Romanian Air Force fighters between 1000 and 1050 hours. 1stLt John A. Maloney, a P-38 pilot with the 1st Fighter Group’s 27th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 over Ploesti at 1045 hours.

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
55 Sqn (San Severo) flew its last OM in the Baltimore IV
540 Sqn (Benson) flies its first OM in the Mosquito PRXVI

[warshipbuilder]

Dear Reader,

The next two weeks are going to be a little iffy.

1-6-44
416 Sqn RCAF (Tangmere – Spitfire LFIX)
The boys are on readiness today from Dawn to Dusk and it really gets boring after a while W/O L.N. Guillot “Bought It" today and all the boys were sorry to hear of it, because he was becoming a good pilot and was very well liked by all of the Squadron.

ADDENDUM – Spitfire LFIXB MJ347 DN-? Pilot: W/O JRLN Guillot RCAF KIA. Shipping recce. Engine trouble, dived into the sea off Somme estuary. Buried in Calais Canadian War Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
FERME-D’URVILLE
101 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 8 Pathfinder Mosquitoes attacked the main German radio-listening station near the coast chosen for the invasion, but cloud and haze prevented accurate bombing. No aircraft lost.

SAUMUR
58 Lancasters of 5 Group attacked a railway junction. Photographic reconnaissance showed ‘severe damage to junction, main lines torn up’. No aircraft lost.

Minor Operations: 6 Mosquitoes to the port of Aarhus in Denmark, 3 Serrate patrols, 18 aircraft minelaying in the Kattegat and off Dunkirk, 40 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Halifax on Resistance operations lost.

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2nd TAF

122 Squadron flew a sweep over the Frisian Islands, where the new commanding officer, Sqn Ldr "Nipper' Joyce, claimed an He 111 shot down north of Alte Mellum at 0740 hours.

On this date a special flight which had been formed in 226 Squadron, and which became known as the 'Ginger' Mitchell Flight, undertook its first operational sorties.

USAAF
FRANCE: Nearly 100 IX Bomber Command B-26s attack airdromes and coastal defense batteries from the Belgian frontier to the Cherbourg Peninsula.

ITALY: All Twelfth Air Force combat sorties are devoted to direct support of advancing Allied ground forces. Troop positions, lines of communication, rail and road targets, motor vehicles, and numerous other targets are bombed and strafed throughout the day.

BASE CHANGES
208 Sqn (Spitfire VC/IX) moves to Venafro
241 Sqn (Spitfire VIII/IX) moves to Sinello

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
77 Sqn (Full Sutton) flies its first OM in the Halifax III
346 Sqn (Elvington – Halifax V) flies its first OM of the war

[warshipbuilder]

2-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
TRAPPES
128 aircraft – 105 Halifaxes, 19 Lancasters, 4 Mosquitoes – of 1, 4 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards. Most of the bombing fell in the eastern half of the target area. 15 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost, 12.5 percent of the force.

BERNEVAL
103 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups attacked a radar-jamming station with great accuracy and without loss.

COASTAL BATTERIES
271 aircraft – 136 Lancasters, 119 Halifaxes, 16 Mosquitoes – attacked 4 coastal gun positions with the loss of 1 Lancaster. In only 1 raid was the bombing accurate but this was not too serious because these raids were part of the invasion deception plan. None of the targets were in the Normandy area; all were on the Pas de Calais coast. Further raids in the next 2 nights would continue the deception and the Normandy batteries would only be bombed on the last night before the invasion.

Minor Operations: 23 Mosquitoes to Leverkusen, 4 to Laval and 3 to Lison, 16 R.C.M. sorties, 9 Serrate and 6 Intruder patrols, 53 aircraft minelaying from Dunkirk to Brest, 36 aircraft on Resistance operations, 11 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Stirling lost on a Resistance operation.

Total effort for the night: 667 sorties, 17 aircraft (2.5 percent) lost.

USAAF
ENGLAND: Ninth Air Force ground-air liaison officers (i.e., “forward air controllers”) are briefed on the Normandy invasion plan by the 21st Army Group.

FRANCE: During the morning, 805 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack 64 V-weapons sites without loss.

During the afternoon, 163 Eighth Air Force B-17s attack rail targets in the Paris area; a total of 62 B-17s divert from Paris and attack Beaumont-sur-Oise, Caen/Carpiquet, and Conches airdromes; and a total of 74 B-24s attack Bretigny, Creil, and Villeneuve airdromes. Two B-17s and five B-24s are lost.

The 491st Heavy Bombardment Group, in B-24s, makes its combat debut with the 2d Bombardment Division’s 95th Combat Bombardment Wing.

Throughout the day, nearly 350 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack V-weapons sites and coastal-defense bat-teries along the English Channel coast. Also, Ninth Air Force P-38 and P-47 dive-bombers attack rail bridges and junctions, V-weapons sites, and fuel dumps.

HUNGARY: In the Fifteenth Air Force’s inaugural mission of Operation FRANTIC, 130 B-17s from four groups of the 5th Heavy Bombardment Wing, escorted by 70 325th Fighter Group P-51s, leave their bases in Italy to attack strategic targets deep in central Europe (in this case, a marshalling yard at Debreczen, Hungary) and then fly on to land at USAAF-run bases (Eastern Command) in the southern Soviet Union—bombers at Mirgorod and Poltava airdromes, and fighters at Piryatin Airdrome. LtGen Ira C. Eaker participates in the mission as aerial commander.

Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack marshalling yards at Miskolc and Szolnok and then return to their bases in Italy.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack rail and road bridges between the battle area and Rome; and XII TAC fighter-bombers attack German Army command posts, rail and road bridges, and motor transport throughout the battle area.

ROMANIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Oradea, and B-24s attack marshalling yards at Cluj and Simeria.

[mark dolby]

Dear Reader,

The next two weeks are going to be a little iffy.

I'm sure this would not be out of place 80 years ago!

[warshipbuilder]

3-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
FERME-D’URVILLE
96 Lancasters of 5 Group and 4 Pathfinder Mosquitoes to attack the important German signals station which had escaped serious damage in bombing 2 nights earlier. 3 of the Oboe Mosquitoes placed their markers perfectly and the Lancasters wiped out the station. No aircraft lost.

COASTAL BATTERIES
127 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 1, 3 and 8 Groups continued the deception raids on coastal batteries at Calais and Wimereux. The bombing was accurate; no aircraft lost.

Minor Operations: 20 Mosquitoes to Ludwigshafen and 5 to Argentan, 4 R.C.M. sorties, 6 Serrate and 3 Intruder patrols, 57 aircraft minelaying from the River Scheldt to Dunkirk. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 330 sorties with no aircraft losses.

USAAF
FRANCE: During the morning, despite heavy cloud cover, 219 Eighth Air Force B-17s and 120 B-24s attack tactical targets, mostly coastal-defense positions, in the Pas-de-Calais area. Forty-five bombers are damaged by flak, but none is lost.

Specially equipped B-17s of the 492d Heavy Bombardment Group’s 36th Heavy Bombardment Squadron mount the USAAF’s first daylight radio-countermeasures sorties of the war. The objective is to jam or confound range-finding radars controlling GAF flak batteries.

More than 250 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack airfields, coastal-defense batteries, and highway bridges in northern France; and, throughout the day, more than 400 Ninth Air Force P-38 and P-47 dive-bombers attack numerous targets in France and throughout northern Europe.

During the afternoon, 97 Eighth Air Force B-17s and 98 B-24s attack tactical targets, mostly coastal-defense positions, in the Pas-de-Calais area. Two B-17s are damaged and one P-51 escort fighter and its pilot are lost due to a mechanical failure.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack rail and road bridges throughout central Italy; XII TAC A-20s attack fuel and ammunition dumps; and XII TAC fighter-bombers provide direct and close support for the Allied ground forces along the battlefront.

YUGOSLAVIA: Most of the Fifteenth Air Force is grounded by bad weather, but 36 B-24s are able to attack military targets at Omis, and 38 B-24s attack the port and town areas at Split.

[warshipbuilder]

4-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
COASTAL BATTERIES
259 aircraft – 125 Lancasters, 118 Halifaxes, 16 Mosquitoes – of 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups to bomb 4 gun positions; 3 of these were deception targets in the Pas de Calais but the fourth battery, at Maisy, was in Normandy between what would soon be known as Omaha and Utah Beaches, where American troops would land in less than 36 hours’ time. Unfortunately, Maisy was covered by cloud and could only be marked by Oboe sky-markers, but it was then bombed by 52 Lancasters of 5 Group. 2 of the 3 gun positions in the Pas de Calais were also affected by bad weather and could only be bombed through cloud but the position at Calais itself was clear and was accurately marked by the Mosquitoes and well bombed by Halifaxes and Lancasters of 6 Group.

No aircraft lost on these operations.

Minor Operations: 20 Mosquitoes to Cologne and 6 to Argentan, 4 R.C.M. sorties, 6 Serrate patrols, 4 Halifaxes and 3 Lancasters minelaying from the Scheldt to Dunkirk, 17 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 319 sorties with no aircraft losses.

USAAF
ENGLAND: A day after the loading of Allied assault troops has been completed, Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower postpones D-Day from June 5 to June 6 because of un-favorable weather forecasts.

All P-38 groups based in the U.K. stand down to be painted with black-and-white “invasion” stripe patterns for easy recognition by ground troops.

FRANCE: During the morning, 183 Eighth Air Force B-17s and 51 B-24s attack tactical targets, mostly coastal-defense positions, in the Pas-de-Calais area. Two GAF aircraft are downed, and two P-51 escorts are lost, but both pilots are saved.

More than 300 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack coastal-defense batteries and highway bridges; and nearly 200 Ninth Air Force P-47 and P-51 dive-bombers attack bridges, locomotives and rail cars, rail junctions, and numerous targets of opportunity.

During the afternoon, 222 Eighth Air Force B-17s and 53 B-24s attack tactical targets, mostly coastal-defense positions, in the Pas-de-Calais area; 180 Eighth Air Force B-17s attack rail bridges at three inland locations; and 214 Eighth Air Force B-24s attack bridges across the Seine River at Melun, and the Avord, Bourges, Bretigny, and Romorantin/Prunieres airdromes.

One GAF advanced trainer and one Bf-109 are downed by USAAF fighter pilots during the late afternoon.

Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack several rail bridges and viaducts in southern France.

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack marshalling yards at Genoa, Novi Ligure, Savona, and Turin, as well as a number of rail bridges and viaducts along the German Army lines of supply and communication in northern Italy; Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack rail bridges in north- central Italy; and XII TAC fighter-bombers mount an all-day effort against motor vehicles being used by the retreating German Army throughout the road network north of Rome. More than 600 motor vehicles are claimed as destroyed.

The city of Rome is liberated by Allied ground forces.

[warshipbuilder]

Bonus package, June 5, 6, & 7.

5-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
NORMANDY COASTAL BATTERIES
1,012 aircraft – 551 Lancasters, 412 Halifaxes, 49 Mosquitoes – to bomb coastal batteries at Fontenay, Houlgate, La Pernelle, Longues, Maisy, Merville, Mont Fleury, Pointe-du-Hoc, Ouisterham and St-Martin-de-Varreville. 946 aircraft carried out their bombing tasks. 3 aircraft were lost – 2 Halifaxes of 4 Group on the Mont Fleury raid and 1 Lancaster of 6 Group on the Longues raid. Only two of the targets – La Pernelle and Ouisterham – were free of cloud; all other bombing was entirely based on Oboe marking. At least 5,000 tons of bombs were dropped, the greatest tonnage in one night so far in the war.

SUPPORT OPERATIONS
110 aircraft of 1 and 100 Groups carried out extensive bomber-support operations: 24 A.B.C.-equipped Lancasters of 101 Squadron patrolled all likely night-fighter approaches, so that their German-speaking operators could jam the German controllers’ instructions; 100 Group flew 34 R.C.M. sorties and 27 Serrate and 25 Intruder Mosquito patrols. 2 Intruders and 1 A.B.C. Lancaster were lost.

DIVERSION OPERATIONS
58 aircraft of 3 and 5 Groups carried out a variety of operations to conceal the true location of the invasion for as long as possible. 16 Lancasters of 617 Squadron and 6 G-H fitted Stirlings of 218 Squadron dropped a dense screen of Window, which advanced slowly across the Channel, to simulate a large convoy of ships approaching the French coast between Boulogne and Le Havre, north of the real invasion coast. These flights required exact navigation; both squadrons had been practising for this operation for more than a month. The second diversion was carried out by 36 Halifaxes and Stirlings of 90, 138, 149 and 161 Squadrons. These aircraft dropped dummy parachutists and explosive devices to simulate airborne landings over areas not being invaded. 2 Stirlings of 149 Squadron were lost while carrying out this duty.

Osnabrück
31 Mosquitoes bombed Osnabrück without loss.

Total Bomber Command effort for the night: 1,211 sorties, 8 aircraft (0.7 percent) lost. The number of sorties flown was a new record. British, American and Canadian divisions landed on five Normandy beaches early the next morning.

USAAF
FRANCE: Four hundred twenty-three Eighth Air Force B-17s and 203 B-24s attack coastal defenses around Boulogne, Caen, Cherbourg, and Le Havre. Four B-17s, two B-24s, a P-47, and a P-51 are lost to ground fire.

While attacking coastal defenses near Wimereaux, the lead B-17 of the Eighth Air Force’s 489th Heavy Bombardment Group is struck by fire that kills the pilot and nearly severs the right foot of the formation commander, LtCol Leon R. Vance. Despite his life-threatening injury, Vance takes control of the airplane and leads the entire group through a successful bombing run. Vance next flies the crippled B-17 to the English coast and orders the crew to bail out, which it does. However, erroneously believing that a wounded crewman has been unable to bail out, Vance ditches the crippled heavy bomber rather than bail out himself. LtCol Vance is rescued, his life is saved, and he is eventually awarded a Medal of Honor.

More than 100 IX Bomber Command B-26s and 100 P-47 dive-bombers attack coastal-defense batteries.

F-5 aircraft from the Ninth Air Force’s 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Group are dispatched to Normandy to take final preinvasion photographs of the airborne landing and drop zones.

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack marshalling yards at five locations in northern Italy; Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack six rail bridges in northern and north-central Italy; 53 Fifteenth Air Force escort P-38s strafe two airdromes; 40 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s dive-bomb and strafe two airdromes; Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attempt to slow retreating German Army forces by attacking road and highway bridges north of Rome; and XII TAC fighter-bombers continue their offensive against motor vehicles using the German Army’s lines of retreat.

June 6, 1944
BOMBER COMMAND
COMMUNICATIONS
1,065 aircraft – 589 Lancasters, 418 Halifaxes, 58 Mosquitoes – to bomb railway and road centres on the lines of communication behind the Normandy battle area. All of the targets were in or near French towns. 3,488 tons of bombs were dropped on targets at Achères, Argentan, Caen, Châteaudun, Condé-sur-Noireau, Coutances, St-Lô, Lisieux and Vire. Every effort was made to bomb accurately but casualties to the French civilians were inevitable. Cloud affected the accuracy of the bombing at many of the targets and, at Achères, the Master Bomber ordered the raid to be abandoned because of cloud and no bombs were dropped.

10 Lancasters and 1 Halifax were lost in these raids; 6 of the Lancasters were lost in the 5 Group raid at Caen, where the main force of bombers had to wait for the target to be properly marked and then fly over an area full of German units and guns at bombing heights below 3,000 ft.
Some details are available of the effects of the bombing. At Argentan, Château-dun and Lisieux, much damage was done to railways, although the towns, Lisieux in particular, were hit by many bombs. Important bridges at Coutances were badly damaged but the town was hit and set on fire; approximately 65 percent of the buildings were destroyed and 312 civilians were killed. The town centres of Caen, Condé-sur-Noireau, St-Lô and Vire were all badly bombed and most of the roads through those towns were blocked.

Minor Operations: 32 Mosquitoes to Ludwigshafen, 18 Serrate patrols, 19 aircraft minelaying in the Brest area, 26 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 1,160 sorties, 11 aircraft (0.9 percent) lost.

USAAF
FRANCE: The 438th Troop Carrier Group’s lead C-47, Birmingham Belle, takes off from its base in England at 2248 hours, June 5, with the lead elements of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division—and the invasion of France is on.

In all, 14 IX Troop Carrier Command C-47 and C-53 groups are to take part in delivering parachute and glider-borne elements of the U.S. 101st and 82d Airborne divisions to six drop zones and landing zones around the town of Ste.-Mere-Eglise.

First to go are six pathfinder “serials” (i.e., tactical groups) of three planes per serial, plus an extra plane in one serial—nineteen aircraft in all. The pathfinder teams aboard these transports will locate and mark drop zones and landing zones assigned to the main airborne assault forces.

The main airborne assault force is composed of 821 IX Troop Carrier Command C-47 and C-53 transports and 104 planes each towing a glider. The transports and towing planes, which depart in an exacting sequence from fourteen airfields—one plane every 11 seconds—are organized into twenty-eight serials. After the serials have organized into wings, specially trained pathfinder transport crews lead each formation along predetermined routes at various set altitudes. Airplane speed throughout the serial and wings is a uniform 140 miles per hour.

Light flak rises to meet formations passing the German-occupied Channel Islands, but losses are low. On approaching the French coast, the lead formations descend to 700 feet and reduce speed to 125 miles per hour. Birmingham Belle reaches its assigned drop zone at 0016 hours, June 6, and its entire complement of paratroopers leaves the airplane. The last planeful of paratroopers is dropped at 0404 hours.

Although many airborne pathfinder units do not land on or even near their assigned zones, and despite many of the by-then typical disorganizations and dislocations that attend night mass parachute drops, the airborne assault is a success of strategic magnitude. Of the 821 troop carriers and 104 towing planes dispatched, 805 troop carriers and 103 towing planes deliver troops and equipment to French soil. Twenty-one troop carriers and two towing planes are lost. Counting RAF aircraft delivering British airborne forces to Normandy, more than 1,400 C-47s, C-53s, and gliders are involved in the initial D-day airlanding operation—the largest airborne assault in history. Within hours, American, British, and Canadian infantry divisions fight their way ashore along the Normandy coast.

Also during the night of June 5–6—to help protect the troop-carrier groups— specially equipped B-17s of the 492d Heavy Bombardment Group’s 36th Heavy Bombardment Squadron mount the USAAF’s first night radio-countermeasures sorties of the war to jam or confound range-finding radars controlling GAF flak batteries.

Beginning before dawn, five Ninth Air Force fighter groups are assigned to attack specific targets, six groups are assigned for on-call support of U.S. Army ground forces, and five groups are to provide air cover against GAF attacks. Also, all four Eighth Air Force P-38 groups and the two Ninth Air Force P-38 groups are assigned to convoy-escort duties (because the distinctive twin-engine P-38s are less likely to be fired on by friendly naval forces than would be single-engine P-47s and P-51s).

Ninth Air Force tactical aircraft begin striking tactical targets along and near the UTAH invasion beach at first light. Fighter-bombers attack two coastal batteries, a rail embankment, and six bridges, each in squadron strength; and IX Bomber Command B-26s attack three coastal batteries, each in group strength. Results are classed as good to excellent by the ground forces. Thereafter, Ninth Air Force tactical aircraft are employed over both American invasion beaches, UTAH and OMAHA.

In all on D day, following months of intense efforts to deter the GAF from attacking the invasion fleet and forces, exactly two FW-190s manned by curious rather than attack-minded pilots overfly the invasion beaches. Both aircraft are chased away by P-38s from the convoy escort. From the standpoint of the air offensive leading up to D day, the invasion is a complete success.

Throughout the day, the Eighth Air Force dispatches a record 2,587 heavy-bomber sorties against targets within and around four of the five Normandy invasion beaches (OMAHA, GOLD, SWORD, and JUNO—American, British, British, and Canadian, respectively). In the end, despite confusion and poor visibility caused by clouds, haze, and the smoke from countless conflagrations, a total of 1,622 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers drop 4,852 tons of bombs on numerous targets between Cherbourg and Le Havre. Losses for the day are one heavy bomber downed by enemy fire, three heavy bombers crashed, and two written off due to operational accidents.
The 493d Heavy Bombardment Group, in B-24s, makes its combat debut with the 3d Bombardment Division’s 93d Combat Bombardment Wing. It is the last of 40 heavy-bomber groups to serve with the Eighth Air Force.

Throughout the day, the Ninth Air Force dispatches 3,342 combat or escort sorties, and 3,050 aircraft complete their missions as follows: 823 sorties by B-26s and A-20s; 2,072 by fighters and fighter-bombers; and 155 by reconnaissance aircraft.

Every fighter group in the Eighth and Ninth air forces mounts at least one mission to France during the day. In all, while providing a continuous dawn-to- dusk fighter umbrella, VIII and IX Fighter command fighters mount 1,719 escort or patrol sorties—and an additional 466 fighter-bomber sorties, mostly against ground targets.

GAF opposition to the invasion does not begin until after noon. The first victory of the day is an FW-190 credited at 1225 hours over Dreux Airdrome to an F-6 pilot with the IX TAC’s 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Group. Thereafter, the toll rises through the afternoon and early evening to 12 FW-190s, 12 Ju-87s, and one Bf-109. USAAF fighter losses for the day from all causes, including ground fire, are 25 fighters and 24 pilots, of which ten of each are from the 4th Fighter Group alone. Capt Bernard J. McGratten, an 8.5-victory P-51 ace with the 4th Fighter Group’s 335th Fighter Squadron, is killed when his airplane is shot down in an air-to-air engagement near Rouen; and FO Evan D. McMinn, a five-victory P-47 ace with the 56th Fighter Group’s 61st Fighter Squadron, is lost, apparently to flak, near Bernay.

Beginning with the delivery of follow-on airborne units and supplies between 2053 and 2250 hours, IX Troop Carrier Command aircraft begin a massive aerial resupply operation that involves nearly 1,000 sorties by the time airborne and infantry forces link up on the ground.

ITALY: The entire Twelfth Air Force is committed against lines of communication (i.e., lines of retreat) north of Rome.

ROMANIA: Flying from and returning to bases in the Soviet Union as part of Operation FRANTIC, 104 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and 42 P-51s attack Galati Airdrome.

325th Fighter Group P-51 pilots down six GAF aircraft on the Galati mission between 0935 and 0950 hours. Achieving ace status are: 1stLt Cullen J. Hoffman, of the 325th Fighter Group’s 317th Fighter Squadron, who downs a Ju-88 over Galati (the first victory awarded to a USAAF pilot taking off from a base in the Soviet Union); 1stLt Robert M. Barkey, a P-51 pilot with the 325th Fighter Group’s 319th Fighter Squadron, who downs a Bf-109 over Galati; and 1stLt Roy B. Hogg, of the 325th Fighter Group’s 318th Fighter Squadron, who downs two FW-190s near Galati.

More than 570 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s dispatched from bases in Italy attack a canal at Turnu Severin, oil installations at Ploesti, and marshalling yards at Brasov and Pitesti. Two Axis fighters are downed by 31st Fighter Group P-51 pilots over Ploesti at about 0935 hours, and 1st and 52d Fighter group escort pilots down two Axis fighters over Brasov at about 1000 hours.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s based in Italy attack marshalling yards at Belgrade and various canals.

June 7, 1942
BOMBER COMMAND
COMMUNICATIONS
337 aircraft – 195 Halifaxes, 122 Lancasters, 20 Mosquitoes – attacked railway targets at Achères, Juvisy, Massey-Palaiseau and Versailles. Bombing conditions were better than on the previous night. All targets were accurately bombed and, although no details are available, it is probable that fewer civilians were killed. The targets were mostly more distant from the battle front than those recently attacked and German night fighters had more time to intercept the bomber forces. 17 Lancasters and 11 Halifaxes were lost, 8.3 percent of the forces involved.

FORÊT DE CERISY
112 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes of 1, 5 and 8 Groups carried out an accurate attack on an important 6-way road junction half-way between Bayeux and St-Lô. The surrounding woods were believed to contain fuel dumps and German tank units preparing to counter-attack the Allied landing forces. The nearest French village was several kilometres away. 2 Lancasters lost.

Minor Operations: 32 Mosquitoes to Cologne, 10 R.C.M. sorties, 18 Serrate and 18 Intruder patrols, 22 Halifaxes and 3 Stirlings minelaying off Lorient and Brest, 24 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 586 sorties, 30 aircraft (5.1 percent) lost.

USAAF
FRANCE: As the fighting and amphibious landings continue along the Normandy coast, an American glider-infantry regiment towed from bases in England by IX Troop Carrier Command C-47s is landed beyond the beachhead. In all, more than 400 IX Troop Carrier Command C-47s and C-53s take part in reinforcement and aerial resupply operations.

From the delivery of the first airborne pathfinders late on June 5, IX Troop Carrier Command aircraft and crews are dispatched on 1,662 combat sorties, including the delivery of 512 gliders. Five hundred three gliders are delivered, and 1,581 aircraft sorties are completed. Forty-one aircraft are lost, and 449 are damaged, mostly by enemy fire. In sum, the following was delivered by air transport: 13,215 troops, 223 artillery pieces, and 1,641,448 pounds of supplies and equipment. Gliders delivered the following: 4,047 troops, 110 artillery weapons, 281 light vehicles, and 412,477 pounds of supplies and equipment.

AEAF directs the various strategic and tactical air components operating out of the U.K. to deny German Army ground reinforcements access to the Normandy beachhead area. In their turn, the various target-selection departments pinpoint the many chokepoints leading to the beachhead area.

During the morning, 172 Eighth Air Force B-17s attack tactical targets at three inland locations, and 229 Eighth Air Force B-24s attack tactical targets at four inland locations. No bombers are lost. During the afternoon, 385 Eighth Air Force B-17s attack Kerlin/Bastard Airdrome and tactical targets in and around Nantes and Niort; and, although their primary target at Angers is obscured by clouds, 91 Eighth Air Force B-24s attack Laval Airdrome and tactical targets in and around Blain, Chateaubriant, Pouance, Tours, and Vitre. One B-17 and one B-24 are lost.

Throughout the day, more than 600 Ninth Air Force B-26 sorties successfully attack bridges, trestles, marshalling yards, rail and road junctions, and coastal-defense and field-artillery batteries in and around the Normandy beachhead.

Throughout the day, VIII Fighter Command fighters provide 820 patrol and escort sorties and 653 strafing sorties. Fourteen USAAF fighters and 12 pilots are lost.

Throughout the day, beginning at 0600 hours and ending at 2230 hours, fighter-bombers from IX Fighter Command’s 365th, 366th, and 368th Fighter groups provide continuous on-call support in squadron strength for U.S. Army ground forces. In the course of 35 squadron-strength missions, 467 fighter-bombers from these groups attack targets of opportunity with 1,000-pound bombs or fragmentation cluster bombs. Other IX Fighter Command aircraft perform a host of other duties, from convoy and high cover to missions against specific targets.

VIII and IX Fighter command fighter and fighter-bomber pilots down 40 GAF fighters and one Ju-88 over France between 0511 and 2135 hours. 1stLt Robert J. Rankin, a P-47 ace with the 56th Fighter Group’s 61st Fighter Squadron, brings his final personal tally to ten confirmed victories when he downs a Bf-109 near Senlis at 1825 hours.

Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack the viaduct at Antheor and a bridge spanning the Var River.

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack a marshalling yard, the rail junction at Savona, and the shipyard at Voltri; 42 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s bomb a viaduct; despite bad weather, Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack rail and road bridges and viaducts in north-central Italy; and XII TAC fighter-bombers attack gun emplacements in the battle area and motor vehicles, troop concentrations, bridges, and rail cars north of Rome.

The Fifteenth Air Force reaches its full operational strength of 21 heavy-bomber groups and seven escort-fighter groups with the recommitment of the 332d Fighter Group to escort operations following its transition to P-47s.

[warshipbuilder]

8-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
COMMUNICATIONS
483 aircraft – 286 Lancasters, 169 Halifaxes, 28 Mosquitoes – attacked railways at Alençon, Fougères, Mayenne, Pontabault and Rennes to prevent German reinforcements from the south reaching Normandy. All of the raids appear to have been successful. 4 aircraft were lost, 2 Lancasters from the Pontabault raid and 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito from the Rennes raid.

The first 12,000-lb Tallboy bombs developed by Barnes Wallis were used on this night by 617 Squadron in a raid on a railway tunnel near Saumur, 125 miles south of the battle area. The raid was prepared in great haste because a German Panzer unit was expected to move by train through the tunnel. The target area was illuminated with flares by 4 Lancasters of 83 Squadron and marked at low level by 3 Mosquitoes. 25 Lancasters of 617 Squadron then dropped their Tallboys with great accuracy. The huge bombs exploded under the ground to create miniature ‘earthquakes’; one actually pierced the roof of the tunnel and brought down a huge quantity of rock and soil. The tunnel was blocked for a considerable period and the Panzer unit was badly delayed. No aircraft were lost from this raid.

Minor Operations: 17 Serrate and 19 Intruder patrols, 34 aircraft minelaying from the Scheldt to Lorient. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 585 sorties, 4 aircraft (0.7 percent) lost.


USAAF
ENGLAND: Gen Carl Spaatz directs USSTAF components to place Axis oil targets at the top of their priority target lists.

FRANCE: Once Allied ground forces are established ashore, it becomes the mission of Eighth Air Force heavy bombers, Ninth Air Force light and medium bombers, and numerous fighters and fighter-bombers from both air forces to seal the invasion area against German Army reinforcement and resupply efforts. With few exceptions, therefore, USAAF bomber missions are directed against bridges, rail lines, and other transportation targets, generally from the Loire River in the south to the Seine River in the east. Also, in addition to providing tactical support and cover within the invasion area, large numbers of fighters, fighter-bombers, and light and medium bombers are dispatched against fuel, ammunition, and supply dumps.

Of 1,178 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers dispatched on continuous missions throughout the day, 724 drop an aggregate of 1,876 tons of bombs on no fewer than twenty separate bridges, marshalling yards, airdromes, and other tactical targets in and around the beachhead area. The only Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber unit not to fly is the 34th Heavy Bombardment Group. One B-17 and two B-24s are lost.

Nearly 400 IX Bomber Command B-26 sorties are flown against marshalling yards, rail sidings, road and rail bridges and junctions, fuel and ammunition dumps, troop concentrations, and defended town areas. Also, a total of approximately 1,300 Ninth Air Force fighter and fighter-bomber sorties are flown as escort and support for the B-26s and to bomb and strafe bridges, artillery batteries, marshalling yards, rail lines, troop concentrations, motor vehicles, and defended town areas.

Every VIII Fighter Command group contributes to the day’s total of 1,353 combat sorties to escort bombers, patrol the beachhead, sweep the general area, and attack ground targets, especially German Army lines of communication. In all, VIII Fighter Command losses are 22 fighters and 21 pilots, which is largely a testament to the dangers inherent in attacking ground targets at low level. 1stLt Robert J. Booth, an eight-victory P-51 ace with the 359th Fighter Group, is shot down by flak and taken prisoner at La Fleche.

Thirty-eight GAF aircraft are downed over France between 0530 and 1715 hours—31 by VIII Fighter Command pilots, and seven by IX Fighter Command pilots. VIII Fighter Command pilots also destroy 21 GAF aircraft on the ground. Maj Rockford V. Gray, the 371st Fighter Group operations officer, in a P-47, achieves ace status when he downs three FW-190s near Cabourg at 1715 hours.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack bridges; XII TAC A-20s attack a town; and XII TAC fighters and fighter-bombers attack numerous transportation targets.

YUGOSLAVIA: Although flight operations are limited by bad weather, 52 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack the submarine base at Pola.

[warshipbuilder]

9-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
AIRFIELDS
401 aircraft – 206 Lancasters, 175 Halifaxes, 20 Mosquitoes – of 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups bombed airfields at Fiers, Le Mans, Laval and Rennes, all situated south of the Normandy battle area. Bomber Command documents do not give any reason for these raids; it is possible that the intention was to prevent these airfields being used for German reinforcements being brought in by air because the railways were blocked. All the attacks were successful. 2 Halifaxes were lost on the Laval raid.

ÉTAMPES
108 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitoes of 5 Group, with 5 Pathfinder Mosquitoes, attempted to bomb a railway junction at Étampes, south of Paris. 6 Lancasters lost. The marking was accurate but late and the bombing spread from the railway junction into the town. The local report states that a quarter of the small town was affected by the bombing; between 400 and 500 houses were destroyed and 133 people were killed and 51 injured.

Minor Operations: 36 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 13 R.C.M. sorties, 2 Serrate patrols, 24 Halifaxes and 4 Stirlings minelaying off Brest. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 597 sorties, 8 aircraft (1.3 percent) lost.

USAAF
ENGLAND: The entire Eighth and Ninth air forces are grounded by bad weather.

FRANCE: Allied naval forces down four USAAF reconnaissance aircraft during the late afternoon—all F-6s from the Ninth Air Force’s 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group. One pilot is rescued.

An advance detachment of the IX TAC’s 70th Fighter Wing headquarters begins setting up a forward command post at Criqueville, in the Normandy beachhead.

GERMANY: Nearly 500 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack an ordnance depot, aircraft-industry targets, and an airdrome in the Munich area. Thirteen heavy bombers are lost.

While escorting the heavy bombers, P-51 pilots of the 52d Fighter Group and P-47 pilots of the 332d Fighter Group (in their Fifteenth Air Force combat debut) down 19 GAF fighters between Udine (Italy) and Munich. Two P-51 pilots of the 52d Fighter Group’s 2d Fighter Squadron achieve ace status on this mission: 2dLt Arthur G. Johnson, when he downs a Bf-109 over Traunstein at 1000 hours; and 2dLt James S. Varnell, when he downs a Bf-110 over Munich, also at 1000 hours.

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack oil-industry targets at Porto Marghera; Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack bridges; XII TAC A-20s attack targets of opportunity near the battle area; and XII TAC fighters and fighter-bombers attack motor transport and rail lines facilitating the retreat of German Army forces.

[warshipbuilder]

10-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
RAILWAYS
432 aircraft – 323 Lancasters, 90 Halifaxes, 19 Mosquitoes – attacked railway targets at Achères, Dreux, Orléans and Versailles. All targets were believed to have been hit but few further details are available. 15 Lancasters and 3 Halifaxes lost.

Minor Operations: 32 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 13 R.C.M. sorties, 7 Serrate and 18 Intruder patrols, 30 aircraft minelaying off France on the flanks of the invasion area. 2 Mosquitoes lost from the Berlin raid.

Total effort for the night: 532 sorties, 20 aircraft (3.8 percent) lost.

USAAF
CORSICA: The XII Bomber Command, which has been moribund for months, is formally disbanded.

ENGLAND: The Ninth Air Force’s 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Group (in F-5s) and 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group (in F-6s) begin the exchange of two squadrons apiece in order to make them balanced and equal. Over the next three days, the 12th and 15th Tactical Reconnaissance squadrons will move from the 10th to the 67th groups, and the 30th and 33d Photographic Reconnaissance squadrons will move from the 67th to the 10th groups.

FRANCE: Bad weather hampers heavy-bomber operations. Of 883 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s dispatched throughout the day, 609 formed into small tactical formations (10 to 65 bombers) attack five GAF airdromes and numerous towns through which German Army lines of communication pass on the way to the Normandy battle area. One B-24 is lost.

VIII Fighter Command fighters mount 1,491 sorties while escorting the heavy bombers, patrolling the beachhead area, and attacking a wide variety of communications and tactical targets in the Normandy area. Twenty-four VIII Fighter Command fighters and their pilots are lost.

IX Bomber Command B-26s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers attack numerous transportation and tactical targets in the beachhead area.

VIII Fighter Command and Ninth Air Force fighter pilots down 29 GAF fighters and a Ju-52 over northwestern France between 1010 and 2150 hours. 1stLt Christopher J. Hanseman, a P-51 pilot with the 339th Fighter Group’s 505th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Laigle at 1100 hours.

To better support U.S. First Army ground operations, IX TAC headquarters displaces from England to Au Guay. (This headquarters will continue to displace forward as the U.S. First Army advances across France, Belgium, and Germany.)

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s aircraft attack Ancona, the Ferrara Airdrome, a marshalling yard and oil- industry targets at Mestre, a marshalling yard at Porto Marghera, and oil-industry targets in Trieste; Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack rail and road targets near Rome; XII TAC A-20s attack road targets; and XII TAC fighters and fighter-bombers attack road targets and motor vehicles north of the battle area.

ROMANIA: Supported by 1st Fighter Group P-38s, 46 82d Fighter Group P-38s equipped as dive-bombers and fitted with one 1,000-pound bomb apiece, attack the Franco-Americano oil refinery at Ploesti. Thirty-six bombs are dropped, and an oil- cracking plant, oil tanks, and other facilities are damaged or destroyed, as are a variety of ground targets that are strafed by the fighters. Losses, however, are 14 1st Fighter Group P-38s and eight 82d Fighter Group P-38s.

1st and 82d Fighter group P-38 pilots down 33 Axis aircraft over Romania during the course of the mission. 2dLt Herbert B. Hatch, a P-38 pilot with the 1st Fighter Group’s 71st Fighter Squadron, becomes an “instant ace” when he downs five (and probably a sixth) Romanian Air Force IAR.80 fighters over a Romanian Air Force airfield near Ploesti at 1130 hours. Also, 1stLt Armour C. Miller, a P-38 pilot with the 1st Fighter Group’s 27th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109.

[warshipbuilder]

11-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
RAILWAYS
329 aircraft – 225 Lancasters, 86 Halifaxes, 18 Mosquitoes – of 1, 3, 4 and 8 Groups attacked railway targets at Évreux, Massey-Palaiseau, Nantes and Tours. All of the raids appeared to be successful. 3 Lancasters and 1 Halifax – 1 aircraft from each raid – were lost.

Minor Operations: 33 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 30 Serrate patrols, 13 Halifaxes minelaying on the flanks of the invasion coast. 2 Mosquitoes lost from the Berlin raid.

Total effort for the night: 405 sorties, 6 aircraft (1.5 percent) lost.

USAAF
FRANCE: Scheduled attacks on targets in Germany are canceled because of bad weather, but, of 1,055 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s dispatched, a total of 606 formed into small tactical formations attack ten GAF airdromes and numerous rail targets in Brittany, the Loire River valley, and around Paris. Two B-17s and one B-24 are lost.

VIII Fighter Command fighters mount 914 effective sorties while escorting the heavy bombers, patrolling the beachhead area, and attacking a wide variety of communications targets in the Normandy area. Eight VIII Fighter Command fighters and seven pilots are lost.

During the morning, a total of 129 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s, along with ten Ninth Air Force fighter-bomber groups, attack rail and road targets, oil tanks, gun emplacements, and defended town areas, but afternoon attacks are canceled because of bad weather.

356th Fighter Group P-47 pilots down two GAF fighters near Bernay at about 0700 hours, and 55th Fighter Group P-38 pilots down eight GAF fighters over northwestern France between 1500 and 1615 hours.

ITALY: All Twelfth Air Force bombers are grounded by bad weather, but a small number of XII TAC fighters and fighter-bombers attack rail and road targets and motor vehicles.

ROMANIA: While escorting Fifteenth Air Force B-24s on a mission against oil-industry targets at Constanta and Giurgiu, 14th Fighter Group P-38 pilots and 52d Fighter Group P-51 pilots down 18 Axis fighters over Romania between 0845 and 0935 hours.

Fifteenth Air Force B-17s returning from the inaugural FRANTIC mission to the Soviet Union attack the Axis airdrome at Foscani. One B-17 is lost. 325th Fighter Group P-51 escort pilots down three Bf-109s between 0940 and 1045 hours.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack oil-industry targets and a marshalling yard at Smederevo.

[warshipbuilder]

12-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
COMMUNICATIONS
671 aircraft – 348 Halifaxes, 285 Lancasters, 38 Mosquitoes – of 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups to attack communications, mostly railways, at Amiens/St-Roch, Amiens/Longueau, Arras, Caen, Cambrai and Poitiers. (It is interesting to note that, with the exception of Caen, all of these targets were the sites of well-known battles of earlier wars and Caen was soon to be the scene of fierce fighting.)

Bomber Command’s records state that the Poitiers attack, by 5 Group, was the most accurate of the night and that the 2 raids at Amiens and the raid at Arras were of reasonable accuracy. The target at Cambrai was hit but many bombs also fell in the town. The most scattered attack (also by 5 Group) was at Caen.

23 aircraft – 17 Halifaxes and 6 Lancasters – were lost from these raids; all of these losses were from 4 and 6 Groups. A Canadian airman, Pilot Officer Andrew Charles Mynarski from Winnipeg, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his bravery on the Cambrai raid. His Lancaster, of 419 Squadron, was attacked by a night fighter and set on fire and the crew were ordered to abandon the aircraft. Mynarski was about to jump when he saw that the tail gunner was trapped in his turret and he went through fierce flames to help. The rear turret was so badly jammed that it could not be freed and the trapped gunner eventually waved Mynarski away. By the time he left the aircraft, Mynarski’s clothing and parachute were on fire and he died while being cared for by French civilians soon after he landed. The tail gunner was fortunate to survive the crash and his report on Mynarski’s courage led to the award of the Victoria Cross. Pilot Officer Mynarski is buried in the small village cemetery at Meharicourt, east of Amiens.

GELSENKIRCHEN
303 aircraft – 286 Lancasters and 17 Mosquitoes of 1, 3 and 8 Groups – carried out the first raid of the new oil campaign; the target was the Nordstern synthetic-oil plant (the Germans called the plant Gelsenberg A.G.). 17 Lancasters were lost, 6.1 percent of the Lancaster force.

The attack opened with exceptional accuracy owing to good work by the Pathfinders and to improved versions of Oboe sets now available. Later phases of the bombing were spoiled by the clouds of smoke from the burning target and by a rogue target indicator which fell 10 miles short of the target and was bombed by 35 aircraft. A German industrial report* shows that all production at the oil plant ceased, with a loss of 1,000 tons of aviation fuel a day for several weeks, as well as the loss of other fuels. Gelsenkirchen’s civil records also pay tribute to the accuracy of the attack; 1,500 bombs fell inside the oil-plant area. The civil records also describe the extensive damage in the nearby working-class district of Horst. A total of 270 people were killed, including 24 workers in the oil plant at the time of the attack, 23 foreign workers who were killed when their wooden barracks near by were hit, and 6 schoolboy ‘Flakhilfers’.

Minor Operations: 27 Mosquitoes to Cologne, 3 R.C.M. sorties, 39 Serrate and 13 Intruder patrols, 9 Halifaxes and 5 Stirlings minelaying off Brest and St-Nazaire, 13 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 1,083 sorties, 40 aircraft (3.7 percent) lost.

USAAF
ENGLAND: During the night of June 12–13, the first V-1 pilotless “buzz bomb” strikes English soil.

FRANCE: Bad weather over Germany forces a cancellation of planned attacks there, so 1,277 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack 16 GAF airdromes in northwest France and six rail bridges in the Rennes and St.-Nazaire areas. Six B-17s and two B-24s are lost in the largest GAF attacks on bomber formations since D day.

A battled-damaged 467th Heavy Bombardment Group B-24 becomes the first USAAF bomber to make a safe emergency landing on a U.S.-held airstrip in France.

Five hundred nine IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack rail and road targets, defended town areas, troop concentrations, and targets of opportunity in and around the battle area; and fifteen Ninth Air Force fighter-bomber groups attack rail lines, gun emplacements, defended areas and towns, troops and tanks, dumps, bridges, a radar installation, and numerous other tactical and transportation targets.

VIII Fighter Command fighters mount 988 sorties while escorting Eighth Air Force and Ninth Air Force bombers, patrolling the beachhead area, and attacking a wide variety of communications targets in the Normandy area, including two radar installations. Sixteen VIII Fighter Command fighters and 15 pilots are lost.

USAAF fighter pilots down 47 GAF fighters over the western France between 0550 to 1610 hours. FO Steven Gerick, a P-47 pilot with the 56th Fighter Group’s 61st Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two Bf-109s near Evreux at 1525 hours.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack bridges, viaducts, and rail targets north of the battle area; XII TAC A-20s attack a town; and, despite bad weather, XII TAC fighter-bombers attack bridges and roads along German Army lines of retreat.

[warshipbuilder]

13-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
MINOR OPERATIONS
8 Mosquitoes to Mönchengladbach and 3 to Düren, 15 Serrate patrols, 8 Stirlings and 4 Lancasters minelaying off Brest and St-Nazaire, 2 Halifaxes on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: A large force of Fifteenth Air Force B-24s and B-17s is dispatched against marshalling yards, an airdrome, and industrial areas in Munich. However, after fighting their way to Munich against determined GAF fighter opposition, the bomber formations are prevented from dropping their bombs because of solid man-made smoke cover throughout the area. Nearly all the bombers then fly through continuous and determined fighter opposition to bomb their alternate target, the marshalling yards at Innsbruck, Austria.

P-51 escort pilots of the 31st, 52d, and 325th Fighter groups down 20 GAF fighters over northern Italy, Austria, and southern Germany between 0933 and 1145 hours. 1stLt Murray D. McLaughlin, a P-51 pilot with the 31st Fighter Group’s 309th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two Bf-109s near Munich at about 1015 hours; and three 52d Fighter Group P-51 pilots achieves ace status during this mission: 1stLt Robert L. Burnett, III, who downs a Bf-109; Capt Robert C. Curtis, of the 2d Fighter Squadron, who downs two Bf-109s; and 2dLt John B. Lawler, also of the 2d Fighter Squadron, who downs a Bf-109.

FRANCE: When bad weather forces a cancellation of scheduled missions to Germany, and despite heavy cloud cover that frustrates many bombing efforts, a total of 341 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s, in morning and afternoon missions, attack five GAF airdromes, five bridges, and several towns. Two B-24s are lost.

Three hundred ninety-seven IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack rail and road targets, and fuel dumps; and Ninth Air Force fighter-bombers from nine tactical groups attack a powerhouse at Vire, as well as numerous tactical and transportation targets, also in the battle area.

Of 675 VIII Fighter Command fighters dispatched, a total of 416 escort Eighth and Ninth air force bombers, patrol the beachhead area, and attack tactical and transportation targets. Five VIII Fighter Command fighters and their pilots are lost.

VIII Fighter Command and Ninth Air Force fighter pilots down ten GAF fighters over central and northwestern France between 0615 and 2115 hours. LtCol Joseph J. Kruzel, the executive officer of the 361st Fighter Group, in a P-51, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near St.-Brieuc at 2050 hours. (Three of Kruzel’s earlier victories were scored over Java in February 1942.)

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack oil-industry targets at Porto Marghera; Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack Axis shipping at Leghorn as well as numerous bridges and other transportation targets throughout north-central Italy; and XII TAC fighter-bombers mount numerous attacks along the German Army lines of retreat.

[warshipbuilder]

14-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
LE HAVRE
221 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitoes of 1, 3, 5 and 8 Groups carried out Bomber Command’s first daylight raid since the departure of 2 Group at the end of May 1943. The objectives were the fast German motor-torpedo boats (E-boats) and other light naval forces which were threatening Allied shipping off the Normandy beaches only 30 miles away.

The raid took place in 2 waves, one during the evening and the second at dusk. Most of the aircraft in the first wave were from 1 Group and in the second wave from 3 Group. Pathfinder aircraft provided marking by their normal methods for both raids. No unexpected difficulties were encountered; the naval port area was accurately bombed by both waves with 1,230 tons of bombs and few E-boats remained undamaged. 617 Squadron sent 22 Lancasters, each loaded with a 12,000-lb Tallboy bomb, and 3 Mosquito marker aircraft to attack the concrete-covered E-boat pens just before the first wave bombed. Several hits were scored on the pens and one bomb penetrated the roof.

This raid was regarded as an experiment by Sir Arthur Harris, who was still reluctant to risk his squadrons to the dangers of daylight operations but both waves of the attack were escorted by Spitfires of 11 Group and only 1 Lancaster was lost.

Two reports are available from Le Havre (from the local press and the report of the Défense Passive); they give no details of damage to the naval vessels or facilities, except to mention the ‘ravages considérables’ caused in the port area by 617 Squadron’s bombs. Both reports stress the courage of the local civil and French naval fire brigades which continued to fight the fires caused by the first wave of bombing when the second wave attacked. The Nôtre-Dame district, near the port, was devastated but the people there had fortunately been evacuated at an earlier date. Other districts were also hit, with 700 houses and a tobacco factory being destroyed and the local gaol damaged. 76 civilians were killed and 150 injured. These details of damage and casualties in the town area should not obscure the fact that most of the bombing fell into the harbour area and that the E-boat threat to the invasion beaches from this port was almost completely removed by this raid.

14/15 June 1944
TROOP POSITIONS
337 aircraft – 223 Lancasters, 100 Halifaxes, 14 Mosquitoes – of 4, 5 and 8 Groups attacked German troop and vehicle positions at Aunay-sur-Odon and Évrecy, near Caen. These raids were prepared and executed in great haste, in response to an army report giving details of the presence of major German units. The weather was clear and both targets were successfully bombed. The target at Aunay, where the marking was shared by 5 and 8 Groups, was particularly accurate. No aircraft were lost.

RAILWAYS
330 aircraft – 61 Lancasters, 255 Halifaxes, 14 Mosquitoes – of 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked railways at Cambrai, Douai and St-Pol. All of the targets were either partially cloud-covered or affected by haze and the bombing was not completely concentrated or accurate. 3 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster were lost, the Lancaster being the Master Bomber’s aircraft at Douai.

SCHOLVEN/BUER
35 Mosquitoes to attack the Scholven/Buer oil plant. A short German report says that 3 bombs fell into the plant area and that 3 civilians outside the factory – a farmer, a lorry-driver and a housewife – were killed. No Mosquitoes lost.

Minor Operations: 8 R.C.M. sorties, 19 Serrate and 18 Intruder patrols, 12 Stirlings minelaying off French ports, 10 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 769 sorties, 4 aircraft (0.5 percent) lost.

USAAF
BELGIUM: A total of 243 3d Bombardment Division B-17s and seven 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack three airdromes and several other targets.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack oil-industry targets at Pardubice.

FRANCE: Thwarted once again by bad weather over assigned targets in Germany, a total of 983 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack nine GAF airfields, supply dumps, and several targets of opportunity. Twelve B-17s and two B-24s are lost.

More than 500 IX Bomber Command B-26 and A-20 sorties are mounted against rail lines southwest of Paris and German Army lines of communication south of the beachhead area. Many tactical targets of opportunity are also attacked.

One hundred sixty-eight VIII Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack the GAF headquarters at Chantilly as well as German Army tank columns encountered in the area, and 583 VIII Fighter Command fighters patrol the beachhead or sweep ahead of the Eighth Air Force heavy bombers. Seven VIII Fighter Command fighters and their pilots are lost. Also, fifteen Ninth Air Force fighter-bomber groups escort medium bombers and attack numerous tactical and transportation targets in the beachhead area and across central France.

USAAF fighter pilots down 15 GAF fighters over France between 0730 and 2020 hours. 1stLt Robert M. Shaw, a P-51 pilot with the 357th Fighter Group’s 364th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs an FW-190 near Paris at 0750 hours; and 1stLt Clayton K. Gross, a P-51 pilot with the 354th Fighter Group’s 355th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Caen at 2020 hours.

GERMANY: Sixty-one 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack an oil refinery at Emmerich.

HUNGARY: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack oil refineries at Budapest and Komarom.

P-38 pilots of the 14th Fighter Group’s 49th Fighter Squadron down 15 Bf-109s over Petfurdo between 1100 and 1125 hours. 1stLt Louis Benne achieves ace status when he downs two Bf-109s near Petfurdo on his last scheduled mission before being rotated home. However, Benne is himself shot down and captured on this mission. 2dLt Jack Lenox, Jr., also achieves ace status when he downs three Bf-109s.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack viaducts and bridges in north-central Italy and ships in the harbor at Leghorn; XII TAC A-20s attack ammunition dumps; and XII TAC fighter-bombers attacks bridges and roads immediately to the north of the battle area.

NETHERLANDS: Sixty-three 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Eindhoven Airdrome.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack oil refineries at Osijek and Sisak, and Fifteenth Air Force P-38 dive-bombers attack Kecskemet Airdrome.

[warshipbuilder]

15-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
BOULOGNE
297 aircraft – 155 Lancasters, 130 Halifaxes, 12 Mosquitoes – of 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups carried out attacks on German light naval vessels now gathering in Boulogne harbour. The tactics employed and the bombing results were similar to those at Le Havre the previous evening, although the visibility was not so clear. 1 Halifax lost. The only details from France are in a short civil report which describes this as the worst raid of the war on Boulogne, with great destruction in the port and the surrounding areas and with approximately 200 people being killed.
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15/16 June 1944
AMMUNITION AND FUEL DUMPS
227 aircraft – 119 Lancasters, 99 Halifaxes, 9 Mosquitoes – of 4, 5 and 8 Groups attacked an ammunition dump at Fouillard and a fuel dump at Châtellerault. The raid at Fouillard, carried out by 4 Group with Pathfinder marking, hit the north-western section of the target and the all-5 Group raid at Châtellerault destroyed 8 fuel sites out of 35 in the target area. No aircraft lost.

RAILWAYS
224 aircraft – 184 Lancasters, 30 Stirlings, 10 Mosquitoes – of 3 and 8 Groups attacked railway yards at Lens and Valenciennes. The raids took place in clear visibility and both targets were accurately bombed. 6 Lancasters were lost from the Lens raid and 5 Lancasters from Valenciennes.

Minor Operations: 31 Mosquitoes to Gelsenkirchen, 13 Serrate and 21 Intruder patrols, 7 Stirlings and 4 Halifaxes minelaying off Channel ports. 1 Mosquito lost from the Gelsenkirchen raid.

Total effort for the night: 527 sorties, 12 aircraft (2.3 percent) lost.

USAAF
ENGLAND: During the night of June 15–16, nearly 300 V-1 pilotless bombs strike English soil.

FRANCE: Nearly 1,000 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack rail bridges and viaducts, marshalling yards, highway bridges, and airdromes. Two B-17s are lost.

IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s mount more than 550 sorties against rail and road targets, ammunition dumps, and a German armored division command post; and Ninth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers mount more than 1,400 escort or tactical sorties.

Thirty-six VIII Fighter Command P-38 fighter-bombers attack a rail bridge at Etaples. One P-38 and its pilot are lost. Also, 177 VIII Fighter Command fighters mount sweeps ahead of the various heavy-bomber formations.

Nine GAF fighters are downed over northern France by VIII Fighter Command and Ninth Air Force pilots between 0705 and 2000 hours.

Fifteenth Air Force pilots of the 1st, 14th, 31st, 82d, and 325th Fighter groups involved in fighter sweeps over several GAF airdromes in southern France down five GAF fighters between 1155 and 1210 hours.

GERMANY: Nearly 200 Eighth Air Force B-17s attack an oil refinery at Hannover or nearby targets of opportunity.

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers are grounded by bad weather; Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack bridges around Florence and La Spezia; XII TAC A-20s attack ammunition dumps; and XII TAC fighters and fighter-bombers attack roads and bridges immediately north of the battle area.

[warshipbuilder]

16-6-44
BOMBER COMMAND
16 June 1944
2 Mosquitoes of 100 Group carried out uneventful daylight Intruder patrols to Leeuwarden airfield.

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16/17 June 1944
FLYING-BOMB SITES
405 aircraft – 236 Lancasters, 149 Halifaxes, 20 Mosquitoes – of 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups commenced the new campaign against flying-bomb launching sites with raids on 4 sites in the Pas de Calais area. All targets were accurately marked by Oboe Mosquitoes and successfully bombed. No aircraft lost.

STERKRADE/HOLTEN
321 aircraft – 162 Halifaxes, 147 Lancasters, 12 Mosquitoes – of 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups to attack the synthetic-oil plant despite a poor weather forecast.

The target was found to be covered by thick cloud and the Pathfinder markers quickly disappeared. The Main Force crews could do little but bomb on to the diminishing glow of the markers in the cloud. R.A.F. photographic reconnaissance and German reports agree that most of the bombing was scattered, although some bombs did fall in the plant area, but with little effect upon production. 21 Germans and 6 foreigners were killed and 18 houses in the vicinity were destroyed.
Unfortunately, the route of the bomber stream passed near a German night-fighter beacon at Bocholt, only 30 miles from Sterkrade. The German controller had chosen this beacon as the holding point for his night fighters. Approximately 21 bombers were shot down by fighters and a further 10 by Flak. 22 of the lost aircraft were Halifaxes, these losses being 13.6 percent of the 162 Halifaxes on the raid. 77 Squadron, from Full Sutton near York, lost 7 of its 23 Halifaxes taking part in the raid.

Minor Operations: 25 Mosquitoes and 1 Lancaster of 8 Group to Berlin, 12 R.C.M. sorties (the airborne Mandrel jamming screen was used for the first time on this night), 53 Serrate, Intruder and flying-bomb patrols, 8 Stirlings and 4 Halifaxes minelaying in the Frisians and off the Biscay coast. 1 Stirling R.C.M. aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 829 sorties, 32 aircraft (3.9 percent) lost.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack a number of oil depots and refineries in the Vienna area through extremely heavy and determined opposition, including waves of rocket-firing Ju-88s. While covering the bombers during the penetration, target, and withdrawal phases of the mission, pilots of the 1st, 31st, 52d, 82d, and 325th Fighter groups down 40 GAF fighters between 0935 hours and noon.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack oil-industry targets around Bratislava.

FRANCE: Many scheduled Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber missions are canceled because of bad weather, but 93 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack the Juvincourt, Laon/Athies, and Laon/Couvron airdromes; 18 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack various railway targets of opportunity; 56 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack the Authe, Beauvais/Tille, and St.-Andre-de-L’Eure airdromes; and 156 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack V-weapons sites at four locations. One B-17 is lost.

Six hundred twenty VIII Fighter Command fighters escort Eighth Air Force heavy bombers or attack trains and troop concentrations. Making extensive use for the first time of a new fighter-bomber tactic, many fighters and fighter-bombers release their drop tanks against rail targets and set the fuel ablaze with incendiary machine-gun bullets. Of nearly 400 rail cars attacked in this manner, an estimated 200 are destroyed. Three VIII Fighter Command fighters and their pilots are lost.

All IX Bomber Command bombers are grounded by the bad weather, but more than 500 Ninth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers bomb and strafe rail and road traffic and bridges in the Cherbourg area.
Just one GAF fighter is downed, a Bf-109 credited to a 56th Fighter Group P-47 pilot near Rouen at 1650 hours.
An advance echelon of P-51s from the Ninth Air Force’s 354th Fighter Group (100th Fighter Wing, IX TAC), in P-51s, begins operating from Advance Landing Ground A-2, a wire-mesh–reinforced dirt fighter strip carved out by IX Engineer Command aviation engineers inside the Normandy beachhead near Criqueville. The P-51s immediately begin conducting low-level offensive missions against the German Army.

HUNGARY: 1stLt Richard S. Deakins, a P-51 pilot with the 325th Fighter Group’s 318th Fighter Squadron achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Lake Balaton at 1000 hours.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack rail and road bridges; XII TAC A-20s attack several ammunition dumps; and XII TAC fighter-bombers continue to attack communications targets in and around the battle area.