Action This Day

[warshipbuilder]

401 Sqn RCAF (Redhill – Spitfire VB) 28.7.43
Weather: No cloud, visibility 5 miles, wind 10 m.p.h. from W. Serviceability 14, no state.

As our first move in the Tactical Air Force scheme is imminent, steps are practically finalized and Squadron effects have <unreadable>, or, if still required, containers prepared against "Der Tag". Tool kits have been camouflaged, and the dispersal areas swept clean. Although conceivably inevitable in the scheme of things, opinions generally expressed amongst the "Erks" disclose that the break in identity with "401" is a sad one to take; and it will be difficult to develop the same "Esprit de Corps" in an aircraft garage as was most evident heretofore, when a man could claim a Squadron as his own.

Bomber Command
4 Mosquitoes to Hamburg and 3 to Düsseldorf, 17 aircraft minelaying in the Frisian Islands, 4 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost.

USAAF
BELGIUM: Seventeen 323d Medium Bombardment Group B-26s attack coke ovens at Zeebrugge with 33 1,000-pound bombs at 1105 hours.

FRANCE: Eighteen 323d Medium Bombardment Group B-26s dispatched against Tricqueville Airdrome are recalled after failing to rendezvous with P-47 escorts on the way to the target.

GERMANY: Of 182 1st Bombardment Heavy Wing B-17s dispatched to Kassel in bad weather, 58 attack the Fieseler Aircraft factory, and 37 of 120 4th Bombardment Wing B-17s dispatched to Oschersleben attack the assigned target or targets of opportunity in Germany and the Netherlands with a total of 177 tons of bombs. Losses from heavy flak and determined GAF fighter attacks are heavy: A total of 22 B-17s are lost, three battle-damaged B-17s are written off after crash-landing in the U.K., and 118 B-17s are damaged, including one in a crash-landing in the U.K. Crew losses are 205 missing and 15 wounded.

This day marks a turning point in fighter operations over northwestern Europe. In the first use of jettisonable belly tanks (albeit bulky, unpressurized Fiberglas models normally used for ferry flights) by VIII Fighter Command aircraft, 4th Fighter Group P-47s assigned to withdrawal support for the B-17s become the first USAAF fighters to penetrate into German airspace. During the withdrawal, for the loss of one P-47 and its pilot, 4th Fighter Group pilots down nine FW-190s and Bf-109s in a running fight between Utrecht and Rotterdam from 1155 to 1220 hours. 1stLt Duane W. Beeson, a P-47 pilot with the 4th Fighter Group’s 334th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Rotterdam at about 1215 hours. (Two of Beeson’s earlier victories were scored while he was flying with 71 RAF Eagle Squadron.)

Also of special note is the first known use by GAF fighters of aerial rockets, whose firing is observed and even photographed with a gun camera by a 78th Fighter Group P-47 pilot. Although highly inaccurate, the Germany Army 21cm rocket adapted for use by twin-engine fighters is capable of destroying any heavy bomber it strikes. This fact is driven home at this very first encounter when one of the rockets blows apart a 385th Heavy Bombardment Group B-17 that then crashes into two other B-17s in the same formation. All three B-17s are lost. It is also noted that the GAF rocket can be fired from outside the effective range of machine guns aboard the B-17s. It is viewed as something of a miracle that USAAF fighters equipped with long-distance tanks appear on the very day this dreaded stand-off weapon makes its combat debut.

SARDINIA: In the day’s only air action in the theater, P-40 pilots of the 325th Fighter Group’s 318th Fighter Squadron down two Mc.202s near Monserrato Airdrome during a morning sweep.

SICILY: NATAF A-20s attack Centuripe, Milazzo, and Regalbuto; NAAF A-36s and P-40s attack traffic, bridges, and roads near the battlefront; and IX Fighter Command P-40s attack shipping at Catania and Santa Teresa.

The 79th Fighter Group “B” Party arrives from Tunisia to join the “A” Party at Cassible Airdrome.

RAF
Base Changes
213 Sqn (Hurricane IIC) moves to Idku
231 Sqn (Mustang I) moves to Woodhouse
400 Sqn RCAF (Mustang I) moves to Woodhouse

First and Last Operational Missions
150 Sqn (Karouan West) flies its last OM in the Wellington III
218 Sqn (Marham) flies its last OM in the Stirling I

[warshipbuilder]

Dear Reader,

Probably won't be another post until Monday.

432 Sqn RCAF (Skipton-on-Swale – Wellington X) 29.7.43
The weather was cloudy with good visibility becoming fair and hazy, 12 aircraft were detailed for operations over HAMBURG. G/C Plant, Station-Commander at Leeming visited the Squadron in the morning. First aircraft of this squadron fitted with new American built Mark XIV Bombsight. This aircraft being “A” apple. 10 aircraft took off for operations. Two aircraft unable to take off due to technical failure at the last minute. Three aircraft returned early. One aircraft failed to return from this Operation.

This Squadron suffered loss when the Commanding Officer failed to return from this operation. W/Cdr Kerby was liked for his unselfish devotion to duty and his thoughtfulness for those who worked under him.

ADDENDUM – Wellington X LN294 QO-E. Crew: W/C HW Kerby RCAF KIA, Sgt JH SMITH RCAF POW, Sgt VJ Jewell RCAF KIA, F/O J Bennett RCAF KIA, P/O PSJ Murphy MiD RCAF KIA. T/o 2219 Skipton-on-Swale. Coned by 1.-3./Flakscheinw. Abt. 530, hit by 2. & 3./schw. Flak Abt. 336, 2./schw. Flak Abt. 535 (Eis), 2. & 5./schw. Flak Abt. 601, and 4/schw. Flak Abt. 607, impacting on the Reichs Autobahn at Klecken at 0114. Funerals were held for those who died at Lüneburg on 31 July. Three now lie at Hamburg Cemetery, Ohlsdorf. W/C Kerby had flown two previous tours with Fighter Command. Surprisingly he was undecorated. P/O Murphy was on his second tour of operations.

Bomber Command
HAMBURG
777 aircraft – 340 Lancasters, 244 Halifaxes, 119 Stirlings, 70 Wellingtons, 4 Mosquitoes. 28 aircraft – 11 Halifaxes, 11 Lancasters, 4 Stirlings, 2 Wellingtons – lost, 3.6 percent of the force.

The marking for this raid was again all by H2S. The intention was to approach Hamburg from almost due north and bomb those northern and north-eastern districts which had so far not been bombed. The Pathfinders actually came in more than 2 miles too far to the east and marked an area just south of the devastated firestorm area. The Main Force bombing crept back about 4 miles, through the devastated area, but then produced very heavy bombing in the Wandsbek and Barmbek districts and parts of the Uhlenhorst and Winterhude districts. These were all residential areas. 707 aircraft dropped 2,318 tons of bombs. There was a widespread fire area – though no firestorm – which the exhausted Hamburg fire units could do little to check. The worst incident was in the shelter of a large department store in Wandsbek. The building collapsed and blocked the exits from the shelter which was in the basement of the store. 370 people died, poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes from a burning coke store near by.
Minor Operations: 4 Mosquitoes to Düsseldorf, 6 Wellingtons minelaying in the River Elbe, 9 Lancasters of 617 Squadron dropping leaflets over Italian cities, 3 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost.

USAAF
ENGLAND: Eighteen 323d Medium Bombardment Group B-26s briefed for an attack on Amsterdam/Schipol Airport land back at their base with all bombs aboard.

FRANCE: Nineteen 323d Medium Bombardment Group B-26s attack the St.-Omer/Ft. Rouge Airdrome at about 1830 hours with more than 18 tons of bombs. Eight B-26s are damaged by flak, but there are no crew casualties.

Twenty 386th Medium Bombardment Group B-26s, in their unit’s combat debut, mount a diversion for the St.-Omer mission. The bombers are covered by 128 P-47s, but only one FW-190 is damaged in the only fighter action of the day.

GERMANY: Ninety-one of 167 1st Heavy Bombardment Wing B-17s and one YB-40 dispatched attack the day’s primary target, the shipyards at Kiel, at 0900 hours, but all the other B-17s either abort or attack targets of opportunity or targets of last resort because of the heavy cloud cover encountered over Kiel. In all, 139 B-17s attack targets in and around Kiel with just over 315 tons of bombs. Also, 767,000 leaflets are released over the city. GAF flak and fighter opposition account for six B-17s lost and 63 damaged, of which one is written off following a safe landing in the U.K.

In the second phase of the mission, 54 of 81 4th Heavy Bombardment Wing B-17s dispatched attack the Heinkel aircraft factory at Warnemunde at about 0920 hours with 129 tons of bombs. This formation loses two B-17s in a collision near the U.K. coast, plus two B-17s downed and seven damaged by enemy fire. Crew losses are 40 missing from four downed B-17s.

ITALY: NASAF B-17s attack Viterbo Airdrome, and NASAF B-26s attack Aquino Airdrome.

MEDITERRANEAN: The day’s only confirmed victory in the theater is awarded to a 414th Night-Fighter Squadron Beaufighter crew for bringing down an Italian Air Force transport 50 miles off the coast of Sardinia at an undisclosed time.

SICILY: NATAF A-20s and fighters attack Milazzo and Regalbuto, shipping off Messina, and gun emplacements and motor vehicles in northeastern Sicily; and at least 200 IX Fighter Command P-40 sorties are mounted against Axis shipping at several Axis-held coastal towns and in the Straits of Messina.

RAF
Base Changes
144 Sqn (Beaufighter X) leaves for the UK

First and Last Operational Missions
151 Sqn (Colerne) flies its last OM in the Mosquito NFII

[warshipbuilder]

401 Sqn RCAF (Redhill – Spitfire VB) 1.8.43
Weather: Cloud 10/10 at 800-1,000 feet, visibility 2-3 miles, wind 3-5 m.p.h. from South.
Serviceability: 15 a/c. State: Readiness 0505, 30 min. at 0830, released till dawn 1235.
In the early morning word was received that F/Lt. T.K. Ibbotson had died of severe internal injuries at 03:45 hours. An investigation into the accident has been ordered by the Commanding Officer. The Squadron is shocked and saddened at the loss of this able and popular young officer. P/O A.E. Gray (CAN. J.16673) departed for No. 1 P.D.C. en route to Middle East. At 1100 hours Honorary Flight Lieutenant J.A. Forves, padre of 126 Airfield H.Q., held a short church service in the Pilots' Dispersal.

ADDENDUM – F/Lt. Ibbotson was killed when his motorcycle collided with a truck outside the base.

Bomber Command
15 Stirlings and 14 Wellingtons laid mines off French Biscay ports without loss.

USAAF
August 1, 1943
MEDITERRANEAN: NACAF Beaufight-ers claim hits on Axis shipping at sea between Sardinia and Italy.

Two Do-217s are downed over the sea by 52d Fighter Group Spitfire pilots at about 0605 hours, and an Mc.202 is downed over the sea by a 14th Fighter Group P-38 pilot at 1115.

ITALY: NASAF B-17s attack Capodichino Airdrome.

ROMANIA: On a special mission designated Operation TIDALWAVE, 177 IX Bomber Command B-24s based around Benghazi, Libya (including three VIII Bomber Command groups on loan), conduct a low-level attack on the strategic oil-refining facilities at Ploesti and Campina. The damage inflicted is severe, but 41 B-24s are downed, 13 are lost in operational accidents, and seven are interned with their crews after being forced to land in Turkey. Crew losses are 532 from all causes.

Col Leon Johnson, the commanding officer of the 44th Heavy Bombardment Group (Eighth Air Force B-24s) earns a Medal of Honor for his daring leadership over Ploesti, as does Col John R. Kane, the commanding officer of the 98th Heavy Bombardment Group (Ninth Air Force B-24s). Also receiving Medals of Honor are LtCol Addison E. Baker, the commanding officer of the 93d Heavy Bombardment Group (Eighth Air Force B-24s), and Maj John L. Jerstad, Baker’s volunteer co-pilot. Although their lead B-24 is severely damaged by enemy fire during the final approach to the target, and should be landed immediately, Baker and Jerstad nonetheless continue to lead their formation, and both are killed when the bomber crashes shortly after its bombs have been dropped. 2dLt Lloyd H. Hughes, the pilot of a 389th Heavy Bombardment Group (Eighth Air Force) B-24, is awarded a Medal of Honor for refusing to turn for home after flak damage causes fuel to stream from his airplane. Despite the fuel leak, Hughes bombs his by-then-blazing target. However, the airplane crashes after its bombs are released, and all aboard are killed.

SICILY: NASAF B-25s attack Milazzo; NATAF A-20s and B-25s attack Bronte, Paterno, Randazzo, and Santa Maria di Licondia, and motor vehicles near Orlando; IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Adrano; and IX Fighter Command P-40s conduct a record 230 sorties against a variety of Sicilian towns and Axis ships at sea in the Straits of Messina.

RAF
Base Changes
107 Sqn (Boston IIIA) moves to Hartfordbridge

First and Last Operational Missions
603 Sqn (Misurata West) flies its first OM in the Beaufighter XIC
608 Sqn (Blida) flies its last OM in the Hudson III

[warshipbuilder]

419 Sqn RCAF (Middleton St. George – Halifax II) 2.8.43
15 aircraft were detailed to attack HAMBURG. Weather conditions were very bad in the Target Area, with the result that only 10 aircraft reached the targets five returning from the Coastal area due to severe icing conditions. Sergeant Sobin was the captain of one aircraft which was missing from this sortie: the details of the Crew are: Sgt. Sobin, J.S. (R.125719) (CAPTAIN,) J. 12518 P/O J. Sibalis (Navigator), R. 144952 Sgt. Mahoney, J.M. (Bomb Aimer) 1330420 Sgt. Parrow, A.W. (W/Op G), 1623297 Sgt. Horswill, R.E. (Flight Engineer), R. 140616 Sgt. Sadeski, J. (2nd Gunner), R. 105454 Sgt. McCarty, D.J. (Rear Gunner).

ADDENDUM – Halifax II DT798 VR-T. Crew: Sgt JS Sobin RCAF KIA, Sgt RE Horswell KIA, P/O J Sibalis RCAF POW, Sgt JM Mahoney RCAF POW, Sgt AW Farrow POW, Sgt J Sadeski RCAF KIA, Sgt DJ McCarty RCAF POW. T/o 2222 Middleton St. George. Crashed due to heavy icing and electrical storms. Of those who died, three lie in Becklingen War Cemetery, Sgt Horswell is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

Bomber Command
HAMBURG
740 aircraft – 329 Lancasters, 235 Halifaxes, 105 Stirlings, 66 Wellingtons, 5 Mosquitoes. 30 aircraft – 13 Lancasters, 10 Halifaxes, 4 Wellingtons, 3 Stirlings – lost, 4.1 percent of the force.

The bombing force encountered a large thunderstorm area over Germany and the raid was a failure. Many crews turned back early or bombed alternative targets. At least 4 aircraft, probably more, were lost because of icing, turbulence or were struck by lightning. No Pathfinder marking was possible at Hamburg and only scattered bombing took place there. Many other towns in a 100-mile area of Northern Germany received a few bombs. A sizeable raid developed on the small town of Elmshorn, 12 miles from Hamburg. It is believed that a flash of lightning set a house on fire here and bomber crews saw this through a gap in the storm clouds and started to bomb the fire. 254 houses were destroyed in Elmshorn and 57 people were killed, some of them refugees from recent raids on Hamburg.

Minor Operations: 5 Mosquitoes to Duisburg, 6 Wellingtons minelaying in the River Elbe, 12 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Wellington minelayer lost.

2nd TAF
124 Airfield Typhoons struck at a different type of target - a German destroyer in Dunkirk harbour. Flak was intense, and Sqn Ldr T.P.Pugh, commanding officer of 182 Squadron, who was leading the attack on this occasion, was hit whilst in a dive, his aircraft bursting into flames and crashing into the sea.

USAAF
ENGLAND: A scheduled attack against the Woensdrecht Airdrome in the Nerherlands by the 322d Medium Bombardment Group is canceled.

FRANCE: Forty-nine 323d and 386th Medium Bombardment Group B-26s attack the Merville and St.-Omer/Ft. Rouge airdromes, respectively. Twenty-eight B-26s are damaged by flak, and one B-26 is written off after it makes a forced landing in the U.K. In all, six crewmen are wounded by enemy fire.

During the morning, the 387th Medium Bombardment Group, in its combat debut, mounts a diversionary mission with a large fighter escort, but no action results.

ITALY: NATAF aircraft attack port facilities and shipping at Reggio di Calabria.

SARDINIA: The only confirmed aerial victories in the theater are awarded for four GAF fighters downed during an afternoon mission by 14th Fighter Group P-38s.

SICILY: NATAF aircraft attack ammunition and supply dumps, motor vehicles, and road junctions throughout southeastern Sicily; docking facilities and shipping at Messina and Milazzo; and various targets of opportunity in the battle area. Also, IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Adrano, and IX Fighter Command P-40s attack shipping off Milazzo and in the Straits of Messina.

The 340th Medium Bombardment Group advance echelon, in B-25s, moves to Comiso Airdrome from Tunisia, and the 12th Medium Bombardment Group advance echelon, also in B-25s, moves to Gela/Ponte Olivo Airdrome.

RAF
Base Changes
3 Sqn RAAF (Kittyhawk II/III) moves to Agnone
4 Sqn SAAF (Spitfire VB) moves to Pachino
72 Sqn (Spitfire VC/IX) moves to Pachino South
112 Sqn (Kittyhawk III) moves to Agnone
450 Sqn (Kittyhawk III) moves to Agnone

First and Last Operational Missions
179 Sqn (Gibraltar) flies its first OM in the Wellington XIV
305 Sqn (Ingham) flies its last OM in the Wellington X
408 Sqn RCAF (Leeming) flies its last OM in the Halifax II

[warshipbuilder]

317 (Polish) Sqn (Perranporth – Spitfire VC) 3.8.43
At 0910 hours, twelve aircraft led by F/Lt WROBLESKI, took off from here to take part in a No. 10 Group Rodeo No.48. They were to be part of the freelance wing and accompany Whirlwind bombers which were going out to bomb Guidparas aerodrome near BREST. Our aircraft flew to Lizard Point, rendezvoused with the bombers and flew for 36 minutes at sea level, then climbing to 16,000 feet. The bombers could not carry out their table owing to the cloudy weather which was 2,000 to 5,000 feet first layer of clouds and 10,000 to 12,000 feet second layer. No enemy aircraft were seen and no A.A. fire encountered. W.O. <unreadable> R., landed immediately after the take off owing to defect in the drop tank. P/O. MAKOWSKIs engine caught fire North of BREST as a result of engine failure and he was ordered to bale out. The remainder of our aircraft landed back at 1055 hours.

ADDENDUM – Spitfire VC EE717 JH-? Pilot: P/O Z Makowski KIA.

Bomber Command
12 Wellingtons of 6 Group minelaying off Lorient and St-Nazaire without loss.

USAAF
SICILY: NATAF A-20s attack tactical targets in the battle area; NAAF A-20s, medium bombers, and fighters attack Adrano and Biancaville, shipping at Milazzo and in the Straits of Messina, and gun emplacements in the battle area; IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Adrano three times during the day and interdict roads into the town; and IX Fighter Command P-40s mount a record 320 sorties against docking facilities and shipping at Milazzo and Messina, and provide direct air support for British Army ground forces around Bronte and Catania. Four 79th Fighter Group P-40s and their pilots are lost while attacking ground targets.

RAF
Base Changes
18 Sqn (Boston III) moves to Gela West
114 Sqn (Boston III) moves to Gela Main
488 Sqn RNZAF (Beaufighter VIF) moves to Drem

First and Last Operational Missions
429 Sqn (East Moor) flies its last OM in the Wellington X

[warshipbuilder]

401 Sqn RCAF (Redhill – Spitfire VB) 4.8.43
Weather: Cloud 7/10 at 2,000 feet, visibility 3 miles, wind light from west.
Serviceability: 14 a/c. State: 30 min. at 0505, readiness at 1900, released at 2120.
Sector reconnaissance, formation and low flying practice carried out. The funerals of F/L T.K. Ibbotson (CAN. J.9238) and F/O R.B. Delbridge (CAN. J.94940 were conducted by H/F/Lt. J.A. Forbes, Protestant Padre, at Brookwood Cemetery, near Woking, Surrey at 1500 hours. The Squadron supplied escort, bearer, and supporting parties and the R.A.F. Regiment supplied the Firing Squad. The party proceeded with the biers by road.

Bomber Command
5 Mosquitoes bombed the estimated positions of Cologne and Duisburg through cloud. No losses.

USAAF
FRANCE: Thirty-three 322d Medium Bombardment Group B-26s attack the shipyards at Le Trait at about 1930 hours. There are no losses or casualties.

ITALY: NASAF B-17s attack the Naples submarine base; NASAF medium bombers attack the rail bridges at Catanzaro and Paola; and NATAF aircraft attack rail sidings throughout the Calabria region.

14th Fighter Group P-38 pilots down seven Bf-109s and an Mc.202 between Cape Vaticano and Pizzo, in Calabria, at about 1715 hours.

SICILY: NATAF aircraft attack a wide variety of tactical and communications targets in and around the battle area as well as shipping in the Straits of Messina. And IX Fighter Command P-40s attack shipping at Messina and provide direct support for Allied ground forces fighting near Mt. Etna.

RAF
Base Changes
18 Sqn (Boston III) moves to Gela West
114 Sqn (Boston III) moves to Gela Main
96 Sqn (Beaufighter VIF) moves to Church Fenton
130 Sqn (Spitfire VB) moves to West Malling
183 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Tangmere
260 Sqn (Kittyhawk III) moves to Agnone
611 Sqn (Spitfire VB) moves to Coltishall

First and Last Operational Missions
65 Sqn (Kingsnorth) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VB

[warshipbuilder]

401 Sqn RCAF (Redhill – Spitfire VB) 5.8.43
Weather: Cloud 10/10 at 2,000 ft., visibility 10 miles, wind nil. Serviceability: 15 a/c.
State: 30 min. at 0900 hours, Readiness at 1300, 30 minutes at 1700 hours.
Formation, low flying, cloud flying, and aerobatics were carried out. Movement order No. 1 by No. 126 Airfield Headquarters received, and the Squadron commences its first move in the Tactical Air Force tomorrow, and will go under canvas at Staplehurst, Kent. F/Lt. R.L. Orpen returned to the Unit in time for the move.

Bomber Command
5 Mosquitoes, out of 8 dispatched, bombed Duisburg and Düsseldorf without loss.

USAAF
ICELAND: Two P-38 pilots of the Iceland Air Command’s 50th Fighter Squadron down an FW-200 flying boat over the island. This is the last of five GAF aircraft downed over or near Iceland during the war.

SARDINIA: NASAF B-25s attack the switching station at Guspini, and P-40 escorts claim a U-boat sunk off of southwestern Sardinia.

Although air opposition over the island has virtually dried up, NAAF aircraft continue to pound the Sardinian airdromes and other facilities. A new weapon is added to the Allied arsenal when four 321st Medium Bombardment Group special B-25s, each equipped with a nose-mounted 75mm cannon, attack the Guspini rail switching station. Thirty-six 75mm rounds are fired during several 300-foot firing passes by each B-25, and several of the rounds score direct hits that set the target afire. As a result of this test, the 321st Group is ordered to establish a separate “gun” squadron.

SICILY: Two forces of NASAF B-17s mount separate attacks on the port facilities and rail yards at Messina; NATAF aircraft attack a variety of tactical targets, including troop positions and gun emplacements, in direct support of Allied ground forces; NATAF aircraft also attack motor vehicles behind the lines and all manner of ships and craft encountered in the Straits of Messina or along the coasts on either side of the straits; IX Bomber Command B-25s attack roads and road junctions around Francavilla three times and troop concentrations around Adrano twice in support of British Eighth Army ground attacks; and IX Fighter Command P-40s attack Messina harbor and shipping in the Straits of Messina.

The rear flight echelon of the Ninth Air Force’s 12th Medium Bombardment Group, in B-25s, arrives at Gela/Ponte Olivo Airdrome from Tunisia and immediately resumes flight operations.

British Eighth Army ground forces take Catania and Paterno.
RAF
Base Changes
15 Sqn SAAF (Baltimore IIIA/IV/V) moves to LG.07
164 Sqn (Hurricane IV) moves to Manston
234 Sqn (Spitfire VB) moves to West Malling
250 Sqn (Kittyhawk III) moves to Agnone
252 Sqn (Beaufighter VIF) moves to Berka 3
454 Sqn RAAF (Baltimore III/IV) moves to LG.91

[warshipbuilder]

75 Sqn (Mepal – Stirling I) 6.8.43
TRAINING
Another bad day for flying, but improved during the late afternoon. In the morning lectures were given by S/Ldr. PARKIN and F/O. ORCHARD the Intelligence officers on "Current Affairs” and "Life in the Peace Time Air Force". In the afternoon night flying tests, air tests, and fighter affiliation were carried out.

OPERATIONS. MINING IN THE GIRONDE ESTUARY.
Five aircraft were detailed to carry out the above operation with mines of 1,500lbs. One aircraft returned early owing to inter-communication failure and brought its mines back and one failed to return. The remaining aircraft successfully dropped their mines in the allotted area and the parachutes were seen to open. Slight heavy A.A. fire and one searchlight were encountered but were ineffective. A few enemy aircraft were seen and one short combat took place but no damage was sustained by our aircraft. The weather was good above 1,000ft. and visibility was fair to good. Navigation was very good. On the return journey F/Sgt. MAYFIELD’s aircraft fired at a locomotive and the engine was seen to blow up with a brilliant flash. The missing aircraft was Stirling BK.614 captained by F/Sgt. MAYO, J.R.

ADDENDUM – Stirling I BK614 JN-H. Crew: F/S JR Mayo RNZAF KIA, Sgt R Booth KIA, Sgt AE Turner KIA, F/S IS Rothstein RCAF KIA, F/S TH Gittens KIA, Sgt ST Kitching KIA, Sgt RH Amstell KIA.

Bomber Command
MINOR OPERATIONS
8 Mosquitoes to Cologne and Duisburg, 20 Stirlings and 14 Wellingtons minelaying south of Texel and off Brest and the Biscay ports, 13 O.T.U. sorties. 2 Stirling minelayers were lost

2nd TAF
A reconnaissance Mustang of 170 Squadron was shot down in the Evreux area of France, and was reported as possibly having fallen to Flak. In fact it was claimed shot down at 1602 by Maj Helmut-Felix Bolz of I./JG 2.

USAAF
MEDITERRANEAN: A P-39 pilot with the 350th Fighter Group’s 346th Fighter Squadron downs a Ju-88 reconnaissance bomber at sea 100 miles off the coast from Cherchell, Algeria, at 1355 hours; and a 52d Fighter Group Spitfire pilot downs a Bf-109 40 miles northeast of Palermo at 1740 hours.

SICILY: NASAF B-17s attack the coastal roads leading to Messina; NASAF B-25s attack rail bridges and road junctions; NATAF aircraft attack a dizzying array of frontline targets, including Axis-occupied towns; NAAF and IX Fighter Command fighter-bombers mount aggressive anti-shipping sweeps and attacks from Vito Valentia to the Straits of Messina; and, in direct support of attacks by British Eighth Army ground forces, IX Bomber Command bombers attack Axis-held towns north of the Biancaville-Adrano road.

During the night of August 6–7, British Eighth Army ground forces capture Adrano and Biancaville.

RAF
Base Changes
56 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Martlesham Heath
115 Sqn (Lancaster II) moves to Little Snoring
421 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire IX) moves to Lashenden
608 Sqn (Hudson IIIA/V/VI) moves to Protville

[warshipbuilder]

50 Sqn (Skellingthorpe – Lancaster III) 7.8.43
Bombing attack on MILAN.
Ten aircraft were detailed to attack Milan. All succeeded in locating and attacking the target successfully and pilots report excellent results. P/O. Lees did not return to base as was anticipated, but proceeded to North Africa where he landed at MAISON BLANCHE owing to the port engine catching fire when approaching the target. When landing, he had the misfortune to run into another aircraft causing damage to both. The bomb aimer (Sgt. Shearwood) injured an arm and remained in hospital after the crew had returned to this country.

Bomber Command
In response to urgent political orders, 197 Lancasters of 1, 5 and 8 Groups were dispatched to attack Genoa, Milan and Turin. It is believed that every aircraft reached the target area; 195 crews returned and reported bombing; 2 aircraft were lost. Group Captain J. H. Searby, of 83 Squadron, acted as Master Bomber for the bombing at Turin but with only limited success. This was a trial in preparation for the role he would play in the raid on Peenemünde later in the month.

The only report available from Italy says that 20 people were killed and 79 were injured in Turin.

4 Mosquitoes bombed Cologne and 1 bombed Düsseldorf No losses.

USAAF
FRANCE: Thirty-six B-26s from the 323d Medium Bombardment Group abort in the face of bad weather while on their way to attack Poix/Nord Airdrome.

ITALY: NASAF B-26s attack the highway and rail bridges at Angitola, and escorting P-38s strafe trains and other targets of opportunity.

MEDITERRANEAN: Eight GAF aircraft are downed in the theater during the day: A Ju-88 reconnaissance bomber off Algiers, and seven GAF fighters over Italy at various times and places between 0940 and 1830 hours.

NACAF’s independent 417th Night-Fighter Squadron, in Beaufighters, clocks its first operational sorties.

SICILY: NATAF A-20s and NATAF and IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Randazzo; and NAAF fighters attack motor vehicles north of Mt. Etna and Axis ships at sea in the Straits of Messina, and support Allied ground forces. More than 130 P-40 sorties are mounted against ships, boats, and barges in the Straits of Messina and in support of Allied ground forces.

UNITED STATES: Headquarters, U.S. Army Air Forces, decides to transfer the Ninth Air Force to England to serve as a tactical air force in northern Europe once the invasion of France begins in mid-1944. Headquarters, Ninth Air Force, and several subordinate headquarters will make the move, but all remaining operational units will be transferred to the Twelfth Air Force. Once the Ninth Air Force is established in England, the Eighth Air Force’s VIII Air Support Command will be redesignated and transferred to it. LtGen Lewis H. Brereton will retain command of the Ninth Air Force.

RAF
Base Changes
4 Sqn (Mustang I) moves to Odiham
64 Sqn (Spitfire VB) moves to Friston
247 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Attlebridge
264 Sqn (Mosquito NFII) moves to Fairwood Common
307 Sqn Mosquito NFII) moves to Predannack
401 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire VB) moves to Staplehurst
402 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire VB) moves to Merston
403 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire IX) moves to Lashden
411 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire VB) moves to Staplehurst

[warshipbuilder]

Dear Reader, I put today's USAAF entry in yesterday's post. I have put yesterday's entry in today's post.


609 Sqn (Matlask – Typhoon IB) 8.8.43
Readiness 0537-1300. Cloud flying, formation, camera gun and low flying practice. C.O. flies to Colerne and Manston by Hurricane. Big event of the day is a Ranger (i.e. long-range Rhubarb) by F/Lt Smith, who becomes the first 609 pilot and the first Typhoon pilot to reach Germany without a passport. Setting off at 1048, he crosses the enemy coast N. of the Hague at 3000ft in cloud, and setting course for Nijmegen at 0 ft, he arrives there at 1136, and crosses the German frontier. Disappointingly enough no aerial targets are found. Arriving at Nivelles (Belgium) at 1200, he sets course for an exit at Bray Dunes. There is intense light Flak on the outskirt s. of Brussels, however, and his a/c is hit. Whether this had anything to do with it or not, his engine cut at 1000ft off Deal, and at 1240 hours, 100 yds from the shore, he landed in the sea after jettisoning his hood. The aircraft however caught fire, and though he got out all right and swam and walked to the shore, he received burns on the face and hands. The last 50 yds he was assisted by soldiers and coast guards, who on reaching the shore decided to strip him. This, and his stout refusal to be carried, earned him considerable applause from the crowd. He was then taken to Deal hospital, where he inherited the bed and nurse of S/L Beament.
Enemy Casualties: NIL
Our Casualties: 1Typhoon Cat. E; F/Lt Smith slightly injured.
Thus departed 609's one long range Typhoon. By night Kapt. Haabjoern, F/O Baldwin and the Adjutant enjoy drinks <unreadable> Lady Walpole, from which a party springs on return to the Mess, with the usual damaging and regrettable effect on property, this time wine glasses, on the part of the wild Norwegian.

2nd TAF
2 Group units undertook a fairly heavy raid on naval stores at Rennes, 40 Bostons from 88, 107 and 342 Squadrons being involved. The attack proved very successful, but 88 and 107 each lost one aircraft to Flak as they left the target, a third bomber crash-landed at Sopley and a fourth whilst attempting to land at Hurn.

USAAF
ENGLAND: The VIII Fighter Command’s 4th Air Defense Wing is formally redesignated as the 65th Fighter Wing.

MEDITERRANEAN: 82d Fighter Group P-38 pilots down two FW-190s off Pizzo at about 1620 hours.

ITALY: Two separate formations of NASAF B-25s attack Crotone Airdrome, and NASAF B-26s attack highway and rail bridges at Marina di Catanzaro.

SARDINIA: 325th Fighter Group P-40 pilots down two Bf-109s and damage five others during a morning sweep over southern Sardinia.

SICILY: Randazzo, the final escape route of many Axis units, is attacked through the day by NATAF A-20s and B-25s, and 150 IX Bomber Command B-25s. NATAF bombers also attack Maletto; NATAF A-36s and P-40s attack motor vehicles near Randazzo; and NATAF A-36s and P-40s, and IX Fighter Command P-40s attack numerous small vessels at sea between Sicily and the Italian mainland, and a variety of communications targets near the battle area and supply points in northeastern Sicily.

RAF
Base Changes
3 Sqn SAAF (Hurricane IIB) moves to Mellaha
114 Sqn (Boston III) moves to Comiso
137 Sqn (Hurricane IV) moves to Manston
165 Sqn (Spitfire VB) moves to Kenley
253 Sqn (Hurricane IIC) moves to La Sabala I
412 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire VB) moves to Staplehurst

First and Last Operational Missions
122 Sqn (Kingsnorth) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VB

[warshipbuilder]

427 Sqn RCAF (Leeming – Halifax V) 9.8.43
Nine aircraft for operations tonight against Mannheim. There were three, "boomerangs" owing to wing and snags and the rest of the aircraft returned. Sgt. Biggs and crew baled out over Reading after bombing their target and being shot up by a night fighter. They all landed more or less safely only bomb aimer, Sgt. Richards, sprained his ankle. Today, also saw a farewell party in both the officers and Sergeants' Messes for our sister Squadron 408 who are leaving this station to do "bigger things”.

ADDENDUM – Halifax V EB247 ZL-?. T/o 2310 Leeming. Crew: F/S W Biggs, Sgt RC Deegan RCAF, Sgt J Elliot, Sgt J Read, Sgt A Richards, Sgt LE Moyler, Sgt HG McClean, F/S RE Richards RCAF. T/o 2310 Leeming. Badly shot about by a nightfighter and after regaining the south coast, the Halifax was abandoned 0520 in the vicinity of Hartford Bridge. For their quite outstanding airmanship, Biggs, Moyler and Elliot were awarded immediate DFM’s.

BOMBER COMMAND
MANNHEIM
457 aircraft – 286 Lancasters and 171 Halifaxes. 9 aircraft – 6 Halifaxes and 3 Lancasters – lost, 20 percent of the force.

The target area was mainly cloud-covered and the Pathfinder plan did not work well. The resulting bombing appeared to be scattered. Mannheim, whose wartime officials must have produced some of the best air-raid reports in Germany, sent 37 typed pages of details which showed that this raid caused considerable damage in and around the city. 1,316 buildings were classed as ‘totally destroyed’ or ‘seriously damaged’. 42 industrial concerns, some of them being quite large ones, suffered loss of production. The compensation claims for 9 of the factories totalled 43,815,000 Reichsmarks. 269 people were killed and 1,210 were injured. There were 1,528 fires: 133 large, 417 medium-sized and 978 small fires. 8 railway engines, 146 passenger carriages and 40 goods wagons were damaged. 144 farm animals were killed: 96 pigs, 18 goats, 15 cows, 12 horses, 2 oxen and a calf.

It is a measure of the increased striking power of Bomber Command that all of the damage and casualties quoted above was caused by a medium-sized raid which is described in the Bomber Command Operations Record Book as ‘a scattered attack’.

Minor Operations: 6 Mosquitoes to Duisburg, 10 Stirlings minelaying in the Frisians, 14 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost

USAAF
ENGLAND: The 301st Heavy Bombardment Group, in B-17s, is assigned to the VIII Bomber Command.

FRANCE: Seventy-two 322d and 386th Medium Bombardment group B-26s arrive over the St.-Omer/Ft. Rouge Airdrome at 1904 hours, but all but one are prevented from dropping their bombs because of heavy cloud cover. Eleven of the B-26s are damaged by flak, and six crewmen are wounded.

Elements of the newly committed 353d Fighter Group, in 16 P-47s, join the 4th, 56th, and 78th Fighter groups for a sweep through the Abbeville-Poix area, but the 139 fighters dispatched encounter no opposition.

ITALY: NASAF B-25s attack bridges at Catanzaro and Soverato, and P-38s attack targets of opportunity in southern Italy.

SARDINIA: NAAF P-40s mount sweeps across southern Sardinia.

SICILY: NASAF B-17s attack a vital crossroads north of Messina; NATAF bombers attack the road junction at Gesso; NAAF fighters mount numerous attacks against road targets, rail sidings, gun emplacements, and various military targets of opportunity; IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Divieto, a tunnel west of Spadafora San Martino, and selected targets near the front lines; and IX Fighter Command P-40s attack shipping at Messina, Milazzo, and Palmi, Italy.

RAF
Base Changes
18 Sqn (Boston III) moves to Comiso
55 Sqn (Baltimore IIIA/IV) moves to Gala West
89 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Bu Amud
144 Sqn (Beaufighter TFX) moves to Tain
274 Sqn (Hurricane IIB/IIC) moves to Derna
306 Sqn (Spitfire VB) moves to Friston
416 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire VB) moves to Merston

[warshipbuilder]

466 Sqn RAAF (Leconfield – Wellington X) 11.8.43
Weather occasional showers during the morning dispersing towards evening. Visibility 15 - 20 miles. Light northerly winds. Sixteen aircraft were detailed for minelaying. Eight proceeded to STANTON HARCOURT and took off from there and all succeeded in laying their mines as ordered at LORIENT. One aircraft (Sergeant WIILS - Captain) was badly damaged by flak but returned to base safely. The remaining eight aircraft used HARWELL as an advanced base. Seven laid their mines as ordered at ST. NAZAIRE. The eighth aircraft with Warrant officer FOGDEN as Captain was missing. One aircraft forced landed at EXETER due to engine failure which occurred 50 miles off the coast.

ADDENDUM – Wellington X LN442 HD-? Crew: W/O ED Fogden RAAF KIA, F/S FN Hamwood RAAF KIA, F/S WVB Winchester RAAF KIA, Sgt RG Woosnam KIA, Sgt RW Richardson KIA. T/o 2356 Leconfield. All were buried 14 August Guidel Communal Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
MINOR OPERATIONS
8 Mosquitoes to Cologne and Duisburg, 23 Wellingtons minelaying off Brest, Lorient and St-Nazaire, 19 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Wellington minelayer was lost and 1 O.T.U. Wellington came down in the sea.

USAAF
CANADA: The QUADRANT Conference, attended by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Sir Winston S. Churchill, is convened in Quebec to discuss and adjust the Allied war strategies.

ITALY: NASAF B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Terni; NASAF B-25s attack bridges spanning the Angitola River; and NASAF B-26s and P-38s attack the bridge at Catanzaro.

SICILY: NATAF fighter-bombers provide close tactical support for landings by U.S. Army forces at Orlando; NAAF and IX Bomber Command medium bombers and IX Fighter Command P-40s support British Eighth Army ground forces attacking in the Randazzo area; and IX Fighter Command P-40s attack shipping at Messina and Milazzo, Axis troop concentrations awaiting evacuation to the Italian mainland, and a train near Messina.

Only three Axis aircraft are encountered and downed in the theater, all during afternoon missions.

RAF
Base Changes
306 Sqn (Spitfire VB) moves to Gravesend

First and Last Operational Missions
127 Sqn (Ramat David) flies its last OM in the Hurricane IIB
168 Sqn (Odiham) flies its last OM in the Mustang I and its first OM in the Mustang IA
179 Sqn (Gibraltar) flies its last OM in the Wellington VIII

[warshipbuilder]

432 Sqn RCAF (Skipton-on-Swale - Wellington X) 12.8.43
Weather: Fine becoming fair to cloudy. Visibility, good. Eight aircraft were. detailed for mining operations and all took off. Two aircraft returned early and one was missing. The remainder were successful in planting their vegetables in the allocated positions. Inspection of huts by Medical representative from Headquarters No. 6 R.C.A.F. Group. Fromhis report, it appears that 432-Squadron was complimented on the condition of the sleeping quarters. Credit for this must go to the Squadron Disciplinarian, F/Sgt Salway and his staff As they have been very energetic in their checking to see that all sleeping quarters are clean and well kept.

ADDENDUM – Wellington X HE348 QO-P Crew: P/O S Noble RCAF KIA, F/S KR Bourne RCAF KIA, F/S M Smith KIA, Sgt D Rushton KIA, Sgt JW Neal KIA. T/o 2021 Skipton-on-Swale. Lost without a trace. All are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial. P/O Noble was an American from Valparaiso, Indiana.

BOMBER COMMAND
MILAN
504 aircraft – 321 Lancasters and 183 Halifaxes. 2 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost.

Bomber Command considered that this was a successful raid. Milan only provided a general report which stated that, during August 1943, 4 major factories – including the Alfa-Romeo motor works – the main railway station and the La Scala opera house were all badly hit and that 1,174 people died in air raids during 1943. Most of these results probably occurred on this night.

TURIN
152 aircraft of 3 and 8 Groups – 112 Stirlings, 34 Halifaxes, 6 Lancasters. 2 Stirlings lost.

The raid was described by the crews involved as ‘heavy and concentrated’. Turin can report only 18 people killed and 83 injured.

Minor Operations: 7 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 24 Wellingtons minelaying off Brittany ports, 9 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Mosquito and 2 Wellington minelayers lost.

Total effort for the night: 696 sorties, 8 aircraft (1.1 percent) lost.

One of the bravest Victoria Crosses was won on this night. A Stirling of 218 Squadron was badly damaged by a burst of fire while approaching Turin. The navigator was killed and several members of the crew were wounded, including the pilot, Flight Sergeant Arthur Louis Aaron, who was struck in the face by a bullet which shattered his jaw and tore part of his face away; he was also injured in the chest and his right arm could not be used. The flight engineer and the bomb aimer took over the controls of the aircraft and set course for North Africa although one engine was useless, the pilot was out of action, having been dosed with morphia, and the navigator was dead.

The Stirling reached the cost of Africa and Flight Sergeant Aaron insisted on returning to his seat in the cockpit to help prepare for the landing. Twice he tried to take over the controls and, although he had to give up this attempt, he continued to help by writing down instructions for landing with his left hand. He could not speak. Under Aaron’s guidance, given in great pain and at the limits of exhaustion, the Stirling landed safely at its fifth attempt at Bône airfield with its wheels up.

Flight Sergeant Aaron died 9 hours later. It was considered that he might have survived if he had rested after having been wounded instead of insisting on helping his crew. The wireless operator, Sergeant T. Guy, and the flight engineer, Sergeant M. Mitcham, were each awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. It was later established that the machine-gun fire which struck the Stirling was fired by a nervous tail gunner in another bomber. Flight Sergeant Aaron was 21 years old and came from Leeds.

USAAF
BELGIUM: In their unit’s first individual mission, 27 353d Fighter Group P-47s conduct an unchallenged and uneventful sweep across the Belgian coast.

FRANCE: Thirty-four 322d Medium Bombardment Group B-26s attack the Poix/Nord Airdrome at 1052 hours. Thirteen of the B-26s are damaged by defensive fire, but none is lost and no crew casualties are sustained. The 323d Medium Bombardment Group, briefed for the same mission, is recalled while still over the English Channel.

GERMANY: One hundred thirty-three 1st Heavy Bombardment Wing B-17s attack Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Recklinghausen, and several targets of opportunity. Flak and GAF fighter opposition down an unprecedented 23 of these heavy bombers, a staggering 103 are damaged, and two that crash-land in the U.K. are written off. Crew casualties are five killed, 232 missing, and 49 wounded. These are by far the worst losses inflicted on any U.S. bomber force so far in the war.

In a separate phase of the day’s mission, 110 4th Heavy Bombardment Wing B-17s (including the 390th Heavy Bombardment Group, in its combat debut) attack the city of Bonn and several targets of opportunity between 0850 and 0900 hours. Losses against light opposition are two B-17s downed and 70 damaged, of which one is written off. Crew losses are one killed, 21 missing, and seven wounded.

Using pressurized steel belly tanks (good at high altitude) for the first time, 131 P-47s of the 4th, 56th, and 78th Fighter groups undertake penetration and withdrawal escort sorties, during which four GAF fighters are downed by pilots of the 4th Fighter Group. There are no USAAF fighter losses.

ITALY: NASAF B-25s attack Crotone Airdrome, and NASAF B-26s attack Grazzanise Airdrome. In a rather large engagement over Grazzanise Airdrome at about 1300 hours, 1st Fighter Group P-38 pilots down two and damage or possibly down eight Axis fighters. Also, B-26 gunners claim nine Axis fighters during the Grazzanise action.

SICILY: NATAF A-20s and NATAF and IX Bomber Command B-25s attack several Axis-held towns near the battlefront. NATAF A-36s and P-40s provide direct support for Allied ground forces and, with IX Fighter Command P-40s, attack Axis shipping in the Straits of Messina and along the northeastern coast. In their unit’s first aerial engagement of the Sicily Campaign, while on an afternoon mission aimed at interdicting Axis shipping traffic in the Straits of Messina, 79th Fighter Group P-40 pilots down an FW-190 and damage or possibly down five other Axis fighters.

TUNISIA: 52d Fighter Group Spitfire pilots down an FW-190 and damage another in an engagement 10 miles off Bizerte at 1850 hours.

RAF
Base Changes
80 Sqn (Spitfire VC) moves to St. Jean
257 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Gravesend
264 Sqn (Mosquito NFII) moves to Predannack

First and Last Operational Missions
127 Sqn (Ramat David) flies its first OM in the Hurricane IIC
515 Sqn (Hunsdon) flies its last OM in the Defiant NFII
434 Sqn RCAF (Thothorpe – Halifax V) flies its first OM of the war

[warshipbuilder]

401 Sqn RCAF (Staplehurst – Spitfire VB) 13.8.43
Weather: Clouds 9/10 at 1-2,000 ft., visibility 1-2 miles, wind 10-20 m.p.h. shifting from N. to W. Serviceability: 16 a/c. State: 60 minutes dawn, released at 1545 hours. The morning was spent in the Briefing Tent by all pilots on Tank Recognition under the supervision of Cpt. Lyons, C.A. Due to bad weather conditions no flying was carried out.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: In the first Allied bombing mission against a target inside Austria (Operation JUGGLER), 61 of 114 IX Bomber Command B-24s dispatched attack an aircraft factory and ball-bearing factory at Wiener-Neustadt. The flight to the target and back from bases around Benghazi, Tunisia, is 1,200 miles. Flak and fighter opposition over the target is extremely light, but two B-24s are lost. The aircraft factory’s output of Bf-109 airframes is reduced by one-third in the wake of the attack, and the ball-bearing plant is severely damaged.

ITALY: Fighter-escorted NASAF bombers totaling 106 B-17s, 66 B-25s, and 102 B-26s attack several marshalling yards in and around Rome with more than 500 tons of bombs. Although fighter opposition is reported as being “strong,” only two B-26s are lost, and 1st and 14th Fighter group P-38 escort pilots account for only one Bf-109 and an Mc.202.

NASAF B-25s attack an Axis ship off Pizzo; NATAF bombers and IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Piedimonte; and IX Fighter Command P-40s attack bridges and shipping along the southwestern coast.

SARDINIA: While conducting a sweep over southern Sardinia, NAAF P-40s strafe a rail junction, small boats, and a power station.

SICILY: NATAF bombers and IX Bomber Command B-25s attack Falcone; NATAF bombers attack bridges near Scaletta; NATAF A-36s, IX Bomber Command B-25s, and IX Fighter Command P-40s attack shipping in the Straits of Messina; and NATAF A-36s and IX Fighter Command P-40s attack various targets of opportunity in northeastern Sicily and along the battlefront.

1stLt Paul G. McArthur, a P-40 pilot with the 79th Fighter Group’s 87th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near the Straits of Messina during a morning mission. Three other members of McArthur’s squadron also down a Bf-109 apiece.

Randazzo falls to elements of the U.S. Seventh Army.

RAF
Base Changes
66 Sqn (Spitfire VB/VC) moves to Kenley
87 Sqn (Hurricane IIC) moves to La Sabala I
247 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to New Romney
429 Sqn RCAF (Non-Op) moves to Leeming
430 Sqn (Mustang I) moves to Ashford
602 Sqn (Spitfire VB) moves to Newchurch

[warshipbuilder]

7 Sqn (Oakington – Lancaster III) 14.8.43
MILAN again. Fires were reported to be going well, the BREDA works were well ablaze, a very big bright red explosion was seen, fires from previous raid were still burning, and in fact over all the built-up area were fires either large or small. Most crews agreed that this was a splendid raid. One captain reported the use of a smoke screen at the target. The only aircraft in Bomber Command lost on this operation was captained by Flight Lieutenant MATKIN of No. 7 Squadron, and this was his forty-fourth trip. He captained a fine crew, and their loss was grievous to all.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster III JA850 MG-M. Crew: F/L SG Matkin DFC KIA, P/O JW O’Hara RCAF KIA, Sgt A Whatmore KIA, F/L RCC Taylor RNZAF KIA, F/S JB Paterson KIA, F/O KA Gough KIA, F/S AA Balcombe RCAF KIA, W/O WH Dugan RAAF KIA. T/o 2102 Oakington. Shot down by Hptm Han-Wolfgang von Niebelschültz (4th victory) 5./NJG4. Crashed at Sassenay, 8km NE of Chalon, France. All are buried in Sassenay Churchyard.

BOMBER COMMAND
MILAN
140 Lancasters of 1, 5 and 8 Groups carried out another attack on Milan, claiming much further damage. 1 Lancaster lost.

7 Mosquitoes carried out a nuisance raid on Berlin without loss.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: Sixty-one IX Bomber Command B-24s attack the Bf-109 factory at Wiener-Neustadt.

ITALY: The Italian government declares Rome an open city, thus obviating the threat of further bombing attacks.

NATAF aircraft and IX Bomber Command B-25s attack a road junction near Palmi, but NASAF P-38 conducting sweeps over the toe of Italy find little movement along the area’s roads.

SICILY: NATAF aircraft attack a refueling point near Gesso, shipping in the Straits of Messina, and numerous targets of opportunity in northeastern Sicily and southern Sicily. IX Fighter Command P-40s attack shipping around Milazzo and Messina.

RAF
Base Changes
184 Sqn (Hurricane IV) moves to Kingsnorth
239 Sqn (Mustang I) moves to Hornchurch
504 Sqn (Spitfire VB/VC) moves to Redhill

[warshipbuilder]

300 (Polish) Sqn (Ingham – Wellington X) 15.8.43
Church parade was Held in the morning, following which working parades and daily inspection of aircraft were carried out. Six aircraft carried out serviceability tests during the day, with a total day flying time of 2 Hours 5 minutes. Thirteen aircraft mere. briefed for mining operations four to “Trefoil" and 9 to "Nectarines". Aircraft "D" captained by F/0. OCHEDZIAN abandoned the task owing to Gee being unserviceable, and mines were brought back to base. Aircraft “N” captained by F/O. ROUBO failed to return from the operation, an S.O.S. was received from the aircraft at 23.20 stating engine on fire, following which nothing further is heard from them. The remainder of the aircraft completed their allotted tasks successfully.

ADDENDUM – Wellington X HE768 BH-N. Crew: F/S M Rech PAF POW, F/O J Roubo PAF KIA, F/S C Poddanay PAF POW, Sgt JK Martyniec PAF KIA, Sgt L Blazejewski PAF KIA. T/o 2057 Ingham to lay mines off the Frisian Islands. Four minutes prior to reaching the target area, the starboard engine caught fire. The operation was continued, but twenty minutes later the bomber was shot down by a night-fighter and crashed in the sea off Borkum. The two survivors were adrift for eight days before being rescued by the Kriegsmarine. Sgt Martyniec is buried in the Lemvig Cemetery, Denmark. The Polish Air Force Memorial at Northolt bears his name, and those of his two companions.

BOMBER COMMAND
MILAN
199 Lancasters continued the offensive against Milan, claiming particularly concentrated bombing. 7 aircraft were lost, mostly to German fighters which were awaiting the bombers’ return over France.
Minor Operations: 8 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 63 aircraft minelaying in the Frisians and off Texel and off all the main Brittany and Biscay ports, 16 O.T.U. sorties. 2 Wellingtons and 1 Stirling from the minelaying force were lost.

2nd TAF
During an afternoon Ramrod' (142) to Poix by 12 107 Squadron Bostons, 602 Squadron suffered heavily, four aircraft and their pilots being lost, three of the latter becoming prisoners. One of the attacking Fw 190s was claimed destroyed by Flg Off A.P.Robson and a Bf 109 by Flt Lt W.W.J.Loud. Five Spitfires were claimed by pilots of JG 26, which lost one Fw 190, the pilot being wounded, and a sixth Spitfire was claimed by Ofw Ludwig Jacobs of 5./JG 2, while Ofw Rainer Poettgen of 3./JG 27 claimed a seventh. Maj 'Wutz' Galland of II./JG 26 also claimed a Boston, and one 107 Squadron aircraft taking part was indeed damaged by fire from an Fw 190, landing wheels-up at Eastchurch on return. Crews of other Bostons claimed damage to two Focke-Wulfs. I. and II/JG 2 each lost a fighter.

A separate 'Ramrod 140' was also flown to Poix at much the same time by bomb-carrying Typhoons; one such aircraft of 181 Squadron was lost, Plt Off E.A.Haddock was shot down by a Bf 109, becoming a POW after a lengthy evasion. A second Typhoon from 182 Squadron, which was escorting 181 Squadron, was hit in the wing by a single shell, splinters from which entered the cockpit and wounded the pilot. Two Typhoons were claimed shot down by Hptm Bühligen and Lt Maximillian Buscherz of II./JG 2.

USAAF
BELGIUM: On a mission confused by bad weather, 91 of 180 1st Heavy Bombardment Wing B-17s dispatched attack their secondary target, Flushing/Vlissingen Airdrome, at about 1930 hours. At about same time, 56 other B-17s from the original formation attack the Poix and Amiens/Glisy airdromes in France. No aircraft are lost in the attacks, but 48 are damaged and three crewmen are wounded.

FRANCE: Of 147 4th Heavy Bombardment Wing B-17s dispatched, 82 of the airplanes drop half their bombs on Merville Airdrome and half on Lille/Vendeville Airdrome. Sixty-one other B-17s attack Vitry-en-Artois Airdrome. Two B-17s are lost in these attacks—including one in a midair collision—11 B-17s are damaged, one crewman is killed, 20 crewmen are missing, and three crewmen are wounded.

In the VIII Air Support Command’s first mission of the day, 31 387th Medium Bombardment Group B-26s—in their unit’s combat debut—attack the St.-Omer/Ft. Rouge Airdrome at about 1000 hours. Eighteen B-26s are damaged, but there are no crew casualties.

Nineteen 323d Medium Bombardment Group B-26s attack the Abbeville marshalling yard with 54 1,000-pound bombs at about 1930 hours. Nine B-26s are damaged and one crewman is wounded.

ITALY: NASAF B-25s and B-26s attack the rail junction and marshalling yard at Sibari, and NASAF P-38s attack the tracks and tunnel at Sibari as well as trains, troops, and radar installations throughout the Sibari area.

MEDITERRANEAN: Two Bf-109s are downed over the Isle of Capri by a 1st Fighter Group P-38 pilot.

The U.S. Fifth Army issues its plan for Operation AVALANCHE, the invasion of Italy at Salerno.

NETHERLANDS: The 386th Medium Bombardment Group turns back at the Dutch coast late in the day while on its way to attack Woensdrecht Airdrome.

NORTHWESTERN EUROPE: The Eighth Air Force opens Operation STARKEY, an effort to make the German Army and GAF believe that an invasion at the Pas-de-Calais is imminent and thus halt the movement of fresh units to Italy and Russia. (STARKEY is also seen as a means to test a preliminary air plan leading to the actual invasion of France, now set for mid-1944.) The focus of the STARKEY attacks will be GAF airfields in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. As well as being a ruse and a test, the operation, which will continue until September 9, will cause great collateral damage to the GAF forward bases.

SARDINIA: NAAF P-40s attack a troop bivouac near Monserrato.

SICILY: The Allied air forces formally begin an around-the-clock campaign to interdict Axis forces attempting to conduct an orderly withdrawal from Sicily across the Straits of Messina. IX Bomber Command B-25s attack ships picking up troops along the beaches, and IX Fighter Command P-40s mount more than 180 sorties against ships and craft in the Straits of Messina.

SPAIN: A representative of the Italian Supreme Command opens armistice negotiations in Madrid with representatives of the Allied powers.

RAF
Base Changes
56 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Manston
118 Sqn (Spitfire VB) moves to Westhampnett

First and Last Operational Missions
65 Sqn (Kingsnorth) flies its first OM in the Spitfire IX
122 Sqn (Kingsnorth) flies its first OM and second tour in the Spitfire IX

[warshipbuilder]

35 Sqn (Graveley – Halifax II) 16.8.43
Twenty-two aircraft took off to attack Turin, One, captained by S/L P.A. Haggarty, DFC., failed to return. Two aircraft returned early with engine trouble, but the remainder carried out successful attacks.

ADDENDUM – Halifax II HR880 TL-K. Crew: S/L PA Haggarty DFC KIA, Sgt GC Mutch KIA, F/L RD Ferguson POW, F/L MJA White KIA, Sgt LR Hooper POW, F/O RW Griffiths KIA, F/O AHJ Sumner DFC KIA. T/o 2011 Graveley. Those who died lie in Milano War Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
TURIN
154 aircraft of 3 and 8 Groups – 103 Stirlings, 37 Halifaxes, 14 Lancasters. 4 aircraft – 2 Halifaxes, 1 Lancaster, 1 Stirling – lost.

Crews claimed a concentrated attack on Turin, including damage to the Fiat motor works but the city’s casualties were much lower than in recent raids, only 5 dead and 56 injured.

This raid concluded the Bomber Command attacks on Italian cities which had commenced in June 1940.

2nd TAF
A Mustang of 400 Squadron was hit by Flak whilst undertaking a 'Rhubarb' over France, but Flt Lt S.M.Knight managed to get back across the Channel before baling out near Friston.

USAAF
ENGLAND: The 2906th Provisional Observation Training Group is established at Atcham Airdrome from various fighter-training organizations already in residence. The new unit is to process and provide advanced theater training to replacement fighter pilots for the Eighth Air Force and, eventually, the Ninth Air Force.

FRANCE: One hundred seventy-one 1st Heavy Bombardment Wing B-17s attack Paris/Le Bourget Airport with more than 397 tons of bombs at about 0930 hours. Flak and moderate GAF fighter opposition account for four bombers lost (including one down in the North Sea from which the crew is rescued) and 46 damaged. Crew losses are one killed, 31 missing, and four wounded.

In a separate attack between 0911 and 0923 hours, 66 4th Heavy Bombardment Group B-17s each drop half their bombs on Poix Airdrome and half on Abbeville/Drucat Airdrome, for a total of nearly 79 tons of bombs. Losses are 38 B-17s damaged, and there are no crew casualties.

VIII Air Support Command B-26s mount two missions: 31 387th Medium Bombardment Group B-26s attack Bernay St.-Martin Airdrome at about 1115 hours; and, at 1700 hours, 29 322d Medium Bombardment Group B-26s attack Beaumont-le-Roger Airdrome and three B-26s attack Conches Airdrome (target of opportunity).

4th Fighter Group P-47 pilots down 18 GAF aircraft while escorting 1st Heavy Bombardment Group B-17s over and around Paris. Of 180 P-47 escorts dispatched, the 4th, 56th, and 353d Fighter groups each lose one plane and one pilot missing, plus two P-47s written off after crash-landing in the U.K. Among the missing is LtCol Joseph A. Morris, the 353d Fighter Group commander, who is killed.

ITALY: NASAF B-25s and B-26s attack Staletti and a temporary bridge across the Angitola River at Angitola; NATAF A-36s and P-40s attack various communication targets throughout the toe of Italy; and 86 IX Bomber Command B-24s attack the airdrome complex and city of Foggia.

SICILY: NATAF A-20s, NATAF and IX Bomber Command B-25s, and IX Fighter Command aircraft attack shipping and landing craft in and around the Straits of Messina.

Organized resistance all but ceases as the last of the Axis forces withdraw across the Straits of Messina behind collapsing rearguards. Before midnight, U.S. Army ground patrols enter the outskirts of Messina, which is under fire from Axis gun emplacements on the nearby Italian mainland.

TUNISIA: A 415th Night-Fighter Squadron Beaufighter downs an Italian Air Force float-reconnaissance plane between Tunis and Bizerte at about 0435 hours.

RAF
Base Changes
131 Sqn (Spitfire VB/VC) moves to Redhill
227 Sqn (Beaufighter VIC) moves to Limassol

First and Last Operational Missions
92 Sqn (Lentini) flies its first OM in the Spitfire IX
154 Sqn (Fairlop) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VB

[warshipbuilder]

Dear Reader. In celebration of the start date for BTR. I have added a new feature. I hope you like it.

426 Sqn RCAF (Linton-on-Ouse – Lancaster II) 17.8.43
WEATHER: Cloudy all day with moderate visibility and light Easterly to South Easterly winds. Shower at night.
Instructions to operate were received in the morning. All sections set to work in preparation. Nine aircraft were selected, crews detailed and the work of bombing-up got under way. Take-off was set for 21.25 hours and the target was PEENEMUNDE, GERMANY. Promptly at 21.25 hours the first aircraft took off and all nine were in the air in eight minutes. D.S. 596, piloted by R122817 Sgt Griffith W.F., while taxiing to the take-off point collided with a cement mixer and damaged the propeller on the starboard outer motor. The engine stopped but re-started and the pilot was unaware of damage and took off. Once airborne considerable vibration developed and the pilot was forced to jettison his bomb load and return to base. Crews found weather conditions very clear and agreed that the P.F.F.. was very good and that the target was left well-lighted. The aircraft were given diversion orders but three aircraft missed the instructions and returned to base. Three others landed at LAKENHEATH, MILDENHALL and NEWMARKET. Two aircraft did not return.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster II DS674 OW-? Crew: F/L DD Shuttleworth DFC RCAF KIA, Sgt S Barnes KIA, F/O GC Robinson RCAF KIA, Sgt JML Bouvier DFM RCAF, Sgt KG Gawthrop RCAF KIA, F/O GW Scannell DFC KIA, Sgt GW Bentley KIA. Lost without a trace. All are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

Lancaster II DS681 OW-? Crew: W/C L Crooks DSO DFC KIA, Sgt JC Hislop KIA, F/S AJ Howes KIA, Sgt KW Reading POW, F/L FP Marsh DFC RCAF KIA, P/O T Dos Santo RCAF KIA, Sgt HM Smith RCAF KIA. Probably shot down by Lt Dieter Musset (4th victory) 5./NJG1, some 3 km south of Greifswald at 0201. Those who died were buried locally, since then their remains have been taken to Berlin and interred in the city’s 1939-45 War Cemetery. P/O Dos Santos was from Trinidad.

BOMBER COMMAND
PEENEMÜNDE
596 aircraft – 324 Lancasters, 218 Halifaxes, 54 Stirlings. This was the first raid in which 6 (Canadian) Group operated Lancaster aircraft. 426 Squadron dispatched 9 Mark II Lancasters, losing 2 aircraft including that of the squadron commander, Wing Commander L. Crooks, D.S.O., D.F.C., an Englishman, who was killed.

This was a special raid which Bomber Command was ordered to carry out against the German research establishment on the Baltic coast where V-2 rockets were being built and tested. The raid was carried out in moonlight to increase the chances of success. There were several novel features. It was the only occasion in the second half of the war when the whole of Bomber Command attempted a precision raid by night on such a small target. For the first time, there was a Master Bomber controlling a full-scale Bomber Command raid; Group Captain J. H. Searby, of 83 Squadron, 8 Group, carried out this task. There were three aiming points – the scientists’ and workers’ living quarters, the rocket factory and the experimental station – and the Pathfinders employed a special plan with crews designated as ‘shifters’, who attempted to move the marking from one part of the target to another as the raid progressed. Crews of 5 Group, bombing in the last wave of the attack, had practised the ‘time-and-distance’ bombing method as an alternative method for their part in the raid.

The Pathfinders found Peenemünde without difficulty in the moonlight and the Master Bomber controlled the raid successfully throughout. A Mosquito diversion to Berlin drew off most of the German night-fighters for the first 2 of the raid’s 3 phases. Unfortunately, the initial marking and bombing fell on a labour camp for forced workers which was situated 1½ miles south of the first aiming point, but the Master Bomber and the Pathfinders quickly brought the bombing back to the main targets, which were all bombed successfully. 560 aircraft dropped nearly 1,800 tons of bombs; 85 percent of this tonnage was high-explosive. The estimate has appeared in many sources that this raid set back the V-2 experimental programme by at least 2 months and reduced the scale of the eventual rocket attack. Approximately 180 Germans were killed at Peenemünde, nearly all in the workers’ housing estate, and 500–600 foreigners, mostly Polish, were killed in the workers’ camp, where there were only flimsy wooden barracks and no proper air-raid shelters.

Bomber Command’s losses were 40 aircraft – 23 Lancasters, 15 Halifaxes and 2 Stirlings. This represents 6.7 percent of the force dispatched but was judged an acceptable cost for the successful attack on this important target on a moonlit night. Most of the casualties were suffered by the aircraft of the last wave when the German night fighters arrived in force; the groups involved in this were 5 Group, which lost 17 of its 109 aircraft on the raid (14.5 percent) and the Canadian 6 Group which lost 12 out of 57 aircraft (19.7 percent). This was the first night on which the Germans used their new schräge Musik weapons; these were twin upward-firing cannons fitted in the cockpit of Me 110s. Two schräge Musik aircraft found the bomber stream flying home from Peenemünde and are believed to have shot down 6 of the bombers lost on the raid.

8 Mosquitoes carried out a successful diversion raid on Berlin. 1 aircraft lost.

Note: Approximate route as planned. Not all Groups plotted and it is a bit off, but you will get the idea.
Base, Assorted Group coast locations, 55 10N 07 10E, 55 20N 08 29E, 54 41N 13 26E, Island Der Rugen, TARGET,
Island of Mando, 55 10N 07 10E, UK Coast, Base.

Screenshot (372).png (1 MiB) Viewed 998 times

2nd TAF
The 17th proved to be another very busy day for Fighter Command and for the US Eighth Air Force, as a large force of B-17s flew far into southern Germany to raid the ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt and the Messerschmitt aircraft plant at Regensburg. Far beyond fighter escort range at that time, 60 bombers were lost. RAF and USAAF fighter units flew escorts and diversionary sweeps as far as their range allowed, and some fierce engagements took place.

A morning attack on Poix, Lille and Woensdrecht by bomb-carrying Typhoons brought the loss of one aircraft to 182 Squadron. Approaching the target, Flt Lt Bewg was attacked by two Fw 190s and was seen to spin and then recover, only to disappear; one claim was made for a Typhoon by Ofw Hans Heitemann of 8./JG 26.

At 1500 hours, 127 Airfield's Canadians provided cover for B-26s and more Typhoons over the Poix area. North of Ghent at 1652 a lone Bf 110- possibly a night fighter returning to base after taking part in a daylight interception of the Eighth Air Force bomber formations-was seen by Wg Cdr J.E.'Johnnie' Johnson and his pilots of 403 Squadron, and they dived to attack, Johnson and three others claiming the destruction of this aircraft. Near Dunkirk a lone Fw 190 was seen flying virtually in formation with the Spitfires. This was flown by the Staffelkapitän of 4./JG 26, Lt Helmut Hoppe, on his way back to base. As the Spitfires rushed to latch on his tail, still unseen by the German pilot, the propeller of Flt Sgt G.M.Shouldice's aircraft cut into the rear fuselage of that flown by Flt Lt Conrad and cut off its tail, causing Conrad to take to his parachute. Seeing this, Hoppe returned to claim the Spitfire as his 16th victory. Meanwhile Shouldice's aircraft, now without a propeller, crashed into the Channel and he was killed. Wally Conrad, a veteran of the Western Desert, managed to evade capture and return later. He and Shouldice were given joint credit for shooting down the Focke-Wulf, but Hoppe actually returned with his aircraft intact.

USAAF
FRANCE: Twenty-nine 386th Medium Bombardment Group B-26s attack Bryas Sud Airdrome at 1051 hours with nearly 35 tons of bombs. Two B-26s are damaged, but there are no crew casualties. In the afternoon, the entire 387th Medium Bombardment Group is recalled, 35 323d Medium Bombardment Group B-26s attack Poix/Nord Airdrome. Twenty B-26s are damaged and one crewman is wounded.

Based on reconnaissance findings indicating that 140 GAF twin-engine fighters are based in the Marseille area, 180 Tunisian-based NASAF B-17s attack the Istres-le-Tube and Salon-de-Provence airdromes, dropping 25,619 20-pound fragmentation bombs and claiming 94 enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground. One GAF airplane, probably a Ju-88, is downed by an escort fighter, and bomber crews claim 23 GAF airplanes downed, undoubtedly an inflated figure.

GERMANY: The VIII Bomber Command mounts its notorious attack against ball-bearing–industry targets in and around Schweinfurt—The Schweinfurt Raid:

First, between 1148 and 1207 hours, 127 4th Heavy Bombardment Wing B-17s attack aircraft factories at Regensburg with nearly 299 tons of bombs. This attack is met with resolute opposition from GAF fighters and flak, which down 24 B-17s and damage 50 others. The 4th Heavy Bombardment Wing long-range B-17s then fly on to friendly bases in North Africa. Along the way, two battle-damaged bombers crash-land in Switzerland, where their crews are interned, and eight ditch in the Mediterranean, mostly because of fuel depletion. Crew losses are four killed, 200 missing, and nine wounded.

In the second phase of the mission, 183 1st Heavy Bombardment Wing B-17s attack the Schweinfurt ball-bearing plants with more than 424 tons of bombs between 1459 and 1511 hours. Flak and GAF fighter opposition is extremely heavy and resolute. B-17 gunners alone claim 148 GAF fighters downed and 18 GAF fighters probably downed, but actual losses are lower by several orders of magnitude. Losses sustained by the 1st Heavy Bombardment Wing, however, are nothing less than harrowing: 36 B-17s downed outright, from which the crews of two that crash into the North Sea are rescued; and 121 B-17s damaged, of which three crash-land at bases in the U.K. Overall crew casualties are put at three killed, 352 missing, and 12 wounded.

Aggregate B-17 losses for the day are 60 B-17s missing, four damaged beyond repair, and 168 damaged. Aggregate crew losses are a staggering seven killed, 552 missing, and 21 wounded. Overall, this is the equivalent of airplanes and crewmen needed for nearly two operational heavy-bomber groups. Although heavy damage is claimed at both targets, it is known that only one bomb in nine dropped by heavy bombers during World War II actually hit the intended target.

P-47s from the 56th, 78th, and 353d Fighter groups are also pressed to find new limits of endurance. After flying early-penetration escort for the 4th Heavy Bombardment Wing B-17s, the 56th and 353d Fighter groups return to the extremity of their range to fly late-withdrawal escort for the returning 1st Heavy Bombardment Wing B-17s. In all, faced with an all-out effort by scores of GAF fighters, the P-47 pilots of the 4th, 56th, 78th, and 353d Fighter groups down a total of 19 GAF fighters in a series of sharp fighter battles over Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands between 1028 and 1630 hours. Sixteen of these victories are credited to the 56th Fighter Group alone.

ITALY: Approximately 100 NASAF medium bombers attack Battipaglia and Castrovillari, in the toe of Italy, and escorting P-38s strafe numerous targets of opportunity in the region; NATAF aircraft and IX Fighter Command P-40s attack shipping in the Straits of Messina and neighboring bodies of water; and NATAF aircraft attack the rail junction at Lamezia and strafe and bomb Axis troops moving through the area.

MEDITERRANEAN: The air-support plan for Operation AVALANCHE is issued.

SICILY: Messina is liberated and the campaign for Sicily is officially concluded.

RAF
Base Changes
7 Sqn SAAF (Spitfire VC) moves to St Jean
13 Sqn RHAF (Blenheim V) moves to Gambut
255 Sqn (Beaufighter VIF) moves to Borizzo
456 Sqn RAAF (Mosquito FBVI) moves to Colerne

First and Last Operational Missions
19 Sqn (Newchurch) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VB
426 Sqn RCAF (Linton-on-Ouse) flies its first OM in the Lancaster II

[mark dolby]

Thanks for all the effort.
These posts are one of the 1st things I read every morning, nice addition.
Mark.

[warshipbuilder]

Thankyou MD.

410 Sqn RCAF (Coleby Grange – Mosquito FBVI) 18.8.43
Three RANGER SORTIES were laid on tonight. The first, flown by S/L LAWRENCE with his navigator P/O WILMER, took off from COLEBY GRANGE at 2325 hours to carry out a patrol in northwest GERMANY. The enemy coast was entered at OVERFLAKKE. Moderate light, accurate FLAK was experienced at GILZE AERODROME. At this point, the crew noticed what appeared to be a single balloon flying at 2500 feet. No further incident was noted during the sortie and the aircraft landed at base at 0157 hours. The second SORTIE was flown by F/O MACLEAN and his navigator F/O PLANT. Take off time was 2533 hours and the target area was from PAPENBURG to LINGEN in northwest GERMANY. Unfortunately, the aircraft failed to return and as a result, we have lost a valuable and well liked crew.

F/O JACKSON with his navigator F/O MURRAY took off at 2335 hours to patrol for targets in northwest GERMANY but ran into bad weather and set course for base landing at COLTISHALL at 0125 hours. The SORTIE was completely uneventful.

One Mosquito was airborne on a BULLSEYE EXERCISE tonight under <unreadable> CONTROL. Searchlights aided Interceptions numbered six with six targets judged destroyed.

Training exercises today included A.I., AIR FIRING, G.C.L, CROSS COUNTRY, and NFT.

One aircraft was scrambled without obtaining contact.

ADDENDUM – Mosquito FBVI HJ825 RA-? Crew: F/O GB MacLean RCAF KIA, F/O H Plant. Shot down near Lingen. Both buried at Reichswald Forest British Military Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
30 O.T.U. Wellingtons on leaflet raids to France without loss

USAAF
BELGIUM: Although briefed to attack the Lille/Vendeville Airdrome in France, 22 of 36 322d Medium Bombardment Group B-26s dispatched are forced by bad weather to settle for a target of opportunity, the Ypres/Vlamertinghe Airdrome in Belgium, on which they drop 31 tons of bombs at 1016 hours. Twenty-three of the group’s airplanes are damaged by enemy fire, but no crew casualties result.

ENGLAND: The 353d Fighter Group, in P-47s, is assigned to the VIII Fighter Command’s 66th Fighter Wing.

FRANCE: Two 67th Photographic Reconnaissance Group A-20s, escorted by RAF Spitfires, undertake that unit’s first official operational mission of the war, a photographic reconnaissance of the Brest Peninsula. Also, one of four 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group F-5s dispatched on missions to France is so badly damaged by hail that it breaks up in flight. The pilot bails out and is carried by the wind to the English coast.

ITALY: NASAF medium bombers and fighters attack bridges and a road junction at Angitola, barracks and a rail line at Gonessa, rail facilities and a bridge at Soverato, and a road junction and highway at Staletti; NATAF aircraft attack road and rail targets and gun emplacements throughout southern Italy; and IX Fighter Command P-40s attack road targets and shipping around Scilla.

MEDITERRANEAN: A 414th Night-Fighter Squadron Beaufighter downs a reconnaissance Ju-88 off Cap Bon at 1530 hours.

NETHERLANDS: Thirty-six 386th Medium Bombardment Group B-26s attack Woensdrecht Airdrome with 45 tons of bombs at 1032 hours.

RAF
Base Changes
2 Sqn SAAF (Spitfire VC) moves to Pachino
19 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Kingsnorth
98 Sqn (Mitchell II) moves to Dunsfold
180 Sqn (Mitchell II) moves to Dunsfold
184 Sqn (Hurricane IV) moves to Newchurch
609 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Lympne

First and Last Operational Missions
222 Sqn (Hornchurch) flies its last OM in the Spitfire IX