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29-7-44
306 (Polish) Sqn (Brenzett – Mustang III)
Weather Showery. Visibility Good.

Pilots carried out 26 Anti-Divers Patrols through the day. P-780369 F/Sgt Zalenski, J. claims one Diver as destroyed.

P-2684 PO Zygmund, E took off from base 10.55hrs to carry out an Anti-Diver Patrol over the sea from Hastings with P-1817 F/Lt Marschall, E as No. 2. When this patrol approached Hastings on return from patrol, they were fired on by our A.A. guns, when at a point six miles from Hastings. The aircraft piloted by P-2684 P/O Zygmund, E was hit by flak and the pilot was killed when the aircraft hit the sea, and later burst into flames. A Court of Inquiry into this accident was held at R.A.F. Station Hawkinge.

BOMBER COMMAND
FORÊT DE NIEPPE
76 aircraft – 50 Halifaxes, 16 Stirlings, 10 Mosquitoes – of 3, 4 and 8 Groups attacked the stores dump in the forest without loss.

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29/30 July 1944
MINOR OPERATIONS
30 Mosquitoes to Frankfurt (though some bombs fell in Mainz 20 miles away, killing 8 people), 9 to St-Trond and 4 to Coulommiers (these last 2 targets were German night-fighter airfields), 13 R.C.M. sorties, 6 Mosquito patrols, 9 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost. 2 2nd TAF
During 28th, 410 and 488 Squadrons had moved from Zeals to Colerne. Now at 0116 Flt Lt W.A.Dexter/Sub Lt R.Richardson, RNZNVR, of the former unit intercepted and shot down a Ju 88 east of Tessy. Two minutes later the latter unit's Flg Off D.N.Robinson/Flt Lt W.T.M.Clarke, DFM, claimed another north of Mayenne, while Flt Lt P.F.L.Hall/Flg Off Marriott meanwhile claimed two more north-west of Vire.

604 Squadron still had seven Mosquitoes detached in France, and one of these, flown by Flt Lt J.P.Meadows with Flg Off McIlvenny as radar operator, intercepted another Ju 88 between Lisieux and Bernay, this also being claimed shot down. IX. Fliegerkorps recorded the loss of three bombers during the night, and 2. Fliegerdivision two more.

A little later two of 69 Squadron's Wellingtons were damaged by Flak over France, both returning to crash-land at Northholt. The first aircraft to land was written of in the crash-landing but Wg Cdr F.O.S.Dobell's aircraft, which landed 25 minutes later and had lost all 'hydraulics', was deemed repairable. A Mitchell of 320 Squadron, involved in an attack on a gun position at Laigle during the night, failed to return.

At 0700 Mustangs of 65 Squadron left for an armed reconnaissance over Evreux, where they met 12 Bf 109s fitted with long-range tanks. Bombs were at once jettisoned, two of the German fighters being claimed shot down and two damaged for the loss of Sgt G.E. Holland, who was shot down and killed. The German units appear to have been III./JG 26 and III./JG 3, claims once again considerably exceeding the British losses, as the former unit claimed two P-51s and the latter one; a single Bf 109 was lost by JG 3.

A Mustang I of 430 Squadron failed to return from a midday TacR over the front, while later in the evening Typhoons of 174, 257 and 609 Squadrons were all hit by Flak, the pilots of the first and third of these units being killed, while the 257 Squadron aircraft force-landed. A Mustang I from 268 Squadron, was also hit and damaged beyond repair. 35 Wing now had an advanced party operating from B.10, with detachments from its three squadrons, whilst the main party remained at Odiham.

USAAF
ENGLAND: IX Bomber Command bombers are grounded by bad weather.

FRANCE: Thirty-eight 3d Bombardment Division B-24s attack the Juvincourt- et-Damary Airdrome, and 36 3d Bombardment Division B-24s attack the Laon/Couvron Airdrome. Escort is provided by 142 VIII Fighter Command P-51s.

Ninth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers provide ground support and area coverage for the U.S. First Army.

GERMANY: Five hundred sixty-nine Eighth Air Force B-17s attack the Leuna synthetic-oil plant at Merseburg; 442 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack an oil refinery at Bremen; and 34 B-17s and three B-24s attack various targets of opportunity. Fifteen B-17s and two B-24s are lost.

Escort is provided by a total of 535 VIII Fighter Command fighters. Two fighter groups strafe ground targets following completion of their escort duties. Seven fighters are lost with their pilots. 1stLt Christopher J. Hanseman, a P-51 ace with the 339th Fighter Group, is killed when his airplane hits the ground during a strafing attack at Naumberg.

VIII Fighter Command escort pilots down 23 GAF fighters—including the first reported downing of an Me-163 rocket- propelled fighter—over Germany between 1000 and 1145 hours. Capt Leonard K. Carson, a P-51 pilot with the 357th Fighter Group’s 362d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Merseberg at 1010 hours. Also, in the 20th Fighter Group’s first combat since transitioning to P-51s, 1stLt Rex E. Moncrief and 1stLt Louis W. Adams, Jr., attack a force of 50 GAF fighters at about 1050 hours, after becoming separated from their squadron near Gutersloh. The pair downs three enemy fighters and is continuing its attack on the superior enemy force when forced to break off because of the arrival of 50 additional GAF fighters.

ITALY: All Twelfth and Fifteenth air force bombers are grounded by bad weather, but a small number of XII TAC fighter-bomber sorties are flown against rail lines, bridges, a defended town, several airdromes, and motor vehicles.

During the night of July 29–30, XII TAC A-20s attack Savona and the surrounding area.

BASE CHANGES
198 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.7 Matragny
241 Sqn (Spitfire VIII) moves to Falconara
418 Sqn RCAF (Mosquito FBVI) moves to Middle Wallop

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
220 Sqn (Lagens) flies its first OM in the Fortress III

30-7-44
420 Sqn RCAF (Tholthorpe – Halifax III)
At 05.23 hours 30/7/4, 15 aircraft took or to attack Anye-Sur-Seulles (FR). All aircraft claim to have bombed primary. 3 aircraf landed away and 1 aircraft crash landed at A.T.S. Headquarters, White Waltham. The aircraft was wrecked, having overshot runway and burnt. All received injuries with the exception of the mid-Upper- who was uninjured. The WOP/AG. RAF55140 F/S Cusack, C. has since died of injuries. The raid was considered successful.

BOMBER COMMAND
NORMANDY BATTLE AREA
692 aircraft – 462 Lancasters, 200 Halifaxes, 30 Mosquitoes – were sent to bomb 6 German positions in front of a mainly American ground attack in the Villers Bocage-Caumont area. The presence of cloud caused many difficulties and only 377 aircraft were able to bomb, on to Oboe markers, and only 2 of the 6 targets were effectively hit. 4 Lancasters lost.

2 Mosquitoes carried out uneventful Ranger patrols.

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30/31 July 1944
Minor Operations
20 Halifaxes on Resistance operations, 6 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost. 2 2nd TAF
IX. Fliegerkorps was directed to attack ground targets with bombs and by strafing during the night of 29/30th as a response to the Allied advances, these operations proving far more dangerous for the bomber crews than had the mining operations which had been their main duty for much of the month. The cost was by far the heaviest in a single night, 11 bombers being lost by this command while 2. Fliegerdivision lost a 12th.

The 85 Group night fighters enjoyed considerable success - but at a cost. Sqn Ldr F.J.A.Chase/Flg Off A.F.Watson of 264 Squadron claimed a Ju 188 south-east of St Lô, and Flt Lt Miller of 604 Squadron a Ju 88, while at 0500 Plt Off D.M.MacKenzie/Plt Off G.P.A.Bodard of 410 Squadron also claimed a Ju 88. During the next 15 minutes Flt Lt G.E.Jameson/Flg Off A.N.Crookes of 488 Squadron sent down three Ju 88s in the Caen-Lisieux area, while at 0525 they added a Do 217. However, Sqn Ldr E.N.Bunting, DFC & Bar/ Flg Off E.Spedding of this unit were pursuing a Fw 190 when they flew into a Flak barrage and were shot down. Both men were killed.

Theirs was not the only loss however, for a Mosquito VI of 487 Squadron piloted by Flt Lt R.H.Clark/Flg Off F.Carr also failed to return, as did the crew of a 137 Wing Boston that was missing from the Argentan-Tours-Fougères area. Another intruder Mosquito of 21 Squadron, flown by the Commanding Officer, Wg Cdr D.F.Dennis, crash-landed at B.5.

Two Spitfires were brought down by Flak during the day, and both pilots were killed, while another Spitfire crash-landed and two more were damaged. Two Typhoons were also lost to Flak attacking tanks near Aunay-sur-Odon and a third, separated from the rest of the formation was believed to have fallen to enemy fighters; again, all pilots were killed.

Because of the weather, and the concentration of II. Jagdkorps effort over the US sector on this date, little contact was made with the opposition throughout the day, but at 1505 12 Spitfires of 443 Squadron were scrambled after a reported 30 plus. More than 40 Bf 109s were seen at very low level south of Mortagne, two being claimed shot down and one damaged, but this was the sum total of victories for the 2nd TAF fighters. By contrast, US pilots submitted claims during the day for eight Fw 190s and ten Bf 109s; II. Jagdkorps' recorded losses amounted to four Fw 190s and 11 Bf 109s.

USAAF
ENGLAND: The VIII Air Force Composite Command formally takes administrative control of all Eighth Air Force independent, special, and provisional units.


FRANCE: More than 450 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack defensive positions around Chaumont; and Ninth Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous tactical and lines-of-communication targets, including German Army armored columns, while conducting aggressive armed-reconnaissance missions.


Two hundred thirty-seven VIII Fighter Command fighters conduct sweeps. One P-51 and its pilot are lost.


USAAF fighter pilots down 18 GAF fighters over France between 1430 and 1940 hours. Maj Richard E. Turner, the commanding officer of the 354th Fighter Group’s 356th Fighter Squadron, in P-51s, brings his final personal tally to 11 confirmed victories when he downs a Bf-109 near Chaumont at 1620 hours.


HUNGARY: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack oil-industry targets at Lispe, and Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack the Budapest/Duna Airdrome. Escort down four Axis fighters.


ITALY: Despite overcast that results in many aborts, Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s continue their relentless attacks on bridges and other communications targets in the Po River valley. Also, XII TAC fighter-bombers attack shipping between Savona and Ventimiglia, and rail and road bridges throughout northern Italy. The P-47s account for eight German Army flak guns guarding a bridge at Ferrara.


YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack marshalling yards at Brod.

BASE CHANGES
2 Sqn (Mustang II) moves to B.2 Plumetot
125 Sqn (Mosquito NFXVII) moves to Middle Wallop
318 Sqn (Spitfire VB/VC) moves to Falconara

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
94 Sqn (Savoia) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VC
616 Sqn (Manston) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VII

31-7-44
429 Sqn RCAF (Leeming – Halifax III)
Weather: Clear and fair most of the day. Visibility good.

The Squadron was required for night operations again tonight and thirteen aircraft were ordered. The crews were briefed for an attack on COQUEREAUX All took off. Weather over the target was clear with a slight ground haze. PFF was punctual and the red T.I.'s erer extremely well concentrated. The Master Bomber was only faintly heard by the earlier crews but reception improved as the attack progressed. Crews report that directions were not given until zero hour which was too late for those early on the target. Few bombs were seen to burst owing to the type of fusing used and it is impossible to assess results. Ground defences were negligible and no searchlights were used. No fighters were seen. One of our aircraft is missing. Aircraft “C” LV950 captained by Can.10171A WO2 Irish, J., failed to return.

ADDENDUM – Halifax III LV950 AL-C. Crew: WO2 JR Irish RCAF, Sgt RT Walsham, F/S JA Santo RCAF, F/O JE Gloecklier RCAF, F/S WJL Wright RCAF KIA, F/S HB Gilmore RCAF KIA, P/O GL Lindensmith RCAF KIA. T/o 2151 Leeming. Coned by 4./Flakscheinw. Abt. 308 at height between 1000 and 500 m., hit by flak and exploded mid air, crashed 1 km W Sailly, 1 km NE Saint-Martin-au-Bosc at 0025. All are buried in Saint-Martin-au-Bosc Communal Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
JOIGNY-LA-ROCHE
127 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitoes of 1 and 5 Groups carried out an accurate raid on the railway yards in clear conditions. 1 Lancaster lost.

RILLY-LA-MONTAGE
97 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitoes of 5 and 8 Groups attacked the ends of a railway tunnel being used as a flying-bomb store. 617 Squadron caved in both ends of the tunnel with their Tallboy bombs and the other part of the bombing force cratered all the approach areas. 2 Lancasters were lost, including the 617 Squadron aircraft of Flight Lieutenant William Reid, who had won a Victoria Cross in 1943 in a raid on Düsseldorf while flying with 61 Squadron. Flight Lieutenant Reid survived.

LE HAVRE
52 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups bombed the port area but the target soon became smoke-covered and results were uncertain, though one U-boat was believed to have been hit. 1 Lancaster lost.

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31 July/1 August 1944
FLYING-BOMB SITES
202 aircraft – 104 Lancasters, 76 Halifaxes, 22 Mosquitoes – of 1, 6 and 8 Groups attacked two launching and two storage sites, but only at the Forêt de Nieppe storage site was effective damage caused. 1 Halifax and 1 Lancaster lost.

Minor Operations: 4 Serrate patrols, 4 Halifaxes minelaying off Brest. 2 3 2nd TAF
IX. Fliegerkorps was directed to attack ground targets with bombs and by strafing during the night of 29/30th as a response to the Allied advances, these operations proving far more dangerous for the bomber crews than had the mining operations which had been their main duty for much of the month. The cost was by far the heaviest in a single night, 11 bombers being lost by this command while 2. Fliegerdivision lost a 12th.

The 85 Group night fighters enjoyed considerable success - but at a cost. Sqn Ldr F.J.A.Chase/Flg Off A.F.Watson of 264 Squadron claimed a Ju 188 south-east of St Lô, and Flt Lt Miller of 604 Squadron a Ju 88, while at 0500 Plt Off D.M.MacKenzie/Plt Off G.P.A.Bodard of 410 Squadron also claimed a Ju 88. During the next 15 minutes Flt Lt G.E.Jameson/Flg Off A.N.Crookes of 488 Squadron sent down three Ju 88s in the Caen-Lisieux area, while at 0525 they added a Do 217. However, Sqn Ldr E.N.Bunting, DFC & Bar/ Flg Off E.Spedding of this unit were pursuing a Fw 190 when they flew into a Flak barrage and were shot down. Both men were killed.

Theirs was not the only loss however, for a Mosquito VI of 487 Squadron piloted by Flt Lt R.H.Clark/Flg Off F.Carr also failed to return, as did the crew of a 137 Wing Boston that was missing from the Argentan-Tours-Fougères area. Another intruder Mosquito of 21 Squadron, flown by the Commanding Officer, Wg Cdr D.F.Dennis, crash-landed at B.5.

Two Spitfires were brought down by Flak during the day, and both pilots were killed, while another Spitfire crash-landed and two more were damaged. Two Typhoons were also lost to Flak attacking tanks near Aunay-sur-Odon and a third, separated from the rest of the formation was believed to have fallen to enemy fighters; again, all pilots were killed.

Because of the weather, and the concentration of II. Jagdkorps effort over the US sector on this date, little contact was made with the opposition throughout the day, but at 1505 12 Spitfires of 443 Squadron were scrambled after a reported 30 plus. More than 40 Bf 109s were seen at very low level south of Mortagne, two being claimed shot down and one damaged, but this was the sum total of victories for the 2nd TAF fighters. By contrast, US pilots submitted claims during the day for eight Fw 190s and ten Bf 109s; II. Jagdkorps' recorded losses amounted to four Fw 190s and 11 Bf 109s.

USAAF
FRANCE: Thirty-six 3d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Creil Airdrome, and 47 3d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Laon/Athies Airdrome.

Approximately 500 IX Bomber Command B-26 and A-20 sorties are mounted against bridges spanning the Loire, Mayenne, Ruisseau la Forge, and Seine rivers, and a fuel dump.

Ninth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers conduct armed-reconnaissance missions and dive-bomb tactical targets in the battle area.

IX TAC fighter pilots down three GAF fighters over France between 1230 and 1250 hours. Col Morton D. Magoffin, the commanding officer of the Ninth Air Force’s 362d Fighter Group, in P-47s, achieves ace status when he downs an FW-190 near Beaumont-Hamel at 1250 hours.

The IX TAC’s 406th Fighter Group moves into Advance Landing Ground A-13, at Tour en Bessin.

GERMANY: Five hundred sixty-seven Eighth Air Force B-17s attack industrial targets at Munich; 36 B-17s attack industrial targets at Allach; 43 B-17s attack industrial targets at Schleissheim; and 447 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack a chemical plant at Ludwigshafen. Ten B-17s are lost over Munich and six B-24s are lost over Ludwigshafen.

Escort for the various heavy-bomber formations over Germany is provided by 574 VIII Fighter Command fighters, of which three are lost with their pilots.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force bombers are grounded by bad weather, but XII TAC fighter-bombers attack bridges in the Po River valley, strafe airfields, and destroy an estimated 50 rail cars.

ROMANIA: More than 360 B-24s of the Fifteenth Air Force’s 49th and 304th Heavy Bombardment wings attack Bucharest’s Prahova oil refinery. Escort is provided by 96 P-51s of the 31st and 325th Fighter groups, whose pilots down 31 Axis fighters along the bomber route between 1103 and 1145 hours. On the way to Bucharest, Capt George C. Loving, a P-51 division leader with the 31st Fighter Group’s 309th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two Bf-109s during an air battle over Rosiori-de-Vede, Romania, between 1100 and 1130 hours. Also achieving ace status on this mission, between 1100 and 1130 hours, are three P-51 pilots of the 325th Fighter Group’s 318th Fighter Squadron: Capt Benjamin H. Emmert, Jr., who brings his final personal tally to seven confirmed victories when he downs three Bf-109s near Bucharest; 1stLt Harry A. Parker, who brings his final tally to eight confirmed victories when he downs four Bf-109s over Alexandria, Romania; and 2dLt Philip Sangermano, who downs three Bf-109s.

Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack an oil storage facility at Targoviste, and Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack oil refineries at Ploesti and Doicesti.

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
18 Sqn (Cecina) flies its first OMs in the Boston IV & V
73 Sqn (Foggia Main) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VB
139 Sqn (Upwood) flies its last OM in the Mosquito BXVI
151 Sqn (Predannack) flies its last OM in the Mosquito FBVI
223 Sqn (Pescara) flies its last OM in the Baltimore V

1-8-44
431 Sqn RCAF (Croft – Halifax III)
Twelve aircraft took off on a raid on ACQUET. All returned safely, although the raid was hardly a success, as the aircraft brought their bombs back.

BOMBER COMMAND
FLYING-BOMB SITES
777 aircraft – 385 Lancasters, 324 Halifaxes, 67 Mosquitoes, 1 Lightning – to attack numerous targets but only 79 aircraft were able to bomb; Bomber Command records do not state why the remaining sorties were abortive but poor weather conditions were the probable cause. No aircraft lost.

The Warsaw uprising by the Polish Home Army began on this day; the Poles fought until 3 October before being defeated.

2nd TAF
Continued Luftwaffe bombing raids by night cost the Germans eight more losses. 2nd TAF's first claim of the new month occurred at only 0002 when Flg Off J.Maday/Flg Off J.R.Walsh of 410 Squadron intercepted a Ju 88.

On 30 July the SAS had passed on to 2nd TAF the information that German security forces were about to launch an anti-Resistance sweep against the Maquis and remaining SAS forces in central France. For this purpose some 2,000-3,000 troops had been gathered in Poitiers, and a majority were believed to be billeted in the Caserne des Dunes barracks there. The remaining members of the 158th Security Regiment, target of the earlier raid at the start of July, were in the Chateau de Fou, to the south of Chatellerault.

During the evening of 1 August therefore, 24 Mosquitoes from 21 and 487 Squadrons, escorted by Mustangs of 65 Squadron, made a precision attack on the Caserne des Dunes, while 107 Squadron aircraft attacked the Chateau de Fou, and 305 Squadron hit a saboteur school at Maulny. The attacks all proved accurate and successful, and it was subsequently estimated that the infamous 158th Regiment had suffered 80 per cent of its personnel killed in the two raids which had been directed at it. The cost on this occasion amounted only to a single 21 Squadron Mosquito, the crew of which escaped.

VIII Corps had been in a stiff battle centred on Bois du Homme, and several formations of Typhoons were called in to attack tanks hidden in the woods there. This was a typical support operation in which the pilots, attacked on a map reference or smoke laid by the ground troops; this was frustrating for the pilots who could see little effect for their efforts, and indeed only three tanks were claimed damaged. However, the next day the Army found 30 tanks destroyed in the woods, and 20 of these were credited to the Typhoons.

Over the battlefront there had been several losses during the day however. During the late afternoon a 132 Squadron Spitfire was shot down by Flak near Beny Bocage, Flt Lt D.J.Hawkins being wounded. About an hour later Capt Thorvold Johnsen, 602 Squadron's successful Norwegian flight commander, was killed when his Spitfire crashed north-east of Conde after taking a Flak hit, while Flg Off W.R.Campbell of 442 Squadron was also killed when he baled out south-west of Argences. Finally a 181 Squadron Typhoon was also brought down, crashing at Courvaldon, where Flg Off J.F.H.Kenny was captured.

USAAF
ENGLAND: MajGen William E. Kepner succeeds MajGen James P. Hodges as commanding general of the Eighth Air Force’s 2d Bombardment Division, and BriGen Murray C. Woodbury temporarily succeeds MajGen William E. Kepner as commanding general of the VIII Fighter Command.

FRANCE: Three hundred eighty-five 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack a rail bridge and five airfields near Paris, and 15 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack various targets of opportunity. Three B-17s are lost.

Two hundred fifty-seven 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack an oil depot at Rouen, four bridges, and four airfields, and 33 B-24s attack various targets of opportunity. One B-24 is lost.

One hundred ninety-three 3d Bombardment Division B-17s undertake Operation BUICK—dropping 281 supply containers to French Resistance fighters at four locations in southeast France. Also, 76 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack Tours Airdrome. One B-17 is lost. This is the first combat mission undertaken by the 486th and 487th Heavy Bombardment groups since both units transitioned from B-24s to B-17s.

Sixty-one 3d Bombardment Division B-24s attack V-weapons sites at Pas-de-Calais, but nearly 50 others abort in the face of bad weather.

Escort for the various heavy-bomber missions is provided by a total of 397 VIII Fighter Command fighters, of which four and their pilots are lost in action and seven (and two pilots) are lost in operational accidents.

Approximately 250 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack eight rail bridges spanning the Loire River, and Ninth Air Force fighter-bombers attack bridges and provide support for ground forces.

USAAF fighter pilots down four Bf-109s during the afternoon. 1stLt William “Y” Anderson, a P-51 pilot with the 354th Fighter Group’s 353d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Tours at 1710 hours.

The Ninth Air Force’s newly operational XIX Tactical Air Command (XIX TAC, commanded by MajGen Otto P. Weyland) begins providing direct support for the newly operational U.S. Third Army. For the moment, only three fighter groups are assigned to the XIX TAC.

ITALY: The Fifteenth Air Force is virtually grounded by bad weather; Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack a marshalling yard and several bridges; and XII TAC fighter-bombers attack airfields, landing grounds, communications targets, and rail targets, especially in the Po River valley.

BASE CHANGES
40 Sqn SAAF TR (Spitfire IX) moves to Marignano
208 Sqn (Spitfire VC/VIII/IX) moves to Marignano
608 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Downham Market

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
46 Sqn (Idku) flies its first OM in the Mosquito NFXII

2-8-44
467 Sqn RAAF (Waddington – Lancaster I/III)
A daylight programme again and 17 detailed.

All got away but only after some delay, as the weather at Base was anything but good.

This raid resulted in the loss of two crews from this Squadron – AUSA420648 F/O A.R.DYER and AUS423050 F/O A.R.BRADLEY. According to reports the aircraft collided and went straight down - it was also thought that only one person got out safely, and even this fact was in doubt. In view of the conflicting reports however no concrete evidence was obtainable. Both these crews were "newish" to the Squadron - F/O DYER having completed 10 sorties and F/O BRADLEY 2.

The target was BOIS DE CASSAN, and was covered by a thin layer of cloud. No results of the attack were observed as clouds of smoke was all that was visible. However the majority bombed the centre of the smoke and this bombing appeared concentrated.

Flak was fairly solid opposition, and four aircraft sustained minor damage only.

1 x 10002b SAP USA, 15 x 10001b GP USA and 1 x 5001b MC were expended.

ADDENDUM – There were no survivors.

BOMBER COMMAND
FLYING-BOMB SITES
394 aircraft – 234 Lancasters, 99 Halifaxes, 40 Mosquitoes, 20 Stirlings, 1 Lightning – attacked 1 launching site and 3 supply sites. Visibility was clear at all targets and good bombing results were claimed. 2 Lancasters of 5 Group lost from the raid on the Bois de Cassan supply site.

LE HAVRE
54 Lancasters of 1 and 8 Groups attacked German naval vessels in the port area in good visibility conditions and without loss.

2nd TAF
By night Sqn Ldr J.D.Somerville/Flg Off G.D.Robinson of 410 Squadron claimed a Ju 188 north- east of Tessy at 0100, while one minute later Flt Lt P.FL.Hall/Flg Off R.D.Marriott of 488 Squadron claimed a Ju 88 ten miles east of St Lô. A further Ju 188 was claimed south-east of Caen by Flt Lt F.C.Ellis/Flg Off P.C.Williams of 604 Squadron.

At 1400 hours 412 Squadron commenced an armed reconnaissance over Argentan-Alencon- Domfront-Flers. However, Bf 109s attacked and Sqn Ldr J.E.Sheppard was shot down near Argentan by Uffz Anton Schoeppler of I./JG 5. Flg Off T.M.Saunderson was able to claim a Fw 190 west of Ecouches. Sheppard was captured, but escaped and was back in ten days. Meanwhile, his place was taken by Dean Dover, who had been a flight commander with 442 Squadron.

Half an hour later Flg Off J.H.Ferguson of 453 Squadron claimed a Bf 109 damaged in the Tenchebray area, but 132 Squadron suffered the loss of two aircraft and a pilot. Flt Lt O.J.Eskil was killed when he collided with a Mustang of 168 Squadron on take-off, while Wt Off V.C.Parker crash-landed after his Spitfire was hit by Flak over Lisieux. Two Typhoons were also lost, one of 184 Squadron force-landing at B.5 after an engine failure, while a 181 Squadron aircraft flown by Flg Off Roy Crane was shot down by Flak south-west of Pont D'Ouilly. His experiences serve to illustrate the hazards facing ground-attack pilots at the time:

"We attacked, with cannon, an armoured transport around the Conde area before heading back up the valley towards Pont d'Ouilly where we climbed up over the hillside to the south. Immediately I was hit by Flak in the port wing which burst into flames. I turned back across the valley to the north and our own lines but was hit again. This time the aircraft dived out of control towards the ground. I released the hood, radio socket and harness, and was fired like a bullet out of the cockpit, the aircraft bunting' nearly vertically to the ground. Spinning, I easily found the ripcord and as my parachute opened I saw and heard the aircraft, still with rockets on board, explode in a nearby field. I hit some poplar trees, the parachute tore, and I descended quickly to the ground. A stroke of luck as I would have been a sitting target since I was quickly surrounded by about 20 SS troops. I had landed right in the middle of their camp. I could not understand of course, what they were all shouting about but when they manhandled me to a nearby tree and then one raised a rifle, I had little doubt. Suddenly they all turned at the approach of an SS officer and two Germans in Air Force blue. A lot of heated discussion took place....". For Roy Crane, the eventual outcome was a PoW camp; other 2nd TAF pilots were on occasion less fortunate.

At 1937 a pilot of III./JG 1 claimed a Spitfire shot down over the L'Aigle-Mortagne area but no corresponding loss has been located.

The Polish Spitfires of 131 Wing moved to B.10 on a two day detachment, from where the pilots commenced flying armed reconnaissances and dive-bombing sorties, also undertaking some escorts to high-flying reconnaissance aircraft. Next day the detachment was altered to a permanent move. 414 Squadron, still waiting in England for re-equipment, flew its last Mustang sorties and ceased operations temporarily while it began replacing its remaining Mustang Is with Spitfire IXs modified to carry cameras for the 'fighter-recce' role.

The night fighters were off again with evening, at 2255 Sqn Ldr Somerville/Flg Off Robinson of 410 Squadron claiming a Do 217 north-west of Pontason, their second victory in 24 hours, while ten minutes later Flg Off A.E.Browne/Wt Off T.F.Taylor of 488 Squadron claimed another of these bombers over the beach at Avranches. During the day 'A' flight of 604 Squadron had moved into A.8, an American strip at Picauville, where three days later they would be joined by the rest of the Squadron.

USAAF
FRANCE: During the morning, 146 2d Bombardment Division B-24s and 149 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack towns, a canal lock, a rail junction, a marshalling yard, a bridge, several airdromes, and targets of opportunity. Two B-17s are lost.

Escort for the Eighth Air Force morning missions is provided by 132 VIII Fighter Command P-51s, of which two are lost with their pilots.


In the late afternoon, 162 Eighth Air Force B-17s attack a road bridge, three rail bridges, and fifteen V-weapons sites; 182 Eighth Air Force B-24s attack V-weapons sites in the Pas-de-Calais area; and a total of 53 B-24s attack a road bridge, a rail bridge, Achiet Airdrome, and several targets of opportunity. Three B-17s are lost.


Escort for the Eighth Air Force afternoon mission is provided by 236 VIII Fighter Command fighters, of which five are lost with their pilots.


VIII Fighter Command P-38, P-47, and P-51 fighter-bombers attack road and rail targets in western France and around Brussels. Two fighters are lost with their pilots.


Nearly 300 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack bridges spanning the Loire River, and ammunition dumps. However, at the request of the U.S. Third Army, the Ninth Air Force suspends attacks on bridges and fuel dumps in Brittany, except as specifically requested by ground headquarters. (The Third Army wants to use the bridges and captured fuel supplies in its campaign to liberate the region.)


IX and XIX TAC fighters and fighter-bombers escort IX Bomber Command missions, fly armed-reconnaissance missions, and provide on-call support for the ground forces.


GAF opposition to the day’s missions is virtually nil; just one GAF fighter is downed.


Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack oil-industry targets, a torpedo factory, a marshalling yard, rail bridges, and oil storage facilities.


Twelfth Air Force medium-bomber groups based in Corsica conduct their first missions in support of the upcoming Operation ANVIL, the Allied invasion of southern France. The Twelfth Air Force mediums were to have begun sooner, but they have been tied up supporting Allied ground forces engaged in heavy fighting in Italy. So far, all three B-25s groups of the 57th Medium Bombardment Wing have been moved to Corsica to support the invasion, but the three B-26 groups of the 42d Medium Bombardment Wing remain in Sardinia. Having done so well in Italy earlier in the year, both medium-bomber wings are assigned to interdict the German Army lines of supply and communication in southern France, chiefly from Lyon to the sea and especially along the Rhone and Var rivers. Several Twelfth Air Force fighter-bomber missions are also directed against targets on both sides of the Franco-Italian frontier.


ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack the harbor at Genoa and marshalling yards, and XII TAC fighter-bombers attack ground targets in northern Italy.

BASE CHANGES
501 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Manston

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
218 Sqn (Woolfox Lodge) flies its last OM in the Stirling III

3-8-44
460 Sqn RAAF (Binbrook – Lancaster I/III)
Weather: Cloudy and misty. Operations, 25 aircraft were ordered and these took of just before midday for a bombing attack again TROSSY ST. MAXIM, all aircraft returned safely to base.

In addition 5 aircraft took part in Village Inn aircraft.

ADDENDUM – This ORB entry was most interesting. One aircraft did FTR it seems. Unfortunately there is no ROE(Form 541) that I could cross reference to find the omission. I did check the serial number of the aircraft claimed lost in the 1944 volume of BOMBER COMMAND LOSSES in the Lancaster File book and they match. It would not be the first time that an aircraft was lost and it didn’t show up in the ORB.

BOMBER COMMAND
FLYING-BOMB STORAGE SITES
1,114 aircraft – 601 Lancasters, 492 Halifaxes, 21 Mosquitoes – carried out major raids on the Bois de Cassan, Forêt de Nieppe and Trossy-St-Maxim (sometimes spelt ‘Maximin’) flying-bomb stores. The weather was clear and all raids were successful. 6 Lancasters lost, 5 from the Trossy-St-Maxim raid and 1 from the Bois de Cassan raid. 1 Lightning and 1 R.C.M. aircraft accompanied the raids.

2nd TAF
Forty minutes after midnight another 410 Squadron team, Flt Lt B.E.Plumer/Flg Off V.W.Evans, claimed a Ju 188, while at 0052 Wt Off T.G.C.Mackay/Flt Sgt A.A.Thompson of 488 Squadron accounted for a second Ju 188 south of Avranches. A Ju 88 was claimed by Sqn Ldr Chase/Flg Off Watson of 264 Squadron over the battle area.

During the morning 65 Squadron lost a Mustang when Flg Off C.P.Ashworth failed to return from an attack on barges on the Seine. In the early afternoon two more Mustangs were lost by 19 Squadron, both being hit by Flak and force-landing. Soon after midday meanwhile, Spitfires of 401 Squadron on an armed reconnaissance had come upon 12 Bf 109s south of Domfront, three of which were claimed shot down.

Soon after the loss of the 19 Squadron Mustangs, 438 Squadron lost a Typhoon and its pilot to Flak three miles north of Henonville. Spitfires from 403 Squadron patrolled during the day, launching an armed reconnaissance over Bernay-L'Aigle-Argentan at 1730. In poor visibility 20-plus Bf 109s were spotted west of L'Aigle, Flt Lt J.D.Lindsay claiming one shot down and one damaged to bring his operational tour to a climactic end. Another tour-expired leader was Sqn Ldr Gilmour, DFC, DFM, of 19 Squadron, who handed over to Sqn Ldr W.W.J.Loud, DFC.

Towards evening a Typhoon 609 Squadron was hit by Flak north-west of Falaise, Flg Off P.H.M.Cooreman baling out safely. Two Mustang Is were also hit, one aircraft of 168 Squadron crash-landing at B.8, whilst another of 268 Squadron was written off on its return.

It was the Luftwaffe's bombers which remained the most active element of the opposition in the air at this time, Wt Off G.S.Patrick/Flt Sgt J.J.Concannon of 488 Squadron claiming a Ju 88 west of Arromanches at 2354.

USAAF
BELGIUM: During the afternoon, 72 3d Bombardment Division B-24s and eight 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack two oil refineries and a storage depot at Brussels and Ghent.

ENGLAND: BriGen Francis H. Griswold succeeds BriGen Murray C. Woodbury as commanding general of the VIII Fighter Command.

FRANCE: During the morning, 54 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Mulhouse; 68 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Strasbourg; 106 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack an oil refinery at Merkwille; 16 1st Bombardment Division B-17s opt to attack Toul/Croix de Metz Airdrome; a total of 74 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack bridges at two locations; and a total of 53 2d Bombardment Division B-24s (of 172 dispatched) divert from their cloud-obscured primaries (several bridges) to attack two airfields, a marshalling yard, and several other targets of opportunity. Six 1st Bombardment Division B-17s are lost.

Escort for the Eighth Air Force morning heavy-bomber missions to France and Germany is provided by 358 VIII Fighter Command fighters, of which six are lost with their pilots. Approximately half the P-51s involved in the escort later strafe ground targets, and 133 VIII Fighter Command P-38 and P-47 fighter-bombers attack rail traffic in the Metz, Strasbourg, and Saarbrucken areas. One P-47 is lost.

During the afternoon, 112 1st Bombardment Division B-17s and 139 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack 20 V-weapons sites in the Pas-de-Calais area, and 97 2d Bombardment Division B-17s attack four oil storage sites. Two B-24s are lost in the Pas-de-Calais area.

Escort for the Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber afternoon missions to France and Belgium is provided by 166 VIII Fighter Command fighters.

More than 180 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack road and rail targets and a fuel dump in northern France.

Eighth and Ninth air force fighter pilots down four GAF fighters over France between 1535 and 1900 hours.

GERMANY: During the morning, 62 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Saarbrucken, and 17 attack various targets of opportunity near Saarbrucken and along the Franco-German frontier.

VIII Fighter Command pilots down five GAF fighters over Germany between 1515 and 1520 hours. Capt Leslie D. Minchew, a P-51 pilot with the 355th Fighter Group’s 354th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Baden Baden at 1515 hours.

Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack steel, chemical, and fabrics plants in the Friedrichshafen area, and B-17s also attack a marshalling yard at Immenstadt.

While escorting the Friedrichshafen mission, 325th Fighter Group P-51 pilots down 11 GAF fighters near Innsbruck, Austria, between 1040 and 1205 hours, during both the penetration and withdrawal phases. One of the 325th Group pilots, 2dLt Robert H. Brown, a member of the 318th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109.

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack bridges near Brenner Pass; Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack bridges on both sides of the Franco-Italian frontier; and Twelfth Air Force fighter-bombers attack airfield and communications targets in northern Italy.

BASE CHANGES
130 Sqn (Spitfire VB) moves to Tangmere
185 Sqn (Spitfire VB/VC) moves to Perugia
302 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.10 Plumetot
308 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.10 Plumetot
317 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.10 Plumetot

4-8-44
424 Sqn RCAF (Skipton-on-Swale – Halifax III)
WEATHER: Cloudy with moderate visibility becoming fine with good visibility.
Winds - Calm or light S.E.'ly.

OPERATIONS - Again a maximum effort attack was required for daylight this morning. This was changed and only 15 A/C took off for the target which was BOIS-DE-CASSON. Considerable opposition was encountered in the form of heavy flak and many of the A/C sustained damage. One of our A/C is missing from this operation.

ADDENDUM – Halifax III LV959 QB-R. Crew: F/O PE Cronin RCAF KIA, Sgt E Rodgers POW, F/O DG Stevenson RCAF KIA, F/O WR Heuchert RCAF KIA, WO1 CB Sutton RCAF KIA, F/S SL Peters RCAF KIA, F/S VC Gerrie RCAF KIA. T/o 104 Skipton-on-Swale. Crashed in the vicinity of Boran-sur-Oise, 9 km WSW of Chantilly. Those who died are buried in the Boran-sur-Oise Communal Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
FLYING-BOMB STORAGE SITES
291 aircraft – 169 Halifaxes, 112 Lancasters, 10 Mosquitoes – of 6 and 8 Groups attacked the Bois de Cassan and Trossy-St-Maxim sites in clear visibility. 2 Halifaxes of 6 Group were lost on the Bois de Cassan raid and 2 Lancasters on the Trossy-St-Maxim raid.

A posthumous Victoria Cross was later awarded to Squadron Leader I. W. Bazalgette of 635 Squadron, captain of one of the aircraft lost on the all-8 Group raid on Trossy-St-Maxim. Bazalgette’s Lancaster was hit by Flak and set on fire while approaching the target but the pilot carried on to release his markers and bombs on the target. (The statement in the V.C. citation that Bazalgette was Master Bomber for this raid is not correct, although he had acted as Master Bomber on earlier raids.) On leaving the target, the Lancaster dived steeply, almost out of control, but the pilot was able to recover from this and 4 members of his crew were able to bale out. Bazalgette then made a good crash-landing in an attempt to save his wounded bomb aimer and the mid-upper gunner who was overcome by fumes or smoke, but the Lancaster exploded and all 3 men still inside were killed.

Squadron Leader Bazalgette and his 2 comrades are buried at the small village of Senantes.

OIL-STORAGE DEPOTS
288 Lancasters of 1, 3 and 8 Groups attacked Bec-d’Ambes and Pauillac in clear conditions and without loss. 27 Serrate Mosquitoes were used as escorts to the bombers attacking these 2 targets; this was the first use of 100 Group Mosquito fighters in this way. They did not encounter any German fighters.

ÉTAPLES
27 Lancasters, 2 Mosquitoes and 1 Mustang of 617 Squadron attacked a railway bridge at Étaples. Some hits were scored but the 1,000-lb bombs used failed to destroy the bridge. No aircraft lost.

3 Mosquitoes attacked the Forêt de Nieppe storage site without loss.

________________________________________

4/5 August 1944
MINOR OPERATIONS
12 Halifaxes minelaying off Brest, 29 aircraft on Resistance operations, 11 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Halifax and 1 Lysander lost on Resistance operations. 2 2nd TAF
At 0035 488 Squadron claimed its second success of the night when Flt Lt G.E.Jameson/Flg Off A.N.Crookes claimed another Ju 88 between St Lô and Bayeux. Ten minutes later Flt Lt E.N.Spiller/ Plt Off J.E.Donoghue of 409 Squadron claimed a Ju 188 near Le Havre, a further five minutes on, Wt Offs D.J.MacDonald/L.M.Colborne of this unit claimed another south-east of Caen, while Flt Lt W.G.Dinsdale/Plt Off J.E.Dunn of 410 Squadron claimed a Bf 110 north-east of Avranches. Although initially credited as a probable, confirmation was forthcoming months later on 29 October, based upon evidence then uncovered.

To round off a very successful night, Flt Lt R.J.Foster/Flg Off M.F.Newton of 604 Squadron's French detachment, claimed a Do 217 south of Granville, while from 264 Squadron Flt Lt R.L.Beverley/Flg Off P.C.Sturling claimed a Ju 88, but were both obliged to bale out when their aircraft was hit by 'friendly' AA fire. Meanwhile Flt Lt I.H.Cosby/Flt Lt E.R.Murphy also claimed a Ju 88 to raise the night's total to eight.

Little of note occurred by day, a Typhoon of 181 Squadron and a Spitfire of 453 Squadron both crash-landing after being hit by Flak, while a 441 Squadron Spitfire was damaged.

USAAF
BELGIUM: During the morning, 22 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack coastal defenses at Ostend.

ENGLAND: The Eighth Air Force’s 7th Photographic Reconnaissance Group is placed under the operational control of the 325th Photographic Reconnaissance Wing (which has not yet arrived from the United States).

FRANCE: Ninety-five 1st Bombardment Division B-17s and 59 2d Bombardment Division B-24s, escorted by 35 VIII Fighter Command P-47s, are dispatched against V-weapons sites in the Pas-de-Calais area and two coastal batteries. All the primary targets are struck, but bad weather and faulty radar cause nearly 50 heavy-bomber aborts and the diversion of more than half the remaining bombers against targets of opportunity.

Sixty-seven VIII Fighter Command P-47 fighter-bombers attack Plantlunne Airdrome. One P-47 and its pilot are lost.

The first experimental attack undertaken under the auspices of Operation APHRODITE, four unmanned, television-controlled B-17 flying bombs are dispatched along with guidance and observation aircraft against four large V-weapons sites. No hits and only one near miss are scored. In fact, one drone bomb crashes in England.

Sixty-two IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack three rail bridges, a bivouac area, and an ammunition dump; and Ninth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers attack fuel and ammunition dumps and provide support for Allied ground forces.

IX TAC fighter pilots down two Bf-109s over Nogent at 1830 hours.

Limited by bad weather, Twelfth Air Force medium-bomber and fighter-bomber missions along the Var River and the harbor at Nice achieve minimal results.

During the night of August 4–5, IX Bomber Command bombers attack the harbor at St.-Malo and a fuel dump.

GERMANY: Two hundred twenty-one 1st Bombardment Division B-17sattack the GAF experimental station at Peenemunde; 70 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack an aircraft factory at Anklam; 110 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack Anklam Airdrome; a total of 307 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack aircraft-industry targets at Rostock, Schwerin, and Wismar; 34 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack various targets of opportunity; 181 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack an oil refinery at Hamburg; 50 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack an oil refinery at Bremen; 23 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack Nordhof Airdrome; seven 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack several targets of opportunity; 89 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack the naval base at Kiel; 29 3d Bombardment Divi- sion B-24s attack an oil refinery at Hemmingstedt; and 39 3d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Husum Airdrome. Of a total of 1,186 effective heavy-bomber sorties, 11 B-17s and four B-24s are lost.

Escort for the Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber missions to Germany is provided by total of 666 VIII Fighter Command fighters, of which 14 are lost with their pilots.

VIII Fighter Command escort pilots down 37 GAF fighters over Germany and one over Denmark between 1300 and 1600 hours. Maj Donald A. Larson, the commanding officer of the 339th Fighter Group’s 505th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two Bf-109s near Ulzen between 1315 and 1330 hours. However, Larson is killed a short time later in a midair collision with another P-51 while strafing ground targets. 1stLt James R. Starnes, a P-51 pilot with the 339th Fighter Group’s 505th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Hamburg at 1330 hours; and 1stLt David F. Thwaites, a P-47 pilot with the 356th Fighter Group’s 361st Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Hamburg at 1345 hours.

ITALY: Most Twelfth Air Force missions are canceled in the face of bad weather, but several medium-bomber and fighter-bomber attacks are mounted against bridges, rail lines, gun emplacements, and airfields.

1stLt Marlow J. Leikness, a P-38 pilot with the 14th Fighter Group’s 49th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Pizzo at 1715 hours.

During the night of August 4–5, XII TAC A-20s attack vehicles and light sources in the Po River valley.

ROMANIA: Responding to the first direct request of its kind from Soviet authorities, the Fifteenth Air Force mounts a new FRANTIC mission composed of 82d Fighter Group P-38 fighter-bombers escorted by 52d Fighter Group P-51s. After bombing and strafing the airdrome and town area at Foscani, the more-than 70 USAAF fighters and fighter-bombers proceed to bases in the Soviet Union.

Capt James S. Varnell, a P-51 ace with the 52d Fighter Group’s 2d Fighter Squadron, brings his final personal tally to 17 confirmed victories when he downs a Ju-52 over Romania at 1130 hours.

BASE CHANGES
218 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Methold
FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
414 Sqn RCAF (Odiham) flies its last OM in the Mustang I
459 Sqn RAAF (St. Jean) flies its first OM’s in the Baltimore IV & V

5-8-44
425 Sqn RCAF (Tholthorpe - Halifax III)
19 aircraft made a daylight attack on ST.LEU D'ESSERENT, France, and 18 attacked primary; one did not return. Master Bomber was clearly heard directing the attack and seemed to be spreading the raid to different points in the target area and to the North. There appeared to be some overshooting which was corrected by the M/B and a fair concentration was achieved towards the end of the attack. Heavy flak was fairly accurate for height on the run into the target and it is thought to have caused some scattered bombing. Towards the end of the attack the target became obscured by smoke and crews were unable to assess raid. Master Bomber was then giving instructions to undershoot smoke by 200 yards. One explosion seen at 1325 hours. Defences reported as moderate. Heavy Flak bursting from 15 to 17,000 ft., fairly accurate for height and some of it thought to be "seen" barrage fire. Weather: 5/10ths scattered cumulus cloud, tops 10,000 feet. The missing aircraft, piloted by our "B" Flight Commander, the friend of all.

ADDENDUM – Halifax III LL594 KW-U. Crew: S/L GB Philbin RCAF EVD, Sgt WB Gracie RCAF KIA, P/O RA Reed RCAF KIA, WO2 TE Lee RCAF KIA, P/O LG Stamp KIA, Sgt CL Hilliard RCAF POW, P/O G Beresford KIA, W/O B Clark KIA. T/o 1100 Tholthorpe. Hit by flak and crashed onto the Carrefour des Ripailles close to the main Paris-Lille railway and just to the NW of Chantilly, where WO2 Lee lies in St. Pierre Communal Cemetery. The others who died rest in the Canadian War Cemetery, Dieppe.

BOMBER COMMAND
FLYING-BOMB SITES
742 aircraft – 469 Halifaxes, 257 Lancasters, 16 Mosquitoes – of 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups attacked the Forêt de Nieppe and St-Leu-d’Esserent storage sites. Bombing conditions were good. 1 Halifax lost from the St-Leu-d’Esserent raid.

31 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 8 Group attempted to carry out small ‘Oboe leader’ raids on 4 launching sites but only 9 aircraft succeeded in bombing. None lost.

OIL-STORAGE DEPOTS
306 Lancasters of 1, 3 and 8 Groups attacked targets on the River Gironde at Blaye, Bordeaux and Pauillac with excellent results. 1 Lancaster was lost from the Pauillac raid. 30 Mosquitoes of 100 Group escorted these forces without loss.

Brest
15 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitoes of 617 Squadron attacked the U-boat pens and scored 6 direct hits with Tallboys. 1 Lancaster shot down by Flak.

Étaples
14 Lancasters of 5 Group attacked the railway bridge but the target was soon obscured by smoke and dust and no results could be seen. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the day: 1,148 sorties, 3 aircraft (0.3 percent) lost.

________________________________________

5/6 August 1944
WANNE-EICKEL
35 Mosquitoes attacked the synthetic-oil plant without loss. The markers appeared to be well placed and 2 fires were observed.

Minor Operations: 2 R.C.M. sorties, 3 Halifaxes minelaying off Brest, 6 aircraft on Resistance operations, 5 O.T.U. sorties. No losses. 2 2nd TAF
The night of 4/5 August proved to be a clear one of bright moonlight. While this would light the way for more successes by the night fighters, it proved to be less fortunate for 2nd TAF's bombers and intruders. The night proved particularly bad for the Bostons of 137 Wing, which made a number of attacks to the south of Caen. Two of 88 Squadron's aircraft failed to return, while 342 Squadron lost four, a fifth landing at an ELG in a damaged condition. From the six Bostons that failed to return only three aircrew survived, two evading capture while the third was taken prisoner. A Mosquito VI of 464 Squadron was also lost, Flg Off A.E.Crellin/Flt Sgt T.A.Orr both being killed.

Amongst the defenders, Flt Lt Jack Haddon/Flg Off R.J.McIlvenny of 604 Squadron's French detachment claimed both a Ju 188 and a Ju 88 in the Rennes area, while Sqn Ldr R.C.Pargeter/ Flt Lt R.L. Fell of 29 Squadron claimed another 188 near Orly during an intruder sortie - this pilot's fifth victory. At 0055 Flg Off A.L.Shaw/Flt Sgt L.J.Wyman of 488 Squadron claimed a Ju 188 north-east of St Lô, and at 0105 Plt Off F.E.Haley/Plt Off S.J.Fairweather of 409 Squadron claimed a Ju 88 as a probable south-west of Caen. At the same time Shaw and Wyman claimed damage toanother Ju 88 near St Lô, and Wg Cdr R.C.Haine/Flt Lt A.P.Bowman of 488 Squadron claimed yet one more Ju 88 north-east of Vire. At 0355 409 Squadron's Wt Off N.Joss/Flt Sgt P.C.Leiley claimed a Ju 188 over the Loire estuary, while Flt Lt Dinsdale/Plt Off Dunn of 410 Squadron spotted an Hs 126 silhouetted against the moon near Tours and sent it down in flames with two short bursts.

During the afternoon Plt Off E.G.Boucher of 174 Squadron, who had returned to operations after evading capture on a previous occasion during October 1943, died of injuries shortly after he baled out of his Flak-damaged Typhoon, north-east of Conde, while in the evening Wt Off L.T.Woodward of 19 Squadron and Flg Off J.W.B.Earle of 403 Squadron were both killed during crash-landings, Woodward following an engine failure. A second 403 Squadron Spitfire was also hit and Wt Off J.A. Wilcocks was wounded.

USAAF
FRANCE: IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack a marshalling yard at Compiegne and six rail bridges spanning the Seine and Loire rivers.

During the afternoon, 38 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack six V-weapons sites in the Pas-de-Calais area.

IX TAC fighter pilots down five GAF fighters over France during the day.
Headquarters, Ninth Air Force, moves from Uxbridge, England, to St.-Sauveur-Lendelin, France.

GERMANY: Due to bad weather, only 543 of 1,171 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s dispatched are able to attack airfields, aircraft plants, and other strategic targets, primarily in and around Brunswick, Hannover, and Magdeburg. GAF fighter opposition is heavy, and 13 heavy bombers are lost.

Escort is provided by 573 VIII Fighter Command fighters, of which six are lost with their pilots.

VIII Fighter Command escort pilots down 27 GAF fighters over Germany between 1120 and 1430 hours. 1stLt Glennon T. Moran, a P-51 ace with the 352d Fighter Group’s 487th Fighter Squadron, brings his final personal tally to 13 confirmed victories when he downs a Bf-109 near Hamburg at 1205 hours; and 1stLt Frederick W. Glover, a P-51 pilot with the 4th Fighter Group’s 336th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 over Gardlegen at 1245 hours.

ITALY: Most of the Twelfth and Fifteenth air forces are grounded by bad weather.

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
130 Sqn (Tangmere) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VB
501 Sqn (Manston) flies its first OM in the Tempest V
608 Sqn (Downham Market) flies its first OM in the Mosquito BXX

6-8-44
50 Sqn (Skellingthorpe – Lancaster I/III)
BOMBING ATTACK ON BOIS-DE-CASSAN, (Daylight).
Nine aircraft were briefed to attack the above-named target. Unfortunately, one of this number (F/O. G.. COOMBS & CREW) failed to return to base. Two crews, did not bomb owing to not being able to identity the target due to the weather (F/ O. H.W.T. Enoch who landed at Wittering, and F/O. N. Ballance.) P/O. R.S. Palandri did not bomb owing to message received to return. Fairly accurate bombing by those that did attack. (1 x 1000 Am.G.P., 47 x 1000 S.A.P., 9 x 500 M.C., 7 x 500 G.P.)

ADDENDUM – Lancaster I W8424 VN-Z. Crew: F/O GF Coombs KIA, Sgt J McCoy EVD, Sgt JE Drover RCAF EVD, Sgt JH Williams RCAF KIA, F/S R Armstrong KIA, Sgt J Spedding KIA, Sgt HJ Mallen KIA. T/o 0945 Skellingthorpe. Crashed near Pontoise in the Department of Val d’Oise, where those who died rest in the town’s communal cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
FLYING-BOMB SUPPLY SITES
222 aircraft – 107 Lancasters, 105 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitoes – of 4, 5 and 8 Groups attacked the Bois de Cassan and Forêt de Nieppe sites. 1 Lightning accompanied the Bois de Cassan operation. The bombing at both targets was scattered. Some markers at Forêt de Nieppe were not accurate and some of the Master Bomber’s instructions at Bois de Cassan were misunderstood, resulting in more than half of the bombing force there retaining their bombs. 3 Lancasters were lost on the Bois de Cassan raid.

HAZEBROUCK
62 aircraft – 51 Halifaxes, 6 Lancasters, 5 Mosquitoes – of 4 and 8 Groups bombed the railway centre. The attack opened well but the target became obscured by smoke, 1 Halifax lost.

Lorient
12 Lancasters and 3 Mosquitoes of 617 Squadron bombed the U-boat pens without loss. 2 direct hits were scored.

________________________________________

6/7 August 1944
CASTROP-RAUXEL
40 Mosquitoes attacked the synthetic-oil plant; a large fire was seen. 1 Mosquito lost.

Minor Operations: 7 Mosquitoes to Cologne and 4 to the Forêt de Nieppe, 14 R.C.M. sorties, 10 Lancasters of 8 Group on a special operation in support of ground troops, described as ‘a recce of target marking by ground forces in the battle area’, 10 Mosquito patrols, 12 Stirlings minelaying off Brest, 22 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Stirling minelayer lost. 2 3 2nd TAF
Once again a clear moonlit night brought successes and losses. Two Mosquito VI intruders were lost, one of 613 Squadron failing to return from a sortie over the Seine area soon after midnight, while a second from 487 Squadron came down near Nantes at 0330, the crew baling out and escaping capture.

Meanwhile at 0052 Flt Lt Peter Hall/Flg Off Marriott of 488 Squadron had claimed a Do 217, a second being claimed west of Angers at 0217 by Flt Sgt T.A.MacLean/Flg Off B.C.Grant of this unit, and a third was believed to have been damaged.

Amongst the 84 Group wings there was some movement during the next two days, the squadrons of 135 Wing exchanging their base at Funtington for that of 145 Wing at Selsey, while the latter wing moved to Tangmere. From here 132 Wing now moved over to Funtington. 263 Squadron, recently arrived as part of 136 Wing from ADGB, now moved to B.3 to join 146 Wing, as 136 had ceased to exist following the departure of 164 and 183 Squadrons to join 123 Wing.

At 1120 12 Spitfires of 331 Squadron departed Funtington to escort 100 Lancasters on a raid against 'Noball' launching sites, 25 enemy fighters being met over the Beaumont-sur-Oise area at 1225. The Norwegian pilots claimed two Bf 109s and a Fw 190 shot down, with a third Bf 109 damaged, all without loss. At this time the Luftwaffe submitted many claims for heavy bombers shot down, III./JG 26 claiming four Halifaxes and three Lancasters, while III./JG 54 claimed seven B-24s, two more B-24s, a B-17 and another Lancaster claimed by various pilots from I./JG 5, III./JG 1 and II./JG 3, all in the Pontoise area. It is possible that III./JG 1 also claimed two Spitfires here, one by Ofw Leo Barann, but no losses of fighters were recorded. Allied records indicate that during this combined RAF/USAAF attack, four Lancasters were lost, but no Halifaxes, while nine Eighth Air Force B-24s suffered damage, but all returned.

Over Normandy 36 Mitchells of 139 Wing and 18 of 226 Squadron bombed a tank harbour south-east of Thury Harcourt. All the latter unit's bombers were damaged by Flak, six of them putting down on bridgehead landing strips. During the late afternoon a Typhoon of 245 Squadron force-landed west of Villers Bocage after Flg Off T.L.J.Jeffreys had been wounded by Flak, while a 65 Squadron Mustang was lost while dive-bombing Seine barges, Flt Lt D.P. Will being killed. Flt Lt G.E.Mott of 441 Squadron had to bale out when his Spitfire was hit by Flak west of Conde. He was hidden by a French farmer until advancing US troops overran the area, when he was able to return.

USAAF
ENGLAND: The 3d Bombardment Div-ision’s 490th Heavy Bombardment Group is withdrawn from combat to transition from B-24s to B-17s.

FRANCE: Twenty-four 3d Bombardment Division B-24s, escorted by 24 P-47s, attack V-weapons sites in the Pas-de-Calais area.

An Eighth Air Force Operation APHRODITE test mission consisting of two drone B-17 flying bombs fails when both drones crash into the sea.

IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack fuel and ammunition dumps, a locomotive depot, and several bridges.

A historical first is scored when the XIX TAC assumes primary responsibility for guarding the extended and extending U.S. Third Army flank so that the available ground forces can concentrate their power on pursuing the fleeing German Army. Fortunately, the flank to be covered is shielded by the Loire River. Flank protection is in the form of aggressive armed-reconnaissance and tactical-reconnaissance missions.

IX TAC fighter pilots down two Bf-109s near Dreux at 1500 hours.

The IX TAC’s 474th Fighter Group moves into Advance Landing Ground A-11, at St.-Lambert

The 474th is the last Ninth Air Force fighter unit to depart England for a new base on the Continent.

Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack the submarine base at Toulon, as well as various rail bridges and oil storage depots in southern France. And Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack a marshalling yard, oil-industry targets, and a rail bridge. Effective heavy-bomber sorties for the day total 1,069. Also, Fifteenth Air Force P-38s dive-bomb the Orange/Plan de Dieu and Valence airdromes.

Twelfth Air Force B-25s, B-26s, and fighter-bombers attack bridges in and around the Rhone and Var river valleys.

GERMANY: Eighth hundred thirty Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s mount highly successful visual bombing attacks against aircraft assembly plants and a munitions plant at Brandenburg, engine and diesel-engine plants at Berlin, six oil refineries at Hamburg, and several airdromes and other secondary targets in those regions. Twenty-four heavy bombers are lost.

Escort is provided by 535 VIII Fighter Command fighters, of which four are lost with their pilots.

VIII Fighter Command escort pilots down 30 GAF fighters and a Do-217 over Germany between 1100 and 1500 hours. Maj George E. Preddy, of the 352d Fighter Group, is credited with downing six Bf-109s in a running battle between Luneberg and Havelburg between 1110 and 1145 hours. This feat brings Preddy’s personal tally to 22.833 enemy aircraft destroyed. Capt Bert W. Marshall, Jr., a P-51 pilot with the 355th Fighter Group’s 354th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Hamburg at 1530 hours; and Capt Charles W. Lenfest, a P-51 pilot with the 355th Fighter Group’s 354th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Hamburg, at 1530 hours.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force fighter-bombers attack road and rail targets, airfields, several towns, and shipping in three German-held ports.

During the night of August 6–7, XII TAC A-20s attack shipping at three ports in northern Italy.

POLAND: Seventy-five Eighth Air Force B-17s of the 3d Bombardment Division’s 95th and 390th Heavy Bombardment groups attack the Rahmel aircraft factory, near Gdynia, and proceed to USAAF bases in the Soviet Union. Escorting the bombers to Gdynia but returning to their own bases in the U.K. are 154 55th and 339th Fighter group P-51s, which are credited with the longest round-trip fighter mission so far of the war in Europe—1,592 miles. Four P-51s are lost with their pilots.

357th Fighter Group P-51 pilots, who join the FRANTIC bomber formation near Jutland, down a Ju-88 and a Bf-109 near Warsaw at 1345 hours.

ROMANIA: Sixty P-38 fighter-bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force’s 82d Fighter Group attack rail targets in the Bucharest and Ploesti areas during their return to Italy from the August 4 FRANTIC mission to the Soviet Union.

BASE CHANGES
33 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXE) moves to Selsey
66 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Funtington
74 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXE) moves to Tangmere
127 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Funtington
222 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXE) moves to Selsey
263 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.3 St. Croix-sur-Mer
329 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Tangmere
331 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Funtington
332 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Funtington
349 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Selsey
608 Sqn (Mosquito NFXIII) moves to A.8 Picauville

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
139 Sqn (Upwood) flies its last OM in the Mosquito BIX

7-8-44
408 Sqn RCAF (Linton-on-Ouse – Lancaster II/Halifax VII)
Bomber Commands' request that sixteen aircraft be prepared for operations to-night and the equal number of crews be detailed was carried out and everything was set for the initial take off. Ten Lancaster aircraft were detailed to attack TOTALIZE NO 5 and five HALIFAX MK VII Aircraft were detailed to attack TOTALIZE NO 2. These targets were in the CAEN area. Take off time was set for 2052 for the Halifax aircraft and all were airborne by 2051 hours. Lancasters took off at 2145 and all were airborne by 2205 hours.

Out of the five Halifax aircraft that took off to attack TOTALIZE NO 2 (CAEN) 1 attacked the target the remainder forced to abandon mission over the target due to Markers being bombed out. Master Bomber instructed us to abandon mission.

One Lancaster was also forced to abandon mission over the target due to electrical failures The remaining nine attacked the target on time and bombed.

Weather over the target was clear and visibility good. Red markers were plentiful throughout the attack and Red Markers appeared to be well grouped. Bombing seemed well concentrated knocking out Red T.I.'s and causing much smoke and dust. A large reddish explosion was reported at 2342 hours. One combat was reported shortly after leaving the target. Eight aircraft were diverted, all these being Lancs. B,G,H, landed at WYMESWOLD, J,N,Q landed at CASTLE DONNINGTON and E landed at OAKLEY.

Two Halifax AIRCRAFT WERE DIVERTED R Roger landed at MEPAL and X X-Ray landed at East Moor but due to the heavy load which was carried when landing and no wind condition this aircraft ran off the runway and the undercarriage was taken off, all the crew are safe.

BOMBER COMMAND
Minor Operations
25 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitoes of 5 Group recalled from a raid on U-boat pens at Lorient without bombing; 1 Wellington flew an R.C.M. sortie. No aircraft lost.

________________________________________

7/8 August 1944
NORMANDY BATTLE AREA
1,019 aircraft – 614 Lancasters, 392 Halifaxes, 13 Mosquitoes – attacked five aiming points in front of Allied ground troops. The attacks were carefully controlled – only 660 aircraft bombed – and German strong points and the roads around them were well cratered. 10 aircraft – all Lancasters – were lost, 7 to German fighters, 2 to Flak and 1 to an unknown cause.

Minor Operations: 4 Mosquitoes to Coulommiers airfield, 48 R.C.M. sorties, 11 Mosquito patrols, 18 Halifaxes and 11 Stirlings minelaying off Brest, 6 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 1,117 sorties, 10 aircraft (0.9 percent) lost. 2 3 4 5 2nd TAF
The only claim prior to midnight was made by Flt Lt Jameson/Flg Off Crookes of 488 Squadron for a Ju 88 damaged west of Vire at 2343. At 15 minutes past midnight this same pair claimed another Ju 88 shot down east of Avranches, while two hours later Sqn Ldr J.D.Somerville/Flg Off G.D.Robinson of 410 Squadron also claimed one such bomber in the St Hilaire area. At 0251 Flt Lt A.E.Browne/Wt Off T.F.Taylor of 488 Squadron claimed a Ju 188 south-west of Avranches, then claimed an unidentified aircraft west of Rennes at 0306. Twenty-five minutes later they made their third claim of the night for another unidentified type in the same area.

Wg Cdr M.W.Beveridge, Commanding Officer of 409 Squadron, was shot down by a Ju 88 working with a Fw 190 over the Beachhead area. He took to his parachute and escaped, suffering only slight injury, but his radar operator, Flt Lt J.W.F.Peacock, was killed. It was not the only night fighter casualty on this date, for as Flt Lt J.C.I.Hooper, DFC/Flg Off S.C.Hubbard, DFM, of 604 Squadron attacked a Me 410, their Mosquito was hit by return fire, and possibly also by Flak, and was shot down; both men were killed. The rest of this unit had moved over to A.8 from England on 5th, and during the night Wg Cdr Desmond Hughes/Flt Lt L.Dixon claimed a Ju 88 over Avranches, while Flt Lt John Surman/Plt Off C.E.Weston added two Do 217s and a Bf 110, and Flg Off R.M.T.M.B.Macdonald/Flt Sgt C.G.Baird a Ju 88.

The day commenced much as others had done, with heavy mists obscuring the area and preventing early aerial activity. Events were soon to render 7 August a unique day however. At the specific insistence of Adolf Hitler, a major German counter-attack had been launched in the Mortain area in an effort to drive General George Patton's US Third Army to the sea and cut it off as it commenced its breakout into Brittany. A force, headed by no fewer than five Panzer divisions was advancing into an area defended only by the US 9th and 30th Infantry Divisions in the St Poix-Juvigny-St Barthélémy area.

Whilst a surprise to those on the ground, the German move was not unknown to the higher echelons of the Allied command. Forewarned by the highly secret 'Ultra' intelligence decrypts of the Wehrmacht's coded radio traffic, the 'top brass' were content to draw the German forces into a trap of their own making.

No major enemy moves had been spotted from the air during the preceding day, but by mid-morning it had become evident that the Germans were on the move, striking desperately towards the sea. The anti-tank guns and bazookas of the US infantry were insufficient to hold them off, and by midday the 2. SS Panzer Division had taken Mortain, while the 2. Panzer Division had reached the important villages of St Barthélémy, Cherence and Le Mesnil Adelee.

Time would not allow the insertion of a strong Allied ground force into the area to bolster the hard-pressed infantry units, nor to lay on a massive attack by heavy bombers. On this occasion salvation lay in the hands of the tactical air forces. As soon as news of the Mortain situation came through, Air Marshal Coningham and the Commanding General of the US Ninth Air Force reached an agreement which was to prove a splendid example of Allied co-operation. Since Ninth Air Force's fighter- bombers were predominantly equipped to carry only bombs, it was the Typhoons of 2nd TAF which would, in the main, be employed to engage the armoured columns, while the US units put up a fighter screen to protect the 'rocketeers' from Luftwaffe interference, also attacking transport moving up to and into the battle zone.

In keeping the II. Jagdkorps fighters away, US fighter pilots claimed 16 victories during the day, but in the particular circumstances apertaining on 7 August, no 2nd TAF fighters were to engage the Luftwaffe by day on this occasion. Indeed apart from the Typhoons lost or damaged over the Mortain area, casualties were light, restricted in the main to some Flak damage and engine failures.

USAAF
FRANCE: In the first theater combat encounters of the new P-61 twin-engine, two-place night-fighter, two crews from the Ninth Air Force’s newly committed 422d Night-Fighter Squadron score probable victories against a Ju-188 and a Do-217 between 0300 and 0310.

Four hundred eighty-three Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s, of 905 dispatched, attack numerous fuel dumps, bridges, airfields, and other tactical targets in northern France. One B-17 is lost.

Following its return from the mission to France, the 492d Heavy Bombardment Group is withdrawn from combat duties.

Escort and support for the heavy bombers are provided by 437 VIII Fighter Command fighters.

Two hundred seventy-one VIII Fighter Command P-47 and P-51 fighters and fighter-bombers attack marshalling yards and rail lines north and east of Paris. Eight fighters are lost with their pilots.

More than 380 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack bridges spanning the Loire and Seine rivers.

Eighth and Ninth air force fighter pilots down 19 GAF fighters over France during the afternoon and early evening. 2dLt Loyd “J” Overfield, a P-51 pilot with the 354th Fighter Group’s 353d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs three Bf-109s over Mayenne at 1520 hours.

The IX and XIX TACs form mobile headquarters units to accompany the headquarters of the U.S. First and Third armies.

LtGen Lewis H. Brereton relinquishes command of the Ninth Air Force to assume command of the new First Allied Airborne Army.

As of August 7, the IX TAC consists of the 70th Fighter Wing (48th, 367th, and 474th Fighter groups); the 71st Fighter Wing (366th 368th, and 370th Fighter groups); and the 84th Fighter Wing (50th, 365th, and 404th Fighter groups). The XIX TAC consists of the 100th Fighter Wing (354th, 362d, 363d, and 371st Fighter groups), and the 303d Fighter Wing (36th, 358th, 373d, 405th, and 406th Fighter groups). All of the wing and fighter-group assignments are considered temporary and will shift as required by operational needs. (In this regard, the TACs are designed to function simply as permanent headquarters controlling a constantly shifting roster of subordinate units. They are thus identical to army corps, with which they are on par in the overall American military command structure.)

Twelfth Air Force B-26s and A-20s attack bridges throughout southern France.

At 2330 hours, a P-61 crew from the Eighth Air Force’s 422d Night-Fighter Squadron scores that unit’s first confirmed victory, a Ju-88 downed over the Bay of Mont Michel. This is also the first P-61 victory in the ETO.

GERMANY: Three hundred sixty-five Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack two synthetic-oil refineries at Blechhammer.

Escort pilots from the 14th, 31st, and 325th Fighter groups down 21 GAF fighters and a twin-engine bomber between 1005 and 1230 hours along the bomber route through Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Germany. 1stLt Robert D. Thompson, a P-51 pilot with the 31st Fighter Group’s 309th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two Bf-109s near Lake Balaton, Hungary, between 1005 and 1035 hours; and 1stLt Wayne L. Lowry, a P-51 ace with the 325th Fighter Group’s 317th Fighter Squadron, brings his final personal tally to 11 confirmed victories when he downs a Bf-109 near Ratibor, Poland, at 1150 hours.

ITALY: XII TAC fighter-bombers attack shipping at Imperia as well as several airfields.

POLAND: As part of Operation FRANTIC, 55 Eighth Air Force B-17s of the 95th and 390th Heavy Bombardment groups, operating from bases in the Soviet Union and escorted by 29 357th Fighter Group P-51s, attack oil refineries around Trzebinia with 134 tons of bombs and then return to the Soviet bases.

357th Fighter Group P-51 pilots down three GAF fighters over Poland between 1230 and 1330 hours. Maj John A. Storch, the commanding officer of the 357th Fighter Group’s 364th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he shares in the downing of a Bf-109 over Oswiecim at 1330 hours.

YUGOSLAVIA: A total of 76 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack oil-industry targets at Novi Sad and the airdrome at Alibunar.

BASE CHANGES
311 Sqn (Liberator V) moves to Tain
485 Sqn RNZAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Selsey

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
91 Sqn (Deanland) flies its last OM in the Spitfire XIVE

8-8-44
115 Sqn (Witchford – Lancaster I/III)
25 aircraft were detailed to attack FORET DE LUCHEUX and took off between 21.45 hours and 22.15 hours. One aircraft (Y.LM. 166 Captain W/O. LEGGETT, T.) failed to return from operations no news being received. The remainder identified the target visually by light of flares and bombed chiefly green indicator markers or fires, as instructed by Master Bomber, from heights ranging between 8,000 feet and 13,000 feet. Bombing was well concentrated and many bomb bursts were seen in wood followed by explosions from oil tanks and numerous fires with black smoke rising to many thousand feet. There was much searchlight activity and one aircraft (Q.HK.549 Captain T/O.D.HILL) successfully evaded a cone on way back after being held by diving from 9,000 feet to 5,000 feet. Intercommunication became unserviceable during the dive and when it became serviceable again, it was found that the Rear Gunner (Sgt. BARR,R.) had baled out. Photographs were attempted.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster I LM166 KO-Y. Crew: W/O TE Leggett KIA, Sgt RJ Brooks EVD, F/S DR Jennings RAAF EVD, Sgt RR Watson EVD, W/O HJ Dowse KIA, Sgt FA Maples EVD, Sgt RA McKean KIA. T/o 2153 Witchford. Collided with another aircraft at approximately 23:59hrs and crashed in the Pas de Calais, WSW of Arras. Those who died are buried in the communal cemetery at Grand Rullecourt.

BOMBER COMMAND
FORÊT DE CHANTILLY
202 aircraft – 148 Halifaxes, 49 Lancasters, 5 Mosquitoes – of 6 and 8 Groups attacked an oil-storage dump which was hit and fires were started. 1 Halifax lost in the sea.

FLYING-BOMB SITES
58 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitoes of 4 and 8 Groups attacked 4 launching sites; the bombing was accurate. 1 Halifax lost.

________________________________________

8/9 August 1944
OIL TARGETS
170 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes of 1, 3 and 8 Groups attacked depots and storage dumps at Aire-sur-Lys and the Forêt de Lucheux. Both raids were successful. 1 Lancaster lost from the Forêt de Lucheux raid.

Minor Operations: 34 Mosquitoes to Cologne, 11 R.C.M. sorties, 18 Mosquito patrols, 24 aircraft minelaying off Brittany ports, 15 aircraft on Resistance operations. 2 aircraft, probably Halifaxes, lost from the Resistance operations. 2 3 2nd TAF
Luftwaffe bombers were much in evidence during the night, the first claims against these being made shortly before midnight 7/8th when Flt Lt R.M.G. Currie/Flg Off A.H.Rose of 410 Squadron claimed a Ju 88 south-west of Rennes. Thereafter successes came thick and fast. Flg Off J.S.Smith/Flg Off L. Roberts of 604 Squadron claimed two Do 217s near Rennes, whilst also from this unit Flg Off Macdonald/Flt Lt S.H.J.Elliott claimed a Ju 88 east of Nantes, Flt Lt J.R.Cross/Wt Off H.Smith adding a Ju 188 east of Falaise, and then a Ju 88 over Conde. 29 Squadron's Flg Off W.Provan/Wt Off Nicol claimed a Bf 110 over Melun, while Flt Lt Davison/Flg Off Willmott of 264 Squadron claimed a Ju 188 which blew up, causing sufficient fire damage to their Mosquito to require a force-landing at B.5. Finally at 0230, Wt Off R.S.Henke/Flt Sgt L.A.Emmerson of 409 Squadron claimed another Ju 188 over the Le Beny Bocage area.

The night cost three 2 Group Mosquito VIs however, a 21 Squadron aircraft being shot down at about 0100, whilst around 0340-45, aircraft of 107 and 464 Squadrons were also lost. A Wellington of 69 Squadron was hit by Flak over Conde soon after the 21 Squadron aircraft was lost; Sqn Ldr K.G.J.Wakefield's crew all baled out, but only Flg Off J.Neal survived.

Two Typhoons were to be shot down by Flak during the day, both pilots being killed, while at 1435 four pilots of 443 Squadron claimed a Bf 109 shot down ten miles south- est of Argentan. In the evening two Spitfires were lost but both pilots survived, the pilot of the 602 Squadron having a near escape. Hit by Flak Flt Sgt M.A.Downey attempted a forced-landing near Troarn but his Spitfire turned on its back and burst into flames; fortunately Canadian troops were on hand to drag him clear, albeit seriously injured.

Mustangs of 19 Squadron set off at 1920 to bomb barges on the Seine, but in the Chartres area 12 Bf 109s and at least 13 Fw 190s were seen. These were attacked at once, four of the former initially being claimed, later assessment crediting the pilots with three and a probable. During the day 126 Wing moved to the newly-constructed B.18, Christot, to the north-east of Tilly-sur-Seulles, and 268 Squadron flew its first three Tacks with its recently acquired Typhoon FR IBS.

USAAF
ENGLAND: LtGen Hoyt S. Vandenburg, former USSTAF deputy commanding general, formally replaces LtGen Lewis H. Brereton as commanding general of the Ninth Air Force.

The VIII Fighter Command’s 356th Fighter Group is reassigned to the 67th Fighter Wing, and the 361st Fighter Group is reassigned to the 65th Fighter Wing.

FRANCE: Three hundred fifty-nine Eighth Air Force B-24s, escorted by 265 VIII Fighter Command fighters, attack ten V-weapons sites in the Pas-de-Calais area; Bretigny, Clastres, La Perthe, Laon/Athies, and Romilly-sur-Seine airdromes; and several targets of opportunity, including two rail bridges. Also, two groups of escort fighters strafe numerous ground targets. One B-24 and two P-51s are lost.

In a separate action, 497 Eighth Air Force B-17s provide direct support for a ground operation undertaken by Canadian Army troops around Falaise. Targets are German Army troop concentrations and strongpoints. Counting RAF Bomber Command night attacks, this is the second- largest operation of its kind since the invasion, totaling more than 5,200 tons of bombs. Seven B-17s are lost, and bombs that are dropped short kill 25 Canadian Army soldiers and wound 131.

Escort for the B-17 ground-support mission is provided by 91 P-51s, of which three are lost with their pilots. At least one P-51 escort group strafes ground targets around Rouen.

One hundred seventy-five VIII Fighter Command P-38, P-47, and P-51 fighter-bombers attack rail lines around Amiens, Dijon, Paris, and St.-Quentin. Four fighters are lost with their pilots.

A total of 406 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack tactical targets near St.-Malo, as well as radar installations, bridges, and rail embankments.

Eighth and Ninth air force fighter pilots down 12 GAF fighters over France during the afternoon and early evening.

Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack bridges, rail lines, and other targets in the Rhone and Var river valleys, and at Avignon and Pont-Saint-Esprit.

During the night of August 8–9, XII TAC A-20s attack targets of opportunity along the road from Genoa, Italy, to Nice.

ITALY: The Fifteenth Air Force is grounded by bad weather; Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack bridges and rail lines in the Po River valley; XII TAC A-20s attack a storage dump and the town area at Savigliano; and XII TAC fighter-bombers attack pontoon and rail bridges, various other bridges, a barge, and the causeway at Mantua.

NORWAY: Forty-one 4th Fighter Group P-51s escort an RAF Coastal Command anti-shipping strike to Norway. Three fighters are lost with their pilots.

ROMANIA: Seventy-three Eighth Air Force B-17s and 55 4th and 357th Fighter group P-51s on their way back to England from bases in the Soviet Union attack the Bizau and Zilistea airdromes, then land at Fifteenth Air Force bases in Italy. During the flight, Capt Frank C. Jones, a five- victory P-51 ace with the 4th Fighter Group’s 335th Fighter Squadron, is shot down and killed by flak.

A 357th Fighter Group P-51 pilot downs a Bf-109 over Crocil at 1105 hours.

BASE CHANGES
41 Sqn SAAF (Spitfire VC) moves to St. Jean
303 Sqn (Spitfire IX) moves to Westhampnett
350 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Hawkinge
401 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.18 Cristot
411 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.18 Cristot
442 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.18 Cristot

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
268 Sqn (Odiham) flies its last OM in the Typhoon IB
402 Sqn RCAF (Hawkinge) flies its last OM in the Spitfire LFIXB

9-8-44
427 Sqn RCAF (Leeming – Halifax III)
Seventeen aircraft took off to bomb LA NEUVILLE around 1900 hours and all returned safely except F/L WYSE G.P., and crew in “Y” Yorker MZ363. The returning crews reported no cloud over target and visibility wary good. Red T.I.'s appeared to be slightly overshot but yellow T.I.'s were bang on. The Master Bomber was heard clearly by only a few crews. The remainder reporting interference. A number of crews bombed visually. Some sticks were seen to fall in target area but considerable undershooting was apparent. What appeared to be one battery of 6/8 heavy guns was firing very accurate predicted flak over the target between 15/17000 ft. No enemy fighters seen. All crews attempted photographs. The target was a storage dump for flying bombs.

ADDENDUM – Halifax III MZ363 ZL-Y. Crew: F/L GP Wyse RCAF KIA, Sgt A McKay KIA, F/O JS Beresford RCAF KIA, Sgt RG Grout KIA, Sgt SJ Levesque RCAF KIA, P/O JJ Ringer RCAF KIA, WO2 RS Ferguson RCAF KIA. T/o 1900 Leeming. Believed shot down into the English Channel by a night fighter. Four are buried in various French cemeteries and three are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

BOMBER COMMAND
FLYING-BOMB SITES
172 aircraft – 114 Halifaxes, 35 Mosquitoes, 23 Lancasters – of 4 and 8 Groups attacked 7 launching sites. Visibility was clear and all raids were successful. 3 Halifaxes lost.

FORÊT DE MORMAL
160 aircraft – 147 Halifaxes, 8 Lancasters, 5 Mosquitoes – of 4 and 8 Groups attacked a fuel-storage dump. A large column of thick smoke was rising from the target at the end of the raid. No aircraft lost.

LA PALLICE
29 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitoes of 5 Group. 17 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito attacked an oil depot and 12 Lancasters of 617 Squadron and 1 Mosquito attacked the U-boat pens but smoke and haze prevented observation of results at both targets. No aircraft lost.

2 Halifaxes and 2 Wellingtons flew R.C.M. sorties without loss.

________________________________________

9/10 August 1944
FLYING-BOMB SITES
311 aircraft – 171 Lancasters, 115 Halifaxes, 25 Mosquitoes – of 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups attacked 4 launching sites and the Fort-d’Englos storage site. All targets were accurately bombed and no aircraft were lost.

FORÊT DE CHÂTELLERAULT
176 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitoes of 1 and 5 Groups successfully attacked an oil-storage dump. 2 Lancasters lost.

Minor Operations: 3 Mosquitoes to Osnabrück, 21 R.C.M. sorties, 40 Mosquito patrols, 16 Mosquitoes minelaying in the Dortmund–Ems Canal and 10 Lancasters minelaying off Biscay ports, 20 aircraft on Resistance operations, 15 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost. 2 3 4 2nd TAF
Fewer night raiders were encountered, Plt Off N.Joss/Flt Sgt J.R.King of 409 Squadron claiming a Ju 188 damaged, Flt Sgt P.N.Lee/Plt Off R.Thomas of 264 Squadron adding one more of these bombers as a probable, while the sole confirmed success went to Flg Off T.R.Wood/Flg Off R.Leafe of 604 Squadron, who claimed a Do 217.

With morning a TacR Mustang of 430 Squadron ran into 40 Fw 190s west of Argentan, Flt Lt R.F.Gill escaping and claiming a Fw 190 damaged near Alencon. Flak again shot down three Typhoons, and a Spitfire IX of 132 Squadron, four pilots losing their lives. It was 19 Squadron which again flushed out the opposition when at 1700 the unit's Mustangs undertook their third attack of the day on Seine barges. Two Fw 190s were seen in the Auneau area, and six more near Ecrosnes, four of these being claimed shot down, Flt Lt 'Buck' Collyns being credited with one and one shared.

During the evening 2 Group despatched 47 Mitchells and 18 Bostons to bomb a dump in the Foret de Lyons. Flak hit two 180 Squadron Mitchells, one going down in the target area, the other with starboard engine on fire, was last seen near Fougarmont. An 88 Squadron Boston and two 320 Squadron Mitchells were also damaged, one later ditching in the Channel whilst the other made a force-landing at Friston with a dead wireless operator on board. The Norwegian Wing Leader of 124 Wing, Erik Haabjoern, now came to the end of his tour after seven months. He was replaced by 181 Squadron's 'Kit' North-Lewis, who would hold the position for a similar period.

A new unit had joined 2nd TAF in France on this date - a detachment of four Walruses from 276 (ASR) Squadron arriving at A.23, Querqueville. These would be joined by the rest of 'B' Flight's Walruses and Spitfires eight days later, although the Warwick-equipped 'A' Flight would remain at Portreath.

USAAF
ENGLAND: The 325th Photographic Reconnaissance Wing headquarters is formally activated to oversee several Eighth Air Force reconnaissance groups; the 8th Provisional Photographic Reconnaissance Wing is deactivated; the Eighth Air Force’s 802d Provisional Reconnaissance Group (B-17s and Mosquitoes) is redesignated the 25th Bombardment Reconnaissance Group and placed under the control of the 325th Photographic Reconnaissance Wing; and the former 802d Group’s Provisional Light Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and Provisional Special Weather Reconnaissance Squadron are redesignated the 653d Light Bombardment Squadron and the 654th Special Bombardment Squadron.

FRANCE: A 422d Night-Fighter Squadron P-61 crew downs a Ju-88 near Caen at 0235 hours.

One hundred forty-nine VIII Fighter Command P-47 fighter-bombers, escorted by 40 P-51s, attack various lines-of- communication targets.

More than 400 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack shipping at Brest, an ammunition dump, bridges, locomotives, and various other targets.

While attacking a heavily defended Seine River rail bridge, the leading 394th Medium Bombardment Group B-26, piloted by Capt Darrell R. Lindsey, is hit by flak, and the right engine bursts into flame. Capt Lindsey completes the bomb run and then orders the crew to bail out while he remains at the controls. When the bombardier offers to lower the nose wheel to aid in Lindsey’s departure, Lindsey refuses because he feels the lowered wheel might induce a spin that will prevent the bombardier’s escape. Lindsey, who then rides the flaming B-26 into the ground and is killed, is awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor.

Maj Don M. Beerbower, a 15.5-victory ace and the newly promoted commanding officer of the 354th Fighter Group’s 353d Fighter Squadron, is killed by flak while strafing Reims/Epernay Airdrome at tree-top height. Unbelievably, Beerbower’s replacement as squadron commander, Maj Wallace N. Emmer, a 14-victory ace, is shot down by flak during an afternoon patrol mission near Rouen. Emmer is captured, but he will die in a German POW camp on February 15, 1945, from myocarditis.

IX TAC fighter pilots down a total of 14 GAF fighters over France in three separate actions, at 0935, 1330, and 1800 hours, respectively.

GERMANY: Of 824 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s dispatched to attack tank factories, aircraft plants, fuel depots, and airfields in southeastern Germany, only 25 2d Bombardment Division B-24s are able to penetrate bad weather to attack their primary target. In all, 495 other heavy bombers attack several secondary targets and numerous targets of opportunity in Germany, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Eighteen heavy bombers are lost.

Escort for the heavy bombers is provided by 570 VIII Fighter Command fighters, of which three are lost with their pilots.

VIII Fighter Command escort pilots down 29 GAF fighters and a trainer over Germany between 1045 and 1135 hours. LtCol John B. Murphy, the commanding officer of the 359th Fighter Group’s 370th Fighter Squadron, in P-51s, achieves ace status when he downs an FW-190 near Gunzberg at about 1120 hours.

HUNGARY: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack two airdromes, an oil refinery at Budapest, and two factories at Gyor.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force medium bombers are hampered by bad weather, but some B-25s are able to attack a rail line, and some B-26s are able to attack Bergamo/Orio al Serio Airdrome. Also XII TAC fighter-bombers attack rail targets throughout northwestern Italy and sink a vessel in the harbor at Imperia.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack an oil refinery and marshalling yard at Brod.

BASE CHANGES
118 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Peterhead
124 Sqn (Spitfire HFIX) moves to Westhampnett
412 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.18 Crisot
459 Sqn RAAF (Baltimore IV/V) moves to Berka III

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
119 Sqn (Springfield) flies its first OM in the Albacore I
218 Sqn (Methold) flies its first OMs in the Lancaster I & III
274 Sqn (West Malling) flies its last OM in the Spitfire IX
350 Sqn (Hawkinge) flies its last OM in the Spitfire LFIXB
406 Sqn (Winkleigh) flies its last OM in the Beaufighter VIF

11-8-44
514Sqn (Waterbeach – Lancaster I/II/III)
13 aircraft took off to attack the Marshalling Yards at LENS. Weather was 3-5/10ths patchy cloud over the target. Bombing was reported concentrated. All aircraft landed safely, one aircraft landed at Woodbridge, the nose having been broken off by bomb from above; and the Bomb Aimer missing.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster II LL967 A2-B2 Cat E. The Bomb Aimer F/O HT Crampton RNZAF is buried in Loos British Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
RAILWAY TARGETS
459 aircraft – 270 Lancasters, 169 Halifaxes, 20 Mosquitoes – of 1, 3,4 and 8 Groups attacked 3 railway yards and 1 bridge. Forces of between 133 and 142 aircraft attacked Douai, Lens and Somain; the bombing at these targets started well but ground features rapidly became covered by smoke and dust. 1 Halifax lost on the Somain raid. 49 aircraft attacked the Étaples railway bridge without loss and claimed direct hits on the bridge.

U-BOAT PENS
53 Lancasters and 3 Mosquitoes of 5 Group attacked pens at Bordeaux and La Pallice with 2,000-lb armour-piercing bombs, but examination of the pens after their capture a few weeks later showed that these bombs could not penetrate the roofs. 6 Mosquito fighters of 100 Group provided a partial escort cover for the Bordeaux raid but no German fighters were encountered. No aircraft lost.

FLYING-BOMB SITES
40 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 20 Pathfinder Mosquitoes attacked 4 launching sites. Visibility was clear; the bombing was accurate and no aircraft were lost.

________________________________________

11/12 August 1944
GIVORS
179 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups carried out an exceptionally accurate attack on the railway yards. No aircraft lost.

Minor Operations: 33 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 2 to Trossy-St-Maxim, 9 R.C.M. sorties, 28 Mosquito patrols, 8 Stirlings and 6 Lancasters minelaying off Biscay ports, 14 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Mosquito lost from the Berlin raid. 2 3 2nd TAF
Just before midnight Flg Off R.L.Fullerton/Flg Off Castella from 409 Squadron claimed a Ju 88 probable, while immediately after the witching hour Wg Cdr G.A.Hiltz/Flg Off J.R.Walsh claimed another Ju 88 shot down north-east of Ponte et Raz de la Persée. Two more Ju 88s were then claimed by 264 Squadron, one each by Sqn Ldr Chase/Watson and Flg Off J.Daker/Flt Sgt J.A.Heathcote. Finally at 0310 Flg Off F.K.Collins/Flg Off P.S.Lee of 409 Squadron claimed a Do 217 near Tessy. During the night an intruder Mosquito of 613 Squadron was lost over the Dreux-Chartres-Domfront area, reportedly to Flak.

264 Squdron flew their Mosquitoes into A.8, joining 604 to provide night defence in the US Sector. The strip was shared with the 405th Fighter Group Thunderbolts that operated by day, and each evening the efficient American engineers had to repair the bitumenised paper landing strip where it had been torn up by the P.47 movements, allowing the Mosquitoes to operate safely at night. Soon after midday one of 19 Squadron's Mustangs was hit by Flak when south of Elbeuf, the unit's successful Greek pilot, Flt Sgt Basilios Vassiliades, baling out. He would evade capture and return later. A second aircraft would be lost by this unit four hours later when it broke up whilst dive-bombing a bridge over the Seine; Plt Off E.R.Davies survived unhurt.

A Spitfire of 317 Squadron flown by Flt Sgt W.L.Pawlowski blew up in the air over the Mezidon-Argentan area for no apparent reason, with the loss of the pilot. Sqn Ldr 'Jack' Collins, the long-serving commanding officer of 245 Squadron, was also lost on this date. Apparently hit by Flak north of Bretteille, his engine burst into flames and he baled out immediately. Unfortunately, his parachute caught on the tail of his crippled Typhoon and failed to open properly. This had been intended to be his last sortie before going on rest.

USAAF
ENGLAND: The 492d Heavy Bombardment Group is effectively disbanded when most of its aircraft and personnel are transferred to other 2d Bombardment Division B-24 units. The unit’s numerical designation is retained and transferred to the 801st Provisional Heavy Bombardment Group, the VIII Air Force Composite Command’s secret special-operations unit engaged in parachuting agents and supplies into Occupied Europe and collecting agents and secret radio messages from German-held territory.

Personnel and B-24 aircraft from the former 492d Heavy Bombardment Group’s 856th Heavy Bombardment Squadron are transferred to the Eighth Air Force’s independent 36th Heavy Bombardment Squadron (Radio Counter Measures) and 406th Heavy Bombardment Squadron (night leaflets).

FRANCE: Forty-seven 2d Bombardment Division B-24s, 54 3d Bombardment Division B-24s, and 76 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack four airfields; 136 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack three fuel dumps; 152 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack two marshalling yards; 125 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack marshalling yards at Strasbourg, France, and Saarbrucken, Germany; and 11 B-24s attack several targets of opportunity. Four heavy bombers are lost.

Two hundred seventy-five 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack barracks, troop concentrations, fuel dumps, gun emplacements, bunkers, and rail targets in the Brest Peninsula. One B-17 is lost, but its entire crew bails out safely into friendly hands.

Three hundred sixty-three VIII Fighter Command fighters provide escort for the various heavy-bomber missions, and 165 VIII Fighter Command fighters undertake a sweep in the Paris area. One P-51 is lost with its pilot.

Eighth Air Force fighter pilots down four Bf-109s near Paris at 1930 hours.

IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack gun emplacements, an ammunition dump, and bridges.

IX Troop Carrier Command C-47s and one IX TAC P-47 squadron drop supplies to elements of the U.S. 30th Infantry Division that are cut off at Mortain.

The Ninth Air Force’s 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Group moves into Advance Landing Ground A-27, at Rennes; and the 354th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground A-31, at Gael.

Twelfth Air Force B-25s, B-26s, and fighter-bombers attack gun emplacements along the Mediterranean coast from Genoa, Italy, to Nice.

ITALY: The main Operation DRAGOON invasion convoy leaves Naples.

BASE CHANGES
130 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Lympne
257 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Fairwood Common
264 Sqn (Mosquito NFXIII) moves to B.8 Sommervieu

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSION
91 Sqn (Deanland) flies its first OM in the Spitfire LFIXB
322 Sqn (Deanland) flies its first OM in the Spitfire LFIXB

12-8-44
428 Sqn RCAF (Middleton St. George – Lancaster X)
Big training program was planned for today but operations were ordered suddenly and eleven detailed for an attack on BRUNSWICK ICK. P/O L. PLUNKETT (J.18073, RCAF) returned early due to illness of his rear gunner, the rest attacked the target for a good prang, all returned safely excepting F/O J.A. McGregor (J.27912, RCAF) and crew who failed to return.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster X KB758 NA-Z. Crew: F?O JA McGregor RCAF POW, F/S WJ Harwick KIA, F/O C Greer RCAF POW, F/O JE Spragett RCAF KIA, P/O HA Murphy RCAF KIA, F/S PA Crowley RCAF KIA, F/S M Sasry RCAF KIA. T/o 2103 Middleton St. George. Shot down by Fw Robert Wohlfing (10th victory) 9./NJG3, 20 km N. Celle at 0030. Those who died now drest in Hannover War Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
FORÊT DE MONTRICHARD
117 aircraft – 95 Halifaxes, 16 Lancasters, 6 Mosquitoes – of 6 and 8 Groups attacked a fuel dump, which was soon covered by a thick pall of smoke. No aircraft lost.

U-BOAT PENS
68 Lancasters of 1 Group and 2 Mosquitoes of 5 Group attacked pens at Brest, La Pallice and Bordeaux without loss. A U-boat was believed to have been hit at La Pallice. 8 Mosquitoes of 100 Group provided a fighter escort.
1 Wellington flew an R.C.M. sortie.

________________________________________


12/13 August 1944
BRUNSWICK
242 Lancasters and 137 Halifaxes. 17 Lancasters and 10 Halifaxes lost, 7.1 percent of the force.

This was an experimental raid. No Pathfinder aircraft took part and there was no marking. The intention was to discover how successfully a force of aircraft could carry out a raid with each crew bombing on the indications of its own H2S set. The raid was not successful and there was no concentration of bombing. The Brunswick report calls it a ‘heavy raid’ but only states that bombs fell in the central and Stadtpark areas and that 99 people were killed. Other towns, up to 20 miles distant, were mistaken for Brunswick and were also bombed.

RÜSSELSHEIM
297 aircraft – 191 Lancasters, 96 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitoes. 13 Lancasters and 7 Halifaxes lost, 6.7 percent of the force. The target for this raid was the Opel motor factory and normal Pathfinder marking methods were used. The motor factory was only slightly damaged; the local report states that the tyre and dispatch departments and the powerhouse were hit but most of the bombs fell in open countryside south of the target. 9 people were killed and 31 injured.

FALAISE
144 aircraft – 91 Lancasters, 36 Halifaxes, 12 Stirlings, 5 Mosquitoes – bombed a German troop concentration and a road junction north of Falaise. The bombing was believed to have been very effective. No aircraft lost.

FLYING-BOMB SITES
40 Halifaxes and 12 Mosquitoes bombed 2 launching sites and a storage depot. No aircraft lost.

SUPPORT AND MINOR OPERATIONS
143 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep over the English Channel, 21 Mosquitoes to Kiel, 10 to Frankfurt and 3 each to Coulommiers and Juvincourt airfields, 33 R.C.M. sorties, 47 Mosquito patrols, 10 Lancasters and 4 Halifaxes minelaying off Biscay ports, 21 O.T.U. sorties. 2 Mosquitoes lost – 1 from the Frankfurt raid and 1 Mosquito of 100 Group, probably a Serrate aircraft.

Total effort for the night: 1,167 sorties, 49 aircraft (4.2 percent) lost. The bombs dropped during this night brought Bomber Command’s total for the war so far to approximately 500,000 tons. 2 3 4 5 6 7 2nd TAF
During the night a single claim was submitted by Flt Lt Miller/Wt Off P.Catchpole of 604 Squadron for a Do 217 probably shot down. However, the night fighter force in the bridgehead area was reinforced by the arrival of 264 Squadron at landing ground A.8.

Around 1410-1420 a large formation of Lancasters and Halifaxes attacked a dump at Montrichard, escorted by Spitfires from several 84 Group squadrons. Two aircraft of 340 Squadron were engaged by six or seven Bf 109s of III./JG 1, Lt R.Lepang being shot down and killed south of l'Aigle by Hptm Alfred Grislawski of 8./JG 1 for his 129th victory of the war, while Sgt L. Trouillet claimed one shot down and one damaged; on this occasion the Luftwaffe unit did not suffer any losses. 66 Squadron meanwhile encountered 12 Fw 190s, two of which were claimed shot down - possibly both aircraft of I./JG 26, no fighters of this type being claimed by US pilots on this date.

Spitfires of 411 and 412 Squadrons took off at 1745 to sweep over the Alencon area, where at 1850 four Bf 109s and three Fw 190s were seen to the east. Claims were submitted for four Messerschmitts shot down and one Focke-Wulf damaged by 411 Squadron, and a single Messerschmitt damaged by 412 Squadron. Again, no commensurate German losses were recorded on this date.

It was a day of rather heavier losses for 2nd TAF however. 439 Squadron lost two Typhoons and their pilots, 438 and 440 Squadrons from the same wing also each losing one. Grp Capt Charles Appleton, DSO, 124 Wing's Commanding Officer, was also killed when shot down in a 247 Squadron aircraft near Flers. As Commanding Officer of the Wing there was no requirement for him to fly on operations, but when a Typhoon went unserviceable as the rest of the formation was about to depart, he had stepped in to fill the gap, borrowing Sqn Ldr McNair's aircraft. Erik Haabjoern would return to Normandy to temporarily take command of the Wing until a replacement could be found. Another Typhoon was lost by 197 Squadron, Flt Lt D.A.Backhouse becoming a prisoner. Two Mustang Is, one each from 2 and 430 Squadrons were also lost with their pilots, as were two Canadian Spitfires from 412 and 443 Squadrons respectively. Mustang III pilots of 19 Squadron recorded being attacked by P-38s, but escaped serious damage.

During the day 132 Wing began moving to Ford, increasingly using B.2 for refuelling and re-arming. Two of its four squadrons had now replaced their Spitfire IXBS with Mark IXES.

USAAF
ENGLAND: Lt Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., USN, eldest son of the former U.S. ambassador to the U.K. and brother of the future U.S. president, is killed in the midair explosion of a U.S. Navy drone Liberator making a test flight over England.

The 467th Heavy Bombardment Group’s 788th Heavy Bombardment Squadron and the 490th Heavy Bombardment Group’s 850th Heavy Bombardment Squadron—which were transferred to the 801st Provisional Heavy Bombardment Group in May 1944—are reconstituted from personnel and airplanes from the disbanded 492d Heavy Bombardment Group.

FRANCE: Sixty-nine 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Metz, and 480 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack eight airdromes in eastern and central France. Three B-24s are lost.

Sixty-nine 3d Bombardment Division B-17s returning from a FRANTIC mission to the Soviet Union via Italy attack the Toulouse/Francazal Airdrome on the final leg of the mission. Escort for the FRANTIC B-17s is provided by 58 P-51s that accompanied them to the Soviet Union and 42 VIII Fighter Command P-51s that meet them following the bombing attack. (Three B-17s, with four P-51 escorts, return to Italy due to mechanical problems.)

Altogether, 386 VIII Fighter Command P-47s and P-51s escort Eighth Air Force heavy bombers and IX Bomber Command medium bombers over France during the day. Several escort groups strafe ground targets. Three P-51s are lost with their pilots.

Throughout the day, the VIII Fighter Command mounts 706 fighter-bomber sorties against transportation targets in northeastern France and Belgium. Ten fighters are lost. Among the VIII Fighter Command pilots lost is Col Thomas J. J. Christian, Jr., the 361st Fighter Group commander, who is killed.

IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack a rail bridge spanning the Seine River (the last USAAF attack on a Seine River bridge), a refueling siding, and numerous targets along the highways in the Argentan area, through which large German Army forces are attempting to retreat. (The IX Bomber Command bombers attack forty chokepoints around Argentan between 1931 and 2051 hours.)

Eighth and Ninth air force fighter pilots down four Ju-88s and a Bf-109 over France between 0700 and 1450 hours.

Operating in support of the Operation DRAGOON preinvasion plan, 234 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack a variety of German Army gun positions in the invasion area and around Toulon; more than 100 Fifteenth Air Force P-51s attack radar installations and observation posts along the Mediterranean coast; and Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack coastal gun emplacements.

During the night of August 12–13, 11 B-24s of the Fifteenth Air Force’s 885th Special Heavy Bombardment Squadron conduct their unit’s first operational mission of the war by dropping more than 33 tons of weapons, munitions, and other supplies from low level to several groups of partisan fighters of the French Forces of the Interior. To cover the true purpose of the mission, the bombers also scatter 225,000 leaflets.

Also during the night of August 12–13, XII TAC A-20s attack targets of opportunity along the Monaco-Toulon road.

ITALY: A total of 307 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack German Army gun positions around Savona and Genoa, and Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack gun emplacements in the U.S. Fifth Army battle area.

BASE CHANGES
33 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXE) moves to Fairwood Common
66 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Ford
127 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Ford
331 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Ford
332 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Ford
462 Sqn RAAF reformed.

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
18 Sqn (Cecina) flies its last OM in the Boston III
86 Sqn (Tain) flies its last OM in the Liberator IIIA
130 Sqn (Lympne) lies its first OM in the Spitfire XIVE
141 Sqn (West Raynham) flies its first OM in the Mosquito FBVI
274 Sqn (West Malling) flies its first OM in the Tempest V
414 Sqn RCAF (Odiham) flies its first OM in the Spitfire LFIXB

13-8-44
9 Sqn (Bardney – Lancaster I/III)
A tanker in BREST harbour was the target for 14 of our aircraft. The ship was easily seen and hit many times. It was burning well as the aircraft left and appeared to be down at the stern.
One aircraft (ME.757) F/L. RELTON & crew failed to return. This machine was seen to be hit and crashed over the target.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster I ME757 WS-O. Crew: F/L EHM Relton KIA, Sgt FW Johnson KIA, F/S CH Edwards RAAF KIA, F/S JK Scott RAAF KIA, F/S CT Scott RAAF KIA, F/S DW McConville RAAF KIA, F/S WR Andrews RAAF KIA. T/o 0832 Bardney. Crashed at Plougastel-Daoulas, 8 km ESE of Brest. All rest in Plougastel-Daoulas Communal Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
Brest
28 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of 5 Group attacked the U-boat pens and shipping. Hits were claimed on the pens, on the hulk of an old French battleship, the Clémenceau, and on a medium-sized tanker. The object of the attacks on ships was to prevent the Germans using any of the large ships in Brest to block the harbour just before its capture by American troops. 1 Lancaster lost.

Bordeaux
15 Lancasters of 5 Group bombed an oil depot accurately. 1 Lancaster lost.

8 Mosquito fighters and 1 R.C.M. Wellington of 100 Group flew operations without loss.

________________________________________

13/14 August 1944
MINOR OPERATIONS
30 Mosquitoes to Hannover, 22 R.C.M. sorties, 15 Mosquito patrols, 10 Halifaxes and 5 Lancasters minelaying off Biscay ports, 4 Halifaxes on Resistance operations, 9 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost. 2 3 2nd TAF
During the night an 88 Squadron Boston was lost whilst engaged in an attack on a bridge over the River Orne.

Meanwhile on the ground the campaign was reaching its climax. From its position on the north side of the line south and east of Caen, Canadian First Army had prepared a new offensive towards Falaise, which Montgomery considered to be a vital objective to form a 'hinge' upon which to swing the armies north-east towards the Seine. Just before midnight on 7 August Canadian II Corps had launched Operation "Totalize', an attack by night by a column of tanks arranged in a narrow 'phalanx' which took place following bombing by Bomber Command 'heavies', but without a preliminary artillery barrage. Although movement had proved difficult duc to huge clouds of dust stirred up both by the tanks and by the bombing, the initial advance had proved extremely successful, and by dawn on 8th the village of Cramesnil had been taken and German troops were fleeing in confusion.

At this point General Major Kurt Meyer, commander of 12. SS Panzer Division managed to rally the defenders and launched an effective counter-attack. During the afternoon US Eighth Air Force bombers raided the area of Bretteville, Cintheaux and St Sylvain in support of the second phase of the attack, but dropped many of their bombs behind, rather than in front of the Allied troops as the 4th Canadian and 1st Polish Armoured Divisions advanced. Consequently their assaults were held, but by 9 August the Germans were withdrawing to the River Laizon, and while 'Totalize' fell short of its objectives, a substantial salient had been driven towards Falaise. On 13th the Canadians now prepared themselves for a further offensive to be codenamed Operation "Tractable.

During the day no Luftwaffe aircraft appeared over 21st Army Group lines, but 2nd TAF's supporting fighter-bombers continued to take losses to Flak. Five Typhoons and three Spitfires were hit, five of these aircraft being lost, two crash-landing and one returning in a damaged condition. Wt Off G.J. Young of 412 Squadron baled out south-west of Vassy, but was believed to have been shot by the Gestapo whilst a POW. Plt Off A. Younger of 247 Squadron also became a POW after baling out near le Mesnil Hermei, while Flt Lt W.W.L.Brown of 441 Squadron and Flg Off R.E.M.McCurdy of 440 Squadron were both killed. Lt J.Schlebusch, SAAF, of 184 Squadron force-landed in hostile territory near Habloville, but evaded capture. The damaged Typhoon, flown by Wg Cdr Johnny Baldwin, had been hit by Flak attacking an observation post south of Troarn, suffering further damage when only one mainwheel came down for landing.

More moves were afoot during the day, 441 and 453 Squadrons of 125 Wing going to B.19, Lingevres, while 35(Recce) Wing began moving to B.4, Beny-sur-Mer, at Douvres, and 83 Group's 39 (Recce) Wing started flying in to B.21, Sainte Honorine-de-Ducy. B. 19 and 21 were new strips built in territory made safe by recent advances.

USAAF
ENGLAND: The squadrons of the 492d Heavy Bombardment Group (formerly the 801st Provisional Heavy Bombardment Group) [see August 11, 1944] are redesignated as follows: the 850th Heavy Bombardment Squadron becomes the 857th Heavy Bombardment Squadron; and the 788th Heavy Bombardment Squadron becomes the 859th Heavy Bombardment Squadron. Also, the 856th and 858th Heavy Bombardment squadrons are reconstituted as new special-operations units.

FRANCE: As Allied ground forces race to capture tens of thousands of German Army soldiers in the Falaise Pocket, 1,206 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s, escorted by 131 VIII Fighter Command P-51s, take part in efforts to close transportation chokepoints in the area between Paris and Le Havre. Several coastal batteries and targets of opportunity are also attacked. Thirteen heavy bombers are lost.

VIII Fighter Command fighter-bombers mount 844 effective sorties during the day against transportation targets, mostly in the vicinity of the Seine River. Fighter pilots claim the destruction of 776 motor vehicles, which is a credible count in light of the terrific road congestion caused by the German Army’s collapse and headlong retreat in the Falaise area. Thirteen fighter-bombers are lost with their pilots.

In the first operational APHRODITE mission undertaken by the experimental unit attached to the 388th Heavy Bombardment Group, a drone B-17 equipped with a 2,000-pound television-guided bomb is directed against a target in Le Havre. The bomb, which misses its intended target, destroys a USAAF Mosquito support plane when it explodes.

More than 575 IX Bomber Command B-26 and A-20 sorties are mounted against several fuel storage facilities and, in the main, seventy transportation chokepoints in and around the Falaise pocket. Also, Ninth Air Force fighter-bombers attack numerous ground targets in and around the battle area. 397th Medium Bombardment Group B-26s attacking a marshalling yard at Corbiel score direct hits on an ammunition train, which in turn destroys three other military-supply trains and flattens neighboring war-goods factories.

In an exceptionally busy day, IX Troop Carrier Command C-47s mount at least 125 transportation and evacuation sorties.

XIX TAC fighter pilots down 12 GAF fighters over France between 0825 and 2015 hours.

Operating in support of the DRAGOON preinvasion plan, nearly 500 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s, escorted by more than 180 fighters, attack a variety of German Army gun positions and bridges between Genoa, Italy, and Toulon; 31 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s dive-bomb Montelimar Airdrome; Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack coastal defenses around Marseille; and Twelfth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers attack six airdromes in southern France and one in northwestern Italy.

Capt Sylvan Feld, who shot down nine GAF aircraft while flying Spitfires with the 52d Fighter Group in North Africa and the Mediterranean, is himself shot down by flak near Argentan. (Feld survives and is taken prisoner, but he will be wounded by U.S. bombs on August 20 and will die of his injuries on August 21.)

During the night of August 13–14, IX Bomber Command B-26s attack an ammunition dump and troop bivouac.

ITALY: XII TAC A-20s attack ordnance dumps in the Arno River valley, targets of opportunity in the Po River valley, and a fuel dump in the northern Italy battle area.

YUGOSLAVIA: Twenty-eight Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack targets around Pec.

BASE CHANGES
132 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXE) moves to B.11 Longues
137 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.6 Coulombs
268 Sqn (Mustang IA/Typhoon IB) moves to B.4 Beny-sur-Mer
441 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.19 Lingevres
453 Sqn RAAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.19 Lingevres

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
19 Sqn SAAF (Biferno - Beaufighter X/XI) flies its first OM of the war

14-8-44
300 (Polish) Sqn (Faldingworth – Lancaster I/III)
Morning working parades were carried out and daily inspections of aircraft were completed. Operations were ordered and 12 crews were allotted for the daylight op. Briefing was carried out at 11.00 hours, the target being German positions in the FALAISE area, 22 miles, south, southeast of CAEN. The take off was set for 15.28 and all, the allotted crews took off on time. The weather along the route and over the target was very good and crews reported very little opposition and no enemy fighters were seen. Crews reported good bombing and brought back good photographs. One aircraft failed to return from the operation.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster I DV278 BH-A. Crew: F/L L Rebinski PAF KIA, Sgt S Bujnowsi PAF KIA, F/S Z Migazewski PAF KIA, F/L H Trawinski PAF KIA, Sgt F Wojtulewicz PAF KIA, P/O S Czabanski PAF KIA, Sgt S Grabowski PAF KIA. T/o 1331 Faldingworth. Hit by flak and crashed at Pont d’Oully, a small village roughly 15 km WSW of Caen. All lie in the Polish Cemetery at Grainville Langannerie.

BOMBER COMMAND
NORMANDY BATTLE AREA
805 aircraft – 411 Lancasters, 352 Halifaxes, 42 Mosquitoes – to attack 7 German troop positions facing the 3rd Canadian Division, which was advancing on Falaise. 2 Lancasters lost.

A careful plan was prepared with Oboe and visual marking, and with a Master Bomber and a deputy at each of the 7 targets. Most of the bombing was accurate and effective but, about half-way through the raids, some aircraft started to bomb a large quarry in which parts of the 12th Canadian Field Regiment were positioned. This mistake may have been caused by the yellow identification flares which were ignited by the Canadians. It was unfortunate that the target indicators being used by the Pathfinders were also yellow. Bomber Command crews claimed that the Canadians used the yellow flares before any bombs fell in the quarry; the history of the Canadian units says the bombs fell first. The Master Bombers tried hard to stop further crews bombing in the wrong area but approximately 70 aircraft bombed the quarry and other nearby Allied positions over a 70-minute period. The Canadians took shelter in their slit trenches and most emerged unscathed though shaken, but 13 men were killed and 53 were injured and a large number of vehicles and guns were hit.

This was believed to have been the first occasion on which Bomber Command aircraft had hit friendly troops during the Battle of Normandy. The Canadian artillery regiment was machine-gunned by R.A.F. Spitfires and U.S.A.A.F. Mustangs the following day!

BREST
155 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitoes of 5 Group made two separate attacks on ships in Brest harbour. The Clémenceau and the cruiser Gueydon were both hit and were believed left sinking in ‘safe’ positions which would not hinder Allied use of the port when American troops took possession. The Allied forces were anxious to capture a good port to which supplies and reinforcements for the land battle could be brought in directly from the United States. 2 Lancasters were lost.

1 Wellington flew an R.C.M. sortie.

Total effort for the day: 965 sorties, 4 aircraft (04 percent) lost.

________________________________________

14/15 August 1944
MINOR OPERATIONS
32 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 2 to Sterkrade oil plant and 2 to St-Trond airfield, 1 R.C.M. sortie, 8 Halifaxes and 6 Lancasters minelaying off Biscay ports, 4 aircraft on Resistance operations, 7 O.T.U. sorties. No losses. 2 2nd TAF
By night Operation Tractable' commenced in similar style to "Totalize', but with the tanks advancing on a wide, rather than a narrow front. Again the attack commenced well, but once more it was to be held short of Falaise by 16th, and not until later in that day did Canadian 2nd Division finally enter that town following fierce fighting. The failure of these two well- conceived offensives was considered to have been caused mainly by the lack of night training of the troops involved, which had led to considerable confusion and delays. As ever though, the skill, professionalism and determination of the German soldiers, and the effectiveness of their formidable anti-tank guns and rapid-firing machine guns had much to do with it.

The day was again a fairly expensive one for 2nd TAF. 121 Wing's Typhoons suffered three losses, Flt Lt C.W.C.Henman of 175 Squadron becoming a prisoner, while Flg Off P.S.G.Moran from this unit was believed to have been executed immediately after being shot down near Bernay -possibly an indication of the mounting desperation which the German forces were beginning to suffer. Henman had narrowly escaped the same fate. 174 Squadron's Flt Lt F.A.Grantham survived a bale-out near Sentilly, and was seen to run to a hedge, only to be killed by shellfire two days later as he endeavoured to cross back into Allied territory. He had just been selected to fill the post of commanding officer with 245 Squadron, left void by Sqn Ldr Collins' recent loss.

In 84 Group's 123 Wing Flt Lt A.E.Napier was killed west of Falaise by Flak, while Plt Off R.D.Grant of 609 Squadron was brought down in the same area, where he was captured. It has been suggested that his Typhoon may have been shot down by a fighter, but no Luftwaffe claims for such an aircraft appear to have been made.

Amongst the Spitfire units, 340 and 341 Squadrons of 145 Wing lost three aircraft. Sgt Chef M.Cermalacce became a POW, but Sous Lt A.Gaudon escaped after being captured, while Sous Lt H.F.V.Y.LePage evaded, both these pilots returning later. Two 331 Squadron aircraft were also hit; Lt K.L'Abbe-Lund was killed in one, while Sgt M.E.F.Macey of 127 Squadron was captured near Falaise. 302 and 412 Squadrons each lost one aircraft, but the pilots survived unharmed.

Whilst 2nd TAF fighters had not been involved in aerial combat during the day, the same cannot be said regarding either the US units or those of ADGB. American pilots claimed 16 Fw 190s and a single Bf 109 over France, while ADGB sent out three 'Rodeo' formations, each of 12 Spitfires, and one of six Mustang IIIs during the afternoon. The third of these went off at 1548 hours, led by Sqn Ldr J.A.Plagis, DFC & Bar, a Malta veteran. He and his 126 Squadron pilots encountered German fighters south of Melun whilst sweeping the Evreux-Melun-Paris area, and without loss claimed three Bf 109s and two Fw 190s shot down, adding one probable and two damaged Messerschmitts. Johnnie Plagis claimed one of each and one damaged, with Flg Off Johannes Flinterman (a Dutch pilot) also claiming one of each, and Plt Off Ted Riseley two Bf 109s.

They were followed by the six Mustangs which were from 306 Squadron-so recently a part of 2nd TAF, and now released for the afternoon from their V-1 hunting activities - the pilots of these claiming three more Bf 109s and a single Fw 190 north-west of Chalons. Sqn Ldr Bohdan Arct and Wt Off Feruga each claimed a Bf 109, while Flt Lt Toni Cholajda claimed one of each; again no loss was inflicted on the Polish unit.

Total II. Jagdkorps losses recorded for this day amounted to ten Fw 190s and six Bf 109s. II and III./JG 11 and III./JG 1 were certainly amongst the units engaged by 126 Squadron, II/JG 11 being attacked as the unit was attempting to land in France on arrival from Germany. Although the British unit suffered no loss, five Spitfires were claimed at around 1650, Lt Hermann Wolf claiming one of these as his 54th victory before being shot down and wounded himself, while Lt Kurt Ebener claimed one as his 53rd and Ofw Ernst Richter one for his 17th. Two claims were also made by III./JG 1 pilots over Ballancourt airfield. Apart from Wolf, 8./JG 11 lost one other Messerschmitt, and Hptm Karl Leonhardt, Kommandeur of II. Gruppe, was also shot down.

Once again 2nd TAF Mustangs were attacked by US Ninth Air Force fighters, 122 Squadron recording an attempted assault by P-47s which fortunately was avoided. 124 Wing was now reinforced when 137 Squadron, the last Typhoon unit in ADGB, moved to France during the day to join the Tactical Air Force. 126 Wing recorded that since D-Day its Spitfire pilots had claimed 99 aircraft shot down, three probables and 39 damaged. Indicating how much the French-based 83 Group Spitfire units were now involved in dive-bombing and strafing activities, they had also claimed 467 MT vehicles in flames, 87 smoking and 521 damaged, together with several trains attacked and 25 tanks plus more than 50 other armoured vehicles damaged.

Flt Lt Parker of 184 Squadron who had baled out a week earlier, at the height of the battle for Mortain, returned after surviving American shelling of the hills near Vire where he was hiding. He reported having seen a German tank marked with 'red crosses. This was a growing phenomenon that would force the ground-attack pilots to make difficult decisions, as it seems apparent from the number and nature of the vehicles seen, that the symbol was being abused. Many reports of such vehicles were made on 12/13 August, causing the Supreme Commander to state that despite clear evidence of misuse, no attacks were to be made on vehicles so marked. This, however, did not preclude self-defence if fired on...

The arrival of Spitfires at B.19 the previous day had not gone unnoticed, and three anti- personnel bombs were dropped on 453 Squadron's domestic site, killing Wt Off M.J. Watson and wounding four others.

As night fell Luftwaffe bombers appeared again, the first interception being made by Flg Offs F.K.Collins/P.S.Lee of 409 Squadron, who claimed a Ju 88 south of Caen at 2220. They were followed by Sqn Ldr J.D.Somerville/Flg Off G.D.Robinson from 410 Squadron who were successful in despatching another Ju 88 to the west of Le Havre at 2325. Twenty-five minutes after midnight, 14th/15th, Flt Lt J.A.S.Hall/Flg Off J.P.Cairns of 488 Squadron claimed a third Ju 88, again south of Caen.

USAAF
BELGIUM: Thirty-three 1st Bombardment Division B-17s that are unable to attack assigned targets in Germany divert to attack Chievres and Florennes/Juzaine Airdromes.

ENGLAND: The 2d Bombardment Division’s 95th Combat Bombardment Wing headquarters is disbanded. The 489th Heavy Bombardment Group is reassigned to the 20th Combat Bombardment Wing, and the 491st Heavy Bombardment Group is reassigned to the 14th Combat Bombardment Wing.

FRANCE: Seventy-two 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack Metz/Frascati Airdrome; a total of 354 2d Bombardment Division B-24s, escorted by 92 VIII Fighter Command fighters, attack three airdromes, two bridges, and a rail junction; and 76 3d Bombardment Division B-24s, escorted by 40 fighters, attack two rail junctions.

One hundred thirty-six VIII Fighter Command P-38 and P-47 fighter-bombers attack transportation targets in the Paris area. Three fighter-bombers are lost with their pilots.

IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack rail bridges and sidings along German Army lines of retreat, and IX and XIX TAC fighters and fighter-bombers aggressively support rapid advances by Allied ground forces seeking to encircle a large part of the German Army in France.

Eighth and Ninth air force fighter pilots down 16 GAF fighters over France between 0700 and 1645 hours. Maj Joseph H. Griffin, the commanding officer of the 367th Fighter Group’s 392d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two FW-190s over Evreux at 1450 hours. (Griffin’s first three victories were scored while he was flying P-40s in China.)

The Ninth Air Force’s 358th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground A-28, at Pontorson; and the Ninth Air Force’s 36th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground A-2, at Criqueville.

Now within 24 hours of the invasion of southern France, the Twelfth and Fifteenth air forces place the full weight of their attacks upon tactical targets in the beachhead area, chiefly coastal defenses, airfields, and radar stations. During the day, 144 57th Medium Bombardment Wing B-25s and 100 42d Medium Bombardment Wing B-26s demolish nine German Army artillery sites between Toulon and Nice, and 47th Light Bombardment Group A-20s attack three airfields. The XII TAC’s six P-47 groups, all temporarily based in Corsica, attack radar installations in the Marseille area and a wide variety of tactical positions within the invasion area itself. Also, a total of 306 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack 36 German Army gun positions between Genoa, Italy, and Toulon, putting 14 of the batteries out of action; and 145 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s and P-51s strafe radar installations along the invasion coast.

Beginning this day, USAAF pilots and crewman are forbidden to strafe human beings on the ground within the borders of France.

During the night of August 14–15, XII TAC A-20s attack three airdromes in southern France and targets of opportunity in the Rhone River valley.

GERMANY: Two hundred fifty 1st Bombardment Division B-17s and 330 3d Bombardment Division B-17s, escorted by 258 VIII Fighter Command fighters, attack aircraft-engine factories, synthetic-oil factories, and two airdromes at Ludwigshafen, Mannheim, Stuttgart, and several other locations. One fighter is lost with its pilot.

ITALY: A total of 205 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack German Army coastal gun positions around Genoa and Savona.

BASE CHANGES
2 Sqn (Mustang II) moves to B.4 Beny-sur-Mer
6 Sqn (Hurricane IV) moves to Torre Canne
168 Sqn (Mustang I) moves to B.21 Ste-Honour-de-Ducy
340 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Tangmere
430 Sqn RCAF (Mustang I) moves to B.21 Ste-Honour-de-Ducy

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
154 Sqn (Calenzena) flies its first OM in the Spitfire VIII

15-8-44
97Sqn (Coningsby – Lancaster I/III)
Operation today was against German night fighter aerodromes in Holland and Belgium, 13 A/C being detailed. This Squadron's target was an aerodrome at DEELEN. The target was clearly identified visually. The bombing was very good and runways, aircraft and buildings were very well hit. At 12.09 hrs. 'J' captained by P/O Lindsay, R.A.A.F., called up to say he had two engines u/s and later ditched about 30 miles from the Dutch coast. Within about two hours, however he and his entire crew had been picked up by a high speed launch, otherwise all of our aircraft returned safely. No night flying.

BOMBER COMMAND
LUFTWAFFE NIGHT-FIGHTER AIRFIELDS
1,004 aircraft – 599 Lancasters, 385 Halifaxes, 19 Mosquitoes, 1 Lightning – attacked 9 airfields in Holland and Belgium in preparation for a renewed night offensive against Germany. Visibility was perfect and all raids were considered successful. 3 Lancasters lost.
1 Wellington flew an R.C.M. sortie.
The invasion of Southern France started in the early hours of this day. The landings were only lightly opposed and the Allied troops advanced rapidly. The Allied breakout from Normandy was also taking place at this time.

________________________________________

15/16 August 1944
MINOR OPERATIONS
32 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 8 to Venlo airfield and 9 to various Ruhr targets, 1 R.C.M. sortie, 7 Mosquito patrols, 6 Halifaxes minelaying off La Pallice. No aircraft lost. 2 2nd TAF
During the night a fleet of transport aircraft dropped paratroops behind the coastline in the South of France, and at 0800 US and French troops from the Mediterranean poured ashore there, as Operation 'Dragoon' commenced. Covered by strong RAF, USAAF and Armee de l'Air elements, supported by both US and British aircraft carriers, this further invasion proved to be almost superfluous, the Germans able to offer little more than a token resistance following the withdrawal of most of the effective units to the Normandy area.

In the latter area it was the turn of 2nd TAF fighters to engage II. Jagdkorps again on 15th. At 0745 Mustangs of 19 Squadron set off on an armed reconnaissance over the Bernay-Louvierts-Dreux area, where 80-100 German fighters were seen. The Squadron climbed and then dived onto the enemy formation, but 70 more were then seen and a tactical withdrawal was made. By this time Sqn Ldr Bill Loud had claimed one Bf 109 shot down, with one more and three Fw 190s claimed damaged. 122 Squadron's Mustangs had followed at 0840 to sweep the Chartres-Paris area, and over Dreux ten Messerschmitts and 12-15 Focke-Wulfs were reported, Wt Off C.Castleton claiming one of the former shot down, while one of each type claimed damaged. Flt Lt J.R.Falconer-Taylor's Mustang was hit by Flak near Houçon, and he force-landed in German-held territory.

During the morning however, a 609 Squadron Typhoon was shot down ten miles south of Falaise, apparently by an enemy fighter, and Wt Off F.L.Taylor was killed. Spitfires of 132 and 602 Squadrons were also lost, Wt Off R.C.Harden's aircraft from the former unit last being seen near Falaise, streaming glycol.

At 1144 19 Squadron was off again, Flt Lt Collyns claiming one of three Bf 109s met north of Dreux as probably destroyed at 1240. 122 Squadron was also in the air once more around this time, Flg Off S.K.Walker being shot down and killed in the Dreux area by Lt Alfred Heckmann of I./JG 26 at 1228. Soon after 1300 another 602 Squadron Spitfire was lost, Lt D.D.Thomas, SAAF, being shot down by a yellow-nosed P-51 of the US Eighth Air Force. He was seen down safely south of St Pierre, near Falaise, and made his way back, despite having been shot in the knee whilst avoiding capture. During the rest of the afternoon three Typhoons were shot down by Flak, with Flg Off W.H.Morrison of 438 Squadron killed and Flt Lt W.A.Switzer of 193 Squadron becoming a POW, while another 132 Squadron Spitfire also went down to Flak, with Flg Off J.S.Prentice captured.

In 441 Squadron the Commanding Officer, Sqn Ldr Tommy Brannagan, was shot down south-west of Vimoutiers, crash-landing behind German lines to become a POW. His place was taken by Sqn Ldr R.H.Walker, while 609 Squadron also welcomed a new Commanding Officer in the person of Sqn Ldr R.A.'Cheval' Lallemant, DFC, who had served with the unit during 1943. He was the second Belgian to command this famous squadron, which had maintained a strong Belgian presence in its ranks since 1941.

During the day, Flt Lt E.J.Lischke of 4 Squadron had been intercepted by nine Bf 109s near Rheims when flying at 26,500 feet on a photo reconnaissance. He was pursued by six of these as far as Noyons, where he managed to evade them by outclimbing them, but was nonetheless forced to abandon his sortie.

USAAF
BELGIUM: Fifty-nine 3d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Florennes/Juzaine Airdrome. One B-24 is lost.

Thirty-three VIII Fighter Command P-47 fighter-bombers attack rail targets at Braine-le-Comte. One P-47 is lost with its pilot.

FRANCE: Operation DRAGOON, the invasion of southern France, begins with an airborne drop of 5,100 British and American paratroopers from 396 Provisional Troop Carrier Division C-47s between 0423 and 0514 hours. Then, from 0550 hours onward, Allied fighters arrive over the beach to strafe targets of opportunity and protect scores of small formations of fighters and medium and heavy bombers dispatched against specific targets. At 0800 hours, by which time destruction of preliminary objectives has been undertaken by air and naval forces and the capture of preliminary objectives on the ground has been achieved by American and British paratroopers as a means to isolate the DRAGOON invasion area, three U.S. Army divisions of the U.S. Seventh Army land from the sea between Toulon and Nice. Finally, beginning at 0814 hours and ending at 1907 hours, three separate waves of towed gliders deliver 9,000 Allied airborne soldiers to the beachhead area along with 213 artillery pieces, 221 light vehicles (mostly jeeps), nearly 760,000 rounds of ammunition, nearly 1,300 gallons of gasoline, about 57,000 pounds of rations, and nearly 750,000 pounds of assorted other goods and supplies.

The DRAGOON airborne operation is virtually flawless, the best of the war. In 1,394 aircraft and glider sorties on D day, eleven troop carrier groups—four from the Twelfth Air Force and eight on loan from the Ninth Air Force—experience only two aborts due to mechanical failures, the premature release of only two paratroop loads and nine gliders, and missed drop zones by only 36 planeloads of paratroopers. In 746 glider landings, pilot losses are an extremely low eleven killed, four missing, and sixteen injured.

Twelfth Air Force medium bombers provide general support for the invasion by attacking coastal defenses, troop positions, artillery batteries, lines of communication, and numerous other targets throughout the invasion area. During the course of the day, from 0445 hours until 1618 hours, 42d Medium Bombardment Wing B-26s alone conduct 353 sorties, first against beach- defense positions and later against road and rail bridges west of Toulon. Also, XII TAC A-20s attack a German Army barracks in the invasion area, and Twelfth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers patrol the invasion area and attack a broad range of ground targets.

While the Twelfth Air Force fighters and bombers see to close-in air support and interdiction, fighters of the Fifteenth Air Force’s 306th Fighter Wing that are temporarily based in Sardinia support the DRAGOON landings at the beachhead and with farther-ranging attacks on German lines of supply in the Toulon area. Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s also take part in a variety of tactical-type missions aimed at cutting the German lines of supply and communication.

In northern France, more than 330 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack coastal defenses at St.-Malo, rail bridges, a marshalling yard, fuel and ammunition dumps; and Ninth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers provide direct support for U.S. Army divisions in the battle area.

XIX TAC fighters down 13 GAF fighters over France between 0735 and 1645 hours.

The Ninth Air Force’s 365th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground A-12, at Lignerolles; and the Ninth Air Force’s 370th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground A-19, at La Vielle.

During the night of August 15–16, XII TAC A-20s attack motor vehicles and light sources in the Rhone River valley north of the DRAGOON beachhead area.

GERMANY: Two hundred eleven 1st Bombardment Division B-17s and 312 2d Bombardment Division B-24s, escorted by a total of 175 VIII Fighter Command fighters, attack eight airdromes. Thirteen heavy bombers and five fighters are lost. Also, 184 3d Bombardment Division B-17s, escorted by 118 VIII Fighter Command P-51s, attack two airdromes.

VIII Fighter Command fighter pilots down ten GAF fighters over Germany between 0945 and 1245 hours.

NETHERLANDS: One hundred four 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack Venlo Airdrome. Two B-17s are lost.

P-38 pilots of the 479th Fighter Group’s 434th Fighter Squadron down three Bf-109s over Steenwijk Airdrome at 1315 hours.

BASE CHANGES
256 Sqn (Mosquito NFXII/NFXVIII) moves to Alghero
400 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire PRXI) moves to B.21 Ste-Honour-de-Ducy
414 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.21 Ste-Honour-de-Ducy


FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
21 Sqn SAAF (Pescara) flies its first OMs in the Marauder II & III
30 Sqn SAAF (Pescara) flies its first OM in the Marauder III
408 Sqn RCAF (Linton-on-Ouse) flies its last OM in the Lancaster II

16-8-44
405 Sqn RCAF (Gransden Lodge – Lancaster III)
OPERATIONS:- KIEL 12 Aircraft Detailed (One Missing)
Eleven aircraft successful. ‘A’ dropping 33 T.I. Green, 144 Hooded flares, 4 T.I. red 250 1b., 12 T.I. Red 1,000 lb., 8 x 4,000 H.C. Minol, 6 x 1,000 ANM 65, 8 x 2,000 H.C., between 0000.12 hours and 0020.31 hours from 16,500 and 18,700 feet. Weather 3 to 7/10 thin stratus cloud in layers 8 to 10,000 and 17 to 18,000 feet, quite hazy with poor visibility. No ground detailseen except one aircraft who saw Kiel Canal. No wanganui flares were dropped by 105 Squadron. Six of the early aircraft and one of the later bombed on G.P.I. At 0007:06 hours And 0008:48 hours, two aircraft bombed T.I. green on Master Bomber's instructions, and two at 0012:30 hours and 0020:32 hours, bombed T.I. reds. The first greens were reported at 0002:24 and at 0004 hours. Greens were reported in a semi-circle of one mile with one red T.I which checked fairly well with H.2.S. as at the Aiming Point. Some greens were reported at 0009 hours, several miles to Southwest and of the last aircraft on target, 405/E at 0020:31 hours with good H.2.S. check, reports fires 5 to 10 miles in area 1½ miles West of the AP and undershooting. The Master Bomber was heard at 0007:06 and 0008:48 hours giving orders to bomb green, and at 0012:30 hours, to bomb reds further South. Only 3 aircraft bombed on Master Bomber's instructions. One Visual Marker brought back all his T.I.. The other Visual Marker is missing. One Visual Centrer dropped his T.I. on Master Bomber's instructions on the green T.I. The other Visual Centror, 405/E was late arriving and dropped on one T.I. red left burning. Defences, intense predicted on too early arrivals, moderate heavy flak later. Aircraft 405/D, missing, carried 7 T.I. green 2501b. 4 T.I. red 1,000 lb. and 3 x 1,000 ANM 65. Eleven of our aircraft returned to base.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster III PB239 LQ-D. Crew: F/O CH Fisher DFC RCAF KIA, Sgt EH Jolly KIA, F/L JS Bruce KIA, F/O KD Kemp RCAF KIA, WO1 FD Billingsley RCAF KIA, F/O KA Norcheimer RCAF KIA, F/S JWCarter KIA. T/o 2115 Gransden Lodge. Crashed in the sea off the W coast of Denmark. F/O Fisher, a veteran of 53 sorties, and WO1 Billingsley lie in the Kiel War Cemetery; three are buried in Danish cemeteries, while F/L Bruce, from Sour Lake, Texas, and F/S Carter are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

BOMBER COMMAND
La Pallice
25 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of 5 Group to attack the U-boat pens found the target was cloud-covered and only 3 aircraft bombed. 1 Wellington R.C.M. sortie was flown. No aircraft lost.

16/17 August 1944
STETTIN
461 Lancasters to attack the port and industrial areas. 5 Lancasters lost.

Bomber Command claimed an accurate attack, with much damage in the port and factory area. A German report states that 1,508 houses and 29 industrial premises were destroyed and 1,000 houses and 26 industrial premises badly damaged. 5 ships in the harbour (totalling 5,000 tons) were sunk and 8 ships (15,000 tons) were seriously damaged. 1,150 people were killed and 1,654 were injured; 33 of the dead and 72 of the injured were German soldiers.

KIEL
348 aircraft – 195 Lancasters, 144 Halifaxes, 9 Mosquitoes. 3 Halifaxes and 2 Lancasters lost.

This raid was only partially successful. The local report shows that serious damage was caused to the docks area and to many of the local shipbuilding firms, but it also stated that a large number of bombs fell outside the town, particularly in the Suchsdorf area to the north-west. 6 people were killed and 33 injured.

SUPPORT AND MINOR OPERATIONS
145 aircraft from training units on diversionary sweep over the North Sea, 23 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 5 to Deelen airfield and 3 each to Dortmund, Kamen and Sterkrade, 33 R.C.M. sorties, 47 Mosquito patrols, 89 aircraft minelaying in the Baltic and in Kiel Bay and 4 in the River Gironde, 24 O.T.U. sorties. 6 aircraft lost – 3 Halifaxes minelaying in Kiel Bay and 2 Lancasters off Swinemünde, and 1 O.T.U. Wellington.

Total effort for the night: 1,188 sorties, 16 aircraft (1.3 percent) lost. 2 3 4 5 2nd TAF
As the armies on the ground pressed forward on all sides, the day proved to be much less costly in the air. A Spitfire of 74 Squadron was shot down by Flak during a sweep over Cambrai, Flt Lt N.G.Pye baling out safely, while at 1715 a 453 Squadron Spitfire force-landed at B.17 after being damaged by Flak, Wt Off F.F.Cowpe having been wounded. A Typhoon of 263 Squadron was also brought down by Flak near Bernay; but again the pilot, Flt Lt J.B.Purkis, evaded capture and returned.

Early in the morning Hptm Heinz Knoke, Kommandeur of III./JG 1, claimed a Spitfire shot down over Etampes for his 28th victory, while at 1706 Oblt Franz Stigler of III./JG 27 claimed another north-east of Orphin as his 28th, but no commensurate losses are recorded. Aircraft recognition by the US fighter pilots may have suffered on this date, for claims were submitted for 16 Fw 190s, while II. Jagdkorps actually lost only two of these aircraft - but 14 Bf 109s!

At 2235 Wt Offs D.J.MacDonald/L.M.Colbourne of 409 Squadron claimed a Ju 188 near Beiguy, while ten minutes later two more were claimed damaged by 488 Squadron crews. Finally, at around 2300 Plt Off O.J.McCabe/Wt Off J.F.Newman of this unit claimed a Ju 88 just to the south of Caen.

During the day 414 Squadron had flown its first Spitfire fighter-reconnaisance sorties, having completed its conversion from Mustangs.

By midnight the German 7. Armee was almost surrounded in a 'pocket' which had formed with Falaise to the north, Argentan to the south and Flers just to the east at the 'bottom' of this pocket. To the north-east, forming the 'lip' on that side, was Canadian II Corps, flanked on its right by British XII Corps around Falaise. On the other side of the River Orne, to the immediate right of XII Corps, was British XXX Corps, while in the Flers area, at the bottom of the pocket, was British VIII Corps. On their right, on the south-western side of the pocket was US VII Corps, whilst to their right, approaching Argentan, was US XV Corps, while US V Corps formed the south-eastern 'lip' of the pocket. The Canadian/Polish forces of II Corps to the north and US troops of V Corps to the south were struggling to close the gap which existed around Trun, St Lambert and Chambois in an effort to encircle the retreating Germans, while the other Corps all sought to advance into the pocket from the sides and bottom.

USAAF
FRANCE: Approximately 130 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack five rail bridges and an ammunition dump.


IX TAC fighter pilots down 16 FW-190s over France during the afternoon and early evening. Fourteen of the victims are downed in a single action near Maintenon at 1640 hours by P-51 pilots of the 354th Fighter Group’s 353d Fighter Squadron. Two 353d Fighter Squadron P-51 pilots achieve ace status: 1stLt Kenneth H. Dahlberg, when he downs three FW-190s, and 1stLt Charles W. Koenig, when he downs two FW-190s.


The Ninth Air Force’s 50th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground A-17, at Meutis.


The four B-26 groups of the 98th Combat Bombardment Wing begin to move from bases in England to bases in France.


In southern France, XII TAC A-20s and P-47s mount 1,250 direct-support sorties over the DRAGOON invasion area. Also, Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s conduct numerous attacks on rail and highway bridges throughout southern France, especially in the Rhone River valley.


MATAF C-47s, with a strong Fifteenth Air Force P-51 escort, drop supplies to Allied troops in the DRAGOON invasion area.


During the night of August 16–17, XII TAC A-20s attack motor vehicles in southern France.


GERMANY: A total of 976 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack numerous aircraft factories, oil-industry targets, and several airdromes in central Germany. Twenty-three heavy bombers are lost.


Escort for the heavy bombers is provided by 612 VIII Fighter Command fighters, of which three are lost with their pilots.


Eighth Air Force escort pilots down 33 GAF fighters, including two Me-163 rocket fighters, between 0945 and 1100 hours. Maj John L. Elder, the commanding officer of the 355th Fighter Group’s 357th Fighter Squadron, in P-51s, achieves ace status when he downs two Bf-109s near Hildesheim at 1030 hours.


Eighty-nine Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack a chemical plant at Friedrichshafen.

BASE CHANGES
4 Sqn (Spitfire PRXI) moves to B.4 Beny-sur-Mer
66 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Ford
345 Sqn (Spitfire VB) moves to Deanland

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
410 Sqn RCAF (Colerne) flies its last OM in the Mosquito NFXIII

17-8-44
403 Sqn RCAF (B.2 Bazenville – Spitfire LFIXB)
Three armed reccos today and a black day for us too, on the first one we lost F/O Weber a newcomer to the Squadron, whom we saw to bale out, and on the second we lost F/O Boyle a second tour type, an oldtimer in the Squadron <unreadable> darned good type, and also another newcomer F/O Garland, all on account of Jerry flak.

ADDENDUM – Spitfire LFIXB MK299 KH-? Pilot: F/O HV Boyle RCAF KIA. Shot down by flak while attacking MT near Trun. Buried in Castillon Cemetery.

Spitfire LFIXB ML183 KH-? Pilot: F/L MO Garland RCAF EVD. Shot down by flak while attacking MT near Trun.

Spitfire LFIXB NH232 KH-? Pilot: F/O GR Weber EVD. Shot down by flak while attacking MT near Trun. Baled out near Bernay, returned ten days later.

BOMBER COMMAND
BREST
79 Halifaxes of 4 Group were sent to bomb shipping in the port area of Brest but the target area was covered by 7–10/10ths cloud. Only 54 aircraft bombed and no results were observed. No aircraft lost.
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17/18 August 1944
DIVERSIONARY SWEEP
55 O.T.U. Wellingtons and 14 R.C.M. aircraft carried out a sweep over the North Sea without loss. This type of operation was now being flown on some nights when no major raid was being carried out, in order to draw up the German fighters and cause them to waste fuel. These sweeps were, therefore, part diversionary to confuse the German controllers but also part of the campaign against German oil supplies.

Minor Operations: 37 Mosquitoes to Mannheim and 3 each to Dortmund, Kamen and Sterk-rade, 15 R.C.M. sorties, 14 Mosquito patrols, 12 Halifaxes minelaying off Biscay coasts, 4 aircraft on Resistance operations, 2 O.T.U. leaflet sorties. No aircraft lost. 2 3 2nd TAF
The loss of fuel and ammunition dumps in the Orleans area to air attack had been a serious blow to the Germans, and now supplies could no longer reach the forces struggling to get out of the pocket. Already Feldmarschall von Kluge had ordered that all unnecessary MT be abandoned. With US First Army joining 21st Army Group in seeking to close the pocket, US Third Army was free to sweep towards the Seine from the south, and would liberate Orleans and Chartres on this date. Meanwhile US XV Corps had swung east from Argentan, slipping behind V Corps to take Dreux and head for the Seine in the Mantes-Gassicourt area.

During 16th, von Kluge ordered that one bridge over the Orne at St Croix should be employed for bringing forward supplies, whilst the other two at Putanges and le Mesnil Hermei should be used for the withdrawal of 7. Armee, covered by II. Fallschirmjäger Korps and LXXXIV. Korps.

With evening 2nd TAF reconnaissance pilots spotted large numbers of vehicles on the main roads to Chambois and Trun, south-east of Falaise. These roads ran through the Foret de Gouffern north of Argentan, but often crossed open hilly ground where they became very vulnerable to air attack. Both Allied tactical air forces now directed their major efforts into this area while daylight remained. However, due to the likelihood that forward elements of the various Allied corps would be moving into the area, 2 Group was ordered to concentrate on the Seine and Risle river crossings during the night.

II. Jagdkorps endeavoured to put a protective screen over the area during the afternoon and this enjoyed some success at first, but failed to stop the series of devastating attacks which followed. Prior to the attacks on the pocket area commencing, eight Typhoons of 183 Squadron took off at 1400 on an armed reconnaissance over the Evreux area. Intent on locating escaping German transport, they had split up into pairs when they were 'bounced' by about 50 Bf 109s of III./JG 27 between Le Neubourg and Evreux. Four of the British aircraft went down, the Luftwaffe pilots, led by Ofw Fritz Gromotka, claiming five. Flt Lt G.C.Campbell-Brown and Wt Off G.F.Humphrey were killed, Wt Off W.A.J.Carragher became a prisoner, but Flt Sgt R.Gibson survived a last-second bale-out and burns to be hidden by the French and liberated one week later.

At 1622-23, 12 Spitfires from 1 Squadron in England undertaking a 'Ramrod' to the Fécamp area, ran into II./JG 26; three Spitfires were claimed shot down, two actually being lost.

Soon after 1900 the attacks on the recently-discovered columns got fully underway. Over Vimoutiers 184 Squadron ran into 40-plus fighters. The Typhoons turned into the attack, jettisoning their rockets, but Wt Off 'Hap' Downing was seen to spin down through cloud after his aircraft had received strikes in the engine; other pilots of this unit claimed two Fw 190s damaged in return. 197 Squadron in the same area lost Flt Sgt D.J.A.W.Price, who was killed, while another pilot claimed damage to one of the attacking fighters. More Typhoons from 266 Squadron had made their attack in the Falaise area, pilots claiming four tanks destroyed, seven as 'smokers' and two MT, when a large force of Fw 190s 'bounced' them, Flt Sgt W.R.Love being shot down near Livarot, while Flt Sgt Luhnenschloss's aircraft was badly damaged. Two of the Focke-Wulfs were claimed damaged over Vimoutiers. Two more Typhoons and their pilots from 245 Squadron were also lost; Flt Lt A.E.'Ace'Miron was hit by Flak and spun in from 3,000 feet, while Lt W.A.Gale crashed to his death at Tichville, also apparently the victim of Flak.

Spitfires had swept into the area in support of the Typhoons, five pilots of 317 Squadron each claiming a Fw 190 damaged in the Lisieux area at 1920, while about ten minutes later pilots of 401 Squadron engaged 30 fighters which were attacking Typhoons, Flt Lt. R.R.Bouskill claiming one shot down while two more were claimed damaged. Meanwhile at 1910 pilots of 416 Squadron on an armed reconnaissance encountered a lone Fw 190 in the Lisieux area, which was claimed shot down by Flt Lt D.R.Cuthbertson.

Thus, during the evening engagements at least three and possibly four Typhoons had fallen victim to German fighters. At 1907 Maj Ernst Düllberg, Kommandeur of III./JG 27, had claimed one as his 36th victory, while others had been claimed at 1915 by II./JG 2 and 1920 by I./JG 2. I./JG 2 lost two Fw 190s in the Falaise/Argentan area on this date, while III./JG 2 lost two more. To these losses, Gruppen of JG 26 added five more; to the two claims for such aircraft shot down during the day by 2nd TAF Spitfires, US pilots added only two more.

During the evening as well, 403 Squadron had flown three armed reconnaissances, losing one aircraft on each occasion, all whilst attacking MT near Trun. Flg Off H.U.Boyle was killed, but Flg Offs M.L.Garland and G.R.Weber both evaded capture and returned. The only other Luftwaffe claims against Spitfires had been made at 1153, when Oblt Georg-Peter Eder of II./JG 26 reported shooting down two for his 52nd and 53rd victories.

Thirty Mitchells from 139 Wing, joined by six from 226 Squadron in 137 Wing, raided a fuel dump during the day, one of the latter unit's bombers falling to Flak over La Mailleroye. That night another 137 Wing aircraft would be lost, while one more from 226 Squadron would crash on landing.

Some idea of the mayhem which the recent attacks on 7. Armee had caused may be gained from the following extract from a 35 Wing newsletter:
"At about 1930... Frank Normoyle was flying up and down the Falaise gap, feasting his eyes on the indescribable enemy columns. Around him all kinds of Allied aircraft were diving on the columns which jammed the roads until they looked like a piece of FID fuse.

"The Tack mission was complete. The temptation to contribute something to this holocaust was more than Frank could resist. Before turning for home Frank had a good look round in order to select a target worthy of his relatively modest fire-power. After rejecting several targets as unworthy of his mettle or deserving of heavier attention, he found, in a side road, an enemy tank which the fighters and fighter-bombers seemed to have overlooked. Smacking his lips he put his Mustang into a dive and brought his sights to bear on the target. Just as his thumb was trembling on the trigger, and the tank was nicely in range, to Frank's intense chagrin, there was an immense explosion and the tank disappeared. Hardly able to believe his eyes, he held his dive until he saw ahead of him the RP Typhoon which had poached his shot, pull up out of its dive and hurtle past in the opposite direction."

USAAF
BELGIUM: In the first attack of its kind by a USAAF fighter in the ETO, the 56th Fighter Group’s deputy commander, LtCol David C. Schilling, fires six aerial rockets from his P-47 at rail cars in a rail yard at Braine-le-Comte. All six rockets hit targets, and four rail cars are left burning.

ENGLAND: All Eighth Air Force heavy bombers are grounded or forced to turn back while en route to their targets because of bad weather.

FRANCE: Three hundred ninety-seven VIII Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack communications and transportation targets throughout the region between Paris and Brussels. Seven aircraft are lost with their pilots.

An Operation APHRODITE television-guided B-17 flying bomb is successfully directed against a target at La Pallice.

More than 400 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack seven road bridges and one rail bridge, and XIX TAC fighters attack a Gestapo headquarters near Chateauroux.

During the afternoon, XIX TAC fighter pilots down three GAF aircraft over France.

The Ninth Air Force’s 406th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground A-14, at Cretteville.

Approximately 100 Twelfth Air Force B-26s attack supply and communications targets and coastal defenses in and around Toulon, and XII TAC A-20s drop ammunition to Allied forces in the invasion area.

ROMANIA: Against no Axis fighter opposition whatever, approximately 250 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack three refineries and targets of opportunity around Ploesti.

BASE CHANGES
15 Sqn SAAF (Baltimore IIIA/IV/V) moves to Falconara
274 Sqn (Tempest V) moves to Manston

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
410 Sqn RCAF (Colerne) flies its first OM in the Mosquito NF30

18-8-44
432 Sqn RCAF (East Moor – Halifax VII)
Sixteen aircraft were detailed to attack Bremen. Fifteen took off successfully and the crews report the target clearly marked. With bombs well placed they all returned safely. Aircraft captained by J. 29071 P/O Gault, J.A., swerved off the runway on take-off, took fire and presented a fireworks display that could be seen for miles. The two thousand pounder fortunately did not explode in the normal way, but rather burned causing a little damage. The crew were uninjured with the exception of R22336 Sgt. Walters, R.G., the Rear Gunner, who suffered shock to his neck. The boys in the control tower and the onlookers boat a hasty retreat knowing what havoc the big bomb could cause.

BOMBER COMMAND
L’ISLE-ADAM
158 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitoes of 5 Group attacked a German supply depot near Paris. 2 Lancasters lost.

Minor Operations: 64 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitoes to oil-storage depots at Bordeaux and Ertvelde-Rieme, near Ghent, 16 Halifaxes and 16 Lancasters to 7 small flying-bomb sites, 23 Lancasters to La Pallice U-boat pens. 2 Lancasters lost on the flying-bomb site raid.
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18/19 August 1944
BREMEN
288 aircraft – 216 Lancasters, 65 Halifaxes, 7 Mosquitoes. 1 Lancaster lost.

Visibility over the target was clear and the Pathfinders provided perfect marking throughout the raid. Bremen’s own records show this to have been the most destructive raid of the war, although only 274 aircraft attacked, dropping just over 1,100 tons of bombs. The whole of the centre and the north-western parts of Bremen, including the port area, were devastated. The 10-page report from Bremen is a more emotive and erratic document than normal, much of it describing the effect of the fierce fires (described as a firestorm), the condition of the packed bodies of victims later found in shelters (300 bodies were found in the Lesmona public shelter), the distress of the rescue workers and the sufferings of the bombed-out people. At least 1,058 bodies were recovered, of which 375 bodies could not be identified. The number of people classed as ‘missing’ far exceeded the 375 unidentified bodies.

8,635 ‘dwelling-houses’, as usual in German cities, many of them being blocks of flats, were burnt out and 611 were severely damaged. The official who compiled the report made no attempt to list the commercial and industrial buildings hit, ‘it would be endless’, he wrote, but he did stress the severe damage caused to the port area, mentioning that 18 ships were sunk in the harbour and 61 seriously damaged alongside wharves.

Special ration cards were issued to the civilian population after this raid to help restore morale – 100 grammes of real bean coffee and 2 half bottles of spirits, 250 grammes of sweets for the children.

STERKRADE
234 aircraft – 210 Halifaxes, 14 Mosquitoes, 10 Lancasters – mainly from 4 Group, to attack the synthetic oil plant. 1 Halifax and 1 Lancaster lost. Bomber Command documents state that the raid was successful and that the plant was seriously damaged.

CONNANTRE
144 aircraft – 122 Halifaxes, 18 Lancasters, 4 Mosquitoes – of 6 and 8 Groups. No aircraft lost.

The target here was a railway station and yards 70 miles east of Paris. The Pathfinder marking was accurate and much damage was caused. This raid marked the end of the long series of attacks on the French and Belgian railway systems.

ERTVELDE RIEME
108 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups attacked and caused severe damage to the oil depot and storage tanks. No aircraft lost.

SUPPORT AND MINOR OPERATIONS
139 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep to the Normandy area, 21 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 19 to five other targets, 33 R.C.M. sorties, 62 Mosquito patrols, 11 Halifaxes minelaying off Biscay ports, 5 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Mosquito lost on a raid to Harburg.

Total effort for the night: 1,069 sorties, 4 aircraft (0.4 percent) lost. 2 3 4 5 2nd TAF
On this date the gap at the mouth of the pocket closed to less than ten miles. Polish troops took Trun, while US First Army units advanced through the Foret de Gouffern towards the Trun- Chambois road. 5. Panzer Armee launched furious counter-attacks from the east in an effort to keep the escape route open.

For the first time some disagreement occurred between 2nd TAF and Ninth Air Force, following a ruling from Montgomery that 21st Army Group should operate north of a line running east-west through Argentan, and US First Army to the south of this. However, as the latter had been ordered to close the gap at Chambois, which was north of Argentan, this could have put its operations outside Ninth Air Force's area of operations. To complicate matters further, P-47s attacked Canadian troops in the Trun area by mistake.

Air Marshal Arthur Coningham requested HQ, AEAF to exclude Ninth Air Force from the airspace north of Argentan, but General Vandenberg objected strongly, as this would mean that his units were prevented from supporting their own army. An arrangement was reached whereby requests for assistance from US troops within the 2nd TAF area should still be met by Ninth Air Force fighter-bombers. Generally however, 83 Group was to attack targets south-east of Falaise, including in the Trun, Chambois and Vimoutiers area, while 84 Group covered the area Pont Audemer-Lisieux-Bernay.

Weather on 18th proved to be good apart from a little cloud during the morning, and groups of vehicles were attacked on the roads from the gap to the Seine. 83 Group also attacked craft on the river, claiming to have sunk ten barges and two steamers ferrying German troops to the east bank. In the afternoon long convoys of circa 400 vehicles were seen heading for Vimoutiers, and Allied artillery fire from the sides of the pocket now joined the attacks from the air. By 1700 the area outside Vimoutiers was a confused mass of transport, and attacks were redoubled. Burning vehicles created roadblocks and many drivers abandoned their charges, or drove them into the surrounding forest in an effort to find cover.

The area between Trun and Chambois became known to the attackers as "The Shambles' (an old English name for a slaughterhouse) and here, after the closing of the gap, investigators were later to count more than 3,000 motor vehicles and 1,000 horse-drawn carts which had either been destroyed by air attack or artillery fire, or abandoned and set on fire by the Germans themselves. Two days later AVM Broadhurst and his 83 Group SASO would inspect the area, where apart from vehicles, large numbers of men and horses lay dead, obviously killed by rocket and cannon fire. It was clear that the morale effect of these attacks had been to cause great panic, but again there proved disappointingly little evidence of specific destruction attributable to air attack, particularly of armoured vehicles. Here there had been little or no opportunity for the Wehrmacht recovery services to extricate damaged tanks and other AFVs for repair and re-use. By the end of the day 2nd TAF claims totalled:-
Vehicles Destroyed Tanks Destroyed
83 Group 1074 73
84 Group 230 37

Larger numbers were claimed to have been damaged. Although operating over a more limited area, Ninth Air Force added claims for about 400 more vehicles destroyed.

The cost had been heavy however, for 83 Group had lost 23 aircraft and 84 Group seven more. Almost every Typhoon unit suffered some loss. In 83 Group 137, 175, 181, 182, 184(two), 245(two), 247(two), 438(two) and 440 Squadrons all lost aircraft, with nine pilots killed and one captured. 84 Group's units suffering losses included 164, 183, 193, 197, 198 (two), 263 and 609 Squadrons; three of the pilots were killed. It was the greatest loss of Typhoons in combat in a single day - 17 destroyed and four badly damaged.

Amongst the Spitfire units all losses were suffered by 83 Group, the squadrons of 126 Wing losing six, with one pilot killed and one taken prisoner (Flt Lt A.F.Halcrow subsequently escaped and returned); 125 and 127 Wings each lost one aircraft. 122 Wing lost three Mustangs, two from 19 Squadron and one from 65. Of the aircraft shot down, four of the Typhoons and a similar number of Spitfires managed to crash-land or force-land. Nearly all these losses were to ground fire of one sort or another, only one Typhoon and one Mustang were believed to have been shot down by opposing aircraft.

Among the highlights of the day had been an attack by Wg Cdr Johnny Baldwin and three pilots of 197 Squadron on a tunnel near Beuzeville; it housed railway guns which had been shelling the beachhead. While Baldwin and his wingman blocked one end with 1,000 lb bombs, the other end received similar treatment from Sqn Ldr A.H.Smith and his wingman. Hit by Flak, Baldwin would lose his second 'JB' in five days when it was 'written off' on his return. 127 Wing alone reported claiming between 450-500 MT, nearly 100 of them by 416 Squadron.

The day was to see two other extraordinary operations. One of the Polish squadrons of 133 Wing, 315, now no longer a part of 2nd TAF, had, like 306 Squadron recently, been released from anti V-1 patrols to undertake a sweep over France. Taking off at 0729, Sqn Ldr E.Horbaczewski led 12 Mustangs to the Beauvais area, where they caught II./JG 26 forming up after taking off at 0830. In moments ten Fw 190s had gone down, eight pilots killed and two more wounded. The survivors returned claiming five Mustangs shot down, three of these claims subsequently being rejected by the RLM. The two claims accepted appear to have been made by Lt Hofmann, the 8. Staffel commander (his 29th) and ofw Wilhelm Mayer (his 17th). In fact only one Mustang was lost, but it was that flown by Horbaczewski, who was killed. The other Polish pilots returned claiming 16 Focke-Wulfs shot down, plus one probable and three damaged; three of those destroyed were, they claimed, shot down by their missing commander, bringing his personal total to 16.

In the evening 14 of 613 Squadron's Mosquito VIs went off to strike a school building in Egleton, south-east of Limoges, reported to be in use as another Gestapo HQ. In PZ222 flew the 2 Group commander, AVM Basil Embrey. Between 1802-1818 attacks were made from between 50 and 1,500 feet, 30 500lb bombs being released of which at least 20 gained direct hits on the target. One Mosquito, crewed by Flt Lt C.R.A.House/Flg Off S.E.Savill, failed to return, but the crew evaded capture and were able subsequently to reach Allied territory.

As night fell 2 Group was out in force, making concerted attacks on the Seine crossings where much activity was seen at Quillebeuf and Elbeuf. A ferry at La Mailleroye and pontoons at Elbeuf were destroyed, and returning pilots reported seeing over 700 vehicles, claiming to have destroyed 125 of them. 142 sorties were made by the Mosquitoes, 58 of these going out twice. It proved to be the Group's most successful night since D-Day. Nineteen Mitchells also operated, dropping flares to aid the Mosquito crews, but three of them were lost with their crews whilst undertaking these operations, one each from 98, 226 and 320 Squadrons.

Meanwhile Mosquitoes from the night fighter squadrons were continuing to take a toll of the Luftwaffe's bombers as they sought to hit back. At 2305 Sqn Ldr J.A.Hatch/Flt Lt Eames of 409 Squadron claimed a Ju 188 near Routot, while 15 minutes later this same crew claimed a Ju 88 near Autheuil. Flg Offs R.G.Jeffs/A.N.Crookes of 488 Squadron then claimed a Do 217 south of Rouen at 2343.

USAAF
BELGIUM: 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack bridges at Liege and Namur.

FRANCE: Forty-three 3d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Roye/Amy Airdrome, and ten B-24s attack targets of opportunity. Escort is provided by 96 VIII Fighter Command P-51s. Two B-24s are lost.

Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack bridges, a marshalling yard, several airdromes, fuel dumps, and an aircraft- engine factory. Three escort fighter groups attack three airdromes during the return flight.

Three hundred twenty-three VIII Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack transportation targets along the Seine River and into Belgium. Losses are 13 fighter-bombers and ten of their pilots.

Approximately 100 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack rail lines, an important road junction on the German Army line of retreat, a fuel dump, and an ammunition dump.

IX and XIX TAC fighters and fighter-bombers mount more than 1,000 sorties in support of advancing Allied ground forces, especially in the Paris-Argentan area and along the Seine River.

Eighth and Ninth air force fighter pilots down 19 GAF fighters over France during the day.

When it is learned that the battleship Strasbourg, cruiser La Gallissoniere, and a former French Navy destroyer and submarine have been moved into a position in Toulon harbor from which they can sally against the DRAGOON invasion fleet and beachhead, 36 321st Medium Bombardment Group B-25s based in Corsica are ordered to conduct an immediate attack aimed at sinking the three warships. Arriving over the ships following a dead-reckoning approach, the B-25s attack from 13,000 feet through intense flak that damages 27 of the aircraft and wounds 12 crewmen, including the group commander. Nevertheless, bombs sink the Strasbourg, the La Gallissoniere, and the submarine at their anchors.

Twelfth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers attack rail facilities and German Army defensive positions in the invasion area.

XII TAC headquarters is established ashore in the DRAGOON invasion area to oversee air operations in direct support of U.S. Seventh Army troops.

The Twelfth Air Force’s 111th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron is transferred from Corsica to an airfield in the DRAGOON beachhead.

NETHERLANDS: 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack Eindhoven Airdrome and a bridge at Maastricht.

ROMANIA: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers conduct a particularly damaging raid against five refineries around Ploesti.

When a mere 35 Axis fighters attack the heavy bombers, 31st Fighter Group P-51 pilots down nine and drive the rest away. Capt Leland P. Molland, the commanding officer of the 31st Fighter Group’s 308th Fighter Squadron, brings his final personal tally to 10.5 confirmed victories when he downs a Bf-109 near Ploesti at 1045 hours.

YUGOSLAVIA: Eighty-nine Fifteenth Air Force attack Alibunar Airdrome.

BASE CHANGES
33 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXE) moves to Selsey
72 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Ramatuelie
451 Sqn RAAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Poretta