USAAF Combat Operations 1941

USAAF Worldwide Operations Chronology
		COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES

MARCH 1945


AIRCRAFT MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT:
  A-20, Douglas Havoc
  A-26, Douglas Invader
  B-17, Boeing Flying Fortress
  B-24, Consolidated Liberator
  B-25, North American Mitchell
  B-26, Martin Marauder
  B-29, Boeing Superfortress
  Beaufighter, Bristol
  C-46, Curtiss Commando
  C-47, Douglas Skytrain
  UC-64, Noorduyn Norseman
  UC-78, Cessna Bobcat
  F-5, Lockheed Lightning
  F-6, North American Mustang
  L-1, Stinson Vigilant
  L-4, Piper Cub (Grasshopper)
  L-5, Stinson Sentinel
  Lancaster, Avro
  Me 262, Messerschmitt
  Mosquito, deHavilland
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  P-40, Curtiss
  P-47, Republic Thunderbolt
  P-51, North American Mustang
  P-61, Northrop Black Widow
  P-63, Bell Kingcobra
  P-70, Douglas
  Spitfire, Vickers Supermarine

NOTE: A number in parenthesis after a target name indicates the number of
bombers attacking.

THURSDAY, 1 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 6 B-25s and 5 P-51s pound
the S side of Ishan while 17 other P-51s hit the E and W sections of the
city; 9 P-51s attack targets of opportunity of Chinchengchiang while 4 others
hit troops and road traffic between Chinchengchiang and Hwaiyang. During Mar
45, the detachment of the 11th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st
Bombardment Group (Medium), operating from Laowhangpin with B-25s returns to
base at Yangkai; the 26th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, based at
Kunming with P-51s sends a detachment to operate from Liangshan during the
month; the 74th Fighter Squadron, 23d Fighter Group, based at Luliang with
P-51s sends a detachment to operate from Tushan until Aug 45; the 426th Night
Fighter Squadron, Fourteenth AF (attached to 312th Fighter Wing), moves from
Chengtu to Shwantliu with P-61s (a detachment is operating from Hsian); and
the 449th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, based at Chengkung with
P-38s, sends a detachment to operate from Mentsz while the detachment at
Yunnani returns to base.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): HQ 444th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy)
begins a movement from Dudhkundi, India to the Mariana Islands.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 27 P-47s support ground
forces in the Mogok area; 16 fly close support strikes near Lashio; 14 P-47s
damage the approaches of the bypass bridge at Na-lang, but leave the bridge
serviceable; about 100 fighter-bombers attack troops, supply areas,
communications targets, a ferry landing, and general targets of opportunity
along the battlefronts and immediately behind Japanese lines. Large-scale
transport operations continue.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): During Mar 45, the 62d
Troop Carrier Squadron, 314th Troop Carrier Group, moves from Saltby, England
to Poix, France.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 857: 1,228 bombers and 488 fighters are dispatched to attack
marshalling yards in C and S Germany; 3 plants suspected of manufacturing Me
262 jet engine parts could not be attack due to clouds; most attacks are made
using H2X radar; the fighters claim 12-0-8 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 P-51s are
lost:
  1. 452 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Bruchsal (115),
Reutlingen (69), Neckarsulm (85), Heilbronn (107) and Gottingen (36); 25 hit
Heidelberg, the secondary target; some visual attacks are made; 27 B-17s are
damaged. Escorting are 92 of 100 P-51s; 2 are lost (pilots MIA) and 2 damaged
beyond repair.
  2. 253 of 321 B-24s bomb the Ingolstadt marshalling yard; 62 others hit the
secondary target, Augsburg; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair. 181 of 194 P-51s
escort claiming 1-0-0 aircraft in the air; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
  3. 420 of 449 B-17s hit the marshalling yard at Ulm; 2 others hit a target
of opportunity; some attacks are visual; 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair
and 3 damaged; 16 airmen are KIA and 2 WIA. The escort is 147 of 152 P-51s;
they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 9-0-7 on the ground; 3 P-51s are
lost (pilots MIA).
  4. 6 B-24s fly a screening mission without loss.
  5. 31 of 32 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  6. 9 of 10 P-51s escort 8 F-5s on a photo reconnaissance mission over
Germany.
  Mission 858: 11 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 340+ B-26s, A-20s and
A-26s attack the ordnance depot at Giessen, communications centers at
Pulheim, Rheinbach, Rommergkirchen, and Stommeln, the rail bridge at Pracht,
a road bridge, and 8 targets of opportunity; fighters escort the bombers, fly
alerts, scheduled patrols, and armed reconnaissance, hit assigned ground
targets and support the US 3d Armored Division at the Erft River bridgehead
near Paffendorf, the 9th Armored Division between Neffelbach and Rotbach
Creeks, the XIX Corps in the Monchen-Gladbach area, the VIII Corps astride
the Prum River, the XII Corps between the Prum and Nims Rivers and along the
Kyll River, and the XX Corps in the Trier area; and in the Netherlands, the
XVI and XIII Corps in the Venlo area and along the Niers River. During Mar
45, HQ IX Fighter Command moves from Verviers, Belgium to Bruhl, Germany.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO): US Army Forces in the Middle East
(USAFIME) takes over NW Africa from MTO US Army and is redesignated the
Africa-Middle East Theater (AMET).

  AAF, MTO: "A" and "D" Flights of the 121st Liaison Squadron, AAF, MTO,
operating from Vittel, France with L-4s and L-5s, return to base at Florence,
Italy.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Austria, 630+ B-24s and
B-17s bomb the Moosbierbaum oil refinery and alternate targets and targets of
opportunity including marshalling yards at Sankt Polten, Amstetten, Villach,
Klagenfurt, Knittelfeld, Feldbach, and the marshalling yards at Jesenice and
Maribor, Yugoslavia, plus several scattered targets of opportunity; 220+
fighters provide escort; 22 P-38s bomb the Moosbierbaum refinery and Tulln
marshalling yard (afterward 12 of them strafe the Wiener-Neustadt-Gloggnitz)
rail lines); 47 other P-38s strafe rail traffic around Graz and W of Vienna.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 28
Feb/1 Mar, A-20s fly intruder missions against targets at Lecco and in the
Parma area, starting large fires and causing several explosions during a
strike on the Casarsa delta Delizia temporary railroad bridge, and hit
bridges at Nervesa delta Battaglia and Sacile; weather cancels all daytime
operations except for reconnaissance and supply runs.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): HQ VII Fighter Command is removed from control
of Seventh AF and transferred to AAFPOA and moves from Ft Kamehameha, Oahu,
Hawaii to Iwo Jima Island, Volcano Islands during Mar 45.
  In the Bonin Islands, 7 B-24s from Guam Island, Mariana Islands, bomb
Susaki Airfield on Chichi Jima Island; 1 other hits Haha Jima Island; during
the night of 1/2 Mar, 5 B-24s make separate harassment strikes on Susaki
Airfield and the town of Okimura on Haha Jima.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In Formosa, B-24s
bomb the Takao aluminum plant, Tainan Airfield and nearby satellite field
and fighters hit buildings at Keishu and storage tanks, railroad yards, and
targets of opportunity. On Luzon Island, Philippine Islands, troops on
Corregidor Island and W of Ft Stotsenburg are hit with napalm. In Borneo,
B-24s bomb Tarakan Island, Labuan Island, and Manggar Airfields. B-25s hit
Zettle Field on Jolo Island, Philippine Islands. HQ Thirteenth AF moves from
Morotai Island, Moluccas Islands to Leyte Island, Philippine Islands and HQ
XIII Fighter Command moves from Leyte to Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island,
Philippine Islands. HQ 18th Fighter Group moves from Lingayen, Luzon to San
Jose, Mindoro Island, Philippine Islands; the 531st Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 380th Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Darwin, Australia to San
Jose, Mindoro with B-24s. During Mar 45, HQ V Bomber Command and HQ V Fighter
Command moves from Mindoro to Clark Field, Luzon.

FRIDAY, 2 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 3 B-24s on sweeps over the Gulf of
Tonkin and the S China Sea claim 2 vessels sunk and 3 damaged.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 41: In the Malayan States, 50 of 64
B-29s dispatched bomb the shop and warehouse area at the naval base in
Singapore; 5 others hit alternates on Bukum Island and at Arang Hill, and at
Khao Huakhang, Thailand; they claim 0-1-4 Japanese aircraft; 2 B-29s are
lost.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 20+ P-47s fly close
support strikes in the Mogok area; 2 B-25s damage ferry slips at Li-lu while
10 others hit bridges at Tonglau, Na-lang, Mong Pawn, and Namsang; 90+
fighter-bombers attack gun positions, troops, supply areas, and highway
targets of opportunity in the general battle areas and behind enemy lines.
Transports complete 564 sorties to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 859: 1,232 bombers and 774 fighters are dispatched to hit
synthetic oil plants and a tank factory in Germany; most attacks are made
using H2X radar; they claim 110.5-9-60 Luftwaffe aircraft; 14 bombers and 13
P-51s are lost:
  1. 450 B-17s are sent to hit an oil plant at Bohlen (60), oil refinery at
Rositz (36) and gun batteries at Bohlen (36); 255 hit the secondary target,
Chemnitz; targets of opportunity are Penig (12), Saalfeld (13), Jocketa (12),
Cologne (1) and other (12); some attacks are made visually; they claim 2-0-1
aircraft; 3 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 52 damaged; 1 airman
is KIA, 4 WIA and 29 MIA. Escorting are 254 of 272 P-51s; they claim 7.5-1-4
aircraft in the air and 0-0-6 on the ground without loss.
  2. 321 B-24s are dispatched to hit the Rothensee oil plant (38) and Buckau
tank factory (257) at Magdeburg; 4 others hit a target of opportunity; some
attacks are made visually; 3 B-24s are lost and 61 damaged; 1 airman is KIA
and 28 MIA. The escort is 187 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 5-2-0 aircraft in
the air; 2 P-51s are damaged beyond repair.
  3. 455 B-17s are sent to hit the oil plant at Ruhland (24); 406 hit the
secondary, Dresden; 1 other hits a target of opportunity; they claim 6-3-10
aircraft; 8 B-17s are lost and 53 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 2 WIA and 72 MIA.
225 of 249 P-51s escort; they claim 54-3-16 aircraft in the air and 36-0-23
on the ground; 13 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
  4. 6 B-24s fly a screening mission.
  5. 25 of 28 P-51s fly a scouting mission without loss.
  6. 22 of 23 P-51s escort 14 F-5s and 4 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance
missions over Germany without loss.
  Mission 860: 11 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany
without loss and 4 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, the 9th Bombardment
Division hits 5 bridges, 2 communications centers, 3 ordnance and motor
transport depots, several city areas, and 6 targets of opportunity; the
objectives are to hinder movement of enemy troops trying to help the German
army caught in front of the US Third Army, to obstruct movement in general,
and to damage enemy repair and refitting capabilities; 1,700+ fighters escort
the bombers, hit special targets, fly armed reconnaissance and patrols, and
support the US 3d Armored Division at expanding the bridgehead on the Erft
River, the XVI and XIX Corps in the Sevelen, Monchen-Gladbach, and the Neuss
area, and the VIII, XII, and XX Corps E of the Prum River, astride the Kyll
River, and in the Trier-Saarburg area.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Austria, 470 B-24s and
B-17s, with fighters flying escort, bomb marshalling yards at Linz, Sankt
Polten, Amstetten, Graz, and Knittelfeld, and Brescia, Italy; 31 P-51s on a
strafing mission attack rail and river communications from Linz to
Regensburg, Germany, while 18 others fly top cover; F-5s fly reconnaissance
missions. During the night of 1/2 Mar, B-24s drop supplies in N Italy and C
Yugoslavia.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, weather again grounds
the medium bombers; fighter-bombers and fighters hit communications,
ammunition and stores dumps, 2 sugar refineries, guns, vehicles, and
buildings S of Bologna and in the Po Valley, and the airfield at Aviano and
Lonate Pozzolo.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 7 Guam Island-based B-24s make a daylight raid on the
airfield on Chichi Jima Island and 5 more bomb the same airfield and the town
of Okimura on Haha Jima Island during the night of 2/3 Mar.
    VII Fighter Command: The 78th Fighter Squadron, 15th Fighter Group,
arrives on Iwo Jima Island from Hawaii with P-51s (first mission is 10 Mar).

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, B-24s,
B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers hit Matsuyama, Toyohara, Kagi, and Kato
Airfields. In Borneo, other B-24s pound Sepinggang and Manggar Airfields and
the waterfront area of Sandakan. The 394th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 5th
Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Morotai Island to Samar Island,
Philippine Islands with B-24s. The detachment of the 432d Fighter Squadron,
475th Fighter Group, operating from San Jose, Mindoro Island with P-38s,
returns to base at Clark Field, Luzon Island.

SATURDAY, 3 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 4 B-24s over the Gulf of Tonkin and
the S China Sea attack shipping targets of opportunity, claiming 1 vessel
sunk and 3 damaged. In French Indochina, 3 B-25s hit Kep, damaging several
locomotives and boxcars and hit a bridge and 12 P-51s hit targets of
opportunity between Vinh and Nam Dinh (2 direct hits are scored on the bridge
at Minh Koi) while 2 others blast a HQ building in Hanoi.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 24 P-38s and P-47s support
forces of the Chinese 50th Division near Mansam; 16 support the British 36
Division in the Mogok area; 10 P-47s knock out the Na-lang bridge while 2
B-25s drop delay-action bombs in good pattern around the Loi-leng bridge; 10
B-25s join 80+ fighter-bombers in an attack on troops, supplies, tanks,
trucks, gun positions, and transport elephants behind enemy lines, 29 of
the fighter-bombers concentrate on the Kankang area. 643 air supply sorties
are completed.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 861: 1,102 bombers and 743 fighters are dispatched to bomb oil
refineries, oil plant equipment works, motor transport factory, tank plant,
and rail bridge in NC and E Germany; they claim 25-2-37 Luftwaffe aircraft;
9 bombers and 8 P-51s are lost:
  1. 114 B-17s are sent to hit the oil refinery at Misburg (23); 82 hit the
secondary target, the Hanomag tank factory at Hannover; and 2 hit Lemford, a
target of opportunity; bombing is by H2X radar; 11 B-17s are damaged; 9
airmen are KIA and 5 WIA. Escorting are 44 of 46 P-51s; they claim 0-0-1
aircraft in the air; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
  2. 222 B-17s are sent to bomb the oil plant at Ruhland (24) and bomb
visually; 166 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Chemnitz
using H2X; targets of opportunity are Plauen (11) and other (16); 2 B-17s are
damaged beyond repair and 63 damaged. 193 of 214 P-51s escort claiming 3-0-0
aircraft in the air and 10-0-23 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
  3. 94 B-24s are dispatched to hit the Nienburg Bridge (41); 48 hit the
secondary target, the marshalling yard at Bielefeld and 1 hits a target of
opportunity; attacks are visual; 3 B-24s are damaged. The escort is 19 of 21
P-51s without loss.
  4. All 219 B-24s dispatched hit the Rothensee oil refinery at Magdeburg
visually; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 4 B-24s are lost and 77 damaged; 3
airmen are WIA and 39 MIA. The escort is 129 of 144 P-51s; they claim 0-0-2
aircraft in the air; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
  5. The primary targets for 453 B-17s are the Wilke (53) and Brussing (77)
oil plants and the MIAG munitions plant (61) at Brunswick and oil refineries
at Dollbergen (37), Dedenhausen (53) and Nienhagen (56); 38 hit the
secondary, Hildesheim (38); targets of opportunity are the marshalling yard
at Bielefeld (36), Herford (23) and other (2); most attacks are visual; they
claim 1-2-4 aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost and 53 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 41
MIA. Escorting are 169 of 180 P-51s; they claim 0-0-4 aircraft in the air and
9-0-2 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond
repair.
  6. 100 of 107 P-51s fly a fighter sweep in the Leipzig-Magdeburg area; they
claim 1-0-3 aircraft in the air; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
  7. 30 of 31 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  Mission 862: 18 of 24 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Emden using PFF.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, the 9th Bombardment
Division hits Wiesbaden, Giessen, Bergisch Born, and Nahbollenbach ordnance
and storage depots, rail bridges at Remagen and Simmern, a communications
center at Heimersheim, motor transport concentration at Schwelm, the
Rheinbach ammunition dump, Kirn marshalling yard and town, and several
targets of opportunity; fighters fly bomber escort, hit special targets, fly
patrols and armed reconnaissance, and support the US 9th Infantry Division,
3d Armored Division, and VII Corps astride the Erft River W of Euskirchen and
the area near Roggendorf W of the Rhine River, the XIII, XVI, and XIX Corps E
of Sevelen, NE of Krefeld, and W of the Rhine in the Dusseldorf area, and the
VIII, XII, and XX Corps in the area between the Prum and Kyll Rivers and
along the Mosel River in the Trier area.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Rapidly deteriorating weather
cancels bombing operations. In Austria, P-51s strafe rail traffic between
Leibnitz and SW of Spittal an der Drau and attack the airfield S of Graz;
P-38s fly reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort. 1 B-24, of 6 dispatched,
drops supplies in N Yugoslavia. HQ 31st Fighter Group and the 307th and 308th
Fighter Squadrons move from San Severo to Mondolfo, Italy with P-51s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, overcast skies and
turbulent winds hamper medium bomber missions against communications in the
Brenner area, allowing only limited success against targets; the Crema and
Fidenza Bridges in the Po Valley are damaged; XXII Tactical Air Command
fighter-bombers, destroy a sugar refinery at Verona and achieve good results
against communications and dumps in the C Po Valley and Brenner area; other
fighters and fighter-bombers support the US Fifth Army S of Bologna; A-20s
during the night of 2/3 Mar, hit roads, ammunition supplies, and vehicles at
several points in the Po Valley, particularly in the Bologna-Modena regions,
and bomb the Legnano marshalling yard.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 10 B-24s from Guam Island pound Susaki Airfield
on Chichi Jima Island in an afternoon strike, and 4 more, flying individual
strikes, hit the same target during the night of 3/4 Mar. The 467th and 468th
Fighter Squadrons, 508th Fighter Group, move from Kahuku to Mokuleai, Hawaii
with P-47s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In Formosa, B-24s
pound the Tainan area and Kiirun while fighters hit numerous targets of
opportunity and fighter-bombers bomb Koshun Airfield. B-25s bomb San Roque
Airfield on Mindanao Island, Philippine Islands. B-24s and B-25s attack
Zettle Field on Jolo Island. Ternate on Samar Island and Echague on Luzon
Island and Caballo Island in Manila Bay are bombed by A-20s. B-25s, aborting
a strike against Formosa, bomb the airstrip at Basco on Batan Island,
Philippine Islands.

SUNDAY, 4 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 4 B-24s on a sea sweep damage a
destroyer escort in the S China Sea.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 42: In China during the night of 4/5
Mar, 11 of 12 B-29s, staging from Luliang, mine the confluence of the Hwangpoo
and Yangtze Rivers and the Tai-hsing Narrows at Shanghai and 1 B-29s drops
mines at Tungting Lake without loss.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 100 fighter-bombers attack
troop concentrations, villages, roads, tanks, trucks, animal transport, and
supplies along and immediately behind the battlelines running from the SW to
NE across C Burma; Meiktila is largely occupied by forces of the Indian 17th
Division.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 863: 1,028 bombers and 522 fighters are dispatched to bomb targets
in SW Germany; bad weather causes 300+ aborts; 1 B-24 and 1 P-51 are lost:
  1. 373 B-17s are sent to hit the jet aircraft plant at Schwabmunchen (69)
and military vehicle plant and ordnance depot at Ulm (223); 59 hit the
secondary, the marshalling yard at Ulm; targets of opportunity are Reutlingen
(12) and other (1); bombing is by Gee-H; 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair
and 9 damaged; 3 airmen are WIA. Escorting are 150 of 156 P-51s; 1 is damaged
beyond repair.
  2. 274 B-24s are dispatched but weather prevents them hitting the
primaries; targets of opportunity are Aschaffenburg (18), Tuttlingen (11),
Astadtaach (10), Pforzheim (8), the marshalling yard at Stuttgart (11), the
railroad at Sonaueschingen (10), Stuttgart (50) and other (36); bombing is by
H2X radar with some visual bombing; 1 B-24 is lost and 19 damaged; 8 airmen
are KIA. 139 P-47s and P-51s escort without loss.
  3. 376 B-17s are dispatched but weather prevents them attacking the
primaries; secondary targets hit are the marshalling yards at Ingolstadt (69)
and Ulm (75); targets of opportunity are Ausbuch (1) and other (3); H2X radar
is used for bombing; 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 7 damaged; 17
airmen are KIA. The escort is 172 of 186 P-51s; 1 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1
damaged beyond repair.
  4. 5 B-17s fly a scouting mission.
  5. 21 of 22 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  Mission 864: 1 B-17 and 11 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and
Germany during the night without loss.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, about 180 B-26s, A-20s,
and A-26s strike marshalling yards and a rail junction at Recklinghausen,
Lenkerbeck, and Herne, communications centers at Bruhl, Sechtem, and
Rheinbach, and several other targets including a rail bridge and towns;
weather limits fighter operations; a few fighters fly armed reconnaissance E
of the Rhine River and others fly cover for the XX Corps.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 630+ B-24s and B-17s, with
fighter escort, bomb marshalling yards at Sopron (2 yards) and Szombathely,
Hungary; Knittelfeld, Zeltweg, Graz, Sankt Veit an der Glan and Wiener-
Neustadt, Austria; Zagreb (2 yards) and Lbubljana, Yugoslavia; and several
scattered targets of opportunity; other B-24s, with P-51 escort, drop
supplies in Yugoslavia; F-5s, P-38s and P-51s fly reconnaissance and
reconnaissance escort operations. The 309th Fighter Squadron, 31st Fighter
Group, moves from San Severo to Mondolfo, Italy with P-51s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, good flying weather
permits a full-scale effort; medium bombers hit 7 railroad bridges on the
Brenner line and in NE Italy; the Salorno railroad fill receives a
particularly good concentration of bombs; XXII Tactical Air Command P-47s
concentrate on communications targets in the Po Valley, knocking out a span
of the Cittadella railway bridge; Brazilian P-47s blast an ammunition dump at
Villafranca di Verona; during the night of 3/4 Mar, A-20s bomb the bridge and
bridge approaches at Casarsa della Delizia, Ostiglia, and Nervesa della
Battaglia, the radar station at Vignola, and lights, motor transport, roads,
and other targets of opportunity at over 30 places in the C Po Valley.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 10 B-24s from Guam Island bomb Susaki Airfield
on Chichi Jima Island; during the night of 4/5 Mar, 3 B-24s make separate
harassment raids on the airfield. Lieutenant General Barney Mc Giles becomes
Commanding General of AAFPOA and Deputy Commander of the Twentieth AF. 

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 39: A B-29 makes an emergency landing
on Iwo Jima Island; this begins a series of over 2,400 such emergency
landings on the island during World War II. 192 Mariana Islands-based B-29s
are airborne against Musashino (Musashi), Japan but heavy clouds prevent
bombing the primary; 159 B-29s bomb the secondary target, the urban areas of
Tokyo, and 18 others hit alternate targets; 1 B-29 is lost. This aborted try
at Musashino marks the end of XXI Bomber Command's effort to knock out the
Japanese aircraft industry by high-altitude, daylight precision bombing. (The
indirect effect of causing Japanese industrialists to lose confidence in
their supposed immunity from air attacks exceeds the effect of actual bomb
damage to the aircraft industry).  

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Mindanao Island,
B-24s bomb Sasa and Likanan Airfields and the town of Zamboanga. On Luzon
Island, B-24s bomb targets of opportunity in the Cagayan Valley, gun
positions, ammunition storage, and targets of opportunity at Antipolo and
Wawa, supply dumps and the town area at Bamban, fortifications on Caballo
Island in Manila Bay, and airfields at Aparri and Tuguegarao. The detachments
of the 431st and 433d Fighter Squadrons, 475th Fighter Group, operating from
San Jose, Mindoro Island with P-38s, return to base at Clark Field, Luzon.

MONDAY, 5 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In French Indochina, 30 B-25s knock
out bridges at Phu Xuyen, Thinh Duc, Phu Ly, Ninh Binh, and Phu Lang Thuong
and damage a bridge at Kep. In China, 2 B-25s, escorted by 8 P-47s, knock out
a bridge at Changtuikuan while 4 bomb Chikhom. 40+ P-51s and P-40s on armed
reconnaissance hit road, rail, and river traffic, town areas, and other
targets of opportunity in French Indochina, the C Yangtze River area, and
elsewhere in S and E China.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 50+ P-47s support forces
of the British 36 Division in the Mogok sector and forces of the Chinese 50th
Division in the Mansam area; 46 P-47s and 12 B-25s hit troop concentrations
in the battle areas and attack supply areas, road traffic, and general
targets of opportunity behind enemy lines. 664 air supply sorties are flown
to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): HQ 52d Troop Carrier Wing
moves from Cottesmore, England to Amiens, France.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown.
  Mission 865: 429 bombers and 689 fighters are dispatched to hit oil targets
in Germany; the primary target for the B-17s is the synthetic oil plant at
Ruhland but weather forces them to hit the secondary target; all bombing is
with H2X radar; 1 B-17 is lost:
  1. 233 of 303 B-17s hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at
Chemnitz; targets of opportunity are Plauen (34) and Fulda (9); 1 B-17 is
lost and 15 damaged; 9 airmen are MIA. Escorting are 369 of 420 P-51s; 3
P-51s are damaged beyond repair and 1 pilot is KIA.
  2. 120 of 126 B-24s hit the Harburg oil refinery at Hamburg without loss.
The escort is 186 P-47s and P-51s without loss.
  3. 27 P-51s attack the marshalling yard at Kreuztal; 1 P-51 is damaged
beyond repair.
  4. 28 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  5. 14 P-51s escort 4 F-5s on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany.
  Mission 866: 21 of 24 B-24s bomb the Wiesbaden rail station by PFF markers
during the night.
  Mission 867: 9 of 11 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and
Germany during the night.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 565 B-26s, A-20s and
A-26s attack 6 marshalling yards, a communications center, an ordnance depot,
a city area and targets of opportunity with the aim of obstructing
reinforcements and supplies to German forces being pushed back across the
Rhine River; fighters escort the bombers, drop leaflets in the Cologne-Bonn
area, and fly armed reconnaissance over the Ruhr and Hamm-Duisburg area.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Bad weather limits operations
to supply, escort, and reconnaissance missions. HQ 306th Fighter Wing moves
from Lesina to Fano, Italy; HQ 325th Fighter Group and the 317th and 319th
Fighter Squadrons move from Lesina to Rimini, Italy with P-51s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, A-20s hit lines of
communications in the N Po Valley during the night of 4/5 Mar; results are
generally good; bad daytime weather grounds the medium bombers; XXII Tactical
Air Command fighter-bombers and fighters operate on a greatly reduced scale,
mostly in the C Po Valley, hitting bridges at Casarsa della Delizia, Nervesa
della Battaglia, Ostiglia, and Ostellato, and attacking the town of Vignola.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): Susaki Airfield on Chichi Jima Island is
pounded by 11 B-24s from Guam Island; during the night of 5/6 Mar, 5 more hit
the airfield in individual snooper strikes. 22 B-24s from Angaur Island,
Palau Islands, bomb Matina Airfield on Mindanao Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-25s hit San Roque
Airfield on Mindanao Island. On Luzon Island, B-24s with fighter support hit
troops in the Antipolo area while fighter-bombers dive-bomb San Pablo, hit
Fort Drum in Manila Bay, attack troops W of Ft Stotsenburg, and support
guerrilla forces NE of Lingayen Gulf. Targets on Formosa are hit by fighters
on sweeps and B-24s on armed reconnaissance; the fighter sweeps are
especially effective against railroad targets. B-25s hit Zettle Field on Jolo
Island. HQ 5th Bombardment Group (Heavy) moves from Morotai Island to Samar
Island; the 25th Liaison Squadron, FEAF (attached to Thirteenth AF), moves
from Biak Island, New Guinea to Dulag, Leyte Island with UC-78s and L-5s.

TUESDAY, 6 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): A mission to the Kurile Islands is cancelled
due to inclement weather.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 4 B-25s bomb Chikhom; about
50 fighter-bombers hit storage, troops, railroad targets, and river and road
traffic around Hankow, along the Pinghan railroad, Kaifeng, Suchow, Hsuchang,
Changsha, Yoyang, Liuyang, and Hengyang, and on railroads from Liuliho to
Chengtung and from Tungpu to Tatung.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 31 P-47s support British
36 Division forces in the Mogok area; 12 B-25s join 60+ fighter-bombers in
striking troop concentrations, road traffic, supply and fuel dumps, and other
targets in the vicinity of the battlefront and in areas close behind enemy
lines. Transport operations continue on a large scale with 663 sorties
completed to forward areas throughout the day.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 868: 12 B-24s drop
leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night. 5 B-24s fly
CARPETBAGGER missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 260+ A-26s, and B-26s
hit Recklinghausen, Siegburg, and Opladen marshalling yards, Siegburg storage
depot, and the town of Bochum as a target of opportunity; weather grounds
the IX and XIX Tactical Air Commands; the XXIX Tactical Air Command
(Provisional) flies alerts and covers the US XVI Corps as it completes a
drive to the Rhine River in the Rheinburg area.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Bad weather restricts all
operations except reconnaissance and a supply mission, with escort, to
Yugoslavia. The 302d Fighter Squadron, 332d Fighter Group, is inactivated
at Ramitelli Airfield, Italy.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, medium bombers pound
communications in the Brenner Pass and hit bridges at Pordenone, Ossenigo,
Enego, Ora, Pizzighetone, and San Ambrogio di Valpolicella; fighters and
fighter-bombers concentrate on close support of the US Fifth Army S and SW
of Bologna; during the night of 5/6 Mar, a few A-20s bomb targets of
opportunity in the Po Valley.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 11 Guam Island-based B-24s again pound Susaki
Airfield on Chichi Jima Island; 5 more hit the airfield during the night of
6/7 Mar in separate strikes. HQ 15th Fighter Group arrives on Iwo Jima Island
from Hawaii and the air echelon of the 548th Night Fighter Squadron moves
from Saipan Island, Mariana Islands to Iwo Jima with P-61s (there are now 28
P-51s and 12 P-61s on the Iwo Jima).

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Mindanao
Island, B-24s pound the San Roque and Zamboanga areas. On Luzon Island, other
B-24s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers hit the Antipolo area, bomb Balete Pass and
Ft Drum and Caballo Island in Manila Bay and support guerrillas near San
Fernando. B-25s and P-38s attack Hainan Island and considerably damage Samah
Airfield on the island. Fighters sweeping over Formosa hit the Koshun area.
HQ 347th Fighter Group and the 67th, 68th and 339th Fighter Squadrons move
from San Jose, Mindoro Island to Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island with P-38s
(the 67th and 339th are operating from Morotai Island); the 419th Night
Fighter Squadron, XIII Fighter Command, moves from Middelburg Island, New
Guinea to Puerto Princesa, Palawan (the squadron is operating from Morotai
Island with P-38s and P-61s).

WEDNESDAY, 7 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands; 8 B-25s, dispatched to
strike a reported convoy, abort due to weather; so do 8 B-24s after departing
on a shipping sweep and a strike on Kataoka, Shimushu Island.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 4 B-25s and 9 P-40s blast
railroad targets N of Kiaotow; single B-25s hit truck convoys in the Hsiang
River Valley, the waterfront at Changsha, and a bridge and other targets of
opportunity on the Pinghan railroad; 130+ fighter-bombers attack numerous
targets throughout S and E China, concentrating on railroad, road, and river
targets in the areas around Nanking, Yoyang, Sintsiang, and Changsha.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 30 P-47s support troops of
the British 36 Division in the Mogok area; 18 others support elements of the
Chinese 50th Division near Mansam; elements of the Chinese 38th Division
occupy Lashio; 12 B-25s and 35 fighter-bombers attack road targets, troops,
vehicles, and a variety of targets of opportunity immediately behind enemy
lines. Transports fly 630 sorties supplying forward areas with men and
equipment.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown.
  Mission 869: 946 bombers and 322 fighters are dispatched to hit oil and
communication targets using PFF; 1 P-51 is lost:
  1. 246 B-24s are sent to hit the marshalling yard at Soest (144) and the
Schildesche water viaduct at Bielefeld (80); Gee-H and H2X radar are used
for bombing; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; 10 airmen are KIA.
Escorting are 77 P-47s and P-51s.
  2. 344 B-17s are dispatched to bomb the Horderverein (24) and Harpenerweg
(62) oil refineries at Dortmund; secondary targets hit are the marshalling
yards at Paderborn (11), Siegen (113) and Giessen (87); Gee-H and H2X radar
are used; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 20 damaged; 1 airman is KIA.
The escort is 74 of 85 P-51s.
  3. 340 B-17s are sent to hit the Emscherlippe benzol plant at Datteln
(173) and the Rauxel benzol plant at Castrop (77); secondary targets hit
are the marshalling yards at Siegen (43) and Giessen (28); 1 other hits a
target of opportunity; Micro H and H2X radar are used; 56 B-17s are
damaged. 75 of 76 P-51s escort the bombers.
  4. 6 B-17s and 6 B-24s fly a screening mission.
  5. 4 B-17s fly a scouting mission.
  6. 37 of 38 P-51s fly a sweep of the Dummer Lake-Kassel-Koblenz area.
  7. 23 P-51s escort 5 F-5s and a Spitfire on a photo reconnaissance mission
over Germany; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
  8. 24 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  Mission 870: 11 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany and the Netherlands.
  Mission 871: 19 of 20 B-24s bomb Dortmund during the night using PFF; 1
B-24 is lost.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Weather cancels combat operations
except for the XXIX Tactical Air Commands support of the US XVI Corps along
the Rhine River in the Wesel area. The 39th Photographic Reconnaissance
Squadron, 10th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), moves from St Amand to
Jarny, France with F-5s (flights are operating from Gosselies and Le Culot,
Belgium).

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Continued bad weather limits
operations to a supply drop in Yugoslavia and routine reconnaissance and
escort missions; all bombing operations are cancelled and 42 P-51s sent on a
strafing mission against railroad communications in Austria are recalled. The
318th Fighter Squadron, 325th Fighter Group, moves from Lesina to Rimini,
Italy with P-51s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-25s continue
interdiction of enemy communications, damaging a railroad bridge at Longarone
and railroad fills at Peri and Ossenigo; the XXII Tactical Air Command
concentrates on communications in the NE, Po Valley and fuel and ammunition
dumps in the C part of the Valley with generally good results; during the
night of 6/7 Mar, A-20s hit the Ostiglia crossing and bridges at Nervesa
della Battaglia and Casarsa della Delizia, and bomb targets of opportunity in
the Brenner area.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 11 Guam Island-based B-24s hit Susaki Airfield
on Chichi Jima Island and the town of Okimura on Haha Jima Island; 5 more hit
Susaki Airfield during the night of 7/8 Mar in individual harassment strikes.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-24s hit the Balete Pass area while A-20s and fighter-bombers hit troop
concentrations and gun positions near Antipolo and near San Fernando, NW of
Ft Stotsenburg, and in the Bayombong-Solano area and targets of opportunity
in the Lake Taal area, the towns of Santa Fe, Lallo and Vigan, and on Caballo
Island in Manila Bay; numerous ground support missions are flown throughout
Luzon.

THURSDAY, 8 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 34 B-24s, supported by 21
P-51s, pound Shihkiachwang; 3 B-24s claim a transport sunk in the S China
Sea; 16 B-25s and 6 P-40s attack railroad tracks, boxcars, gun positions,
sampans, and locomotives, knock out 2 bridges and damage another, and destroy
and damage several locomotives at or near Hengshan, Yehhsien, Lohochai, and
Chungmow; 140+ fighter-bombers fly armed reconnaissance over wide areas of S
and E China, attacking numerous targets of opportunity, mainly river, road,
and railroad targets, storage areas, gun positions, and troops, concentrating
around Changsha, Changanyi, and a bridge at Puchi.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 20 P-47s support the
British 36 Division; 40 fighter-bombers hit troop concentrations and supply
areas along the battlefront and behind the enemy lines; 39 others sweep roads
S of the bomb line, attacking gun positions and other targets of opportunity.
Transports fly 554 sorties to advanced bases and over frontline areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown.
  Mission 872: 1,353 bombers and 326 fighters are dispatched to hit benzol
plants, an oil plant and rail targets in Germany using PFF; NO AIRCRAFT ARE
LOST AND THERE ARE NO CASUALTIES!
  1. 360 B-24s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Betzdorf (70), Siegen
(114) and Dillenburg (73); targets of opportunity are Limburg (10) and
Frankfurt (10); bombing is by H2X radar; 3 B-24s are damaged. Escorting are
99 of 102 P-51s.
  2. 526 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Robert Muser (99) and Bruchstrasse
(63) benzol plants at Langendreer, the Gneisenau benzol plant at Dortmund
(110) and Heddernheim chemical factory at Frankfurt (122); secondary targets
are the marshalling yards at Giessen (69) and Frankfurt (18); 13 others hit
Wetzlar, a target of opportunity; bombing is with H2X radar; 26 B-17s are
damaged. The escort is 95 of 99 P-51s.
  3. 458 B-17s are sent to hit the Emil benzol plant at Essen (114), the
Mathies Stinnes benzol plant at Bottrop (37), the August Viktoria benzol
plant at Huls (111) and the synthetic oil plant at Buer Scholren (75); 109
hit the marshalling yard at Essen, a target of opportunity; bombing is by
Micro-H; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair. 93 of 98 P-51s escort.
  4. 9 B-17s fly a screening mission.
  5. 27 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  Mission 873: 11 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany
during the night without loss.
  Mission 874: 15 B-24s attack the marshalling yard at Dortmund during the
night without loss and 4 of 7 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 328 B-26s, A-20s and A-26s hit 7
communications centers, 2 marshalling yards, a road overpass, and a military
transport depot in the furtherance of the interdiction program; weather
prevents fighter operations except for a small alert mission by the XXIX
Tactical Air Command (Provisional). Operational HQ of the XXIX Tactical Air
Command (Provisional), HQ 84th Fighter Wing and HQ 303d Fighter Wing move
from Maastricht, the Netherlands to Monchen-Gladbach, Germany; the
detachments of the 39th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 10th
Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) operating from Gosselies and Le Culot,
Belgium with F-5s, return to base at Jarny, France. 

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 550+ B-17s and B-24s hit
marshalling yards at Hegyeshalom and Komarom, Hungary, and Verona, Italy, the
locomotive depot at Maribor, Yugoslavia, and the steel works at Kapfenberg,
Austria; P-51s and P-38s fly escort and reconnaissance missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, medium bombers are
hampered by heavy clouds but hit the Novara marshalling yard, Longarone and
Mori rail fills, and Rovereto bridge; fighters and fighter-bombers pound
communications and supplies, destroy a road bridge SW of Bologna, severely
damage an ammunition plant and surrounding complex NW of Milan, and hit
several other targets, including a bridge near Montebello which Brazilian
P-47s operating with the XXII Tactical Air Command cut in half; A-20s,
operating during the night of 7/8 Mar, attack river crossings at Borgoforte,
Cremona, Ostiglia, San Benetto Po, Viadana, and Ora, and numerous vehicles,
lights, and general movement in the C Po Valley and along the Brenner line.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 14 B-24s from Guam Island bomb Susaki Airfield
on Chichi Jima Island through heavy cloud layers; 5 more B-24s hit the
airfield again in 5 individual harassment strikes during the night of 8/9
Mar.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s pound the
Zamboanga area on Mindanao Island. On Luzon Island, B-24s hit road targets at
Balete Pass while A-20s support guerrilla forces in the San Fernando area;
fighter-bombers hit fuel dumps, gun positions, and other targets near Angat
and Ipo dam and numerous targets of opportunity in the Antipolo area,
personnel and storage areas near Baguio, and several targets in the Cagayan
Valley (including the town of Caggay, the Dummun River area, and barges at
Naguilian). The 6th Combat Cargo Squadron, 2d Combat Cargo Group, based on
Biak Island with C-46s, begins operating from Samar Island; and the 550th
Night Fighter Squadron, XIII Fighter Command, based on Morotai Island with
P-38s, P-61s and P-70s, sends a detachment to operate from Tacloban, Leyte
Island.

FRIDAY, 9 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 3 B-24s fly a negative shipping search.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 32 B-24s, escorted by 5
P-51s, bomb railroad yards at Sinsiang; 15 B-25s and 2 P-40s knock out 2
bridges at Hwaiyuanchen and E of Jungtse, and hit railroad targets and other
targets of opportunity at Yehhsien, Chowkiakow, Hsuchang, and E of Junan; 50+
fighter-bombers on armed reconnaissance attack railroad targets, river and
road traffic, bridges, gun positions, and troops at several locations,
particularly around Kweiyi, Hengyang, Nanking, and Sinyang.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 16 P-47s support elements
of the Chinese 50th Division near Mansam; 80+ fighter-bombers operating over
and behind enemy lines attack trucks, horses and carts, troops, and artillery
pieces. 568 air supply sorties are flown to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 875: 1,045 bombers and 443 fighters are dispatched to hit
marshalling yards and industrial plants in Germany; they claim 0-0-2
Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 bombers are lost:
  1. 423 B-17s are sent to hit the Ost (150) and Main (222) marshalling yards
and a casting plant (38) at Frankfurt visually and using Micro H, H2X radar
and smoke markers; 6 B-17s also fly a screening mission; 3 B-17s are lost, 1
damaged beyond repair and 182 damaged; 7 airmen are WIA and 28 MIA. Escorting
are 94 of 101 P-51s; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft in the air.
  2. 318 of 336 B-17s attack the marshalling yard and a large tank factory at
Kassel visually; 6 other B-17s fly a screening mission; 3 B-17s are lost, 2
damaged beyond repair and 188 damaged; 4 airmen are WIA and 28 MIA. The
escort is 97 of 99 P-51s; 1 is damaged beyond repair.
  3. 282 B-24s are sent to bomb marshalling yards at Munster (97), Rheine
(93) and Osnabruck (87) using Gee-H and H2X; 1 B-24 is lost and 52 damaged; 1
airman is WIA and 12 MIA. 47 of 51 P-51s escort.
  4. 4 B-17s fly a scouting mission.
  5. 141 P-47s and P-51s fly a freelance sweep in support of the bombers; 1
P-51 is damaged beyond repair.
  6. 27 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  7. 15 P-51s escort 12 F-5s and 3 Spitfires on a photo reconnaissance mission
over Germany; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft in the air.
  Mission 876: 11 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany
during the night; and 2 of 9 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 600+ A-20s, A-26s and
B-26s hit 6 marshalling yards, storage and vehicle depots, ammunition-filling
plants, and 12 targets of opportunity as part of the interdiction campaign;
fighters fly armed reconnaissance, hit special targets, cover the Remagen
bridgehead and support the US 9th Infantry and 9th Armored Divisions
committed there, support the 4th Armored Division at the Mosel River bridge
at Treis, the XX Corps along the Mosel and Saar Rivers, and the XVI Corps
along the Rhine River near Wesel. The 125th Liaison Squadron, IX Fighter
Command [attached to the XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional)], moves from
Maastricht, the Netherlands to Monchen-Gladbach, Germany with L-5s; and the
153d Liaison Squadron, IX Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army
Group), moves from Spa, Belgium to Duren, Germany with L-5s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 372 B-17s and B-24s, with
fighter escorts, bomb marshalling yards at Graz (2 yards), Klagenfurt, Sankt
Stefan, and Sankt Paul, Austria, and Ljubljana, Yugoslavia; river bridges at
Sankt Paul are also bombed; 27 P-38s bomb the Knittelfeld, Austria
marshalling yard and 13 others strafe the Graz, Austria-Maribor, Yugoslavia
railroad lines. Routine supply, reconnaissance, and escort missions continue.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-25s hit bridges at San
Ambrogio di Valpolicella, San Michele all'Adige, Bozzolo, Santa Margherita
d'Adige, Ora, and Montebello, the marshalling yard at Ora, and the bridge
approach at Ala; fighters and fighter-bombers attack bridges, railroads,
vehicles, trains, supply dumps, parked airplanes, buildings, and other
targets over wide areas, including Milan, Cittadella, Ala, Santa Margherita
d'Adige, La Spezia, Ghedi, Lecco, and the battle area in the N Apennines.
A-20s, on intruder missions during the night of 8/9 Mar, bomb river crossings
in the Po Valley at several locations, among them Ostiglia, San Benedetto Po,
and Borgoforte.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 13 Guam Island-based B-24s fly a daylight
strike on Susaki Airfield on Chichi Jima Island while 5 more, on single-
bomber raids, hit the airfield during the night of 9/10 Mar. 24 Angaur
Island-based B-24s pound the town of Zamboanga on Mindanao Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s bomb
Zamboanga on Mindanao Island. B-25s, in cooperation with PT boats, attack
targets on Basilan Island, Philippine Islands. On Luzon Island, B-24s hit
the Ipo area, B-25s and fighter-bombers support ground forces E of Manila
Bay, hit Japanese-occupied areas at Mabiga, Lipa Bay, and Ternate, and bomb
and strafe targets of opportunity on Caballo Island in Manila Bay; B-25s,
A-20s, and fighter-bombers hit bridges at Bayombong, the town of Makati,
Cabugao, and Cauayan, San Fernando and the Solvec Cove areas on the NW coast,
the town of Cauayan, and Aparri Airfield. B-24s pound the dock area at Takao,
Formosa.

SATURDAY, 10 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands, 5 B-24s radar-bomb
targets at Kataoka on Shimushu Island, and Suribachi and Kakumabetsu on
Paramushiru Island with unobserved results; 1 fighter is sighted but no
attack is made; 2 other B-24s on this mission abort due to weather and
mechanical trouble. B-25 missions to the Hayakegawa River and Paramushiru are
also cancelled due to weather.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 32 B-24s blast the railroad yards at
Tsanghsien and Tehsien; 10 B-24s and 4 P-40s attack Siangtan and nearby
targets of opportunity; 60+ fighter-bombers hit river, road, and railroad
targets, gun positions, warehouses, airstrips, and troops around Sinyang,
Yiyang, Changsha, Kiyang, Yoyang, Hengyang, Hankow, and Wuchang.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 43: In the Malayan States, 24 of 29
B-29s bomb the marshalling yard at Kuala Lumpur; 1 of the B-29s drops over
half of its bombs at Alor Star Airfield and another attacks a freighter in
the channel leading to Port Swettenham. 3 others attack Khao Huakhang,
Thailand.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): 13 P-47s support forces of the
British 36 Division in the Mogok area; 46 P-47s and P-38s sweep the roads S
of the bomb line; 49 others hit supply areas behind the enemy lines, attack a
bivouac near Nam-yang, and bomb a truck park N of Mong Yai. 537 air supply
sorties are flown to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown.
  Mission 877: 1,374 bombers and 670 fighters attack rail targets in
Germany by PFF methods; they claim 2-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-51s are
lost:
  1. 376 B-24s are dispatched to hit the rail viaducts at Arnsberg (115)
and Bielefeld (114) and the marshalling yard at Paderborn; 10 hit the
secondary target, the marshalling yard at Bielefeld; 1 B-24 is damaged. The
escort is 146 of 155 P-51s.
  2. 526 B-17s are sent to hit the Sud (109), Erfeld (111) and Eving (153)
marshalling yards at Dortmund and the Soest marshalling yard (138); 3 other
B-17s fly a scouting mission; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 44 damaged;
2 airmen are WIA. Escorting are 152 of 158 P-51s; 1 is damaged beyond
repair.
  3. 457 B-17s are sent to hit the Sinsen (89) and Coesfeld (38) rail
crossings and the marshalling yards at Schwerte (116) and Hagen (41); 136
hit the secondary, a marshalling yard at Dortmund; 33 others hit Hamm, a
target of opportunity; 26 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is WIA. 98 of 100
P-51s escort; 2 P-51s are lost.
  4. 12 B-17s fly a screening mission.
  5. 144 P-47s and P-51s fly a freelance support mission for the bombers;
they claim 2-0-1 aircraft in the air.
  6. 72 of 74 P-51s escort Ninth AF bombers on their strikes.
  7. 27 of 28 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  8. 5 P-51s escort 7 F-5s and 4 Spitfires on a photo reconnaissance
mission over the Ruhr.
  Mission 879: 13 B-24s attack the marshalling yard at Munster during the
night without loss.
  Mission 880: 12 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and
Germany during the night without loss.
  The 857th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 492d Bombardment Group (Heavy)
(attached to 1st Air Division) moves from Harrington to Bassingbourne,
England with B-24s (the 857th begins flying weather reconnaissance missions
today).

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 383 A-20s, A-26s and
B-26s strike 5 marshalling yards, a communications center, 2 city areas,
miscellaneous targets in the Koblenz-Braubach area, and a target of
opportunity; Eighth and Ninth AF fighters escort the bombers, attack ground
targets, fly patrols, armed reconnaissance, and provide cover and ground
support over the Remagen bridge area where the US 9th Infantry Division
expands it's bridgehead against fierce opposition, support the 4th Armored
Division in the Koblenz area and the XX Corps in the Saarburg area, and
cooperate with the XVI Corps near Wesel. The 33d Photographic
Reconnaissance Squadron, 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Le
Culot, Belgium to Venlo, the Netherlands with F-5s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Italy, 191 heavy bombers hit
the Verona-Parona di Valpolicella railroad bridge; 1 other bombs the Voghera
marshalling yard. Supply missions to Yugoslavia and reconnaissance operations
continue.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, A-20s bomb bridges and
other communications targets in the E Po Valley during the night of 9/10 Mar;
B-25s bomb bridges at Ora, Bozzolo, and San Michele all'Adige, and a railroad
fill at the Ceraino railroad station; fighters and fighter-bombers hit
communications and targets of opportunity at various locations in the E Po
Valley, including several bridges, and numerous ammunition dumps and
vehicles.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 10 B-24s from Guam Island hit Susaki Airfield
on Chichi Jima Island which 9 B-24s again hit during the night of 10/11 Mar
on separate snooper strikes. 23 B-24s from Angaur Island bomb Calarian
Airfield on Mindanao Island.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 40: During the predawn hours, 279
B-29s, of 325 airborne, blast the Tokyo urban area with incendiaries,
destroying 267,171 buildings, about one-fourth in the city, killing 83,793
and wounding 40,918 people and destroying 15.8 square miles (40.9 square
km); this death total is the highest of any single day's action during the
war, exceeding the deaths caused by the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima; 20
other B-29s bomb alternates and targets of opportunity; 14 B-29s are lost;
the participating B-29s are from the XXI Bomber Command's 73d, 313th, and
314th Bombardment Wings (Very Heavy) based on Guam Island, Tinian Island, and
Saipan Island in the Mariana Islands; the raids are flown at levels ranging
from 4,900 to 9,200 feet (1,494 to 2,804 m).

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Mindanao
Island, B-24s and B-25s over the Zamboanga Peninsula area bomb the town of
Zamboanga, Calarian Airfield, Pangasahan, Port Holland, Kulibato Point, and
Sibago Island. On Luzon Island, B-24s bomb the Ipo area and Aparri Airfield;
B-25s and A-20s support guerrillas near San Fernando and bomb Cabugao;
fighter-bombers hit Caballo Island in Manila Bay, bomb the town of Minanga,
hit enemy concentrations at Burgos, near Ft Stotsenburg, in Batangag
Province, and at other locations, and attack Teresa. B-24s bomb Kudat and
Jesselton Airfields in Borneo.

SUNDAY, 11 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In French Indochina, 4 B-25s knock
out 1 bridge and hit numerous boxcars at Kep and near Don Met. In China, 5
B-24s over the S China Sea and Gulf of Tonkin claim 1 freighter sunk and
another damaged; 10 P-40s and P-51s blast locomotives on the Tsinpu railroad
and demolish 3 villages E of Lohochai; the 1st Combat Cargo Group, 1st Combat
Cargo Group, based at Hsinching with C-47s, sends a detachment to operate
from Liangshan.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 14 B-25s pound stores,
troops, vehicles, and ammunition dumps at Konghsa, Kwai-Kong, Man Kat, and
Mong Yai; 4 P-38s knock out a bridge at Mong Tong; 8 P-47s hit troop
concentration at Kyaukme; 30+ P-47s hit targets of opportunity during a road
sweeps behind enemy lines. Transports fly 547 sorties to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 881: 1,256 bombers and 814 fighters are dispatched to make H2X
radar attacks on U-boat yards at Kiel and Bremen and the shipyard and
refinery area at Hamburg, Germany; 1 B-17 and 4 P-51s are lost:
  1. 344 of 352 B-24s attack the Krupp Germania U-boat yard at Kiel; 2
B-24s are damaged. 232 P-47s and P-51s escort; 1 P-51 is lost.
  2. 469 of 485 B-17s hit the Wilhelmsburg oil refinery at Hamburg; 1 other
hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost and 41 damaged; 3 airmen are
WIA and 10 MIA. Escorting are 252 of 265 P-51s; 2 are lost.
  3. 406 of 413 B-17s hit the Deschimag U-boat yard at Bremen; 9 B-17s are
damaged. 237 of 255 P-51s escort; 1 is lost.
  4. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission.
  5. 18 P-51s escort 6 F-5s and a Spitfire on photo reconnaissance missions
over Germany.
  6. 27 of 29 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  Mission 882: 11 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany
during the night without loss.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 696 A-20s, A-26s, and
B-26s, hit 4 airfields, 3 communications centers, 2 ammunition filling
plants, and several city areas and other casual targets; these attacks are to
obstruct air operations and supply and troop movements in general; fighters
fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, escort the bombers, support the US 9th
Infantry Division push at the Remagen bridgehead and fly cover over the area,
and support the XX Corps E of Trier and Saarburg. HQ 363d Tactical
Reconnaissance Group and the 160th and 161st Tactical Reconnaissance
Squadrons (with F-6s) and HQ 373d Fighter Group move from Le Culot, Belgium
to Venlo, the Netherlands; the 72d Liaison Squadron, Ninth AF (attached to
Sixth Army Group), moves from Epinal to Buhl, France with L-5s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Bad weather limits operations
to reconnaissance and supply missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-25s of the 57th
Bombardment Wing score damaging hits on a bridge and fills at San Michele
all'Adige, Volargne, and Ossenigo, and, attacking a target in Austria for
first time, bomb a bridge at Drauburg; fighters and fighter-bombers of the
XXII Tactical Air Command hit rail lines and dumps in the C Po Valley and in
the Brenner area; during the night of 10/11 Mar A-20s hit several Po River
crossings, Ghedi and Pavia Airfields, road junctions, and other targets in
the Po Valley.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 11 B-24s from Guam Island again hit Susaki Airfield on
Chichi Jima Island, while 8 more during the night of 11/12 Mar, pound the
airfield individually. 
    VII Fighter Command: Iwo Jima-based P-51s also bomb Susaki Airfield and
strafe Okimura and Kitamura on Haha Jima Island.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 41: Attacking at altitudes ranging
from 5,100 to 8,500 feet (1,554 to 2,591 m), 285 of 310 B-29s bomb the
Nagoya, Japan urban area with incendiaries during the night of 11/12 Mar
destroying 2.05 square miles (5.31 square km); 6 others hit a secondary
target; 1 B-29 is lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Mindanao
Island, B-24s bomb the Zamboanga area, Mercedes village, and San Roque
Airfield and B-25s hit Mercedes, support ground forces near Zamboanga, and in
conjunction with PT boats, hit Isabela, Barlak, Taluksangay, and a HQ N of
Zamboanga. On Luzon Island, B-24s hit the Aparri area and support ground
forces at Wawa; A-20s and fighter-bombers fly ground support missions and
attack supply dumps and numerous targets of opportunity throughout Luzon.
On Formosa, fighter-bombers hit Takao and B-24s bomb Mako.

MONDAY, 12 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 4 B-25s knock out the Song Rang
bridge in French Indochina; 6 P-51s hit road communications at Hwayuan,
China and bomb a building at Ha Coi, French Indochina.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 42: 44 of 49 B-29s hit oil storage
facilities on Bukum Island, Malayan States, and Samboe and Sebarok Islands,
Sumatra; 1 other B-29 bombs Arang Hill, Malayan States; they claim 0-0-1
Japanese aircraft; results are poor.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 13 B-25s and 35 P-47s hit
troop concentrations, supplies, vehicles, and AA guns along the battlefront
and behind enemy lines; 66 P-47s hit transportation targets and a bridge
during several road sweeps in C Burma; 12 others damage a bypass bridge at
Hay-ti. Transports complete 677 sorties delivering men and supplies to
advanced bases and dropping supplies to frontline forces. The 164th Liaison
Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, moves from Shwebo to Ondaw,
Burma with UC-64s and L-5s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 883: 1,355 bombers and 797 fighters are dispatched to hit
marshalling yards in Germany by PFF; they claim 4-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1
B-17 and 4 fighters are lost:
  1. 220 of 227 B-24s and 441 of 450 B-17s attack the marshalling yard at
Swinemunde; 1 other hit the marshalling yard at Husum, a target of
opportunity; all attacks are made with H2X radar; 1 B-17 is lost, 6 B-17s are
damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 10 MIA. Escorting are 412 of 452 P-51s; they
claim 4-0-1 aircraft in the air; 4 P-51s are lost (3 pilots MIA).
  2. 154 B-24s are sent to hit the marshalling yards at Friedberg (75) and
Wetzlar (74) using Gee-H; 2 airmen are WIA. 
  3. 298 B-17s are dispatched to attack the marshalling yards at Siegen (141)
and Marburg (113); 24 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at
Frankfurt using Micro H; 4 B-17s are damaged.
  4. 226 B-17s are sent to bomb the marshalling yards at Betzdorf (116) and
Dillenburg (110) using Gee-H without loss.
  5. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th forces above are escorted by 192 P-47s and P-51s
without loss.
  6. 97 of 108 P-51s fly a sweep to support the bombers without loss.
  7. 10 P-51s escort 5 F-5s and 2 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions
over Germany.
  8. 23 of 24 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  Mission 884: 11 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany
during the night and 4 of 10 B-24s fly a CARPETBAGGER mission.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 9th Bombardment Division A-20s,
A-26s and B-26s attack 8 marshalling yards, an ammunition-filling plant, city
areas and targets of opportunity; the attacks on the marshalling yards are
aimed at blocking troop movements by rail into the Ruhr and Remagen areas;
fighters escort the bombers, bomb special targets, fly armed reconnaissance,
cover the Remagen area, and support the US 9th Infantry Division in the
Kalenborn and Hargarten areas and the XX Corps in the Saarburg bridgehead
area. The 387th and 388th Fighter Squadrons, 365th Fighter Group, move from
Juzaine Airfield, Florennes, Belgium to Aachen, Germany with P-47s; and the
412th Fighter Squadron, 373d Fighter Group, moves from Le Culot, Belgium to
Venlo, the Netherlands with P-47s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Austria, 790 B-24s and B-17s
bomb the Floridsdorf oil refinery at Vienna and alternate targets, the
marshalling yards at Graz, Zeltweg, and Wiener-Neustadt; 98 P-38s bomb the
Knittelfeld railroad bridge (2 others hit nearby targets of opportunity) and
strafe communications in the Wiener-Neustadt-Graz-Klagenfurt areas. 12 P-38s
sweep the Zagreb, Yugoslavia area.  Bad weather forces 60 P-51s sent against
Austrian communications to abort; a supply mission to Yugoslavia and
reconnaissance operations are successful.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-25s hit 7 railroad
bridges, cutting two, and fills--severely damaging one and a train--in the
Brenner area and in NE Italy as far E as the Yugoslav border area; fighter-
bombers blast communications in N Italy, making 36 rail cuts, 19 of them on
the Brenner line; P-47s also bomb and severely damage a munitions factory NW
of Zagreb, Yugoslavia; during the night of 11/12 Mar, A-20s on intruder
missions hit Po River crossings, a sugar refinery, vehicles, and trains.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 16 P-51s bomb and strafe Okimura on Haha Jima
Island. 13 B-24s fly daylight strike against Susaki Airfield on Chichi Jima
Island; during the night of 12/13 Mar, 8 B-24s hit Susaki Airfield and
Okimura. 24 B-24s from Angaur Island hit a Saragani Bay storage area on
Mindanao Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s hit Mercedes
and Malabang on Mindanao Island. On Luzon Island, other B-24s bomb Japanese
troops near Ipo, B-25s hit supply area at Bangued and troops at Pattao, A-20s
and fighter-bombers fly ground forces support missions. fighter-bombers also
bomb Calallo Island. On Formosa B-24s, with P-38 support bomb Takao and
Tainan and P-51s also hit Tainan and bomb Jitsugetsu power plants. The 6th
Troop Carrier Squadron, 374th Troop Carrier Group, moves from Biak Island to
Tacloban, Leyte Island with C-47s; the 33d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 22d
Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Samar Island to Clark Field, Luzon with
B-24s; the 69th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 42d Bombardment Group
(Medium), moves from Sansapor, New Guinea to Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island
with B-25s (the 69th is operating from Morotai Island).

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
TUESDAY, 13 MARCH 1945
FTP SITES
  1. ftp.rutgers.edu in directory pub/wwii/usaf
  2. byrd.mu.wvnet.edu (129.71.32.152) in pub/history/military/airforce/
     wwii_chronology

AIRCRAFT MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT:
  A-20, Douglas Havoc
  A-26, Douglas Invader
  B-17, Boeing Flying Fortress
  B-24, Consolidated Liberator
  B-25, North American Mitchell
  B-26, Martin Marauder
  B-29, Boeing Superfortress
  C-47, Douglas Skytrain
  F-5, Lockheed Lightning
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  P-40, Curtiss
  P-47, Republic Thunderbolt
  P-51, North American Mustang

NOTE: A number in parenthesis after a target name indicates the number of
bombers attacking.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 7 B-24s over the Gulf of Tonkin and
the S China Sea claim a cargo vessel and a large junk destroyed. 13 P-40s,
P-38s, and P-51s destroy a storehouse and damage a compound at
Chinchengchiang, China and knock out a bridge and hit machinegun positions
and other targets of opportunity at Lang Son, French Indochina.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 16 P-47s support forces of
the Chinese 50th Division, hitting Japanese positions along the Namtu River
in the Namhsan area; 26 P-38s hit road targets S of the bomb line in C Burma;
12 B-25s attack troop concentrations, supplies, and gun positions behind
enemy lines; 4 P-47s hit a wooded area in the British 36 Division battle
sector; other fighter-bombers make ineffective bridge strikes. Transports
complete 500+ sorties to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): HQ 61st Troop Carrier Group
and the 14th and 15th Troop Carrier Squadrons move from Barkston, England to
Abbeville, France with C-47s.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 16 P-51s based at Chievres,
Belgium fly an uneventful aircraft sweep in the Remagen-Koblenz, Germany
area; 17 F-5s fly photo reconnaissance missions over Germany.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 450+ A-26s, A-20s, and
B-26s, bomb 3 marshalling yards, 2 airfields, rail sidings, and several
targets of opportunity in the continuing interdiction campaign; fighters fly
escort, patrols, and armed reconnaissance, attack assigned targets, cover the
US First Army area in general along the Rhine River from Dusseldorf to
Linz/Rhine, support the US 9th Infantry Division around Hargarten, cover the
Remagen bridgehead, and support the XX Corps as it opens an offensive SE from
the Saarburg bridgehead.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Germany, 569 B-24s and B-17s
bomb the marshalling yard at Regensburg; 3 other bombers bomb the Landshut
marshalling yard and targets of opportunity; 280+ P-38s and P-51s provide
escort and several strafe rail traffic in Germany and Austria during the
return flight; 41 P-51s on a strafing mission attack rail traffic in the
Munich-Landshut-Regensburg and Ingolstadt, Germany areas and between Vienna
and Wiener-Neustadt, Austria. Photo reconnaissance is particularly extensive,
with 18 F-5s covering areas of Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia,
Hungary, and N Italy; 41 fighters escort the photo missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-25s bomb railroad
bridges and fills at Perca, Vo Sinistro, Pizzighetone, Salorno, and Sacile;
fighters and fighter-bombers attack bridges, flak positions, ammunition and a
supply dump, rail lines, various other targets, and fly close support to the
US Fifth Army force as the XXII Tactical Air Command operates over wide areas
of N Italy from the N Apennines through the Po Valley, and into NE Italy; on
the night of 12/13 Mar, A-20s hit railroads, Po River crossings, dumps, and
movement, mainly in the Po Valley.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 6 B-24s from Guam Island hit Woleai Atoll in
the Caroline Islands while 10 others bomb Susaki Airfield on Chichi Jima
Island; during the night of 13/14 Mar, 8 B-24s, flying individual strikes
pound Susaki Airfield. 24 B-24s from Angaur Island bomb a storage area at
Saragani Bay, Mindanao Island.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 42: In the third of the Twentieth
AF's great fire raids, 274 of 301 B-29s begin bombing Osaka, Japan shortly
after 2400 hours local on the night of 13/14 Mar; because of 8/10 cloud
cover, bombing is by radar; the heart of the city, an area of 8.1 square
miles (21.0 square km), is wiped out during 3 hours of bombing from altitudes
of 5,000 to 9,600 ft (1,524 to 2,926 m); 134,744 houses are destroyed, 1,363
houses damaged and Japanese casualties are 3,988 dead, 678 missing and 8,463
dead; 5 other B-29s bomb other targets; the B-29s claim 1-0-0 Japanese
aircraft; 2 B-29s are lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Mindanao Island,
B-24s hit targets in the Saragani Bay area and effectively hit the town of
Lagao and B-25s support ground operations in the Zamboanga area. B-25s,
A-20s, and fighters support ground forces hitting forces and positions in the
Cagayan Valley on Luzon Island. B-25s hit sampans off Hainan Island, China
while P-51s sweep Samah Airfield on the island. B-24s hit installations in WC
Formosa and at Mako. The 408th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 22d Bombardment
Group (Heavy), moves from Samar Island to Clark Field, Luzon with B-24s.

WEDNESDAY, 14 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Of 12 B-25s taking off to cover a naval task
force on its way to Matsuwa Island in the Kurile Islands, 6 abort due to
weather and failure to locate the task force; the others fly coverage sorties
throughout the day.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 3 B-24s claim 1 cargo
vessel sunk in the S China Sea; 1 B-25 and 4 fighter-bombers damage 12 track
sections near Tungyangchen; and 4 P-51s hit railroad targets of opportunity
near Chihsien. 19 P-51s and P-38s blast the barracks area at Vinh Yen, French
Indochina.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 20 P-47s fly close support
for elements of the Chinese 50th Division in the Mansam area; 3 B-25s knock
out a bridge at Laihka while 11 others bomb troop and a vehicle concentration
nearby; 39 P-47s hit troop concentrations, supplies and vehicles at Laihka
and Namlan while 29 others sweep roads S of the bomb line. 614 air supply
sorties are flown to forward areas. The 165th Liaison Squadron (Commando),
1st Air Commando Group, moves from Asansol, India to Sinthe, Burma with
UC-64s and L-5s and the 166th Liaison Squadron (Commando) moves from Sinthe
to Asansol with the same aircraft.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown.
  Mission 886: 1,262 bombers and 804 fighters are dispatched to hit oil, rail
and industrial targets in Germany; they claim 17-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in
the air; 3 B-17s and 2 fighters are lost:
  1. 526 B-17s are sent to hit oil refineries at Nienhagen (58) and Misburg
(56), the Gebruder munitions plant (75) and Maschnbau (61) and Eisenwerke
(74) factories at Hannover and the Seelze marshalling yard (80); secondary
targets hit are Osnabruck (29) and the marshalling yard at Hannover; attacks
were made visually and with H2X radar; 2 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond
repair and 188 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 6 WIA and 19 MIA. 192 of 204 P-51s
escort; 2 are damaged.
  2. 449 B-17s are dispatched to hit the bridges at Vlotho (72) and Bad
Ostenhausen (114), the marshalling yard and road junction at Lohne (144) and
industrial plants at Hildesheim (60); 39 hit Osnabruck, a secondary target;
targets of opportunity are the marshalling yards at Hameln (12) and Wetzlar
(1) and Diemonde (1); all but one target is bombed visually; 1 B-17 is lost
and 56 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 9 MIA. Escorting are 182 of 194 P-51s;
they claim 1-0-1 aircraft.
  3. 272 B-24s are sent to hit the marshalling yards at Holzwickede (31) and
Gutersloh (126); 110 others hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at
Giessen; attacks are made visually and with H2X radar; 4 B-24s are damaged; 1
airman is KIA and 5 WIA. The escort is 185 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 3-0-0
aircraft; 1 P-47 is lost (pilot MIA).
  4. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission without loss.
  5. 29 of 33 P-41s escort Ninth AF bombers.
  6. 50 P-51s fly a sweep of the Stein-Huder-Kassel area claiming 11-0-0
aircraft without loss.
  7. 82 P-51s fly a sweep over the Remagen bridgehead; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot
MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair.
  8. 20 P-51s escort 33 F-5s and 3 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions
over Germany and Czechoslovakia.
  9. 26 of 27 P-51s fly a scouting mission claiming 1-0-0 aircraft.
  Mission 887: 9 B-17s use DISNEY rockets weapons on the Ijmuiden submarine
pens without loss.
  Mission 888: 7 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Wiesbaden by PFF during
the night without loss.
  
  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 350+ A-20s, A-26s and
B-26s hit 3 airfields, 4 rail bridges, a junction, 5 towns, and 3 targets of
opportunity as the interdiction operations continue; fighters escort the
bombers, attack railroads and other special targets, fly patrols, sweeps, and
armed reconnaissance, cover the Remagen area, and support the US XII Corps as
it begins a drive from the Mosel River to the Rhine River, and the XX Corps
operations W of Trier and Saarburg. HQ 367th Fighter Group moves from St
Dizier to Conflans, France. The 410th Fighter Squadron, 373d Fighter Group,
moves from Le Culot, Belgium to Venlo, the Netherlands with P-47s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 634 B-17s and B-24s, with
fighter escorts, hit the Szony and Almasfuzito oil refineries and marshalling
yards at Komarom, Hungary; Nove Zamky, Czechoslovakia; Zagreb, Yugoslavia;
and Wiener-Neustadt, Graz, and Knittelfeld, Austria. 90 P-38s dive-bomb
bridges at Ptuj, Yugoslavia, 42 of them afterwards strafing rail traffic in
Yugoslavia and Austria. 21 P-51s also strafe rail traffic in Austria. B-17s
and B-24s drop supplies in N Italy and in Yugoslavia. F-5s continue
reconnaissance missions, including a larger than usual number of photo
reconnaissance flights (most of them heavily escorted) over Italy, Germany,
Austria, and Yugoslavia. The 71st Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Group, moves
from Sallsola Airfield to Lesina, Italy with P-38s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-25s damage bridges at
Casarsa della Delizia, Cittadella, Vipiteno, and Campo; fighters and fighter-
bombers attack communications, ammunition and supply dumps, motor transport,
trains, buildings, and other targets, escort medium bombers, and support
ground forces, operating over much of N Italy from the Apennine battle area N
and NE. A-20s hit river crossings and targets of opportunity in the Po Valley
during the night of 13/14 Mar.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA
    Seventh Air Force: 11 B-24s from Guam Island bomb Susaki Airfield on
Chichi Jima Island while 23 from Angaur Island hit a Saragani Bay supply area
on Mindanao Island. During the night of 14/15 Mar, 5 more B-24s flying
individually hit Susaki Airfield.
    VII Fighter Command: 16 Iwo Jima-based P-51s strafe and dive-bomb Susaki
Airfield, the town of Okimura on Haha Jima Island, and several gun positions
on Chichi Jima. The ground echelon of the 549th Night Fighter Squadron, VII 
Fighter Command, arrives on Iwo Jima Island from Hawaii (air echelon is 
operating from Saipan Island with P-61s).

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Mindanao Island,
B-24s bomb the Konel area while B-25s and B-24s hit the village and AA
positions near Zamboanga and dock area at Isabela. A-20s and numerous
fighter-bombers (including some US Marine aircraft) hit installations and
defensive positions throughout Luzon Island. A-20s over Palawan Island hit
Pandanan Island. B-24s bomb the Mako, Formosa naval base. B-25s on an armed
reconnaissance and shipping sweep along the China coast bomb the secondary
targets when no ships are sighted. The 2d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 22d
Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Samar Island to Clark Field, Luzon with
B-24s.

THURSDAY, 15 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 1 B-24 flies air coverage for a naval task
force; 7 others weather-abort.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 4 B-24s claim 1 vessel sunk in the S
China Sea. In China, 4 B-25s hit the area E of Pingsiang; 4 P-51s hit
locomotives between Sinsiang and Shihkiachwang and 4 attack motor transport
in the Paotou area.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 30 P-47s support elements
of the Chinese 50th Division in the Namhsan area; 32 P-38s sweep roads S of
the bomb line. Transports fly 625 sorties to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 889: 1,353 bombers and 833 fighters are dispatched to hit German
Army HQ and a marshalling yard at Oranienburg; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe
aircraft; 9 bombers and 4 fighters are lost:
  1. 308 of 372 B-24s and 276 of 300 B-17s hit the Germany Army HQ at Zossen,
near Berlin visually; targets of opportunity for the B-24s are the Gardlingen
rail center (31), the rail bridge at Parey (11) and other (3) and for B-17s,
the marshalling yard at Stendal (13) and other (3); 1 B-24 is lost, 1 B-24 is
damaged beyond repair and 32 B-24s and 20 B-17s are damaged; 4 airmen are
KIA, 8 WIA and 21 MIA. Escorting are 397 P-51s and P-47s; they claim 1-0-0
aircraft in the air; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
  2. 612 of 675 B-17s attack the marshalling yard at Oranienburg visually;
targets of opportunity are Wittenberg (31), Havelberg (12), the marshalling
yards at Durstadt (1) and Mellendorf (1), Schmarsau (1) and Dedelstorf
Airfield (1) some of which are hit with H2X radar; 8 B-17s are lost, 1
damaged beyond repair and 288 damaged; 8 airmen are WIA and 66 MIA. 320 of
352 P-51s escort; 1 is lost.
  3. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission without loss.
  4. 29 of 30 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  5. 9 P-51s fly a sweep of the Bonn-Koblenz area.
  6. 9 of 12 P-51s escort 24 F-5s and 4 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance
missions over Germany.
  Mission 890: 14 of 16 B-24s bomb the rail station at Munster during the
night using PFF methods.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 9th Bombardment Division
A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s attack communications centers at Neunkirchen and
Pirmasens, marshalling yards at Turkismuhle and Erbach, 3 flak positions, and
several other targets, as well as dropping leaflets on Koblenz; fighters hit
the Overberge marshalling yard and other targets, escort the bombers, fly
sweeps and armed reconnaissance, and support the US XII Corps crossing the
Mosel River in an offensive toward the Rhine River, and the XX Corps E of
Trier and Saarbrucken. HQ 10th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) and the
15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron move from Doncourt Airfield, Conflans
and Giraumont, France respectively to Evren Airfield, Trier, Germany with
F-6s; the 393d and 394th Fighter Squadrons, 367th Fighter Group, move from St
Dizier to Conflans, France with P-47s; and the 411th Fighter Squadron, 373d
Fighter Group, moves from Le Culot, Belgium to Venlo, the Netherlands with
P-47s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Germany, 109 B-17s bomb the
oil refinery at Ruhland (marking the Fifteenth's deepest penetration into
Germany). 103 others bomb the alternate target, the refinery at Kolin,
Czechoslovakia. 470+ other bombers attack targets in Austria, including
Moosbierbaum, Schwechat, and Vienna/Floridsdorf oil refineries, marshalling
yards at Wiener-Neustadt, Sankt Polten, Graz, Bruck an der Mur, Klagenfurt,
and Murzzuschlag, and a bridge at Klagenfurt. Supply missions to N Italy and
Yugoslavia continue, along with extensive photo and weather reconnaissance.
Fighters fly 300+ sorties in escort of the bombers and supply and
reconnaissance flights.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-25s attack railroad
bridges and fills at Salzano, Canale d'Isonzo, Rovereto, Palazzolo
sull'Oglio, Romano di Lombardia, and Mori; fighters and fighter-bombers of
the XXII Tactical Air Command concentrate on communications lines in NE
Italy, particularly the Brenner rail line, and also blast several supply and
ammunition dumps; A-20s continue intruder missions during the night of 14/15
Mar, hitting Po River crossings and fills in the San Ambrogio di Valpolicella
area.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 8 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb Susaki Airfield
on Chichi Jima Island; 3 more, on snooper strikes, hit the airfield during
the night of 15/16 Mar.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In support of US
ground forces on Luzon Island, B-24s, A-20s, and P-38s hit a HQ area at
Baguio; P-47s hit Minuli bridge and enemy concentrations in the Balete Pass
and W of Ft Stotsenburg; and A-20s and P-47s hit gun positions and occupied
areas around Batangas. On Mindanao Island, B-24s and B-25s hit personnel N of
Saragani Bay and troops and gun positions in the Zamboanga area. B-24s bomb
Lahug on Cebu Island. P-47s dive-bomb Takao power installations on Formosa.
HQ 22d Bombardment Group (Heavy) and the 19th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy)
move from Samar Island to Clark Field, Luzon with B-24s; the 100th
Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 42d Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from
Sansapor, New Guinea to Palawan Island with B-25s; the 403d Bombardment
Squadron (Heavy), 43d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Tacloban, Leyte
Island to Clark Field, Luzon with B-24s.

FRIDAY, 16 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Because of a navigational error, 2 B-24s on a
photo mission to Matsuwa Island reach 130 miles (209 km) S of the island, the
deepest penetration of the Japanese Home Islands to date; the B-24s turn N,
photograph Matsuwa Island and bomb Shimushiru Island with unobserved results.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 32 B-24s, escorted by 10
P-51s, pound the N railroad yards at Shihkiachwang; 1 B-25 and 2 P-51s attack
the railroad between Sinsiang and Shihkiachwang; the detachment of the 16th
Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, operating from Laohokow with P-51s,
returns to base at Chengkung (another detachment is operating from Poseh).

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 23 P-47s support forces of
the Chinese 50th Division in the Hsipaw area; 4 P-38s, supporting the British
36 Division, bomb artillery positions NE of Mogok; 12 B-25s blast a fuel dump
and troop concentration at Panghai; and 40 P-38s sweep roads S of the bomb
line. Transport operations continue on a steady basis.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): During the night of 16/17 Mar,
12 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany and the Netherlands and 20 of 22 B-24s
fly CARPETBAGGER missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 280+ A-20s, A-26s and
B-26s hit the Landau barracks area and communications center, the
Niederscheld town area and rail bridge, 6 other town areas, a marshalling
yard, rail junction, crossroads, and also drop leaflets; fighters escort
the bombers, fly patrols, sweeps, armed reconnaissance, and cover the VIII,
XII, and XX Corps in an assault across the Mosel River from W of Koblenz and
N of Boppard, at one point, as far E as Bad Kreuznach, and as far S as
Merzig; HQ 365th Fighter Group moves from Juzaine Airfield, Florennes,
Belgium to Aachen; the 153d Liaison Squadron, IX Tactical Air Command
(attached to Twelfth Army Group), moves from Duren to Euskirchen with L-5s;
and the 392d Fighter Squadron, 367th Fighter Group, moves from St Dizier to
Conflans, France with P-47s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 720+ B-24s and B-17s bomb the
Korneuburg, Vienna/Floridsdorf, Schwechat, and Moosbierbaum, Austria oil
refineries and marshalling yards at Sankt Veit an der Glan, Amstetten, and
Graz, Austria and Varazdin and Pragersko, Yugoslavia; 52 P-51s strafe rail
lines in the Vienna and Linz, Austria and  Passau and Regensburg, Germany
areas and the airfield at Mettenheim, Germany. B-17s and B-24s continue
supply drops to N Italy and Yugoslavia while F-5s and P-38s fly extensive
weather and photo reconnaissance missions; fighters fly 300+ sorties in
escort of the bombers, supply runs, and reconnaissance operations. HQ 1st
Fighter Group and the 27th and 94th Fighter Squadrons move from Salsola
Airfield to Lesina, Italy with P-38s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): B-25s of the 57th Bombardment
Wing, flying their farthest N penetration to date, bomb the Brixlegg, Austria
railroad bridge. In Italy, B-25s also hit the Spilimbergo power plant, with
excellent results, and lightly damage 3 bridges on the Brenner line, 1 in the
C Po Valley, and 1 in NE Italy; XXII Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers
continue to attack communications in the Po Valley and NE Italy, while A-20s
bomb bridges and targets of opportunity on night intruder missions along the
Po R and in the N Po Valley.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: On Chichi Jima Island, 13 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb
Susaki Airfield; during the night of 16/17 Mar, Susaki Airfield is hit again,
by 5 B-24s flying individual harassment strikes. Iwo Jima Island in the
Volcano Islands is declared secure although fierce resistance continues on
some parts of the island.
    VII Fighter Command: 16 Iwo-based P-51s dive-bomb and strafe radio and
radar installations, gun positions, and a storage area on Chichi Jima.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 43: 307 XXI Bomber Command B-29s, of
331 airborne, fire-raid Kobe, Japan in the heaviest attack to date, bombing
from 5,000 to 9,500 feet (1,524 to 2,896 m) during the predawn hours of
16/17 Mar; the attack lasts for 2 hours and 8 minutes; about 2.9 square miles
(7.5 square km), i.e., 20%, of the city's area is burned destroying about 500
industrial buildings and damaging 162; 65,951 homes are lost leaving 242,468
people homeless. Casualties are 2,669 dead or missing and 11,289 injured. The
B-29 crews see 314 enemy aircraft which make a total of 93 individual
attacks; the AAF claims 1-0-? Japanese aircraft; 3 B-29s are lost, none to
the fighters.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
A-20s and B-24s continue pounding Japanese installations at Baguio; P-51s
strike Patapat, hitting vehicles and supplies; fighters on patrol hit Caballo
Island in Manila Bay; the Batangas area is again pounded by fighter-bombers
and A-20s. B-24s hit Talisay and Carolina Airfields on Negros Island and bomb
targets pinpointed by guerrillas on Cebu Island. B-25s bomb San Roque
Airfield on Mindanao Island and attack Tarakan Island and Jesselton Airfields
in Borneo. On Formosa, B-24s also hit the town of Taihoku, airfields at
Heito, and the Okayama naval airbase. HQ 43d Bombardment Group (Heavy) and
the 65th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) move from Tacloban, Leyte Island to
Clark Field, Luzon with B-24s; the 419th Night Fighter Squadron, XIII Fighter
Command, moves from Middelburg Island to Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island with
P-61s.

SATURDAY, 17 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands, 2 B-24s fly bombing and
photo missions over Matsuwa Island, concentrating on the airfield, and on
returning photograph Shasukotan, Harumukotan, and Onnekotan Islands.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 1 B-25 and 12 P-51s damage
21 locomotives and a river launch in the Peking area, around Tsinan, and
between Taiyuan and Tatung.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 44: In Burma, 70 of 77 B-29s hit a
storage dump at Rangoon; 2 others bomb targets of opportunity, the Sagyi
Airfield and warehouses at Bassein without loss.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 16 P-47s support the
British 36 Division around Mogok; 12 B-25s bomb troops and supplies near
Namlan; 33 P-47s hit road targets behind enemy lines, concentrating on the
Hay-ti and Mong Yai sectors; 40+ other fighter-bombers attack troops,
supplies, tanks, and trucks behind the battleline including the Ta-mun,
Namsaw, Pansupe, Tal-ti, and Kankang areas. Transports continue to fly troops
and supplies to frontline areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 892: 1,328 bombers and 820 P-51s are dispatched to hit oil,
industrial and rail targets in Germany; clouds extend from 1,000 to 15,000
feet (305 to 4,572 m) and over the targets there is 9/10 to 10/10 cloud
cover necessitating PFF methods for bombing; 5 B-17s and 2 P-51s are lost:
  1. 527 B-17s are sent to hit the oil refinery at Ruhland (214); 138 hit the
secondary target, the Bittefeld oil refinery; targets of opportunity are the
Vomag munitions factory at Plauen (125), Fulda (19), Cottbus (11) and other
(3); H2X radar is used; 4 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 46
damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 1 WIA and 35 MIA. Escorting are 252 of 280 P-51s; 1
is lost (pilot MIA).
  2. 449 B-17s are dispatched to hit the oil refinery at Bohlen (152) and the
oil refinery and power station at Molbis (127); secondary targets are the
Zeiss works at Jena (71) and the marshalling yard at Erfurt (51); targets of
opportunity are Altenburg (36) and other (3); bombing is by H2X radar; 1 B-17
is lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 15 damaged; 9 airmen are MIA. 266 of 283
P-51s escort; 1 is lost (pilot MIA).
  3. 346 B-24s are dispatched to hit the marshalling yard at Munster (170)
and the Hanomag tank factory at Hannover (146); 9 other hit Herford, a target
of opportunity; Gee-H and H2X are used to bomb; 3 B-24s are damaged. The
escort is 122 of 128 P-51s.
  4. 6 B-24s fly a screening mission.
  5. 79 of 86 P-51s fly a freelance sweep without loss.
  6. 28 of 32 P-51s fly a scouting mission without loss.
  7. 9 of 11 P-51s escort 2 F-5s and 1 Spitfire on a photo reconnaissance
mission over Germany.
  Mission 893: 9 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany, the Netherlands and France
during the night.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 650+ A-20s, A-26s, and
B-26s bomb 5 marshalling yards, 2 communications centers, an ordnance depot,
3 city areas, and several targets of opportunity; the attacks are to impede
the enemy movement of troops, equipment, and supplies in the face of the
advancing Allied forces; fighters fly escort, patrols, and armed
reconnaissance, cover the Remagen bridgehead, support the US III Corps NE of
Remagen, cooperate with the XII Corps which has penetrated several miles E of
Bad Kreuznach at one point, and operate with the XX Corps which at one point
reaches as far E as Birkenfeld. The 386th Fighter Squadron, 365th Fighter
Group, moves from Juzaine Airfield, Florennes, Belgium to Aachen, Germany
with P-47s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Bad weather grounds the
bombers. In Yugoslavia, 98 P-38s dive-bomb the Ptuj and Zagreb railroad
bridges, the Klinca Sela marshalling yard, and the Sisak marshalling yard and
bridge; B-24s, with fighter escort, drop supplies and F-5s, P-38s and P-51s
fly reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort. During the night of 17/18 Mar,
B-24s drop supplies in N Italy.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, A-20s and B-26s during
the night of 16/17 Mar, bomb Po River crossings, other bridges, lights, and
movements in the Po Valley; B-25s bomb railroad bridges and fills at
Cittadella, San Michele all' Adige, Aldeno, Bozzolo, Canneto sull' Oglio,
Pontetidone, Pizzighettone, and Pontevico; fighters and fighter-bombers are
greatly restricted by bad weather but score effectively against dumps,
bridges, railroads, marshalling yards, trains, and buildings mainly in the Po
Valley.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): On Chichi Jima Island, 11 Guam Island-based
B-24s hit Susaki Airfield; during the night of 17/18 Mar, 5 B-24s again hit
the airfield. HQ 30th Bombardment Group (Heavy) and the 27th, 30th and 819th
Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) move from Saipan Island to Wheeler Field,
Hawaii with B-24s (the group will train and fly patrol missions until VJ-Day).

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Formosa airfields
are pounded by B-24s operating in force. On Luzon Island, nearly 500 sorties
are flown in support of ground forces by B-25s, A-20s, and fighters. B-24s
hit Panay Island, Philippine Islands beaches preparatory to allied landings
on 18 Mar and bomb troops in the combat areas on Mindanao Island. Bacolod
Airfield on Negros Island is also bombed. HQ 317th Troop Carrier Group moves
from Leyte Island to Clark Field, Luzon; the 31st Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Morotai Island to Samar
Island with B-24s.
 
SUNDAY, 18 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): A weather sortie is flown.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 6 B-24s sweep the Gulf of Tonkin and
S China Sea, claiming 1 freighter damaged. 2 P-51s over N French Indochina
strafe trucks, troops, and horsecarts.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 12 P-47s support the
Chinese ground forces near Hsipaw; 8 others support British 36 Division
troops by dropping napalm NE of Mogok; 11 B-25s and 20 fighter-bombers hit
troop concentrations and supplies immediately behind the battlefront and
roads S of the bomb line are swept by 16 P-38s. Transports continue steady
operations.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 894: 1,329 bombers and 733 fighters are dispatched to hit railway
stations and tanks plants in the Berlin area; the attacks are made both
visually and with H2X radar; the Luftwaffe makes it's most concentrated and
successful attacks with Me 262s to date; the AAF claims 21-1-5 Luftwaffe
aircraft; 13 bombers (8 to flak) and 6 fighters are lost:
  1. 421 of 450 B-17s hit the Schlesischer rail station in Berlin; 13 hit
the secondary target, Zehdnuk; and 1 hits Vechta, a target of opportunity;
they claim 6-0-0 aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost, 8 damaged beyond repair and
268 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 18 WIA and 49 MIA. 179 of 199 P-51s escort;
they claim 4-0-2 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost.
  2. 495 of 530 B-17s hit the Nord rail station in Berlin; targets of
opportunity are Ludwigslust (3) and other (3); they claim 1-1-1 aircraft; 7
B-17s are lost, 6 damaged beyond repair and 319 damaged; 1 airman is KIA,
12 WIA and 79 MIA. Escorting are 219 of 238 P-51s; they claim 7-0-1
aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost.
  3. 347 B-24s are sent to hit the Tegel (225) and Henningsdorf (80) tank
factories in Berlin; targets of opportunity are Oranienburg (9), Uelzen (9)
and other (3); 1 B-24 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 127 damaged; 1
airman is KIA, 1 WIA and 11 MIA. The escort is 254 P-51s; they claim 3-0-1
aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost.
  4. 2 B-17s fly a scouting mission.
  5. 27 of 30 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  6. 1 of 12 P-51s escort 5 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over
Germany.
  Mission 895: 10 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and
Germany during the night without loss.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS 
    First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): The 415th Night Fighter Squadron,
64th Fighter Wing, moves from Ochey to St Dizier, France with Beaufighters.
    Ninth Air Force: In Germany, 660+ A-20s, A-26s and B-26s hit the
marshalling yards at Wetzlar, Worms, Kreuztal, and Bad Durkheim, a
communications center at Bad Durkheim, and 4 town areas with the aim of
hampering enemy movement; fighters escort the bombers, attack assigned
targets, fly patrols, and armed reconnaissance, and cooperate with the US III
Corps at Remagen, with the XII Corps as it begins an assault towards the
Mainz-Worms sector of the Rhine River, and with the XX Corps as it moves
rapidly eastward through the Sankt Wendel area toward Kaiserslautern. HQ 70th
Fighter Wing moves from Verviers, Belgium to Bruhl, Germany.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Bad weather limits operations
to reconnaissance and supply missions, a fighter-bomber attack by P-38s on
the Varazdin, Yugoslavia railroad bridge, after which many of the P-38s
strafe railroad communications in the Zagreb, Varazdin and Maribor,
Yugoslavia, and Villach, Austria areas, and a strafing mission against rail
communications and airfields in the Graz and Wiener-Neustadt, Austria,
Maribor, Yugoslavia, and Szombathely, Hungary areas.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 17/18
Mar, A-20s and A-26s continue intruder missions in the Po Valley,
concentrating on Po River crossings; B-25s bomb the railroad bridges at
Bozzolo, and Palazzuolo sull' Oglio, the railroad fill at Salorno, and
the causeway at Mantua; fighters and fighter-bombers hit dumps and support
ground forces S of Bologna, and attack communications targets over wide areas
of the Po Valley; the most devastating raid of the day is flown against the
Novara marshalling yard where 14 locomotives are destroyed.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA
    Seventh Air Force: 14 B-24s from Guam Island pound Susaki Airfield on
Chichi Jima Island and 1 other hits Haha Jima Island; during the night of
18/19 Mar, 5 more B-24s individually strike Susaki Airfield. The 392d
Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 30th Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from
Saipan Island to Kipapa, Hawaii with B-24s.
    VII Fighter Command: On Chichi Jima Island, 16 P-51s from Iwo Jima
Island dive-bomb radar and radio installations and barges.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 44: During the night of 18/19 Mar,
290 of 313 XXI Bomber Command B-29s continue the fire raids on Japanese
cities, bombing Nagoya from 4,500 to 9,000 feet (1,372 to 2,743 m) with
incendiaries for the second time this month; an additional 3 square miles
(7.8 square km) are destroyed; the Nagoya arsenal, Aichi engine plant and
freight yards are damaged but the Mitsubishi plants escape with minor damage;
this mission ends the March fire raids.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On S Luzon Island,
B-24s, A-20s, and fighters support ground forces by hitting the Ipo area and
various targets in Batangas Province. B-24s again bomb Bacolod on Negros
Island, hit several targets on Cebu Island, and bomb Sepinggang and
Jesselton Airfields on Borneo. On Formosa, the airfield at Tainan, seaplane
base at Takao, and emergency field at Koshun are also hit. The 419th Night
Fighter Squadron, XIII Fighter Command, based at Puerto Princesa, Palawan
Island with P-61s, sends a detachment to operate from Zamboanga, Mindanao
Island.

MONDAY, 19 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 5 B-24s bomb and photograph the Kashiwabara
naval base on Paramushiru Island. 8 B-25s bomb canneries along the Masugawa
and Asahigawa Rivers.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 5 B-24s on a sweep over the S China
Sea and Gulf of Tonkin claim a large freighter sunk. 4 P-38s strafe trucks
from Son La to Hoa Binh, French Indochina.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 24 P-38s support the
forces of the Chinese 50th Division near Hsipaw; 12 P-38s sweep roads S of
the bomb line while 27 P-47s operating over and behind enemy lines hit troop
concentrations and  supplies at Namlan, Namio, and Nam-maw-long and a
Japanese-held monastery at Nammaw-long. Transports fly 502 sorties to forward
areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 896: 1,273 bombers and 675 fighters are dispatched to hit airfields
and industrial targets in Germany visually and with H2X radar; clouds force 2
of the 3 forces to hit secondaries; 100+ Luftwaffe fighters including 36 Me
262s in formation (largest number of jets seen as a unit) are encountered;
the AAF claims 41-3-19 Luftwaffe aircraft (including 3 Me 262s); 6 bombers
and 10 fighters are lost:
  1. Cloud cover prevents 496 B-17s from hitting the primary targets;
secondaries hit are the optical works at Jena (197) and the motor vehicle
plant at Zwickau (177); targets of opportunity are Plauen (32), the
marshalling yards at Fulda (44) and Saalfeld (10) and other (4); bombing is
by H2X radar with some visual attacks; they claim 1-1-2 aircraft; 4 B-17s are
lost, 4 damaged beyond repair and 121 damaged; 9 airmen are KIA, 5 WIA and 49
MIA. Escorting are 183 of 198 P-51s; they claim 2-0-3 aircraft; 4 P-51s are
lost.
  2. Cloud cover forces 404 of 436 B-17s to hit the industrial area at
Plauen, the secondary target using H2X radar; targets of opportunity, bombed
visually, are the Fulda marshalling yard (20) and Prissig (1); 1 B-17 is
lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 4 damaged; 9 airmen are KIA, 3 WIA and 9
MIA. The escort is 141 of 153 P-51s.
  3. 341 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields at Neuburg (125) and Leipheim
(84) and jet aircraft plant at Baumenheim (126) visually; 1 B-24 is lost; 11
airmen are MIA. 175 of 194 P-51s escort; they claim 5-0-0 aircraft without
loss.
  4. 95 of 98 P-51s fly a freelance sweep for the bombers; they claim 33-2-14
aircraft; 6 P-51s are lost.
  5. 2 of 4 P-51s escort 15 F-5s and 2 Spitfires on a photo reconnaissance
mission over Germany.
  Mission 897: 11 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany
during the night.
  
  TACTICAL OPERATIONS
    First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): HQ 27th Fighter Group and the
522d, 523d and 524th Fighter Squadrons move from St Dizier to Ochey Airfield,
Toul, France with P-47s.
    Ninth Air Force: In Germany, the 9th Bombardment Division strikes 2
marshalling yards, 5 rail bridges, a communications center and several casual
targets as part of the interdiction program to impede enemy movement;
fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, support
the US III Corps W of Remagen, cooperates with the XII Corps' 4th Armored
Division E of Kaiserslautern as it drives toward the Rhine River; fighter-
bombers of the XIX Tactical Air Command, on a special mission, bomb the HQ of
Commander-in-Chief West (Field Marshall Gerd von Rundstedt) at Ziegenberg.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 800+ B-17s and B-24s, with
fighter escorts, hit marshalling yards at Landshut, Passau, Muhldorf,
Plattling, Garching an der Alz and Altenmarkt an der Alz, Germany, and Sankt
Veit an der Glan, Lambach, Klagenfurt, Austria and 54 P-51s strafe railroads
in the target areas; 36 P-38s bomb the marshalling yard at Varazdin,
Yugoslavia; B-24s drop supplies in Yugoslavia while P-38s and P-51s fly
reconnaissance and escort.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, XXII Tactical Air
Command A-20s strike heavily against general movement in the Po Valley during
the night of 18/19 Mar, and are followed during the day by fighter and
fighter-bomber attacks on communications in the C Po Valley and NE Italy
where numerous rail cuts are made, 3 bridges damaged, and several supply
dumps hit; medium bombers damage a bridge at Muhldorf, Germany, bridges and
fills at Perca, and at 7 other locations on the N Italian approaches to the
Brenner Pass.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA
    Seventh Air Force: On Chichi Jima Island, 12 Guam Island-based B-24s
attack the Susaki Airfield and radio installations in the afternoon. During
the night of 19/20 Mar, Susaki Airfield is hit again by 5 B-24s flying
separate snooper strikes.
    VII Fighter Command: On Chichi Jima Island, 16 P-51s from Iwo Jima Island
bomb and strafe Susaki Airfield, a radio installation, and storage area.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s and fighter-
bombers again hit installations on N Luzon Island. B-24s hit a variety of
targets on Cebu Island including the town of Minglanilla. The 8th Combat
Cargo Squadron, 2d Combat Cargo Group, moves from Biak Island to Dulag, Leyte
Island with C-46s; the 63d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 43d Bombardment
Group (Heavy), moves from Tacloban, Leyte to Clark Field, Luzon with B-24s.

TUESDAY, 20 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In French Indochina, 4 P-38s claim 11
trucks destroyed and 9 damaged between Son La and Hoa Binh.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): 20 P-47s sweep roads S of the bomb
line in C Burma; 16 others hit supply dumps behind Japanese lines. Transports
continue to supply forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown.
  Mission 898: 451 bombers and 355 fighters are dispatched to hit the
shipyard and dock area at Hamburg and an oil refinery; they claim 14-3-17
Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 bombers and 2 P-51s are lost:
  1. 13 of 152 B-17s hit the Blohm & Voss U-boat yard at Hamburg; 133 others
hit the secondary, the port area at Hamburg; bombing is visual; they claim
1-0-3 aircraft; 1 airman is KIA and 2 WIA. Escorting are 70 of 79 P-51s; they
claim 0-0-2 aircraft.
  2. 149 of 162 B-17s hit the secondary target, the Hamburg port area, using
H2X radar; 1 other hits the Nordholz Airfield, a target of opportunity; they
claim 5-3-2 aircraft; 3 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 54
damaged; 27 airmen are MIA. The escort is 72 of 75 P-51s; they claim 0-0-2
aircraft.
  3. 114 of 129 B-24s attack the oil refinery at Hemmingstedt; 1 B-24 is lost
and 9 damaged; 12 airmen are MIA. 75 P-51s escort; they claim 2-0-1 aircraft
in the air and 1-0-2 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
  4. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission without loss.
  5. 2 B-17s and 26 of 27 P-51s fly scouting missions.
  6. 78 of 82 P-51s fly a strafing mission in the Bremen-Hannover area; they
claim 2-0-3 aircraft in the air and 3-0-2 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost
(pilot MIA).
  7. 17 P-51s escort 11 F-5s and 2 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions
over Germany.
  Mission 899: 1 B-17, escorted by 4 P-51s, bombs Oberursel at 1650 hours
from 25,000 feet (7,620 m); this is the first operational test of Micro-H Mk
II radar.
  Mission 900: 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany and 2
A-26s fly CARPETBAGGER missions (1 A-26 is lost).

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 360+ A-20s, A-26s, and
B-26s bomb the Geisecke marshalling yard, Sythen ammunition-filling plant,
the town of Gronau (including a rail bridge), and several casual targets in
or near 9 other towns; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols and armed
reconnaissance, support the US III and VII Corps just E of the Rhine River
between Bad Honningen and the Sieg River, and the XII and XX Corps as they
push to the Rhine River at Worms and at a point N of Mannheim.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Austria, 760+ B-17s and
B-24s, with fighter escort, hit the Korneuburg and Kagran oil refineries, the
marshalling yards at Wels, Sankt Polten, Amstetten, Wiener-Neustadt, and
Klagenfurt, and the tank works at Steyr. Routine supply, reconnaissance, and
escort missions continue. The 885th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 2641st
Special Group, moves from Brindisi to Rosignano, Italy with B-17s and B-24s
(the squadron transports supplies to partisans and drops leaflets).

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, XXII Tactical Air
Command A-20s during the night of 19/20 Mar continue intruder missions into
the Po Valley while fighters and fighter-bombers pound communications targets
in the Valley during the day and severely damage fuel dumps near Mantua;
medium bombers hit 4 bridges on the Brenner line and 2 others in NE Italy and
hit other bridge approaches nearby. HQ 79th Fighter Group moves from Fano to
Cesenatico, Italy.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 12 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb Susaki Airfield on
Chichi Jima Island; during the night of 20/21 Mar, 4 other B-24s fly single
strikes against the airfield. 
    VII Fighter Command: The air echelon of the 549th Night Fighter Squadron,
ceases operating from Saipan Island and moves to Iwo Jima with P-61s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-24s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers fly numerous ground support missions and
hit targets at Balete Pass, Bayombong, Tuguegarao, Antamok, San Fernando,
Bontoc and along roads. B-24s pound the supply and personnel area E of Cebu
City and N of Mambaling on Cebu Island, defensive positions NW of Talisay and
AA guns to the N, and also bomb Talisay on Negros Island. Other B-24s bomb
the town of Tainan, Formosa. B-25s on a shipping sweep sink 3 small vessels
near Qui Nhon, French Indochina. The 72d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 5th
Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Morotai Island to Samar Island with
B-24s; the detachments of the 75th and 390th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium),
42d Bombardment Group (Medium), operating from Morotai Island, return to base
at Sansapor, New Guinea with B-25s.

WEDNESDAY, 21 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER

  ZONE OF INTERIOR (Fourth Air Force): A P-63 from Walla Walla AAFld,
Washington, intercepts a Japanese balloon near Redmond, Washington, and,
after a chase that includes 2 refueling stops, shoots it down near Reno,
Nevada.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 4 P-51s damage several locomotives
and boxcars at Vinh Airfield, French Indochina and along the railroad to the
N. 6 B-24s claim 1 vessel damaged in S China Sea. 

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 30 P-47s support Chinese
ground forces in the Hsipaw area; 34 P-38s sweep roads S of the bomb line; 13
B-25s and 18 P-47s attack troop concentrations and vehicles at several points
behind the Japanese lines; 526 air supply sorties are flown to the forward
areas; in ground action in the area of the British Fourteenth Army's 33
Corps, organized resistance ceases in Mandalay and Allied forces completely
take over that city.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 5 missions are flown.
  Mission 901: Preparatory air operations for the forthcoming (23 Mar)
crossing of the lower Rhine River by Allied ground forces begin. 1,408
bombers and 806 fighters, in conjunction with Ninth Air Force and RAF
aircraft, attack jet fighter bases; with one exception, all attacks are
visual; they claim 58-3-49 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 B-17s and 9 P-51s are lost:
  1. 107 of 152 B-17s hit the secondary target, the tank factory at Plauen;
targets of opportunity are Reichenbach (34) and other (1); they claim 3-3-3
aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost and 48 damaged. The escort is 273 of 314 P-51s;
they claim 9-0-0 aircraft in the air and 3-0-0 on the ground; 3 P-51s are
lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair.
  2. 129 of 151 B-17s attack Hardorf Airfield; 14 others hit Vorden Airfield,
a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 71
damaged. Escorting are 94 of 98 P-51s; they claim 0-0-2 aircraft in the air.
  3. 214 B-17s are sent to attack the airfields at Zwischenahn (57), Marx
(77) and Wittmundhafen (74); casualties for 1., 2. and 3. above are 7 WIA and
56 MIA. 108 of 109 P-51s escort and claim 2-0-8 aircraft on the ground; 1
P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
  4. 518 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields at Ahlhorn (61), Hesepe (165),
Achmer (180) and Mulheim Airfield at Essen (90); 21 B-24s are damaged.
Escorting are 95 of 99 P-51s; they claim 35-0-30 aircraft on the ground; 3
P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
  5. 373 B-17s are sent to hit airfields at Hopsten (159 using Gee-H) and
Rheine (180); targets of opportunity are the airfields at Hesepe (13) and
Achmer (12); 1 B-17 is lost and 49 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 3 WIA and 9
MIA. 97 of 102 P-51s escort; they claim 6-0-0 aircraft on the ground.
  6. 36 P-51s fly a sweep over Giebelstadt Airfield and claim 0-0-6 aircraft
on the ground.
  7. 13 P-51s escort 9 F-5s, 1 P-38 and 1 Spitfire on photo reconnaissance
missions over Germany.
  8. 35 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  Mission 902: In a DISNEY operation, 3 B-17s attack the E-boat pens at
Ijmuiden, the Netherlands with rocket bombs; 6 P-51s escort.
  Mission 903: 1 B-17 bombs Oberursel in a Micro-H Mk II radar test; 4 P-51s
escort.
  Mission 904: During the afternoon, 90 of 92 B-24s attack Mulheim Airfield
at Essen; 60 are damaged and 1 airman is WIA.
  Mission 905: 8 of 9 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany
during the night.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 580+ A-20s, A-26s, and
B-26s strike 6 communications centers and a marshalling yard E of the Rhine
River, along with several casual targets, in the interdiction campaign to
obstruct enemy movement; fighters fly patrols and armed reconnaissance,
attack railroads and bridges, support the US VII Corps as its units reach the
Sieg River near Siegburg, cooperate with the XII Corps as more of its
elements reach the Rhine River at various points between Boppard and Worms,
and support the XX Corps as additional units reach the Rhine between Worms
and Mannheim.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 660+ B-24s and B-17s, with
fighter escorts, bomb the Neuburg an der Donau Airfield, Germany, marshalling
yards at Villach (2 yards), Klagenfurt, Graz and Bruck and der Mur, Austria,
and Pragersko, Yugoslavia, 3 oil refineries and a goods depot at Vienna,
Austria, and 4 scattered targets of opportunity; supply and reconnaissance
missions with escort are flown.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): A-20s continue to attack
communications in the Po Valley especially the Po River crossings during the
night of 20/21 Mar; during the day fighter-bombers concentrate on railroad
targets (lines, trains, bridges, and viaducts) and dumps in the Po Valley and
areas N of the battleline in the N Apennines; medium bombers bomb a railroad
fill at Salorno, bridges at Casarsa della Delizia and Pizzighettone,
marshalling yards at Vipiteno and Brennero, and bridge approaches at Campo.
The 86th and 87th Fighter Squadrons, 79th Fighter Group, move from Fano to
Cesenatico, Italy with P-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA
    Seventh Air Force: On Chichi Jima Island, 13 B-24s, based on Guam Island,
hit Susaki Airfield, which is hit again during the night of 21/22 Mar by 5
more, flying separate strikes.
    VII Fighter Command: 16 P-51s from Iwo Jima Island strafe and bomb
barracks and radio and radar installations on Chichi Jima.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-25s, A-20s, and fighters continue large-scale support missions, hitting a
variety of targets including Japanese defenses at Lipa and Tarlac and the
town of Naga and Camiling. In the C Philippine Islands B-24s hit targets near
Cebu City while A-20s pound other towns on Cebu Island. B-24s bomb Samah
Airfield on Hainan Island. B-25s on a shipping sweep attack and set afire a
freighter SE of Nanao Island, China. HQ 42d Bombardment Group (Medium) and
the 390th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) move from Morotai Island to Puerto
Princesa, Palawan Island with B-25s; the 67th Fighter Squadron, 347th Fighter
Group, ceases operating from Morotai with P-38s and returns to base at Puerto
Princesa, Palawan.

THURSDAY, 22 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 24 fighter-bombers and a
single B-25 attack railroad traffic and railroad yards in and around
Shihkiachwang, at Chukiatsi, and from Sinsiang to Chenghsien.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 45: 76 of 78 B-29s, operating in 2
waves, blast storage dumps at Rangoon, Burma without loss.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 16 fighter-bombers support
Chinese ground forces near Hsipaw; 12 B-25s and 41 fighter-bombers hit
numerous targets along and immediately behind the enemy lines; troops,
supplies, and communications are attacked and 2 bridges are knocked out; 547
air supply sorties are flown to forward areas; the 71st Liaison Squadron,
Tenth Air Force [attached to 1st Liaison Group (Provisional)], moves from
Katha to Myitkyina with L-1s, L-4s, L-5s and UC-64s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 906: Air attacks in preparation for the lower Rhine River crossing
by Allied ground forces continue; 1,331 bombers and 662 fighters attack
barracks and military encampments in the Ruhr and airfields in Germany
visually; they claim 27-1-12 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 and 3 P-51s are lost:
  1. 99 of 114 B-17s hit Ahlhorn Airfield; 13 others hit the marshalling yard
at Oldenburg, a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost; 9 airmen are MIA.
Escorting are 95 of 99 P-51s.
  2. 457 B-17s are sent to hit military camps at Bottrop (36), Dorsten (74),
Barningholten (111), Westerholt (116), Feldhausen N (74) and S (39); 3 B-17s
are damaged beyond repair and 111 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA and 8 WIA. The
escort is 95 of 99 P-51s.
  3. 297 B-17s are sent to hit military camps at Hinsbeck (67), Geresheim
(73), Ratingen (75) and Mulheim (74); 114 B-17s are damaged and 3 airmen are
WIA. 48 P-51s escort; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft on the ground.
  4. 342 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields at Kitzingen (168),
Giebelstadt (75) and Schwab Hall (82); 8 others hit Wurzburg, the secondary
target; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged; 8 airmen are KIA. The
escort is 138 of 153 P-51s; they claim 3-0-1 aircraft in the air and 13-0-7
on the ground.
  5. 109 of 113 B-17s hit the Rhein Main Airfield at Frankfurt; 31 B-17s are
damaged. Escorting are 56 P-51s.
  6. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission.
  7. 19 of 22 P-51s escort 19 of 22 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions
over Germany; they claim 11-1-3 aircraft in the air.
  8. 2 B-17s and 31 of 32 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  9. 150 of 153 P-51s escort Fifteenth AF bombers from Italy.
  Mission 907: 9 of 10 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany.
  
  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, nearly 800 A-20s, A-26s,
and B-26s bomb 9 communications centers and a marshalling yard E of the Rhine
River (plus 7 towns, flak positions, and a target of opportunity) as part of
the interdiction program to impede the movement of supplies and troops;
fighters escort the bombers, attack railroads and other assigned targets, fly
patrols and armed reconnaissance, support the US 1st and 9th Infantry
Divisions SE of Honnef and along the Wied River, cooperate with the XII Corps
as it begins crossing the Rhine River in the Mainz-Oppenheim areas and with
the XX Corps which begins an attack on Ludwigshafen. HQ 69th Tactical
Reconnaissance Group and the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron arrive at
Nancy, France from the US with F-6s; HQ 474th Fighter Group moves from
Florennes, Belgium to Strassfeld, Germany; the 31st Tactical Reconnaissance
Squadron, Ninth AF [attached to 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Group
(Provisional)], arrives at Maastricht, the Netherlands from the US with F-6s;
the 72d Liaison Squadron, Ninth Air Force (attached to Sixth Army Group),
moves from Buhl to Sarreguemines, France with L-5s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 680+ B-17s and B-24s (with
Eighth and Fifteenth AF fighter escort) hit the Ruhland, Germany and Kralupy
and Vltava, Czechoslovakia oil refineries (some bombers on the Ruhland raid
bomb the Lauta aluminum works to the N), a railroad communications and
ordnance depot, a marshalling yard, and 2 oil refineries at Vienna, Austria,
marshalling yards at Graz, Wels, Zeltweg and Klagenfurt, Austria, and
Neratovice, Czechoslovakia, and scattered targets of opportunity;
reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort missions are also flown.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 21/22
Mar, A-20s and A-26s continue intruder raids concentrating on Po River
crossings in the E Po Valley; during the day P-47s blast rail lines, trains
and other communications targets, especially in the E Po Valley and areas to
the N. In Austria, B-25s destroy a bridge at Brixlegg, severely damage the
Steinach bridge, and hit bridge approaches at Muhlberg and the town of Matrei
am Brenner. Weather prevents successful attacks on 2 targets in N Italy.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA
    Seventh Air Force: On Chichi Jima Island, 13 B-24s from Guam Island bomb 
Susaki Airfield. 20 B-24s from Angaur Island bomb Cebu Island.  During the 
night of 22/23 Mar, 4 B-24s from Guam Island make individual raids on Susaki
Airfield.
    VII Fighter Command: 16 Iwo-based P-51s bomb and strafe a weather station
 fuel storage, and radar installations on Chichi Jima. 

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Cebu Island,
B-24s and A-20s (along with US Marine Corps aircraft) hit Cebu City, defenses
at several locations on Cebu, and targets on Inampulugan Island nearby. On
Luzon Island, B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and fighters continue to hit numerous
objectives, chiefly Balete Pass, Tangadon, San Fernando, and the Batangas
areas. On Formosa, other B-24s hit Tainan and Okayama Airfields, destroying
several hangars, planes, and gun positions. The 64th Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 43d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Tacloban, Leyte Island to
Clark Field, Luzon with B-24s; the 69th and 100th Bombardment Squadrons
(Medium), 42d Bombardment Group (Medium), cease operating from Morotai Island
with B-25s and move to base at Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island; the 75th
Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 42d Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from
Sansapor, New Guinea to Puerto Princesa, Palawan with B-25s; and the 868th
Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), Thirteenth AF, moves from Noemfoor Island, New
Guinea to Morotai Island with B-24s (the squadron uses airborne radar for
low-level attacks at night and for pathfinder operations).

FRIDAY, 23 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): An 8-bomber strike is called off due to
weather.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 28 B-24s bomb the Tsinan
railroad shops and Yellow River bridge; 5 B-25s bomb town areas, storage
facilities, and targets of opportunity at Sinsiang and Wu-yang and chiefly in
the Hsiangcheng area; 50+ fighter-bombers attack troops, horses, and river,
road, and railroad targets in N French Indochina and S and E China.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 15 P-47s support Chinese
ground forces, bomb troops, and positions at Nampongpang and Nakang; 16 P-47s
hit targets of opportunity along roads from Mong Nawng to Wan Sing and to 
Kunlong, China; 11 P-47s hit quarters at Monglawng while 3 others attack
supply dumps at Laihka; 9 B-25s bomb communications routes, creating 2 road
blocks behind enemy lines. In large-scale air supply operations, 536 sorties
are flown.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown.
  Mission 908: The Allied ground assault across the lower Rhine River begins;
1,276 bombers and 499 fighters visually attack rail targets in W and C
Germany; they claim 1-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 bombers are lost:
  1. 319 B-24s are sent to hit the Rheine Bridge (79) and the Osnabruck (80)
and Munster (142) marshalling yards; 2 others hit Hoya Airfield, a target of
opportunity; 3 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 95 damaged; 1
airman is KIA, 3 WIA and 35 MIA. Escorting are 79 of 80 P-51s.
  2. 519 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards Hengstey (113), Giesecke
(91), Holzwickede (184) and the Unna yard at Dormund (38); secondary targets
hit are Meschede (19) and marshalling yards at Siegen (93) and Marburg (10);
targets of opportunity are Herdecke (10), Haliger (1) and Schwerte (10); 3
B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 178 damaged; 6 airmen are KIA, 4
WIA and 27 MIA. 82 P-51s escort.
  3. 438 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Coesfeld (145),
Recklinghausen (120) and Gladbeck (141); targets of opportunity are Hechfeldt
(12) and the marshalling yard at Westerholt (13); 1 B-17 is lost; 3 airmen
are WIA and 10 MIA. The escort is 71 of 79 P-51s.
  4. 125 of 131 P-51s fly a fighter sweep of the Bremen-Kassel area; they
claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 0-0-1 on the ground.
  5. 71 of 84 P-51s fly a sweep for the Ninth AF.
  6. 16 P-51s escort 15 F-5s and 4 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions
over Germany.
  7. 25 of 27 P-51s fly weather reconnaissance missions.
  Mission 909: 1 B-17, escorted by 4 P-51s, bombs Ettinghausen Airfield in a
Micro-H Mk II radar test.
  Mission 910: During the night, 9 of 10 B-24s drop leaflets in the
Netherlands and Germany; and 19 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions to Denmark.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, around 800 A-20s, A-26s
and B-26s strike 7 communications centers, a factory, and targets of
opportunity (including several flak positions); attacks on communications
centers are aimed at obstructing the movement of reinforcements to the front;
fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, attack
assigned ground targets, support the US III and VII Corps SE of Honnef and E
of the Wied River and the XII and XX Corps astride and on the W bank of the
Rhine River between Mainz and Worms. The 107th Tactical Reconnaissance
Squadron, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Gosselies, Belgium
to Vogelsang, Germany with F-6s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 658 B-17s and B-24s, (with
fighter escort) hit oil refineries at Ruhland, Germany, and at Vienna,
Austria, marshalling yards at Budejovice, Czechoslovakia and Gmund, Sankt
Polten and Sankt Valentin, Austria, and a tank works at Sankt Valentin, plus
scattered targets of opportunity. 40+ F-5s, P-38s and P-51s fly
reconnaissance.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, A-20s attack loading
points and crossings along the Po River during the night of 22/23 Mar; P-47s
concentrate on communications and general movement in the lower Brenner area
during the day; the fighter-bombers also blast several dumps in the C Po
Valley; B-25s hit bridges, railroad fills, and bridge approaches in the
Brenner area at Matrei am Brenner, Austria and Pordenone, Salorno, San
Michele all' Adige, Vo Sinistro, Longarone, and Perca, Italy.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA
    Seventh Air Force: During the night of 23/24 Mar, 5 Guam Island-based
B-24s, flying single-bomber strikes, pound Susaki Airfield on Chichi Jima
Island.
    VII Fighter Command: 15 P-51s from Iwo Jima Island bomb and strafe
various targets on Chichi Jima, Haha Jima, and Ani Jima Islands in the
Bonin Islands. 

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s, B-25s,
A-20s, and fighters hit Visayan Island, Philippine Islands, bombing Cebu
City, hitting defenses on Cebu Island and other islands, and on Luzon
Island, bomb the Antamok mines, Balete Pass, and the Tangadon areas, along
with several other targets. B-24s also hit targets on Mindanao Island and
fighter-bombers attack Takao, Formosa. The detachment of the 421st Night
Fighter Squadron, 86th Fighter Wing, operating from Tacloban, Leyte Island
with P-61s, returns to base at San Marcelino, Luzon.

SATURDAY, 24 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 34 B-24s, with an escort of
9 fighters, pound the Chenghsien locomotive park and Yellow River bridge; 30+
B-25s and 100+ fighter-bombers, operating in forces of 1 to 8 aircraft,
attack tanks, trucks, locomotives, troop concentrations, storage areas,
airstrips, bridges, gun positions, and general targets of opportunity
throughout S and E China.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): 31 fighter-bombers and 9 B-25s
operating over the battlefront and behind enemy lines in C Burma pound troop
concentrations, supply areas, a truck park, and general targets of
opportunity; 9 other fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity along
roads S of the bomb line; 504 air supply sorties are flown, landing men and
supplies at advanced bases and dropping supplies to frontline forces.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): 2,000+ transports and
gliders drop and land the British 6 Airborne and US 17th Airborne Divisions
(plus artillery, vehicles, ammunition, and other supplies) E of the Rhine
River N and NW of Wesel as the British Second and US Ninth Armies cross the
river to the NW and SE.  

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 911: In conjunction with the allied ground forces assault across
the lower Rhine River (Operation VARSITY) the Eighth flies bombing, supply,
and armed reconnaissance missions; during the day, 1,749 bomber sorties and
1,375 fighter sorties are flown to attack airfields visually in W and NW
Germany in the morning and afternoon and drop supplies to US and British
troops at midday; they claim 54-0-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 19 bombers and 9
fighters are lost; 
  1. 175 of 179 B-17s bomb Vechta Airfield in the morning; 1 hits Rheine
Airfield, a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost; 1 airman is WIA and 9 MIA.
  2. 527 B-17s are sent to hit Steenwijk (114), Zwischenahn (74), Varel
(88), Varrelbusch (113) and Plantlunne (13) Airfields in the morning; targets
of opportunity are Wittmundhafen Airfield (13) and other (2); 1 B-17 is lost
and 2 damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 9 MIA.
  3. 294 B-17s are dispatched to hit Rheine (36), Hopsten (62), Vechtel at
Furstenau (72), Achmer (73) and Hesepe (36) Airfields in the morning; 1 other
hits a target of opportunity; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 3 B-17s are lost, 1
damaged beyond repair and 100 damaged; 8 airmen are KIA, 5 WIA and 28 MIA.
  4. All 58 B-24s hit Nordhorn Airfield without loss.
  5. The 4 forces above have 1,158 P-47s and P-51s flying area support; they
claim 53-0-2 aircraft in the air and 0-0-4 on the ground; 9 P-51s are lost (8
pilots MIA).
  6. At midday, 240 B-24s are sent to drop supplies in the US (122) and
British (118) assault areas flying at 300 to 400-feet (91 to 122 m); 14
B-24s are lost (mostly to small arms fire), 4 damaged beyond repair and 103
damaged; 5 airmen are KIA, 30 WIA and 116 MIA.
  7. 182 B-24s are sent to hit Stormede (96) and Kirtorf (65) Airfields in
the afternoon; 9 hit Ziegenhain Airfield, the secondary, and 11 hit the
Treysa marshalling yard, a target of opportunity; 16 B-24s are damaged.
  8. 114 B-17s are sent to hit Ziegenhain Airfield (104) in the afternoon; 6
others hit Siegen marshalling yard, the secondary; 2 B-17s are damaged.
  9. 152 of 153 B-17s hit Enschede Airfield at Twente; 20 B-17s are damaged.
 10. The 3 forces above are escorted by 95 P-47s and P-51s without loss.
 11. 2 B-17s and 19 of 20 P-51s fly scouting missions; 1 P-51 is lost
 12. 8 P-51s escort 4 Mosquitos that monitor operations for the bombers.
 13. 17 P-51s escort 19 aircraft on photo reconnaissance missions over
Germany.
  Mission 912: 10 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany and the Netherlands
during the night and 24 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions over Scandinavia.
  The 859th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 492d Bombardment Group (Heavy)
[attached to the 2641st Special Group (Provisional)] moves from Brindisi to
Rosignano, Italy with B-24s and C-47s (the squadron is flying CARPETBAGGER
missions in the MTO).

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, almost 700 A-20s, A-26s,
and B-26s blast communications centers, rail bridges, flak positions, and
numerous other targets in cooperation with the combined land-airborne assault
across the Rhine River (Operation PLUNDER-VARSITY) by the British Second and
US Ninth Armies and the US XVIII Corps of the First Allied Airborne Army;
fighters attack with the bombers before the drop and carpet the landing zones
with fragmentation bombs, immobilizing numerous flak batteries; fighters
escort bombers and transports, cover the assaulting 30th and 79th Infantry
Divisions, attack troop concentrations, flak positions, supply and ammunition
dumps, airfields, defended villages, and road and rail traffic, and patrol
the perimeter of the battle sector; fighters also support US First Army
elements across the Rhine E of Remagen between Koblenz and the Sieg River as
they prepare for the breakout assault, and the US Third Army's XII Corps as
it strengthens its Rhine bridgehead E of Oppenheim and commits its armor to
push through toward the Main River. HQ 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group and
the 30th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron and 109th Tactical
Reconnaissance Squadron move from Gosselies, Belgium to Vogelsang, Germany
with F-5s and F-6s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  AAFMTO: Lieutenant General John K Cannon takes command of AAFMTO, and
shortly afterwards also takes over the Mediterranean Allied Air Force (MAAF).  

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 660 B-24s and B-17s bomb a tank
factory at Berlin and airfields at Munich and Neuburg an der Donau, Germany,
plus the Budejovice, Czechoslovakia marshalling yard, and alternate targets
and targets of opportunity including airfields at Plattling and Erding,
Germany and Udine, Italy; P-38s and P-51s escort the missions against German
targets and fly reconnaissance.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 23/24
Mar, A-20s and A-26s pound marshalling yards, river crossings and other
bridges, and a variety of other targets in the Po Valley and NE Italy where
fighters and fighter-bombers during the day destroy or damage numerous rail
lines and train cars; B-25s bomb bridges or bridge approaches at Piacenza,
Chiari, Perea, Casarsa della Delizia and Palazzolo sull'Oglio, Italy and
Muhlberg and Steinach, Austria. The 85th Fighter Squadron, 79th Fighter
Group, moves from Fanto to Cesenatico, Italy with P-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 9 B-24s from Guam Island bomb the torpedo storage area
on Marcus Island in the N Pacific. 24 Angaur Island-based B-24s bomb
defensive positions and the town of Naga on Luzon Island. During the night of
24/25 Mar, 5 Guam Island-based B-24s hit the airfield and town of Okimura on
Haha Jima Island.
    VII Fighter Command: 16 Iwo-based P-51s hit air, naval, and radar
installations and targets of opportunity on Chichi Jima Island. 

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 45: 223 of 248 B-29s, from the
Mariana Islands, attack the Mitsubishi aircraft engine plant at Nagoya, Japan
during the night of 24/25 Mar; 3 other B-29s hit alternate targets; 5 B-29s
are lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s and A-20s
pound Cebu City and defenses and installations on Cebu Island. On Luzon
Island, B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and P-38s attack Balete Pass, Legaspi, the
Batangas area, and scattered targets throughout Luzon. On Formosa, B-24s hit
the harbor at Takao and power plant and alcohol factory E of Okayama. HQ 91st
Photographic Wing (Reconnaissance) moves from Mindoro Island to Clark Field,
Luzon.

SUNDAY, 25 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 20+ B-25s and 150+
fighters, operating individually and in flights of up to 8 aircraft,
continue attacks on numerous targets including river, road, and rail traffic,
airfields, troop concentrations, storage areas, horses, and gun positions
throughout S and E China; the detachment of the 22d Bombardment Squadron
(Medium), 341st Bombardment Group (Medium), operating from Peishiyi with
B-25s, returns to base at Yangkai.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 26 P-47s support forces of
the Chinese 50th Division in the Hsipaw area; 44 fighter-bombers and 14 B-25s
attack troops and supplies and hit targets of opportunity along roads behind
the battleline in C Burma; 557 transport sorties are flown to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 913: 1,009 bombers and 341 fighters are dispatched to hit seven oil
plants and a tank factory in Germany; they claim 6-4-13 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4
B-24s and 1 P-51 are lost:
  1. 272 B-24s are sent to hti the Ehmen (59), Hitzacker (127) and Bucken
(57) oil depots; they claim 2-4-9 aircraft; 4 B-24s are lost, 2 damaged
beyond repair and 19 damaged; 16 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 39 MIA. Escorting
are 223 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 4-0-3 aircraft in the air.
  2. 737 B-17s are dispatched to hit oil plants but bad weather during the
assembly and the increasing possibility of adverse conditions causes the
mission to be cancelled; 3 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 9 airmen are
KIA.
  3. 47 of 48 P-51s escort Ninth AF B-26s.
  4. 24 P-51s fly a fighter-bomber mission against the Schmalge ammunition
dump; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
  5. 11 P-51s fly a scouting mission claiming 0-0-1 aircraft in the air.
  6. 16 P-15s escort 8 F-5s and 3 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions
over Germany.
  Mission 914: 10 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany and the Netherlands during
the night.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, the 9th Bombardment
Division hits 4 communications centers, 3 marshalling yards, and targets of
opportunity, including flak positions; fighters fly escort, armed
reconnaissance, and missions against several ground targets; fighters support
the US 79th Infantry Division as it pushes 2 miles (3.2 km) to the E of the
Rhine River (SE of Wesel), the III and VII Corps as they begin their breakout
assault toward Altenkirchen and in the Epgert and Willroth areas, and the XII
Corps as it establishes bridgeheads on the Main River in the Hanau and
Aschaffenburg areas.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Czechoslovakia, 650+ B-17s
and B-24s strike 2 airfields and a tank works at Prague (the patterns of the
bombs also hit 2 other nearby airfields) and an airfield at Cheb. Alternate
targets that are bombed include Wels, Austria and Udine Airfield, Italy.
P-38s and P-47s escort the bombers, and sweep and strafe the Nurnberg-
Eibelstadt-Wurzburg-Regensburg, Germany areas, and fly reconnaissance
operations.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 24/25
Mar, A-20s and A-26s continue intruder missions, attacking Po River crossings
and railroad and motor transport targets; P-47s, during the day, raid
railroad bridges and lines, hitting targets at Lavis, Casarsa della Delizia,
San Michele all'Adige, Pavia, Santa Margherita d'Adige, and other points in
the Po Valley and NE Italy, and bomb fuel dumps N of the battle area; 6
medium bomber missions against bridges and fills in Italy and Austria are
ineffective because of bad weather.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: During the night of 25/26 Mar, 5 B-24s from Guam
Island hit Susaki Airfield on Chichi Jima Island. 23 B-24s from Angaur Island
bomb defenses on Cebu Island. The US Marines complete the reduction of the 
final resistance pocket on Iwo Jima Island.
    VII Fighter Command: On Chichi Jima Island, 16 Iwo-based P-51s bomb and
strafe Susaki Airfield, and naval and radar installations; 16 more follow
with attacks on a radar station and personnel concentration on the island;

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Cebu City on Cebu
Island is thoroughly pounded by nearly 70 B-24s. On Luzon Island, other B-24s
hit Legaspi, and B-25s and fighter-bombers fly numerous ground support
missions, especially between Montalban and Laguna de Bay. B-25s attack
Pandanan Island, Philippine Islands. The 6th Combat Cargo Squadron, 2d Combat
Cargo Group, moves from Biak, New Guinea to Dulag, Leyte Island with C-46s;
and the 339th Fighter Squadron, 347th Fighter Group, ceases operating from
Morotai Island with P-38s and returns to base at Puerto Princesa, Palawan
Island.

MONDAY, 26 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands, 2 missions, each by 4
B-25s, attempt to bomb canneries on the Masugawa and the Hayakegawa Rivers;
fighters drive off the Masugawa mission and the other mision cannot find the
target due to weather. 4 B-24s bomb the Kataoka naval base on Shimushu Island.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 15 B-25s and 80+ fighter-
bombers, operating individually or in small flights, continue to disrupt
mobility and supply lines throughout S and E China, hitting numerous targets
of opportunity chiefly trucks, tanks, supply areas, horses, troops, artillery
pieces; several of the fighter-bombers also considerably damage Puchou
Airfield.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 28 P-47s and 10 B-25s
operating over and behind the C Burma battlelines attack artillery positions,
troop concentrations, road communications, and supply areas; 522 air supply
sorties are being completed throughout the. day.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 915: 337 B-17s and 527 P-51s are dispatched to attack oil and tank
plants in Germany; targets are bombed visually despite poor weather; no
aircraft are lost:
  1. 185 B-17s are sent to hit the synthetic oil plant at Zeitz (12); 130
others hit the Vomag tank factory at Plauen (130), the secondary; targets of
opportunity are Meiningen (25) and Wurzburg (11); 1 B-17 is damaged beyond
repair and 25 damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 5 WIA. Escorting are 194 of 238
P-51s.
  2. 152 B-17s are sent to hit the Vomag tank factory at Plauen (139);
targets of opportunity are Oelsnitz (12) and Markt Erlbach (1); 3 B-17s are
damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged; 18 airmen are KIA. 98 of 121 P-51s
escort.
  3. 110 of 118 P-51s fly a freelance fighter mission for the bombers.
  4. 26 of 27 P-51s escort 12 F-5s and 1 Spitfire on photo reconnaissance
missions over Germany.
  5. 22 of 23 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  HQ 7th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) and the 22d Photographic
Reconnaissance Squadron move from Mount Farm to Chalgrove, England with F-5s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, around 300 A-20s, A-26s
and B-26s hit marshalling yards at Wurzburg, Gemunden, and Flieden, the town
of Ruckers, and 2 targets of opportunity; fighters escort the bombers, fly
armed reconnaissance, hit special targets and support various ground forces
along the front; fighter support is accorded the US 2d, 3d, 7th, and 9th
Armored Divisions in the Hachenburg, Montabaur, and Limburg areas, the XII
Corps along the Main River from Frankfurt/Main to Aschaffenburg, and Ninth
Army elements in the bridgehead area around Gahlen. Units moving from Belgium
to Germany: HQ IX Tactical Air Command from Verviers to Bruhl; HQ 48th
Fighter Group and the 492d, 493d and 494th Fighter Squadrons from St Trond to
Kelz with P-47s. The 72d Liaison Squadron, Ninth AF (attached to Sixth Army
Group), moves from Sarreguemines, France to Kaiserlautern, Germany with L-5s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 500+ B-17s and B-24s, escorted
by P-51s and P-38s attack marshalling yards at Wiener-Neustadt, Strasshof,
Bruck an der Leitha, and Neunkirchen, Austria, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia and
Szombathely, Hungary; 46 P-38s dive-bomb the bridge at Ybbs, Austria while 26
P-51s, covered by 13 others, strafe rail traffic in the Wiener-Neustadt,
Austria-Vienna-Budejovice, Czechoslovakia areas; other P-38s and P-51s fly
reconnaissance operations.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, weather grounds the
medium bombers and hampers operations in general; during the night of 26/27
Mar, 3 A-20s hit bridges at Cittadella and Verona; fighter-bombers, operating
on a reduced scale, hit communications targets in the W Po Valley, cutting a
road bridge and several railroads, and attacking several targets of
opportunity.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: During the night of 26/27 Mar, 3 B-24s from Guam
Island on individual snooper strikes hit Chichi Jima Island. 9 Guam Island-
based B-24s pound Marcus Island in the N Pacific. The enemy makes a final
attack on Iwo Jima in an early morning attempt to infiltrate a bivouac area.
The capture and occupation phase of Iwo ends at 0800 hours when Major General
James E Chaney becomes Island Commander.
    VII Fighter Command: On Chichi Jima Island, 21 P-51s from Iwo Jima Island
bomb and strafe Susaki Airfield while 16 bomb and strafe weather and radar
stations and the town of Kitamura. HQ 21st Fighter Group arrives at Central 
Field, Iwo Jima from Hawaii; the 72d and 531st Fighter Squadrons, 21st
Fighter Group, move from Mokuleia Field, Hawaii to Iwo Jima with P-51s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers bomb Legaspi and targets in the area
including a fuel dump at Camalig; fighter-bombers hit numerous targets in the
N at Solvec Cove, Baguio, Mankayan, Sante Fe, and other areas; in the SW,
A-20s and fighter-bombers support US ground forces, hitting Ternate, and
towns in Tayabas and Batangas Provinces. B-24s and A-20s in the C Philippine
Islands hit Cebu City and E coast targets on Cebu Island. B-24s hit Takao,
Formosa. The 6th Combat Cargo Squadron, 2d Combat Cargo Group, moves from
Biak Island to Dulag, Leyte Island with C-46s.

TUESDAY, 27 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 25 B-25s hit towns, rail, road, and
river traffic, and targets of opportunity around Kweilin, Liuchow, Hengyang,
Hochih, Kaifeng, Anlu, Ishan, Kiyang, and the Siang Chiang Valley, China and
Nanyang, Burma. 44 fighter-bombers hit trucks, trains, sampans, power
facilities, and other targets around Nanyo, China and Hongay, Son Tay, Na
Cham, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Moc Chau, Muong Hang, and Bac Quang, French
Indochina. In China, 28 fighter-bombers knock out a bridge NE of Liuchow, hit
the town of Szeenhsien, and attack ammunition dumps and road and river
traffic around Hochih, Ishan, Liuchow, Pingnam, Liangfeng, and Kweilin.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 80+ fighter-bombers over
the battle areas and behind enemy lines in C Burma pound troops and supplies
at several locations including the Mong Kung, Man Namkat, Nam-yang, Tonglau,
Ho-na, Hkai-wun, Longwai, Monglawng, Laihka, and Namlan areas. Transports are
exceptionally active, flying 635 sorties to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Operations during the day include:
  1. 110 of 115 P-47s and P-51s escort 262 RAF Lancasters attacking
Paderborn, Germany.
  2. 2 F-5s, escorted by 4 P-51s, fly a photo reconnaissance mission over
Brunswick and Paderborn.
  Mission 916: 9 of 10 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany
during the night.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS 
    First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): HQ XII Tactical Air Command moves
from France to Germany.
    Ninth Air Force: Weather cancels 9th Bombardment Division operations. In
Germany, IX Tactical Air Command fighters patrol the US First Army front; the
XIX Tactical Air Command hits marshalling yards, patrols the Third Army
front, flies area cover from Koblenz to Aschaffenburg to Worms, and supports
the VIII and XII Corps along the Rhine River in the Wiesbaden area and the
Main River in the Frankfurt/Main-Aschaffenburg area. The 14th Liaison
Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group), moves
from Luxembourg City, Luxembourg to Oberstein, Germany with L-5s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Bad weather limits operations
to 3 P-38 reconnaissance flights.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): Weather cancels all combat
operations. The 416th Night Fighter Squadron, 62d Fighter Wing, moves from
Pisa to Pontedera, Italy with Mosquitos.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA
    Seventh Air Force: During the night of 27/28 Mar 5 B-24s, flying
individual strikes from Guam Island, hit Susaki Airfield on Chichi Jima
Island.
    VII Fighter Command: On Chichi Jima, 16 P-51s from Iwo Jima Island bomb
ammunition stores and the town of Kitamura.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 2 missions are flown:
  Mission 46: 151 of 165 Mariana Islands-based B-29s flying the first of many
raids in support of the impending Okinawa Island invasion, hit Tachiarai Army
Airfield and Oita Naval Airfield and the Omura aircraft factory on Kyushu
Island, Japan; 3 others hit alternate targets; they claim 1-2-4 Japanese
aircraft.
  Mission 47: 92 of 102 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait between Honshu and
Kyushu Islands during the night of 27/28 Mar; 2 others hit alternate targets;
they claim 1-0-0 Japanese aircraft; 3 B-29s are lost; this is first of many
mining operations by B-29s in Japanese waters.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers bomb Legaspi, the Balete area, the
Ipo-Siniloan sector, the Batangas area, and several other locations
throughout Luzon; fighters support the US amphibious landings on Caballo
Island in Manila Bay. In the C Philippine area B-24s bomb Negros Island
airfields while B-25s and P-38s hit the Cebu City area on Cebu Island. Other
B-25s bomb Kinsui, Formosa, and B-24s lightly attack Sandakan, Borneo.

WEDNESDAY, 28 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 6 B-24s bomb Haiphong and Hanoi docks
in French Indochina and the Bakli Bay barracks on Hainan Island. In China, 9
B-25s and 8 P-40s hit rivercraft and other targets from Yanglowtung to
Sienning; 9 other B-25s hit junks, storage, and targets of opportunity in the
Lushan area and 7 bomb Chingmen; 14 B-25s, operating in groups of 1 to 4
aircraft, hit rivercraft and scattered targets of opportunity at several
other points in S and E China; 120+ fighter-bombers over French Indochina and
S and E China continue to pound numerous targets of opportunity, mainly
river, road, and rail traffic and troop concentrations; rivercraft and
airfields in areas around Kai Tek Airfield in Hong Kong and Canton, Hankow,
and Wuchang, China are severely hit. In China, the 11th Bombardment Squadron
(Medium), 341st Bombardment Group (Medium), based at Yangkai sends a
detachment to operate from Chihkiang with B-25s; the 19th Liaison Squadron,
69th Composite Wing, moves from Kunming to Chengkung with L-1s and L-5s.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 3 mining missions are flown during the night
of 28/29 Mar without loss:
  Mission 46: 10 of 10 B-29s mine the mouth of the Hwangpoo River and the S
channel of the Yangtze River at Shanghai, China.
  Mission 47: 17 of 18 B-29s mine the waters at Saigon and Camranh Bay,
French Indochina.
  Mission 48: 32 of 33 B-29s mine the Singapore, Malayan States area.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): 30+ fighter-bombers operating over
and behind the battlelines in C Burma attack troop concentrations, supply
areas, elephant transport, and general targets of opportunity at or near Wan
Hong, Ho-na, Kyu-sawk, Nawnghkio, and Na-ti; 642 air supply sorties are flown
to advanced bases and over the frontlines, where supplies are dropped,
throughout the day.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): The 29th Troop Carrier
Squadron, 313th Troop Carrier Group, moves from Folkingham, England to
Achiet, France with C-47s.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 917: 965 B-17s and 390
P-51s are dispatched to hit industrial targets in Berlin and Hannover; 10/10
cloud cover forces the B-17s to bomb using H2X radar; 2 B-17s are lost:
  1. 446 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Spandau tank factory (318) and
Falkensee armament plant (65) in Berlin; 6 hit Stendal, the secondary;
targets of opportunity are Hannover (1) and other (21); 2 B-17s are lost, 5
damaged beyond repair and 133 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 8 WIA and 19 MIA.
Escorting are 245 of 272 P-51s.
  2. 519 B-17s are sent to hit the Hanomag tank factory at Hannover (34); 431
hit the secondary, the marshalling yard at Hannover; targets of opportunity
are Minden (10) and other (5); 66 B-17s are damaged; 3 airmen are WIA. 86 of
99 P-51s escort.
  3. 8 of 9 P-51s escort 3 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over
Germany.
  4. 6 of 10 P-51s fly scouting missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 215 A-20s, A-26s and
B-26s hit the Neuenheerse and Erbach oil storage depots and 11 targets of
opportunity; fighters escort the bombers, fly armed reconnaissance and area
cover over wide expanses of German territory, and support the US XII Corps in
breakout attacks across the Main River in the Dornigheim area and the 2d and
8th Armored Divisions in the Dorsten area. HQ 36th Fighter Group and the 22d
and 23d Fighter Squadrons move from Le Culot, Belgium to Aachen, Germany with
P-47s; and the 31st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 10th Photographic
Group (Reconnaissance), moves from Jarny, France to Euren, Germany with
F-5s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Unfavorable weather restricts
operations to reconnaissance flights by 5 F-5s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, bad weather grounds
the medium and light bombers; fighters and fighter-bombers are limited to
weather reconnaissance and some armed reconnaissance in the Milan area where
they harass communications.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 10 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb Truk Atoll in the
Caroline Islands and, flying separate snooper strikes, 5 hit Susaki Airfield
on Chichi Jima during the night of 28/29 Mar.
    VII Fighter Command: On Chichi Jima Island, 15 P-51s from Iwo Jima Island
hit airfields and defenses. 

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-24s and fighter-bombers hit Balete Pass tracts and ridges, installations at
Santa Fe, and ground support targets N of Laguna de Bay and in Cavite and
Batangas Provinces and B-25s and A-20s attack troop concentrations at Baguio
and Ilagan. Bombers hit the Cebu City area on Cebu Island and pound airfields
on Negros Island. B-24s bomb Likanan Airfield on Mindanao Island. Other B-24s
hit Takao and Tainan, Formosa while B-25s hit shore targets along the French
Indochina coast. The 39th Troop Carrier Squadron, 317th Troop Carrier Group,
moves from Leyte Island to Clark Field, Luzon with C-47s.

THURSDAY, 29 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 6 B-24s bomb Kataoka naval base on Shimushu
Island; 8 B-25s weatherabort a mission to Tomari Cape and 1 B-24 flies a
radar-ferret mission along the Paramushiru Island coast.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 11 B-24s attack shipping in the S
China Sea, at Bakli and Samah Bays on Hainan Island, and at Haiphong, French
Indochina, heavily damaging a destroyer and a merchant vessel. In China, 18
B-25s, escorted by 12 P-40s, bomb railroad yards at Yoyang; 4 B-25s claim 6
small steamers sunk and several vessels damaged in the Liuchow area while 2
others hit the town area and railroad targets in the Dong Giao area of French
Indochina; single B-25s hit targets of opportunity at or near Loyang, Loning,
Neihsiang, Yiyang, and Hsuchang; 90+ fighter-bombers over S and E China and
French Indochina attack troops, supplies, transport, and communications
targets at several places, concentrating strikes around Hengyang, Chuchou,
Isuho, Nanking, and Namyung, and among many targets hit airfields at Amoy and
Kai Tek in Hong Kong; the 22d Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st
Bombardment Group (Medium), based at Yangkai with B-25s, sends a detachment
to operate from Chihkiang.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 49: 24 of 29 B-29s fly the last
mission under the XX Bomber Command, attacking oil storage facilities on
Bukum Island in the Malayan States during the night of 29/30 Mar; 2 other
B-29s bomb individual targets on the Malay Peninsula. 

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Bad weather curtails operations in C
Burma; 6 B-25s hit troop concentrations and 8 others attack unsuccessfully 2
bridges immediately behind the enemy lines. Transports complete 560 sorties
to forward areas. The 166th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando
Group, moves from Asansol, India to Ondaw, Burma with UC-64s and L-5s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): All combat operations cancelled
because of weather except for 2 fighters of the IX Tactical Air Command which
patrol the US Third Army front.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Continued bad weather limits
operations to reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort missions by 23 P-38s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, clear weather during the
night of 28/29 Mar, permits A-20s to hit rail loading points, trains,
vehicles, roads, and bridges at many places in the Po Valley as well as river
crossings at Borgoforte, Lodi, San Benedetto Po, Ostiglia, and Casalmaggiore,
a factory at Brescia, and motor transport movement in the Milan-Piacenza
area; bad morning weather cancels medium bomber operations except for a
pamphlet mission over Bologna; when the weather clears about 1200 hours, XXII
Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers hit dumps at La Spezia and other points
near the battle area, the Lavis viaduct, railroad bridges or approaches at
Ora, Santa Margherita d' Adige, Nervesa della Battaglia, Rovereto, Ala, and
other locations, and many vehicles and train cars and other targets of
opportunity throughout the Po Valley and NE Italy; the 16th Troop Carrier
Squadron, 64th Troop Carrier Group, based at Rosignano Airfield begins
operating from Brindisi with C-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 9 B-24s from Guam Island bomb Dublon Island in Truk
Atoll.
    VII Fighter Command: 31 Iwo-based P-51s bomb and strafe Haha Jima Island. 

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): HQ 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) arrives
at West Field, Tinian Island from India.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s and B-25s
attack Toshien, Byoritsu, and Eiko, Formosa. On Luzon Island, B-24s bomb
Camalaniugan, B-24s and P-51s hit Legaspi and the surrounding area, and A-20s
and numerous fighters hit various targets in SW Luzon. Cebu Island is bombed
by B-25s in support of ground forces while A-20s support troops landing on
Negros Island. B-24s bomb Oelin Airfield in Borneo.

FRIDAY, 30 MARCH 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 8 B-25s cancel a shipping strike because of
weather.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 5 B-24s bomb the Samah Bay area of
Hainan Island. In China, 4 B-25s, supported by 24 P-40s, knock out a bridge
at Chungmow; 10 B-25s bomb Hsuchang, 9 bomb Changanyi, and 9 pound the
Yanglowtung railroad yards; 15 P-40s fly escort; 2 B-25s bomb Hankow
Airfield, 2 bomb Neihsiang, and single B-25s attack targets around Fang-
cheng, Nanyang, and Anlu; 100+ fighter-bombers over S and E China hit troops,
railroad targets, trucks, tanks, supplies, and rivercraft especially around
Hankow, Wuchang, Kanchou, and Hangchow; the airfield area at Kanchou and
airfield and railroad yards at Hangchow are hit particularly hard; the 529th
Fighter Squadron, 311th Fighter Group, based at Pungchacheng with P-51s,
sends a detachment to operate from Hsian.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In the C Burma battle area 41 P-38s
and P-47s hit enemy troops and supplies at Loiwing, Pawngleng, and Nawnghkio;
7 B-25s hit personnel, a supply area, and trucks behind the enemy lines in
and near Laihka and at Kongleng; 7 other B-25s attack road bridges, knocking
out a bridge at Loi Putau; transports complete 612 sorties to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): HQ 349th Troop Carrier
Group and the 312th Troop Carrier Squadron arrive at Barkston, England from
the US with C-46s.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 918: 1,402 bombers and 899 fighters are dispatched to attack
targets connected with U-boat construction or operation; they claim 8-1-12
Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 bombers and 4 fighters are lost:
  1. 530 B-17s are sent to hit 2 U-boat yards (64) and an oil depot (169) at
Hamburg; 263 bomb the port area at Hamburg, the secondary target; 1 hits
Bremen, a target of opportunity; bombing is both visual and using H2X radar;
they claim 0-1-3 aircraft; 3 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 252
damaged; 14 airmen are KIA, 10 WIA and 28 MIA. Escorting are 289 of 304
P-51s; they claim 4-0-7 aircraft in the air and 1-0-1 on the ground; 3 P-51s
are lost.
  2. 448 B-17s are sent to hit the U-boat yard (318) and rail bridge (109) at
Bremen visually and with H2X; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 225
damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 6 WIA and 11 MIA. The escort is 268 of 287 P-51s;
they claim 2-0-1 aircraft.
  3. 382 B-24s are dispatched to hit the U-boat yard (273) and Bauhaben port
area (85) at Wilhelmshafen both visually and with H2X; 1 B-24 is lost and 56
damaged; 8 airmen are KIA and 1 WIA. 105 P-47s and P-51s escort.
  4. 32 of 36 B-17s fly a DISNEY mission to the U-boat yard at Farge; 14
B-17s are damaged.
  5. 6 B-17s fly screening missions.
  6. 153 of 159 P-51s fly a freelance mission for the bombers; they claim
1-0-0 aircraft.
  7. 11 P-51s escort 5 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany.
  8. 26 of 31 P-51s fly scouting missions.
  Mission 919: During the night, 13 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands
and Germany; 19 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions to Norway; 1 B-24 is lost and
1 crashes in the Orkney Islands.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 337 A-20s, A-26s and
B-26s attack the Bad Oeynhausen tank factory, the Munden ordnance depot, the
Ebenhausen oil depot, 2 town areas and 6 targets of opportunity, and drop
leaflets; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance,
and support ground forces; fighter support is provided for the US 3d and 7th
Armored Divisions near Paderborn and at the Edersee dam on the Eder River,
the XII Corps N of Frankfurt/Main, the XX Corps in the Hersfeld and Hanau
areas, and the XVI Corps in the Marl-Polsum area. Units moving: HQ 322d
Bombardment Group (Medium) and the 449th and 452d Bombardment Squadrons
(Medium) from Tille Airfield, Beauvais, France to Le Culot, Belgium with
B-26s; HQ 404th Fighter Group and the 506th Fighter Squadron from St Trond,
Belgium to Keltz, Germany with P-47s; the 153d Liaison Squadron, IX
Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group), from Euskirchen to
Bad Godesberg, Germany; the 428th, 429th and 430th Fighter Squadrons,
474th Fighter Group, from Florennes, Belgium to Strassfeld, Germany with
P-38s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): In Austria, 60+ B-17s and B-24s
bomb the Vienna N stations and goods depot, the Graz and Klagenfurt
marshalling yards, the Kapfenberg tank works, and several minor targets of
opportunity; 28 P-38s and P-51s sweep the Zagreb, Yugoslavia-Graz, Austria
area and others fly reconnaissance.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 29/30
Mar, A-20s and A-26s continue to pound Po River crossings, loading points,
and other communications in the Po Valley; during the day XXII Tactical Air
Command fighters and fighter-bombers fly some 400 sorties against fuel and
ammunition dumps, stores, bridges, rail lines, marshalling yards, buildings,
motor vehicles, trains, and a variety of targets over wide areas of N Italy;
weather forces the medium bombers to attack mainly alternate targets; the
B-25s bomb railroad bridges (or bridge approaches) at San Ambrogio di
Valpolicella, Rovereto, Chiari, Palazzolo sull'Oglio, Legnago, Ora, and
Romano di Lombardia.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 10 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb the airfield on
Marcus Island in the N Pacific; during the night 5 others individually strike
Chichi Jima Island airfield.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 2 missions are flown during the night of
30/31 Mar.
  Mission 48: 12 of 14 B-29s attack the Mitsubishi aircraft engine plant at
Nagoya, Japan shortly past 0000 hours without loss.
  Mission 49: 85 of 94 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait between Honshu and
Kyushuu Islands; 2 others drop their mines in other areas; 1 B-29 is lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-24s bomb the Balete Pass and Solvec Cove areas; P-38s hit artillery
positions in the Santa Fe area;  B-24s and A-20s hit Legaspi Port and nearby
Little Batsan; A-20s and fighter-bombers continue ground support missions in
the Laguna de Bay area and W of Ft Stotsenburg. B-24s and A-20s support
ground forces on Cebu Island. B-24s, B-25s, and P-38s hit Bongao Island,
Philippine Islands, and the Sanga Sanga, and Kuching, Borneo area.

SATURDAY, 31 MARCH 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 30 B-24s, with an escort of
9 P-51s, blast railroad yards at Shihkiachwang; 12 B-25s bomb railroad yards
at Sinyang while 4 hit the Yanglowtung yards; 6 B-25s damage a bridge and hit
gun position at Sienning while 6 more knock out a bridge near Ninh Binh,
French Indochina and hit storage area at Samah on Hainan Island Bay; 26 P-51s
attack Ningpo Airfield, destroying or damaging several airplanes; 6 of the
P-51s are lost; about 125 other fighter-bombers and several B-25s (operating
individually) attack numerous targets in French Indochina and S and E China
including bridges, troops, supplies, and rail, road, and river traffic. 

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): 12 B-25s hit troop dispersal areas
behind enemy lines in C Burma and hit 1 road bridge and 8 P-38s attack supply
dump at Namsang Airfield. The 164th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 1st Air
Commando Group, moves from Ondaw, Burma to Asansol, Burma with UC-64s and
L-5s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 920: 1,348 bombers and
889 fighters are dispatched to hit synthetic oil plants, a refinery,
munitions plant and tank factory; they claim 9-3-9 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5
bombers and 4 fighters are lost:
  1. 229 B-17s are sent to hit the synthetic oil refinery at Zeitz using H2X
radar; secondary targets hit are the oil plant at Bad Berka (29) and Gotha
(20) visually; targets of opportunity are Erfurt (25) and other (8), hit
visually; 3 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 108 damaged; 1 airman
is KIA; 2 WIA and 30 MIA. Escorting are 117 of 120 P-51s; 1 is lost (pilot
MIA).
  2. 294 B-17s are sent to hit Brandenburg (265); targets of opportunity are
Stendal (9) and Salzwedel (9); they claim 0-1-0 aircraft; 1 B-17 is damaged.
207 of 221 P-51s escort claiming 5-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
  3. 371 of 385 B-24s hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at
Brunswick; they claim 3-2-1 aircraft; 2 B-24s are lost, 3 damaged beyond
repair and 3 damaged; 10 airmen are KIA, 1 WIA and 29 MIA. The escort is 253
of 266 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 0-0-7 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots
MIA).
  4. 369 of 432 B-17s attack the secondary, the marshalling yard at Halle;
targets of opportunity are Leipzig (8), Weimar (36), Aschersleben (7) and
other (1); 37 B-17s are damaged. Escorting are 225 of 233 P-51s.
  5. 8 B-17s fly a screening mission.
  6. 26 of 30 P-51s fly scouting missions; they claim 1-0-1 aircraft.
  7. 19 P-51s escort 8 of 10 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 550+ A-20s, A-26s and
B-26s hit storage depots at Ebrach, Wurzburg, and Marienburg, the marshalling
yard at Wurzburg, the town area of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and a target of
opportunity; fighters escort the bombers, hit special targets, fly armed
reconnaissance, and support the US 3d and 9th Armored Divisions near
Paderborn, the XII Corps as it charges toward Eisenach, the XX Corps along
the Fulda and Eder Rivers, and the XVI and XIX Corps S of Haltern and NW of
Lippstadt. The 162d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 363d Tactical
Reconnaissance Group [attached to Reconnaissance Group (Provisional), XII
Tactical Air Command], moves from Azelot to Haguenau, France with F-6s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 540 B-24s and B-17s bomb the
Linz main railroad station and sidings, and the marshalling yards at Villach,
Austria and Treviso, Italy and 3 minor targets of opportunity; P-51s and
P-38s provide escort; 37 other fighters on sweeps and strafings attack
railroad targets in the Munich, Germany-Linz, Austria-Regensburg, Germany
area and 43 hit similar targets in the Prague, Czechoslovakia area; still
other F-5s, P-38s and P-51s fly extensively reconnaissance and reconnaissance
escort.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, medium bombers bomb
several targets (mostly alternates) in the Po Valley and Brenner area despite
bad weather; B-25s hit bridges or bridge approaches at San Michele all'Adige,
Crema, Canneto sull'Oglio, Legnago, and Manerbio and Steinach, Austria, and
a rail embankment at Salorno; XXII Tactical Air Command A-20s and other
aircraft hit Po River crossings during the night of 30/31 Mar at
Casalmaggiore, Ostiglia, Borgoforte, and San Benedetto Po, rail facilities at
Piacenza and Cittadella, plus nearby ammunition dumps and other targets;
fighter-bombers continue to pound communications and dumps at Lavis, Casarsa
della Delizia, San Ambrogio di Valpolicella, Legnago, and several other
points in the Po Valley and NE Italy; the 97th Bombardment Squadron (Light),
47th Bombardment Group (Light), moves from Grossetto to Pisa with A-20s and
A-26s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: During the night of 31 Mar/1 Apr, 5 B-24s from Guam
Island, flying individual harassment strikes, hit Susaki Airfield on Chichi
Jima Island.
    VII Fighter Command: 15 P-51s from Iwo Jima Island bomb and strafe
vessels, air installations, and targets of opportunity on Chichi Jima; 16
more follow with attacks on vessels and harbor area.  

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 50: 137 of 152 B-29s strike the
Tachiarai machine works, which is completely destroyed, and Omura Airfield
on Kyushu Island, Japan; this is a diversionary strike preceding the invasion
of Okinawa Island which begins at 0830 hours local on 1 Apr; the AAF claims
11-5-3 Japanese aircraft; 1 B-29s is lost and 15 damaged.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, A-20s
attack an army camp at Saiatan, P-51s sweep from Babuyan Channel to the SW of
the island and B-24s bomb harbors and shipping at Kiirun and Yulin, China. On
Luzon Island, fighters attack targets in the Cagayan Valley and N of Laguna
de Bay, blasting bridges and gun positions over wide stretches. B-25s, A-20s,
and fighter-bombers hit Cebu Island targets, several of the strikes being
flown in support of ground forces. B-24s again bomb Bongao Island and hit
Oelin, Borneo and fighters harass N Borneo airfields.

SOURCES: 
AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force History,
  Headquarters USAF, 1961, ISBN 0-912799-02-1
COMBAT SQUADRONS OF THE AIR FORCE, WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force
  History, Headquarters USAF 1982
THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by the
  Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1973
THE MIGHTY EIGHTH WAR DIARY by Roger A. Freeman, ISBN 1-85409-071-2

Jack McKillop
USAF (Airways and Air Communications Service)
1955-59

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|  [email protected]  |                       FDR              |
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• With grateful thanks for the scholarship of Kit Carter, Robert Mueller and Jack McKillop •
• Thanks also to Charles McGrew •
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Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
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