USAAF Combat Operations 1941

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

MAY 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
  C-54, Douglas Skymaster
  UC-64, Noorduyn Norseman
  UC-78, Cessna Bobcat
  F-5, Lockheed Lightning
  F-7, Consolidated Liberator
  L-1, Stinson Vigilant
  L-4, Piper Cub/Grasshopper
  L-5, Stinson Sentinel
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  P-47, Republic Thunderbolt
  P-51, North American Mustang
  P-61, Northrop Black Widow
  P-70, Douglas

TUESDAY, 1 MAY 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 1 B-24 flies a weather reconnaissance mission
over the Kurile Islands.

  CARIBBEAN (Sixth Air Force): The 74th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), VI
Bomber Command, moves from Aguadulce to Rio Hato, Panama with B-24s.

  ZONE OF INTERIOR (Second Air Force): The detachment of the 4th
Photographic Charting Squadron, 311th Photographic Wing (Mapping and
Charting) [attached to 4th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance)] operating
in Australia with F-7s, returns to base at Hollandia, New Guinea (the
squadron is mapping areas of the SW Pacific).

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): During May the Japanese decide to
give up their Greater E Asia Corridor and withdraw from S China; the
Fourteenth AF further concentrates its attacks on rail and road movements and
river shipping and thus plays a major role in critically reducing the enemy's
mobility and supply lines. In China, 2 B-25s and 16 P-51s knock out bridges
near Taiku and Kiehsiu and hit AA positions and locomotives near the bridges,
blast gun emplacements in the Loning area, and hit several locomotives, near
Shihkiachwang. Lieutenant General Albert C Wedemeyer, Commanding General US
Forces China Theater, selects Lieutenant General George E Stratemeyer to
command HQ AAF China Theater, with both HQ Tenth and Fourteenth AFs under his
command. During May, the detachment of the 449th Fighter Squadron, 51st
Fighter Group, operating from Posek, China with P-38s, returns to base at
Chengkung.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Unit moves: 9th Photographic
Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, from
Myitkyina, Burma to Piardoba, India with F-5s; the detachment of the 317th
Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, operating from
Akyab, Burma with C-47s, to base at Kalaikunda, India.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): During May, the 303d, 305th
and 306th Troop Carrier Squadrons, 442d Troop Carrier Group, based at
St-Andre-de-L'Eure, France with C-47, begins operating from Metz, France.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 973: 396 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies in the Hague
(237) and Rotterdam (155), the Netherlands; a total of 777.1 tons of food are
dropped.
  Mission 974: During the night of 1/2 May, 4 of 5 B-24s drop leaflets in
Germany.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 9 A-26s bomb an ammunition plant at
Stod, Czechoslovakia. The IX Tactical Air Command escorts the bombers, flies
airfield cover, and patrols the Leipzig-Schwarzenberg, Germany area. The XIX
Tactical Air Command flies patrols and armed reconnaissance over E Germany, W
Czechoslovakia, and Austria, dive-bombs Berchtesgaden, and operates with the
US XII Corps which is advancing SE between the Danube River and the Czech
border and N into Czechoslovakia N of Passau, Germany, and with the XX Corps
whose advance elements speed toward the Inn River at Wasserburg, Germany;
the 353d and 355th Fighter Squadrons, 354th Fighter Group, move from Ober
Olm to Ansbach, Germany with P-47s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Despite bad weather 27 B-17s
bomb the main station and marshalling yard at Salzburg, Austria; this is the
final Fifteenth AF bombing mission of the war; P-38s and P-51s fly
reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): During the night of 30 Apr/1 May
A-20s and A-26s bomb targets of opportunity in N Italy; bad weather during
the day cancels medium bomber operations; fighter-bombers destroy numerous
motor and horse-drawn vehicles in NE Italy; US Fifth Army forces approach
the Brenner Pass on the Austro-Italian border, while British Eighth Army
elements make contact with Yugoslav troops of Marshal Tito near Monfalcone;
the flight of the 5th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 3d Photographic
Group (Reconnaissance), operating from Pisa with F-5s returns to base at
Peretola Airfield, Florence.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA
    Seventh Air Force): 16 Guam Island, Mariana Islands-based B-24s bomb the
airfield on Marcus Island in the N Pacific while 10 hit air installations on
Param Island, Truk Atoll; during the night 9 more, flying individual snooper
strikes, hit airfields on Param and Moen Islands in Truk. 
    VII Fighter Command: The 6th Night Fighter Squadron, VII Fighter
Command, departs Kagman Field, Saipan Island, Mariana Islands for Kipapa,
Hawaii with P-61s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, B-25s
hit the Heito sugar refinery and the town of Kagi. FEAF continues to support
ground forces on Luzon and Negros Islands. On Borneo, B-24s support
Australian landings on Tarakan Island and bomb Tawau and B-25s attack
Jesselton, Tarakan Island, Sandakan, and Kudat, concentrating on airfields.
HQ 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group moves from Leyte Island to Clark
Field, Luzon. Unit moves during May: HQ 309th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) from
San Marcelino to Lingayen, Luzon; 7th Combat Cargo Squadron, 2d Combat Cargo
Group from Biak Island, New Guinea to Dulag, Leyte; the detachment of the
160th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 3d Air Commando Group, ceases operating
from Mindoro Island with UC-64s and L-5s and returns to base at Mabalacat,
Luzon.

WEDNESDAY, 2 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 5 B-24s mine areas of the Yangtze
River; 20+ B-25s and about 130 fighter-bombers attack communications targets
and supply lines and hit a large variety of targets of opportunity throughout
S and E China as the air campaign accelerates with the aim of disrupting the
imminent withdrawal of the Japanese and the abandonment of their Greater E
Asia Corridor.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 975: 401 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies in the
Netherlands at Schipol (250) and Alkmaar (20) Airfields, Vogelenznag (40),
Hilversum (20), Utrecht (59) and targets of opportunity (4); 4 B-17s are
damaged by 20mm fire which ceases as soon as a green flare is fired; a total
of 767.1 tons of food are dropped.
  Mission 976: 8 B-17s, escorted by 9 P-51s, drop leaflets in France, the
Netherlands and Germany during daylight hours.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Weather cancels 9th Bombardment
Division operations. In Germany, fighters fly airfield cover, defensive-
freelance patrols, a sweep over the Dessau area, and patrol the Straubing-
Ingolstadt area and the US Third Army front in Austria and Czechoslovakia;
unit moves: HQ 394th Bombardment Group (Medium) from Niergnies Airfield,
Cambrai, France to Venlo, the Netherlands; 14th Liaison Squadron, XIX
Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group) from Erlangen to
Regensburg with L-5s; 72d Liaison Squadron, Ninth AF (attached to Sixth Army
Group), from Gmund to Augsburg; 377th and 378th Fighter Squadrons, 362d
Fighter Group, and 425th Night Fighter Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command,
from Frankfurt to Furth with P-47s and P-61s respectively.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Bad weather limits operations
to 1 weather reconnaissance mission.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): Bad weather continues; medium
bombers are grounded while the XXII Tactical Air Command flies an uneventful
armed reconnaissance in NE Italy.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 12 B-24s from Guam Island pound the airfield on Param
Island in Truk Atoll while 21, flying in 2 forces, hit airfields and gun
positions on Marcus Island in the N Pacific. During the night of 2/3 May, 9
more B-24s make individual harassment bombings on Param, Moen Island, and Tol
Island in Truk Atoll.
    VII Fighter Command: 12 Iwo Jima Island, Volcano Island-based P-51s
strike a radio station on Chichi Jima Island in the Bonin Islands. 

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-24s and P-51s pound troops near Ipo Dam while B-25s, A-20s, and fighters
hit Cagayan Valley targets; FEAF strikes in support of ground forces continue
on Luzon and on Cebu Island. In Borneo, B-25s continue support for Australian
troops on Tarakan Island and, in conjunction with US Navy (USN) aircraft,
bomb Kudat Airfield.

THURSDAY, 3 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 9 B-25s and 6 fighter-
bombers attack truck convoys in the Hsiang River Valley and near Paoching,
Changsha, and Hengyang, and pound railroad targets of opportunity and bridges
in the Taiku, Singtai, and Linfen areas; 90+ fighter-bombers attack troops,
town areas, ammunition dumps, river shipping and other targets of opportunity
over wide areas of S and E China.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): With the fall of Rangoon, Burma on
this date (Indian 26 Division elements occupy the city), the war against the
Japanese in Burma is successfully concluded; pockets of resistance remain W
of the Irrawaddy River and between that river and the Mandalay-Pegu, Thailand
railway however, during May AAF operations are reduced drastically due to the
lack of suitable air targets and because of the onset of bad weather
preceding the monsoon. The Tenth AF is withdrawn from combat and moved back
to India (see 15 May 45); 1 squadron of P-38s remains in Burma to patrol the
roads leading into China. Unit moves: 88th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter
Group, from Myitkyina, Burma to Moran, India with P-47s; the detachment of
the 156th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, operating from
Myitche with UC-64s and L-5s, to Magwe, Burma; the 317th Troop Carrier
Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, based at Kalaikunda, India with
C-47s, sends a detachment to operate from Comilla, India.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 977: 399 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies in the
Netherlands at Schipol (251) and Alkmaar (20) Airfields, Vogelenzang (42),
Hilversum (21), Utrecht (58) and a target of opportunity (3) in the
Netherlands; a total of 739.1 tons of food are dropped.
  Mission 978: 14 B-17s, escorted by 43 of 47 P-51s, drop leaflets in Germany
during the day.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS 
    First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): P-47 unit moves in Germany:
314th, 315th and 316th Fighter Squadrons, 324th Fighter Group, from
Luneville, France to Stuttgart; 406th Fighter Squadron, 371st Fighter Group,
from Eschborn Airfield, Frankfurt to Furth.
    Ninth Air Force: 132 A-26s (on the final 9th Bombardment Division raid)
bomb the Stod, Czechoslovakia ammunition plant. The IX Tactical Air Command
escorts the A-26s and C-47s and flies airfield cover; the XIX Tactical Air
Command patrols the US Third Army front, flies armed reconnaissance over
Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia in the frontline areas and around Kiel
and Lubeck, Germany, and escorts the A-26s; the XXIX Tactical Air Command
(Provisional) escorts C-47s, flies sweeps, and hits shipping in the Kiel-
Lubeck area. Unit moves: HQ 98th Combat Bombardment Wing (Medium) from
Havrincourt, France to Venlo, the Netherlands; HQ 362d Fighter Group from
Furth to Illesheim, Germany.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Bad weather again restricts
operations to reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort missions by 20 P-38s
and escort of Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force (MATAF) a B-25 leaflet
dropping mission in N Italy.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): To assure that the enemy
implements the surrender terms in Italy and to observe road activity,
fighters fly reconnaissance missions over N Italy and SW Austria; medium
bombers drop leaflets in several areas where enemy troops might be unaware
of the surrender. The 121st Liaison Squadron, Twelfth AF (attached to Fifth
Army), moves from Florence to Verona, Italy with L-4s and L-5s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA: The 163d Liaison Squadron, AAFPOA (attached to Tenth Army), arrives
on Okinawa Island, Ryukyu Islands, from Saipan Island with UC-64s and L-5s.
    Seventh Air Force: 10 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb airfields and targets
of opportunity on several islands of Truk Atoll; during the night of 3/4 May,
8 more separately strike Param , Eten, and Moen Islands, and Truk airfields.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 7 missions are flown.
  Missions 127 to 132: 59 B-29s bomb airfields at Tachiarai, Miyazaki,
Miyakonojo, Kokubu and 2 at Kanoya; 5 others hit targets of opportunity; they
claim 10 Japanese fighters; 1 B-29 is lost.
  Mission 133: 88 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and the Inland Sea during the
night of 3/4 May; 3 others mine other waters.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Saigon, French
Indochina is bombed by B-24s, which greatly damage a boatyard and oil storage
areas. On Luzon Island B-24s and P-51s pound the Ipo area while A-20s and
fighters support ground forces. In Borneo, B-25s continue support of ground
forces on Tarakan Island and, with B-24s, carry out small raids against
numerous targets on Borneo and Celebes, Manggar Airfield is heavily hit by
B-24s and P-38s and USN airplanes hit warehouses in the Brunei Bay area. The
63d Troop Carrier Squadron, 403d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Biak Island,
New Guinea to Dulag, Leyte Island with C-47s.

FRIDAY, 4 MAY 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Brigadier General Isaiah Davies replaces Major
General Davenport Johnson as Commanding General Eleventh AF on an interim
basis.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 12 B-25s and 180+ fighter-bombers,
mostly operating in flights of 2 to 4 aircraft, attack town areas, storage,
troops, horses, trucks, river shipping, airfields, and many other targets of
opportunity scattered over the vast expanse of S and E China.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): The 792d, 793d and 794th Bombardment
Squadrons (Very Heavy), 468th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy), begin a
movement from Kharagpur, India to Tinian Island, Mariana Islands with B-29s.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Unit moves in Burma: 83d Bombardment
Squadron (Medium), 12th Bombardment Group (Medium), based at Fenny, India
with B-25s, begins operating from Magwe, Burma; 164th Liaison Squadron
(Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, from Sinthe to Magwe with UC-64s and
L-5s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 978: 1 B-17s and 8 B-24s
are dispatched on a leaflet mission during the night of 4/5 May; 7 aircraft
drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): No bomber operations. In Germany,
the IX Tactical Air Command flies patrols and armed reconnaissance, the XIX
Tactical Air Command flies patrols and armed reconnaissance and operates in
concert with the XII Corps assault on Linz, Austria, and with the XX Corps
which crosses the Inn River and pushes E and SE; the XXIX Tactical Air
Command (Provisional) sweeps the Dessau and Wittenberg areas and attacks
shipping in the Kiel and Flensburg areas; German forces in the Netherlands,
NW Germany and Denmark surrender. Unit moves: 377th, 378th and 379th Fighter
Squadrons, 362d Fighter Group, from Furth to Illesheim, Germany with P-47s;
556th, 557th, 558th and 559th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 387th
Bombardment Group (Medium), from Clastres, France to Beek, the Netherlands
with B-26s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): No offensive operations;
activity is limited to reconnaissance missions (with escort), escort of MATAF
leaflet drops in N Italy, and escort of C-47s on supply dropping missions to
Yugoslavia. HQ 332d Fighter Group and the 100th and 301st Fighter Squadrons
move from Ramitelli Airfield to Cattolica, Italy with P-51s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): The XXII Tactical Air Command
continues flying visual reconnaissance during the night and day in N Italy;
the US 85th Infantry Division reaches the Austrian border near San Candido
and pushes on to the Brenner Pass at Vipiteno without opposition.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): In the Palau Islands, 22 B-24s from Angaur
Island bomb AA positions on Koror Island. 11 B-24s from Guam Island hit the
airfield on Marcus Island in the N Pacific.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Missions 140 to 143: 47 B-29s attack
airfields at Oita, Omura, Saeki, and Matsuyama on Kyushu and Shikoku Islands,
Japan; 2 others attack targets of opportunity; 1 B-29 is lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-25s bomb the
Tuguegarao area on Luzon Island while other B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-
bombers, in spite of bad weather, support ground forces in N and S Luzon and
on Negros Island. P-38s pound Itu Aba Island, China. B-24s heavily damage oil
installations at Saigon, French Indochina. On Borneo, B-25s and P-38s support
ground forces on Tarakan Island and B-24s hit Sandakan and Kota Baru and on
Celebes Island, bomb Mandai and Masamba Airfields. HQ 18th Fighter Group and
12th and 70th Fighter Squadrons move from San Jose, Mindoro Island to
Zamboanga, Mindanao Island with P-38s.

SATURDAY, 5 MAY 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 1 B-24 flies weather mission over the Kurile
Islands.

  HQ AAF (Second Air Force): The 2d Photographic Charting Squadron, 311th
Photographic Wing (attached to FEAF), moves from Morotai Island, Moluccas
Islands, to Palawan Island, Philippine Islands with F-7s (the squadron is
performing mapping and photographic reconnaissance in the SW Pacific).

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 3 B-25s knock out a bridge
at Singtai and hit railroad traffic in the Sinsiang area; 5 B-25s hit
railroad cars and other targets of opportunity at Kaifeng, Hsihhsiassuchi,
and in the Tungkuan and Luan areas; 76 fighter-bombers, operating in flights
of 2 to 4 aircraft, attack a variety of targets of opportunity throughout S
and E China. The 530th Fighter Squadron, 311th Fighter Group, moves from
Kwanghan to Pungchacheng, China with P-51s.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Unit moves from Burma to India: HQ
33d Fighter Group from Sahmaw to Piardoba; 90th Fighter Squadron, 80th
Fighter Group, from Myitkyina to Moran with P-47s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 980: 403 B-17s are
dispatched to drop food at Schipol Airfield (261), Vogelenzang (40), Utrecht
(60), N of Hilversum (16), Alkmaar (21) and other targets (4) in the
Netherlands; a total of 744.5 tons of food are dropped.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS 
    First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): HQ 371st Fighter Group and 404th
and 405th Fighter Squadrons move from Eschborn to Furth, Germany with P-47s.
    Ninth Air Force: No Ninth AF operations except tactical and photo
reconnaissance in forward areas. The 584th and 585th Bombardment Squadrons
(Medium), 394th Bombardment Group (Medium), move from Niergniew Airfield,
Cambrai, France to Venlo, the Netherlands with B-26s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 14 P-51s escort MATAF C-47s on
supply-dropping missions over Yugoslavia. The 99th Fighter Squadron, 332d
Fighter Group, moves from Ramitelli to Cattolica, Italy with P-51s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): XXII Tactical Air Command fighters
continue reconnaissance flights over N Italy, SW Austria, and as far N as
Munich, Germany; fighters destroy numerous aircraft at an airfield SE of
Munich.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 12 Angaur Island-based B-24s bomb Koror Island.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 7 missions are flown.
  Missions 144, 145 and 147 to 149: 55 B-29s bomb airfields at Oita,
Tachiarai, Kanoya, and Chiran on Kyushu Island, Japan; 2 others attack
targets of opportunity; 3 B-29s are lost.
  Mission 146: 148 B-29s [including the 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy)
flying their first attack of Japan from Tinian] hit a navy aircraft factory
and arsenal at Kure, Japan; 4 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim
11 Japanese fighters; 2 B-29s are lost.
  Mission 150: During the night of 5/6 May, 86 B-29s drop mines in Tokyo Bay,
Ise Bay, and at points in the Inland Sea; 4 others mine targets of
opportunity.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In the first FEAF
strike on the Amoy, China area, B-24s bomb an airfield and oil storage plant.
On Formosa, B-24s bomb Shinchiku Airfield while B-25s and fighter-bombers hit
the Taito sugar refinery, Shoka railroad yards, and Giran and Matsuyama
Airfields. On Luzon Island, A-20s and fighter-bombers continue to hit
Cagayan Valley targets and support ground forces at various locations. In
Borneo, B-25s and P-38s support Australian forces on Tarakan Island, P-38s
hit the Miri waterfront on the W coast and Keningau airfield in the N and
B-24s bomb the Kuching waterfront on the W coast.

SUNDAY, 6 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 3 B-25s and 4 P-51s knock out a
bridge at Hsihhsiassuchi, China; 111 fighter-bombers, operating in flights of
2 to 4 aircraft, attack numerous targets of opportunity throughout S and E
China.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown.
  Mission 981: 383 B-17s are dispatched to drop food at Schipol (249) and
Alkmaar (18) Airfields, E of Vogelenzang (37), W of Utrecht (59), and N of
Hilversum (18), the Netherlands; a total of 693.3 tons of food are dropped.
  Mission 982: 15 B-17s, escorted by 8 of 26 P-51s, drop leaflets in France
and Germany during the day.
  Mission 983: 10 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Channel
Islands during the night of 6/7 May.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): No operations by the 9th Bombardment
Division and the IX and XIX Tactical Air Commands. The XXIX Tactical Air
Command (Provisional) flies a demonstration mission in the Klotze, Germany
area.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 9 P-38s escort RAF Balkan AF
supply-dropping missions to Yugoslavia.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): Brigadier General Robert S Israel,
Jr takes command of the XXII Tactical Air Command. Fighters fly
reconnaissance over the French and Italian Alps.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 18 P-47s from Saipan Island sweep Truk Atoll,
strafing the airfield on Moen Island, the seaplane base at Dublon Island, and
shipping off Param, off Moen, and between Dublon and Fefan Islands.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In Formosa, B-24s
bomb Matsuyama Airfield and secondary nearby targets and later bomb Toshien,
Toko, and Kiirun and B-25s pound the town of Mato. A-20s and fighter-bombers
fly numerous attack sorties in support of ground forces in N and S Luzon
Island and fighter-bombers fly support missions over Panay Island. In Borneo,
B-24s bomb Kudat and Keningau Airfields, P-38s hit Ranau and Labuan Island
airstrips while B-25s support Australian troops on Tarakan Island. B-24s bomb
Limboeng Airfield on Celebes Island. B-25s over French Indochina bomb
warehouses at Dong Hoi.

MONDAY, 7 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 3 B-25s and 4 P-47s knock
out a bridge N of Singtai; 3 B-24s attack Yellow River targets of
opportunity, damaging at least 1 bridge; 131 fighter-bombers again hit
various targets of opportunity throughout S and E China, concentrating on
railroad targets; the 21st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Fourteenth
AF, based at Kunming with F-5s, sends a flight to operate from Laifeng (other
flights are at Hanchung, Lulinag and Hsian).

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO): The German High Command surrenders
unconditionally all land, sea, and air forces at Reims, France effective 9
May 45.  General of the Army Dwight D Eisenhower says, "The mission of this 
Allied force was fulfilled at 0241 local time, May 7, 1945."  

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 984: 231 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies at Schipol
(154) and Alkmaar (10) Airfields, Vogelenzang (25), W of Utrecht (28) and N
of Hilversum (12), the Netherlands; a total of 426 tons of food are dropped.
  Mission 985: 15 B-17s, with 30 of 32 P-51s escorting, drop leaflets in
Germany during the day.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The XIX Tactical Air Command flies
sweeps over E Germany and W Czechoslovakia and carries out demonstration
flights over prisoner of war (POW) camps. The 586th and 587th Bombardment
Squadrons (Medium), 394th Bombardment Group (Medium), move from Niergnies
Airfield, Cambrai, France to Venlo, the Netherlands with B-26s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 13 P-51s escort 3 RAF Balkan AF
supply dropping missions to Yugoslavia.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): P-47s fly reconnaissance over the
Austrian Alps. HQ 57th Fighter Group and the 65th Fighter Squadron move from
Verona to Grosseto, Italy with P-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 11 Guam Island-based B-24s pound runways on Marcus
Island in the N Pacific.
    VII Fighter Command: 16 Saipan Island-based P-47s strafe a radio station,
airfield installations, and gun positions on Moen and Falas Islands in Truk
Atoll. 

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Missions 151 to 154: 41 B-29s bomb airfields
at Usa, Oita, Ibusuki, and Kanoya on Kyushu Island; 34 Japanese aircraft are
claimed destroyed by B-29s during the Usa and Oita missions; 3 B-29s are
lost. The 792d, 793d and 794th Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy), 468th
Bombardment Group (Very Heavy), arrive at West Field, Tinian Island, Mariana
Islands from India with B-29s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers hit targets in the Cagayan Valley and
support ground action in the Cervantes area, Balete Pass and N of Laguna de
Bay. In Borneo, P-38s hit Bintula, Kudat, and Ranau while B-25s, and P-38s
hit gun positions and HQ on Tarakan Island. B-24s bomb Bingkalapa Airfield,
Celebes and the harbor at Soerabaja, Java. In French Indochina, B-25s hit
railroad targets between Cap Batangan and Cap Varella. The 17th Photographic
Reconnaissance Squadron, 4th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), moves from
Morotai Island to Puerto Princesa, Palawan Island with F-5s (a detachment is
operating from Dulag, Leyte Island).

TUESDAY, 8 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 13 B-25s knock out a bridge at Do Cam
and damage others at Do Len, over the Song Chu River in French Indochina, and
N of Kaifeng, China. In China, a single B-24 damages bridges at Huto; 20 P-51s
pound rail and road traffic along the French Indochina coast while 12 P-51s
and P-38s hit targets of opportunity in several cities; about 100 fighter-
bombers over wide areas of S and E China continue to hit numerous targets of
opportunity, concentrating on shipping and the dock area at Taku.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 986: 12 B-17s drop
leaflets in Germany during the day.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS 
    First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): HQ 324th Fighter Group moves form
Luneville, France to Stuttgart, Germany.
    Ninth Air Force: The IX and XIX Tactical Air Commands patrol the Leipzig,
Chemnitz, and Adorf, Germany and Linz, Austria areas, and fly sweeps and
demonstration missions. Unit moves in Germany: HQ 405th Fighter Group and
509th Fighter Squadron from Kitzingen to Straubing with P-47s; 455th
Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 323d Bombardment Group (Medium), from Prouvy
Airfield, Leon, France to Gablingen with B-26s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): All Fifteenth AF aircraft stand
down on V-E Day and offensive operations end. Subsequent operations involve
transport, supply, training, and movement flights.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): Transports carry out evacuation
and supply missions in S Europe. The 64th and 66th Fighter Squadrons, 57th
Fighter Group, move from Villafranca di Verona to Grosseto, Italy with P-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 12 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb the airfield on Marcus
Island in the N Pacific. 12 others from Guam Island pound the runway on Param
Island in Truk Atoll. The 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Seventh
AF, arrives on Okinawa Island from Kualoa Airfield, Hawaii with F-5Es.
    VII Fighter Command: 94 of 104 P-51s from Iwo Jima Island abort a strike
to Nagoya due to weather and attack Kisarazu airfield.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Missions 155 to 158: 40 B-29s hit airfields
at Kanoya, Miyakonojo, Oita, and Matsuyama on Kyushu and Shikoku Islands,
Japan; 1 other hits a target of opportunity.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In Borneo, P-38s
hit Jesselton, Sengkawang, and Kudat Airfields while B-25s bomb the Kuching
and Labuan Island Airfield areas. B-24s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers continue
to pound Cagayan Valley on Luzon Island. On Mindanao Island, B-24s hit Davao
while P-38s hit the Labugan Airfield area. Other B-24s bomb Mandai Airfield
on Celebes Island. B-25s bomb railway installations between Phan Rang and
Binh Dinh, French Indochina.

WEDNESDAY, 9 MAY 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands, radar discloses
considerable shipping between Paramushiru and Shimushu Islands; thus, 12
B-24s take off and radar-bomb through overcast; another B-24 flies a radar-
ferreting sortie over Paramushiru and Shimushu.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 14 B-24s, 14 B-25s, and 26
P-51s blast Paoching and various nearby targets of opportunity; some of the
fighter-bombers also attack targets of opportunity W of Hengyang. 4 P-51s
pound boxcars, locomotives, and other railroad targets from Tourane to Hue,
French Indochina.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Unit moves in India: 6th Fighter
Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, from Hay to Asansol with P-47s;
115th Liaison Squadron, Tenth AF, from Dinjan to Nagaghuli with L-1s and
L-5s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): During late May, the
following C-47 units begin a movement to Waller Field, Trinidad, British West
Indies: HQ 315th Troop Carrier Group and 34th, 43d, 309th and 310th Troop
Carrier Squadrons from Amiens, France; HQ 316th Troop Carrier Squadron and
36th, 37th, 44th and 45th Troop Carrier Squadrons from Cottesmore, England.
During May, HQ 438th Troop Carrier Group and 84th, 88th, 89th and 90th Troop
Carrier Squadrons move form Prosnes to Glisy Airfield, Amiens, France with
C-47s.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): HQ 453d Bombardment Group (Heavy)
and the 732d, 733d, 734th and 735th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) begin a
redeployment from Old Buckenham, England to the US; it is only group
departing by ship. During late May, the 407th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy),
92d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Podington, England to Istres France
with B-17s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The XIX Tactical Air Command patrols
the Linz, Austria-Klatovy, Czechoslovakia areas and carries out further
demonstration flights.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Unit movements from Italy to
the US: the 828th, 829th, 830th and 831st Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy),
485th Bombardment Group (Heavy), Venosa with B-24s; during May 45, HQ 47th
Bombardment Wing (Heavy) from Manduria.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): With combat operations in S Europe
at an end, transport aircraft continue supply and evacuation missions. The
447th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 321st Bombardment Group (Medium), moves
from Solenzara, Corsica to Falconara, Italy with B-25s. In late May 45, HQ
60th Troop Carrier Group and 10th, 11th, 12th and 28th Troop Carrier
Squadrons begin a movement from Pomigliano, Italy to Waller Field, Trinidad
with C-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 29 B-24s from Guam Island, operating in 3 forces over
a 6-hour period, bomb airfields, barracks, and targets of opportunity on
Param and Moen Islands in Truk Atoll.
    VII Fighter Command: 14 P-47s from Saipan Island sweep Truk Atoll. 

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s bomb 2
airfields in the Canton, China area. On Luzon Island, A-20s and fighters fly
offensive sweeps over the Cagayan Valley and support ground forces in the
Cervantes, Baguio, and Balete Pass area and the Ipo-New Bosoboso-Infanta
area. On Mindanao Island, B-24s bomb the area around Dalirig and Maluko
preparatory to allied landings in the Macajalar Bay area on 10 May. P-38s
over Borneo hit Brooketon, Sarawak and Tarakan Island.

THURSDAY, 10 MAY 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): The Eleventh AF and the USN's Fleet Air Wing
Four execute the heaviest and most successful joint mission to date in the
Kurile Islands; 12 B-24s bomb shipping targets in the Kataoka naval base on
Shimushu Island, and fly photo reconnaissance over E and W Paramushiru Island
on the return trip; next, 16 Attu Island, Aleutian Island-based B-25s take
off; 1 aborts while the others hit shipping between Kashiwabara on
Paramushiru Island and Kataoka; heavy AA fire claims 1 B-25; a B-24 and a
B-25 forceland in the USSR.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 19 B-25s and 4 P-47s attack
bridges at Fengstun and Pinyang, on the Song Chu River, and N of Singtai
(a Pinyang, China target is destroyed), hit Yungfengshih and Chingshuping,
and bomb the airfield at Paoching; 100-120 fighter-bombers pounding targets
of opportunity over S and E China, disrupt enemy movement and supply lines.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Unit moves in India: 1st Fighter
Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, from Cox's Bazar to Kalaikunda
with P-51s; 164th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, from
Sinthe, Burma to Asansol with UC-64s and L-5s; the 315th Troop Carrier
Squadron, 443d Troop Carrier Group, from Ledo to Dinjan with C-47s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Effective this date, Lieutenant
General James H Doolittle, Commanding General, is relieved of duty in the ETO
and assigned to HQ AAF in Washington, DC; he is relieved by Major General
William E Kepner.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The 9th Bombardment Division is
redesignated the 9th Air Division. Ther are no operations for the Tactical
Air Commands and the 9th Air Division.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 11 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb the airfield on
Marcus Island in the morning. During the afternoon, 19 B-24s flying in 2
forces, hit airfields on Param and Moen Islands in Truk Atoll.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 8 missions are flown; the B-29s claim 10
Japanese aircraft; 1 B-29 is lost.
  Missions 159 to 162: 42 B-29s hit airfields at Matsuyama, Usa, Miyazaki,
and Kanoya on Kyushu and Shikoku Islands; 14 others hit targets of
opportunity. 
  Mission 163: 54 B-29s bomb the Tokuyama naval fuel station; 2 others hit
targets of opportunity.
  Mission 164: 56 B-29s hit the Tokuyama coal yards; 1 other hits a target of
opportunity.
  Mission 165: 112 B-29s hit the Otake oil refinery; 14 others hit targets of
opportunity; 1 B-29 is lost. 
  Mission 166: 80 B-29s bomb the Amami-O-Shima naval oil storage facilities;
4 others hit targets of opportunity.  

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s bomb an
airfield in the Canton, China area. A-20s and fighter-bombers hit Cagayan
Valley targets and support ground action in the battle zones throughout Luzon
Island. On Mindanao Island, B-24s hit Impasugong, Kalasungay, and Malaybalay
and B-25s in support of ground forces attack Kibawe and Tagolaan. B-24s bomb
Makassar ship basins and Limboeng Airfield on Celebes Island and shore
targets at Balikpapan on Borneo. B-25s, with fighter escort, hit Kari and
communications targets of opportunity on Formosa. The 500th Bombardment
Squadron (Medium), 345th Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from San Marcelino
to Clark Field, Luzon with B-25s.

FRIDAY, 11 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 6 B-25s and 4 P-47s knock
out the Chungmow bridge and damage a bridge at Sincheng; 2 B-25s bomb truck
convoys in the Paoching, Hengyang, and Changsha areas; 60+ fighter-bombers
hit troops, artillery positions, communications targets, and general targets
of opportunity in S and E China, concentrating on the Yangchi and Fantung
areas.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Unit moves in India: HQ 443d Troop
Carrier Group from Ledo to Dinjan and 459th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter
Group from Rumkha to Dudhkundi with P-38s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 10 Guam Island-based B-24s hit the airfield on Param
Island in Truk Atoll, while 13 pound the runways on Marcus Island in the N
Pacific.
    VII Fighter Command: 14 P-51s from Iwo Jima Island strafe and bomb the
radio station at Chichi Jima Island. 

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 6 missions are flown.
  Missions 167 to 171: 50 B-29s attack airfields at Oita, Saeki, Nittagahara,
Miyazaki, and Miyakonojo on Kyushu Island; 8 others hit targets of
opportunity. Missions against Japanese airfields terminate the air campaign,
begun on 17 Apr, during which the Twentieth AF has devoted a major effort
toward hitting sources of Kamikaze raids against USN and US Marine Corps
(USMC) forces in the Battle of Okinawa.
  Mission 172: 92 B-29s bomb the Kawanishi aircraft plant at Kobe; 1 other
hits a target of opportunity; they claim 9 Japanese fighters; 1 B-29 is lost. 

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, B-24s
bomb Toshien Airfield and the towns of Koshun, Kato, Takao, Toko, and Shajo
and B-25s pound Kagi. On Luzon Island, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers
continue to support the ground action near Paranum and in the Ipo Dam sector.
On Borneo, B-24s bomb Keningau Airfield and B-25s bomb the Brunei Bay area.
On Celebes Island, B-24s hit Mandai and Boeloedowang Airfields. Unit moves:
12th Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group, ceases operating from Palawan
Island with P-38s and returns to base at Zamboanga, Mindanao Island; 498th
Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 345th Bombardment Group (Medium), from San
Marcelino to Clark Field, Luzon with B-25s.

SATURDAY, 12 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 17 B-25s and 8 P-51s bomb
the barracks and storage area at Loyang and hit railroad targets around
Sinsiang and Sinyang, from Hankow to Sinyang, from Chenghsien to Szeshui,
from Kioshan to Lohochai, and between Hengshan and Yoyang and knock out a
bridge N of Hengyang; 150+ fighter-bombers again hit scattered targets in S
and E China, concentrating on road, rail, and river traffic and supply lines.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Unit moves in India: 12th Combat
Cargo Squadron, 3d Combat Cargo Group, from Tulihal to Ledo with C-47s; 71st
Liaison Squadron, Tenth AF, from Dinjan to Piardoba with UC-64s, L-1s, L-4s
and L-5s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The XIX Tactical Air Command flies
demonstration missions. HQ 362d Fighter Group moves from Illesheim to
Straubing, Germany.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): HQ 450th Bombardment Group 
(Heavy) and 723d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) begin a movement from Manduria,
Italy to the US with B-24s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): Large-scale redeployment of
Twelfth AF units officially begins (although the first large movement to the
ZI has earlier taken place on 12 Jan 45, followed by redeployment of various
units to all the theaters). On 12 May, the Twelfth has 198 units assigned and
8 attached; by the end of May, 17 assigned units will be redeployed from the
theater, 43 assigned service units disbanded (and personnel used to form 21
new service units), 9 assigned units transferred to other HQ in the theater,
and 1 attached unit released-leaving 150 assigned and 7 attached units
intact. The 12th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 3d Photographic Group
(Reconnaissance) moves from Villafranca to Peretola Airfield, Florence, Italy
with F-5s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA
    Seventh Air Force: 9 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb the airfield on Marcus
Island while 12 more hit the airfield on Param Island in Truk Atoll.
    VII Fighter Command: The 6th Night Fighter Squadron, 7th Fighter Wing,
arrives at Kipapa, Hawaii from Saipan Island with P-61s.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): HQ 331st Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) and
355th, 356th and 357th Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy) and HQ 502d
Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) and 402d, 411th and 430th Bombardment
Squadrons (Very Heavy) arrive at Northwest Field, Guam Island from the US
with B-29s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: A-20s and fighter-
bombers support ground forces on Luzon and Negros Islands. In French
Indochina, B-24s pound several railroad and road bridges at Binh Dinh, Phu
My, Bong Son, Lai Ha, Tuy Hoa, and Phu Hiep and attack the railroad yard at
An Trach and other railroad targets. In Borneo, B-24s, B-25s, and P-38s hit
targets in the Brunei Bay area including Labuan Island, Brooketon, and
Jesselton Airfields and troops on Tarakan Island. On Celebes Island, B-24s
bomb Makassar shipyards and Limboeng Airfield. HQ 345th Bombardment Group
(Medium) and 499th and 501st Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) move from San
Marcelinto to Clark Field, Luzon with B-25s.

SUNDAY, 13 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 5 B-24s lay mines in the
Yangtze River; 10 B-25s and 5 fighters knock out bridges at Hankow and
Hengyang but fail to hit a bridge N of Siaokan; 130+ fighter-bombers over
areas of S and E China attack troops, bridges, rail traffic, town areas, and
other targets of opportunity and generally disrupt Japanese movement and
communications; the flight of the 21st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron,
Fourteenth AF, operating from Luliang with F-5s, returns to base at Kunming.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): The 5th Fighter Squadron (Commando),
1st Air Commando Group, moves from Hay to Asansol, India with P-47s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): The 327th Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 92d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Podington England to Port
Lyautey, French Morocco with B-17s and, as part of Project Green, begins
servicing aircraft of units which are transporting redeployed personnel from
Europe to N Africa.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): P-47 unit moves in Germany: HQ 368th
Fighter Group and 395th and 396th Fighter Squadrons from Frankfurt-am-Main to
Buchschwabach; 511th Fighter Squadron, 405th Fighter Group, from Kitzingen to
Straubing.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): B-24s units beginning a
movement from Italy to the US: 717th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 449th
Bombardment Group (Heavy), from Grottagie; 720th Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 450th Bombardment Group (Heavy), from Manduria.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): The 16th Troop Carrier Squadron,
64th Troop Carrier Group, ceases operating from Brindisi and returns to
Rosignano Airfield, Italy with C-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 10 B-24s from Guam Island bomb a underground
hangar on Moen Island in Truk Atoll. 9 other B-24s strike the airfield on
Marcus Island in the N Pacific.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 173: During the night of 13/14 May,
12 B-29s drop mines in Shimonoseki Strait, Japan.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s again pound
bridges along the French Indochina coast. Bombers and fighters pound Cagayan
Valley targets and continue support of ground forces on Luzon Island. B-24s
hit troop concentrations and caves in the Bugnay area. In Borneo, other B-24s
bomb Oelin and Tabanio Airfields while B-25s and P-38s bomb Sandakan and
support ground forces on Tarakan Island.

MONDAY, 14 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, B-24s mine the Yangtze
River; 15 B-25s and 6 fighter-bombers hit river shipping near Hengshan and
pound bridges and other railroad targets around Chushihtien, Sinyang,
Kioshan, Kuanshuishih, Hengyang, Chuchou, Changsha, Yoyang, Sintien,
Hsuchang, Saiping, and Hengshan; 120+ fighter-bombers over S and E China hit
numerous targets of opportunity at several locations concentrating on the
Liping and Tungkow areas; Fourteenth AF unit moves in China: 11th Combat
Cargo Squadron from Dinjan, India to Yunnani with C-47s; 21st Photographic
Reconnaissance Squadron from Kunming to Shwangliu with F-5s (flights
operating from Hanchung, Hsian and Laifeng); 35th Photographic Reconnaissance
Squadron based at Chanyi with F-5s sends a detachment to operate from
Kunming.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Unit moves in India: 2d Fighter
Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, from Cox's Bazar to Kalaikunda
with P-51s; 166th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, from
Toungoo, Burma to Asansol with UC-64s and L-5s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The 510th Fighter Squadron, 405th
Fighter Group, moves from Kitzingen to Straubing, Germany with P-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): A detachment of the 28th Photographic
Reconnaissance Squadron, Seventh AF, based on Okinawa with F-5Es, begins
operating from Ie Shima Island, Ryukus Islands.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 174: 472 B-29s blast the urban area
of N Nagoya, Japan; 8 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim about 20
Japanese fighters; 11 B-29s are lost. This is the XXI Bomber Command's first
4-wing raid as B-29s of the 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) join bombers
from the 73d, 313th, and 314th Bombardment Wings (Very Heavy) in a single
mission.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s bomb Hozan,
the largest military and air supply center on Formosa. A-20s and fighter-
bombers support ground forces on Luzon and Negros Islands. In Borneo, B-24s
attack Jesselton and Sepinggang Airfields and B-25s hit Jesselton, Kudat, and
Bintula Airfields and support ground forces on Tarakan Island. On Celebes
Island, B-24s lightly raid Makassar harbor, Sidate Airfield, and Parepare
warehouses and bomb Bima Airfield on Soembawa Island, Lesser Sunda Islands.

TUESDAY, 15 MAY 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands, 13 B-24s bomb the
Kashiwabara, Paramushiru Island-Kataoka, Shimushu Island area, claiming one
ship destroyed, and a direct hit on another, and investigate radar
activities. Low fog limits observation of other results; AA fire damages 2
B-24s, 1 of which forcelands in the USSR.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, a single B-24, supported by
2 P-51s, seriously damages 3 bridges near Singtai and Linmingkuan; 20 B-25s,
some with fighter escort, bomb bridges, barracks, troops, horses, road and
railroad targets, and general targets of opportunity around Sinyang, Yoyang,
Changsha, Hsuchang, Chenghsien, Sichuan, Pinyang, Tsinkong, Luchou, Kweiping,
Tanchuk, Laohokow, Siangyang, Nanying, Paoching, and Hengyang; 150 fighter-
bombers over S and E China attack a variety of targets chiefly road, rail,
and river traffic, troops, and bridges, at many scattered locations; the
Liping and Tungkow areas are again well covered.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Unit moves in India: HQ Tenth AF
from Myitkyina, Burma to Piardoba; HQ 1st Combat Cargo Group and 4th Combat
Cargo Squadron from Dohazari to Hathazari with C-47s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Unit moves in Germany: HQ 323d
Bombardment Group (Medium) and 453d, 454th and 456th Bombardment Squadrons
from Prouvy Airfield, Denain, France to Gablingen with B-26s; HQ 354th
Fighter Group and 353d and 355th Fighter Squadrons from Ansbach to
Herzogenaurach with P-51s; 377th, 378th and 379th Fighter Squadrons, 362d
Fighter Group, from Illesheim to Straubing with P-47s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Unit moves in Italy: HQ 483d
Bombardment Group (Heavy) and 815th, 816th, 817th and 840th Bombardment
Squadrons (Heavy) from Sterparone Airfield to Pisa with B-17s; HQ 485th
Bombardment Group (Heavy) begins a movement from Venosa to the US; 716th,
718th and 719th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 449th Bombardment Group
(Heavy), begin a movement from Grottaglie to the US with B-24s; 773d
Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 463d Bombardment Group (Heavy), based at Celone
Airfield with B-17s, sends a detachment to operate from Port Lyautey, French
Morocco transporting men from Europe to N Africa.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s bomb
Shinchiku, Formosa. In Borneo, B-24s and B-25s hit Miri and Kudat Airfields
and support ground forces on Tarakan Island. P-38s pound troop concentrations
and gun positions on Mount Mandalagan on Negros Island. Unit moves: HQ 2d
Combat Cargo Group and 5th Combat Cargo Squadron from Biak Island, New Guinea
to Dulag, Leyte, Island with C-46s; HQ 348th Fighter Group and 340th, 342d,
343d and 460th Fighter Squadrons from San Marcelino to Floridablanca, Luzon
Island with P-47s.

WEDNESDAY, 16 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, B-24s continue to lay mines
in the Yangtze River; 33 B-25s and 16 P-47s and P-51s attack railroad
targets, barracks, HQ, bridges, town areas, river shipping, and targets of
opportunity at or near Kaifeng, Sinyang, Chungsiang, Chienyangi, Ichang,
Chingmen, Yanglowtung, Kiyang, Loyang, Szeshui, Hsihhsiassuchi, Shanhsien,
Neihsiang, Liuchow, Kweiping, Nanyo, Shihlipu, Hojung, Mingkiang, and
Kioshan; 100+ fighter-bombers attack river, road, and rail traffic, troops,
gun positions, and generally harass Japanese movement and supply lines in S
and E China hitting especially targets of opportunity in Yangchi.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): The 2d Combat Cargo Squadron, 1st
Combat Cargo Group, moves from Dohazari to Hathazari, India with C-47s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The 397th Fighter Squadron, 368th
Fighter Group, moves from Frankfurt-am-Main to Buchschwabach, Germany with
P-47s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): B-24 units beginning a movement
from Italy to US: HQ 449th Bombardment Group (Heavy) from Grottaglie; 721st
and 722d Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 450th Bombardment Group (Heavy), from
Manduria.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): The 121st Liaison Squadron,
Twelfth AF (attached to Fifth Army), moves from Verona to Manerba, Italy with
UC-78s, L-4s and L-5s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 13 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb the airfield on
Marcus Island in the N Pacific; 11 others sent against Marcus abort because
of bad weather.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 175: During the night of 16/17 May,
25 B-29s mine Shimonsoeki Strait and 2 others hit targets of opportunity.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Nearly 100 P-38s
pound targets in the Ipo Dam area on Luzon Island with napalm. B-24s hit
Balikpapan and Manggar, Borneo, and Tondano on Celebes Island while B-25s and
P-38s hit Miri, Brookton, Bintula, Ft Brook, and a flak ship near Labuan
Island Borneo; and P-38s also support ground forces on Tarakan. On Formosa,
B-24s bomb Taichu and B-25s hit alcohol plants and railroad yards.

THURSDAY, 17 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 16 B-25s and about 100 fighters
continue to disrupt communications and supply lines and hinder enemy
withdrawal from numerous locations of S and E China, pounding town areas,
troop concentrations, storage areas, river, road, and rail traffic and
general targets of opportunity.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): The 319th Troop Carrier Squadron
(Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, ceases operating from various forward
bases in Burma and returns to base at Asansol, India with C-47s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The 33d Photographic Reconnaissance
Squadron, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Brunswick to
Eschwege, Germany with F-5s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (VII Fighter Command): Fighters from Iwo Jima Island fly 41
effective strike sorties against Atsugi, Japan; pilots claim 10 parked
aircraft destroyed. During the night of 17/18 May, 2 P-47s of the 318th
Fighter Group, presently arriving on Ie Shima (between 13 and 19 May), fly
heckling mission over Kyushu Island, Japan-the first such VII Fighter Command
mission against Japan.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 176: Between 0300 and 0600 hours
local, 457 of 522 B-29s attack the Nagoya urban area in the last great attack
on this city; the S part of Nagoya, the site of the Mitsubishi Aircraft
Works, Aichi Aircraft Company's Atsuta palnt and the Atsuta branch of the
Nagoya Arsenal, the Nippon Vehicle Company and other targets are attacked;
the attack is made from low levels; 11 other B-29s hit targets of
opportunity; 3 B-29s are lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: During sweeps over
Formosa, B-25s and P-51s cause widespread damage hitting railroad yards,
bridges, and alcohol plants and B-24s bomb airfields at Nanseiho and
Matsuyama. Fighters fly 130+ sorties against the Ipo Dam area on Luzon
Island. B-24s bomb Sepinggang and Manggar, Borneo, and Sidate, Celebes Island
airfields. The 20th Combat Mapping Squadron, 6th Reconnaissance Group, moves
from Dulag, Letye Island to Clark Field, Luzon with F-7s.

FRIDAY, 18 MAY 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 8 B-24s bomb naval, harbor, and airfield
targets at Kataoka on Shimushu Island; another B-24 searches for enemy radar
along the Kurile Islands.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 9 B-25s blast the Siangtan
supply areas; 8 B-25s, supported by 7 P-51s, hit railroad targets and other
targets of opportunity around Sinyang, Kiaotow, Sintsiang, and Chenghsien;
about 75 fighter-bomber and reconnaissance aircraft continue the harassment
of enemy movement and supply lines throughout S and E China, escort of C-47
transports, and surveillance of enemy forces.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): The 862d Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 493d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Wormingford to Debach,
England with B-17s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The 356th Fighter Squadron, 354th
Fighter Group, moves from Ansbach to Herzogenaurach, Germany with P-51s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (VII Fighter Command): In the Ryukus Islands, 8 P-47s from Ie Shima
Island make bombing, strafing, and rocket attacks on radar and ground
installations on Kume Jima Island; other P-47s fly heckler strikes against
Kyushu Island, Japan during the night of 18/19 May.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 177: During the night of 18/19 May,
30 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and Tsuruga Harbor in Japan. The advance air
echelon of the 509th Composite Group arrives at North Field on Tinian Island;
the 509th is scheduled to deliver atomic bomb attacks on Japan; its
Commanding Officer is Colonel Paul W Tibbets Jr, a pilot with a distinguished
record in the 97th Bombardment Group (Heavy) in Europe and N Africa. 

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, B-24s
bomb Taichu and Tainan Airfields; B-25s and fighter-bombers fly sweeps
hitting numerous targets. B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers support ground
forces on N Luzon Island and pound concentrations in S Luzon. Fighter-bombers
also support ground forces on Negros Island. In Borneo, B-24s and B-25s hit
Ft Brook and Sarawak while B-24s and P-38s attack defenses on Tarakan Island.

SATURDAY, 19 MAY 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 8 B-25s try to bomb Minami Cape radar
installation and cannery on the Naka River on Shimushu Island; only one gets
near the targets and bombs and strafes the area, while intense AA fire and
enemy fighters drive off the rest and down 1 B-25; another B-25 is missing
and a third reaches Petropavlovsk, USSR.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 4 B-25s blast the Kaifeng
warehouse area, destroying at least 5 warehouses, while another hits nearby
railroad tracks; another B-25 bombs the town of Shanhsien; about 90 fighter-
bombers attack river, road, and rail shipping, troops, supplies and general
targets of opportunity, continuing the disruption of troop movement and
withdrawal in S and E China.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): The detachments of the 127th and
155th Liaison Squadrons (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, operating from
Akyab, Burma with UC-64s and L-5s, return to base at Kalaikunda, India.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): HQ 61st Troop Carrier Group
and 14th and 15th Troop Carrier Squadrons begin a movement from Abbeville,
France to Waller Field, Trinidad, British West Indies with C-47s.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): HQ 93d Bombardment Group (Heavy)
begins a movement from Hardwick, England to the US.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The 161st Tactical Reconnaissance
Squadron, 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves Brunswick to Wiesbaden,
Germany with F-6s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (VII Fighter Command): 100 P-51s are dispatched to escort B-29s to
Tachikawa, Japan but abort due to weather. HQ 413th Fighter Group and 1st,
21st and 34th Fighter Squadrons arrive on Ie Shima Island from the US with
P-47s. 

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 178: 272 B-29s make an abortive
raid on the Tachikawa Aircraft Company and bomb the city of Hamamatsu; 14
others hit targets of opportunity; 4 B-29s are lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In Formosa, B-24s
pound Kiirun harbor, B-25s sweep the W coast, hitting several targets
including Toyohara, Nisui, and along the Ts'eng-Wen River, hitting a railroad
yard, storage facilities, and damaging an alcohol plant on the Ts'eng Wen and
fighters sweep the Giran, Tainan, and Heito areas. B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-
bombers support ground forces throughout Luzon Island, concentrating in the
Ipo Dam area. P-38s support ground action on Cebu Island. In Borneo, B-24s
bomb Oelin Airfield and, along with P-38s, attack targets on Tarakan Island.
The air echelon of the 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th
Reconnaissance Group, based at Dulag, Leyte Island with F-5s, begins
operating from Clark Field, Luzon.

SUNDAY, 20 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 55 P-51s and P-40s pound
truck concentrations, fuel dumps, gun positions, supply areas, troops,
bridges, rail, road, and river traffic, and various targets of opportunity
around Liping, Yangchi, Siangtan, Yoyang, Yungfengshih, Paoching, Taohwaping,
Hengyang, Tungkow, and Changsha.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In India, the detachment of the
317th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, operating
from Comilla with C-47s, returns to base at Kalaikunda.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): The 301st Troop Carrier
Squadron, 442d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Dreux to St-Andre-de L'Eure,
France with C-47s.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): The 859th Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 492d Bombardment Group (Heavy) [attached to 2641st Special Group
(Provisional)], moves from Rosignano to Gioia del Colle, Italy with B-24s and
C-47s. 

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Unit moves in Germany: HQ 373d
Fighter Group and 411th and 412th Fighter Squadrons from Lippstadt to
Illesheim with P-47s; 153th Liaison Squadron, IX Tactical Air Command
(attached to Twelfth Army Group), from Weimar to Brunswick with L-5s; HQ
363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group and 160th Tactical Reconnaissance
Squadron, from Brunswick to Wiesbaden with F-6s; 456th Bombardment Squadron
(Medium), 323d Bombardment Group (Medium), from Gablingen to Kempten, Germany
with B-26s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): The 885th Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 2641st Special Group (Provisional), moves from Brindisi to
Rosignano, Italy with B-17s and B-24s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 10 Guam Island-based B-24s hit air operations
buildings on Marcus Island in the N Pacific. The 396th and 820th Bombardment
Squadrons (Medium), 41st Bombardment Group (Medium), begin a movement from
Wheeler Field, Hawaii to Okinawa with B-25s.
    VII Fighter Command: 16 Saipan Island-based P-47s strafe airfields on
Moen and Eten Islands and seaplane base and barges off Dublon Island, all in
Truk Atoll. In Japan, 9 P-47s from Ie Shima hit a hangar and 2 boats at
Fukue-Shima and 32 others hit airfields, railroads, buildings, and radar
facilities on Kyushu Island. 

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 179: During the night of 20/21 May,
30 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait, Maizuru harbor, and He-Saki anchorage; 1
B-29 is lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Despite bad weather
B-25s over Formosa bomb various communications targets and an alcohol plant
at Meiji. B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers pound the Cagayan Valley targets
on Luzon Island. On Mindanao Island, B-24s bomb Piso Point, and fighter-
bombers support ground action in the Bukidnon area. In Borneo, P-38s hit
Sandakan, Keningau, and Tarakan Island while B-25s hit shipping at
Balikpapan harbor and a nearby barracks area and sawmill. HQ 375th Troop
Carrier Group moves from San Jose, Mindoro Island to Porac, Luzon.

MONDAY, 21 MAY 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  CARIBBEAN (Sixth Air Force): The 4th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron,
Antilles Air Command, moves from Borinquen Field, Puerto Rico to Coolidge
Field, Antigua, British West Indies with B-25s and F-5s.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 8 B-25s bomb a bridge
approach N of Hankow, 1 damages the railroad track between Changsha and
Kweiyi, and 2 score near misses on a bridge at Kuanshuishih; 3 B-25s and 6
P-51s damage a bridge at Chihsien and hit railroad targets of opportunity in
the Anyang area; 50+ fighter-bombers on armed reconnaissance continue attacks
against river, road, and rail traffic, positions, troops, bridges, and
numerous other targets in S and E China.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): HQ 482d Bombardment Group
(Heavy) begins a movement from Alconbury, England to the US.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Unit moves: HQ 71st Fighter Wing
from Heidelberg, Germany to Nancy, France; HQ 50th Fighter Group and 10th,
81st and 313th Fighter Squadrons from Giebelstadt to Mannheim, Germany with
P-47s; 410th Fighter Squadron, 373d Fighter Group, from Lippstadt to
Illesheim, Germany with P-47s; 417th Night Fighter Squadron, XII Tactical
Air Command, from Giebelstadt to Biblis, Germany with Beaufighters.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (VII Fighter Command): P-47s fly heckler strikes against Kyushu
Island, Japan during the night of 21/22 May.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-25s blast numerous targets in the Cagayan Valley while A-20s and P-51s
support ground forces in NW sectors; P-38s napalm-bomb the Ipo Dam and
Marikina River sectors and hit positions throughout Negro Island. In Borneo,
B-24s hit Brunei, Melak Airstrip, Samarinda shipyards, and troop
concentrations on Tarakan Island. P-38s strafe railroad rolling stock in
the Saigon, French Indochina area.

TUESDAY, 22 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 15 B-25s and 7 fighter-
bombers knock out a rail bridge at Hei-Shih Kuan, damage a bridge approach at
Hwayuan, and hit a variety of targets S of Kuo-lueh-chen; 10 P-51s drop
napalm on trucks, barracks, storage, trains, and town areas at Sinyang, and
Shanyangchen; 45 other fighter-bombers and photo reconnaissance aircraft
attack railroad targets, bridges, troops, and other targets at several S and
E China points and survey enemy movements.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): The flight of the 20th Tactical
Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, operating
from Akyab, Burma with F-6s, returns to base at Nagaghuli, India.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): HQ 410th Bombardment Group (Light)
and 644th, 645th, 646th and 647th Bombardment Squadrons (Light) move from
Juvincourt to Beaumont-sur-Oise, France with A-20s and A-26s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 180: During the night of 22/23 May,
30 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and approaches; 1 B-29 is lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, B-24s
bomb Toshien and Okayama while B-25s hit an oil plant W of Kagi and several
targets of opportunity. B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers attack the Santa
Fe, Fula, and Casambalangan areas in the N part of Luzon Island and support
ground forces in the Ipo Dam and Marikina areas in the S. In Borneo, B-24s,
B-25s, and fighter-bombers attack Jesselton, Kudat, Bintula, and Tarakan
Island.

WEDNESDAY, 23 MAY 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 7 B-24s radar-bomb the Kataoka naval base area
on Shimushu Island while another flies a radar-ferret mission in the same
area.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 14 B-25s and 6 P-51s attack
a bridge and gun positions N and S of Hwayuan, knock out a bridge and hit
boxcars at Chungmow, damage a bridge N of Lohochai, damage a bridge and
nearby gun positions at Kuanshuishih, and pound truck convoys around
Paoching, Hengyang, and Changsha; 30+ fighter-bombers hit various targets of
opportunity around Liping, Yoyang, Changsha, Hengyang, Luntangpu, Chingmen,
Shasi, and Ichang.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): The 5th and 6th Fighter Squadrons
(Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, move from Asansol to Kalaikunda, India
with P-47s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Major General Otto P Weyland assumes
command of the Ninth AF and Brigadier General Homer L Sanders becomes
Commanding General XIX Tactical Air Command.  The XIX Tactical Air Command
flies a navigational patrol to Gmunden, Liezen, Radstadt, and Innsbruck,
Austria. Unit moves in Germany: 14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air
Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group), from Regensburg to Holzkirchen with
L-5s; 455th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 323d Bombardment Group (Medium),
from Gablingen to Leipheim with B-26s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): HQ 64th Troop Carrier Group and
16th, 17th, 18th and 35th Troop Carrier Squadrons begin a movement from
Rosignano Airfield, Italy to Waller Field, Trinidad with C-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: The 27th and 392d Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 30th
Bombardment Group (Heavy), move from Kahuku and Kipapa respectively to
Wheeler Field, Hawaii with B-24s.
    VII Fighter Command: 32 P-47s from Saipan Island strafe Moen Island
airfields and boats off Tol Island, buildings on Tarik Island, and the
seaplane base, buildings, and small boats at Dublon Island, all in Truk Atoll.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 181: During the night of 23/24 May,
520 out of 562 B-29s sent against Tokyo bomb an urban-industrial area S of
the Imperial Palace along the W side of the harbor; 5 others hit targets of
opportunity; 17 B-29s are lost; this is the largest number of B-29s
participating in a single mission during World War II.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon, A-20s and
B-25s hit Cagayan Valley and Balete Pass targets, P-51s support ground forces
in the Baguio area and P-38s hit the Ipo-Antipolo areas. On Borneo, Tawau,
Bintula, Samarinda, and Miri are hit by B-24s, Ft Brook and Weston by B-25s,
and Tarakan Island by fighter-bombers.

THURSDAY, 24 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 5 B-25s knock out a railroad bridge N
of Anyang; 30+ fighter-bombers attack railroad targets, truck convoys,
bridges, and other targets of opportunity around Nanyang, Burma and Anyang,
Sichuan, Kuo-lueh-chen, Kuantaokou, Luntangpu, Houpo, Laohokow, Sinsiang,
Kiehsiu, Linfen, Taiyuan, Puchou, and Yutze, China.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): HQ 80th Fighter Group moves from
Myitkyina, Burma to Dudhkundi, India. The 434th Bombardment Squadron
(Medium), 12th Bombardment Group (Medium), ceases operating from Magwe, Burma
with B-25s, and returns to base at Fenny, India.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Brigadier General Richard C Sanders
becomes Commanding General 9th Air Division. Unit moves: HQ IX Air Defense
Command from Paris, France to Neustadt, Germany; HQ 97th Combat Bombardment
Wing (Light) from Arrancy to Sandricourt, France; HQ 387th Bombardment Group
(Medium) from Beek, the Netherlands to Rosieres-en-Santerre, France; HQ 397th
Bombardment Group (Medium) from Venlo, the Netherlands to Peronne, France.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): The 7th Troop Carrier Squadron,
62d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Tarquinia to Rosignano, Italy with C-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA 
    Seventh Air Force: 26 Guam Island-based B-24s pound the airfield and
surrounding area on Marcus Island.  
    VII Fighter Command: 120 Iwo Jima Island-based P-51s dispatched against
Matsudo and Tokorozawa, Japan abort because of weather; P-47s fly heckler
strikes against Kyushu Island, Japan during the night of 24/25 May.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 182: During the night of 24/25 May,
25 B-29s lay mines in Shimonoseki Strait and at Niigata, Nanao, and Fushiki.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-24s pound Cagayan Valley targets including Aparri; B-25s, A-20s, and P-51s
hit numerous targets throughout the Valley and in NW and S Luzon, including
the Vira, Callang, Santa Cruz, Baguio, Balete Pass, Ipo, and Antipolo areas.
Fighter-bombers also support ground forces on Negros Island. In Borneo,
B-24s, B-25s, and P-38s attack Ft Brook, Bintula, Tawau, Beaufort, Jesselton,
along the Lawas River, and Malinau.

FRIDAY, 25 MAY 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands, 2 B-24s fly a radar
ferret mission over Matsuwa Island and bomb the Tagan Cape area; another B-24
flies armed weather reconnaissance.

  ZONE OF INTERIOR: The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) approve the directive for
Operation OLYMPIC, the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands, scheduled for
1 Nov 45.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 5 B-25s and 2 P-51s knock out a
bridge N of Kioshan, damage another N of Changtuikuan, and pound railroad
targets around Sinyang, Saiping, Sinantien, Hsuchang, and Chenghsien; 16
fighter-bombers on armed reconnaissance hit various targets of opportunity in
the Nanyang, Burma and Anyang, Hantan, Chenghsien, Kaifeng, Linfen,
Shihkiachwang, Sinsiang, Miyanghsien, Tenghsien, Loning, Sichuan, and
Hsuchang, China areas. The 322d Troop Carrier Squadron, Fourteenth AF,
moves form Kunming to Loping, China with C-47s.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): Unit moves: 83d Bombardment Squadron
(Medium), 12th Bombardment Group (Medium), ceases operating from Magwe,
Burma with B-25s, and returns to base at Fenny, India; 427th Night Fighter
Squadron, Tenth AF, moves from Myitkyina, Burma to Dinjan, India with P-61s
(a detachment is operating from Kunming, China).

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): HQ 416th Bombardment Group (Light)
and 668th, 669th, 670th and 671st Bombardment Squadrons (Light) move from
Athies Airfield, Laon to Cormeilles-en-Vexin, France with A-26s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): HQ 484th Bombardment Group
(Heavy) and 824th, 825th, 826th and 827th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) move
from Torretto Airfield, Italy to Casablanca, French Morocco with B-24s and
begin transporting troops.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): HQ 62d Troop Carrier Group moves
from Tarquinia to Rosignano Airfield, Italy.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): By concurrence of Commander-in-Chief,
Pacific Ocean Areas (CINCPOA), the VII Fighter Command, with its subordinate
units, is assigned to operational and administrative control of HQ Twentieth
AF. 100 Iwo Jima-based P-51s fly 73 effective strike sorties against Matsudo
and Tokorozawa Airfields, Japan claiming 8-0-1 Japanese aircraft in the air
and 10-0-40 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost. Mission 183: During the night of
25/26 May, 464 B-29's pound the urban area of Tokyo immediately S of the
Imperial Palace just N of that bombed on 23/24 May, including financial,
commercial, and governmental districts as well as factories and homes; 6
others bomb targets of opportunity; they claim 19 Japanese fighters; 26 B-29s
are lost on this mission, the highest single-day loss of B-29s in World War
II.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers fly numerous strikes and ground support
missions. Fighter-bombers also support ground force on Cebu Island. In
Borneo, B-24s bomb Oelin, Ft Brook, and Tarakan Island while B-25s and P-38s
hit Kudat and P-38s also support ground action on Tarakan.

SATURDAY, 26 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 12 B-25s and 6 P-51s damage
2 bridges N of Hankow; 4 B-25s hit railroad targets around Lohochai and
between Kinkiang and Kioshan; 3 B-25s attack truck convoys in the Siangtan
and Paoching areas and along the Paoching-Hengyang-Changsha highway; 80+
fighter-bombers over several areas in S and E China continue to harass
Japanese movements, attacking troops and positions and hitting rail and road
traffic; the Japanese complete their withdrawal from Yungning, severing the
land connection with French Indochina; the Chinese retake Nanning.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): HQ 398th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
and 600th, 601st, 602d and 603d Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) begin a
movement from Nuthampstead, England to the US with B-17s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The 422d Night Fighter Squadron, IX
Tactical Air Command, moves from Langensalza to Rothwesten Airfield, Kassel,
Germany with P-61s.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Brigadier General James A
Mollison assumes command of the Fifteenth AF. The 772d Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 463d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Celone Airfield to
Pomigliano Airfield, Italy with B-17s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): Brigadier General Charles T Myers
assumes command of the Twelfth AF. The 4th and 8th Troop Carrier Squadrons,
62d Troop Carrier Group, move from Tarquinia to Rosignano Airfield, Italy
with C-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 10 Guam Island-based B-24s bomb the airfield on
Marcus Island in the N Pacific.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 16 P-47s from Saipan Island strafe airfields
on Moen Island, the seaplane base on Dublon Island, and several targets of
opportunity, all in Truk Atoll. Mission 184: During the night of 26/27 May,
29 B-29s mine waters in Shimonoseki Strait and at Fushiki, Fukuoka, and
Karatsu.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-25s and P-38s
sweep the W part of Formosa causing extensive damage to a variety of
communications and industrial targets. A-20s and fighter-bombers pound
numerous Luzon Island targets, particularly in the Balete Pass area and B-24s
bomb Tuguegarao and Echague. Fighter-bombers also support ground forces on
Cebu Island. In Borneo, B-24s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers hit Tarakan Island,
Beaufort, Weston, Tenom, Trusan Haji, Sandakan, and Jesselton.

SUNDAY, 27 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 15 B-25s bomb a textile
mill at Chenghsien, attack trains, railroad track and a bridge in the
Lohochai area, and bomb railroad yards at Sinyang; 80+ fighter-bombers attack
town areas, trucks, railroad targets, bridges, and general targets of
opportunity at scattered S and E China locations.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): The 319th Troop Carrier Squadron
(Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, moves from Asansol, India to Warazup,
Burma with C-47s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): HQ 391st Bombardment Group (Medium)
and 573d Bombardment Squadron (Medium) move from Assche, Belgium to Vitry-en-
Artois, France with B-26s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 185: During the night of 27/28 May, 9
B-29s drop mines in Shimonoseki Strait and in the Moji area; 1 B-29 is lost.
16 Saipan Island-based P-47s sweep Truk Atoll, strafing the airfield,
aircraft, and radio tower and facilities on Moen Island, buildings at the
Dublon Island seaplane base and on Udot Island, and small craft off Dublon
and Fanamu Islands.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s pound the
railroad yards and rolling stock at Muong Man and Phan Rang, French Indochina.
On Formosa, B-25s and fighter-bombers attack targets at Koshun, Shinei,
Tairin, Ensui, Kohyo, and Kobi and attack numerous targets of opportunity at
many other locations. On Luzon island, B-24s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers hit
Cagayan Valley targets while other fighter-bombers support ground forces in
the Balete Pass, Baguio, and Ipo Dam sectors. In Borneo, B-24s, B-25s and
fighter-bombers attack Tawau, Kudat, Langkon, and Sandakan, and hit targets
on Tarakan Island.

MONDAY, 28 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 19 B-25s, along with 8 fighter-
bombers, hit railroad, road, and river traffic around Vinh, Quang Tri, Dap
Cau, and Song Chu, French Indochina, knock out a bridge at Hwayuan and
demolish a tunnel opening near Wuchang, China. In China, 16 P-51s cause heavy
damage and casualties blasting a bridge and military installations near
Wuchang; 27 P-51s hit bridges, troops, storage, trucks, trains, rivercraft,
and other targets in the Yoyang area; 65 other fighter-bombers attack targets
of opportunity at several locations throughout S and E China; 15 photo
reconnaissance aircraft continue to maintain good coverage of enemy
movements; the detachment of the 25th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group,
operating from Poseh with P-51s, returns to base at Yunnani.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): The 302d Troop Carrier
Squadron, 314th Troop Carrier Group, moves from Dreux to Poix, France with
C-47s.

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Unit moves from England to the US:
HQ 445th Bombardment Group (Heavy) from Tibenham; the 564th, 565th, 566th and
567th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 389th Bombardment Group (Heavy), from
Hethel with B-24s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): In Japan, fighters from Iwo Jima Island hit
Kasumigaura and its airfield with 6 planes claimed destroyed and 40+ damaged
and P-47s fly heckler strikes against Kyushu during the night of 28/29 May.
The Japanese wage their last strong air effort on Okinawa hitting a number of
ships and sinking the destroyer USS Drexler (DD-741).

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In French
Indochina, B-24s again bomb the railroad yards E of Saigon at Phan Rang and
Muong Man. In Formosa, B-25s and fighter-bombers attack industrial targets of
opportunity at Shoka, Taichu, Ujitsu, Byoritsu, and other locations. On Luzon
Island, B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers attack Pateng, the Ipo Dam
area, Tuguegarao and Ugae airstrips, Anuling, the Baguio area, guns and
defenses in the Balete Pass area, and support ground forces at several
points. In Borneo, B-24s, B-25s, and fighters hit gun positions and other
targets at Balikpapan and P-38s dive-bomb Keningau and Jesselton Airfields.
Unit moves: HQ 374th Troop Carrier Group from Biak Island, New Guinea to
Nielson Field, Luzon; 550th Night Fighter Squadron, XIII Fighter Command
(attached to 85th Fighter Wing), based at Tacloban, Leyte Island with P-38s,
P-61s and P-70s, sends a detachment to operate from Sanga Sanga, Sulu Island
(another detachment is operating from Zamboanga, Mindanao Island).

TUESDAY, 29 MAY 1945

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS 

  AIR TRANSPORT COMMAND: HQ 61st Troop Carrier Group and 14th and 15th Troop
Carrier Squadrons arrive at Waller Field, Trinidad, BWI from France with
C-47s and begin transporting troops back to the US.

  ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): 4 B-25s weather abort a shipping sweep along
the E coasts of Paramushiru and Shimushu Islands.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, a single B-24 damages a
railroad bridge over the Huto River and 4 B-25s and 4 P-51s knock out a
bridge S of Kuanshuishih. In French Indochina, 2 B-25s attack locomotives
near Vinh and about 30 fighter-bombers attack communications and
transportation targets around Thanh Hoa, Vinh, Quang Tri, Vinh and Yen,
Chenghsien and Yoyang, China

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): The 88th Fighter Squadron, 80th
Fighter Group, moves from Moran to Dudhkundi, India with P-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 186: 454 B-29s, escorted by 101 P-51s
from the VII Fighter Command for the first time on a fire-bomb raid, bomb
Yokohama with incendiaries and destroy the main business district (a third of
the city's area) along the waterfront; the burned out area of Yokohama now
amounts to almost 9 square miles (23.3 square km); about 150 Japanese
fighters attack the formations; the B-29s claim 6 fighters and the P-51s
claim 26-9-23: 7 B-29s and 3 P-51s are lost.  HQ 509th Composite Group
arrives at North Field, Tinian Island from the US.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, 100+
B-24s bomb Kiirun and several other towns and B-25s, and fighter-bombers, hit
the Tainan alcohol plant and targets of opportunity. On Luzon Island, B-24s,
B-25s, and A-20s hit a variety of targets in the N while other fighter-
bombers hit the C part of the island including the Cagayan Valley, Baguio,
Balete, and Ipo areas. In Borneo, B-24s hit airfields at Oelin, Tabanio, and
Ft Brook.

WEDNESDAY, 30 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 7 B-25s pound railroad yards at
Sinsiang and knock out a bridge at Sincheng; 28 fighter-bombers attack
bridges, enemy positions, trucks, railroad targets, barracks, and general
targets of opportunity around Anyang, Liuchow, Chingmen, Chungmow, Linfen,
Huluehchen, Kweilin, Hsinganhsien, Leiyang, and Yenkoupu.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): The 90th Fighter Squadron, 80th
Fighter Group, moves from Moran to Dudhkundi, India with P-47s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Units beginning a movement from
England to the US: HQ 389th Bombardment Group (Heavy) from Hethel; 700th,
701st, 702d and 703d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 445th Bombardment Group
(Heavy), from Tibenham with B-24s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Unit moves: HQ 70th Fighter Wing
from Bruhl to Bad Wildungen, Germany; 556th, 557th, 558th and 559th
Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 387th Bombardment Group (Medium), from Beek,
the Netherlands to Rosieres-en-Santerre, France with B-26s; 596th Bombardment
Squadron (Medium), 397th Bombardment Group (Medium), from Venlo, the
Netherlands to Peronne, France with B-26s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 10 Guam Island-based B-24s hit the airfield on
Marcus Island in the N Pacific.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 14 P-47s strafe barges at Truk Atoll; 28
P-47s from Ie Shima Island hit shipping and a lighthouse at Amami-O-Shima,
Japan and Okino Erabu, Ryukus Islands. The 320th Troop Carrier Squadron and
393d Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy), 509th Composite Group, arrive at
North Field, Tinian Island from the US with C-47s, C-54s and B-29s
respectively.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, 100+
B-24s pound Takao while fighters sweep the coastal areas and B-25s
concentrate on the Shinei area. A-20s hit Cagayan Valley targets on Luzon
Island. B-24s and fighters hit several targets in Borneo, concentrating on
Tawau personnel and supply area and the airstrip at Ranau.

THURSDAY, 31 MAY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 5 B-25s and 4 P-47s hit
railroad tracks and cars in the Chenghsien and Kaifeng areas, knock out a
bridge at Sinyang, damage a bridge at Lohochai, and strafe AA positions at
both bridges; 30+ fighter-bombers damage 4 bridges, hit several railroad
targets and rivercraft, attack trucks and troops, and strafe numerous targets
of opportunity around Shihkiachwang, Changsha, Yoyang, Yenkoupu, Taohwaping,
Changanyi, Chiuchiang, Liuchow, Tsinkong, and Pioching.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): USAAF units, including the Tenth AF
and US components of the Eastern Air Command (EAC), are withdrawn from the
Southeast Asia Command (SEAC) and returned to the operational control of the
AAF; EAC is inactivated, along with the Strategic AF and Combat Cargo Task
Force. The detachment of the 156th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 2d Air
Commando Group, operating from Magwe, Burma with UC-64s and L-5s, returns to
base at Kalaikunda, India.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): HQ 303d Bombardment Group (Heavy)
and 358th, 359th, 360th and 427th Bombardment Squadrons move from Molesworth,
England to Casablanca, French Morocco and begin flying troops from Europe to
N Africa for return to the US with B-17s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The 597th, 598th and 599th
Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 397th Bombardment Group (Medium), move from
Venlo, the Netherlands to Peronne, France with B-26s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 8 P-47s from Ie Shima Island strafe buildings,
barracks, and seaplane ramps at Amami-O-Shima, Japan.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, B-24s,
B-25s, and fighter-bombers attack targets, with 90+ B-24s concentrating on
Takao while other planes hit Kosbun, Giran warehouses and communications
targets, and blast transportation and communications targets over wide areas.
On Luzon Island, B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers hit targets in the
Cagayan Valley, Balete Pass, and Baguio and Ipo areas. Fighter-bombers also
hit Negros Island. On Borneo, B-25s and fighter-bombers hit troop
concentrations on Tarakan Island and the occupied building area at Belait;
fighter-bombers also blast airfields at Kudat, Jesselton, Keningau, and
Labuan Island. HQ 433d Troop Carrier Group move from Tanauan, Leyte Island to
Clark Field, Luzon.

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
WORLD WAR II IN THE NORTH PACIFIC by Kevin D. Hutchinson, 1994,
  ISBN-0-313-29130-6

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

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|  Jack McKillop         |  Those who have long enjoyed such      |
|  Bellcore              |  privileges as we enjoy forget in      |
|  Piscataway, NJ USA    |  time that men have died to win them.  |
|  [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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