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THURSDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER 1943
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): On D-day for
Operation
STARKEY (a rehearsal for the invasion of France), the Eighth Air
Force
dispatches a record number of 330 heavy bombers against various
targets in
France: There were two Missions on this day:
Mission 93 and Mission 94:
1. 87 B-17's are dispatched to the industrial area at Paris; 20 hit
the
primary target at 0903 hours and 48 hit the secondary target, the
Beaumont
Suroise Airfield; they claim 16-2-9 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-17's are
lost
and 21 damaged; casualties are 3 WIA and 21 MIA.
2. 63 B-17's are dispatched to Beauvais/Tille Airfield; 59 hit the
target
at 0816-0819 hours; 6 B-17's are damaged.
3. 37 B-17's are dispatched to Lille/Nord Airfield; all hit the
target at
0830-0833 hours; 10 B-17's are damaged; casualties are 2 WIA.
4. 56 B-17's are dispatched to Lille/Vendeville Airfield; 52 hit the
target at 0830-0840 hours; 7 B-17's are damaged.
5. 56 B-17's are dispatched to Vitry-en-Artois Airfield; 51 hit the
target at 0837-0840; no losses or casualties.
6. 38 B-24's are dispatched to St Omer/Ft Rouge and St Omer/Longuenesse
Airfield; 28 hit the target; 3 B-24's are damaged; casualties are 1
WIA.
7. 40 B-24's are dispatched to Abbeville/Drucat Airfield; 35 hit the
target; no losses or casualties.
All missions except 7. above are escorted by 215 P-47's. They claim
1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-47's are lost; casualties are 1 MIA.
Operation STARKEY is a disappointment as the Luftwaffe refuses to
commit
fighter defenses on a large scale, thus preventing possible
destruction of
many of their aircraft, which Allied air forces hoped to accomplish.
VIII Air Support Command Mission 55: 217 B-26's are dispatched to
the
coastal defenses around Boulogne, France; 202 hit the targets at
0745-0915
hours; 3 B-26's are lost, 2 are damaged beyond repair and 24
damaged;
casualties are 11 KIA, 8 WIA and 19 MIA.
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