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TUESDAY, 25 APRIL 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 317 Part 1: 554
bombers
and 719 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards and
airfields in
France and Germany; 7 bombers and 2 fighters are lost; the bombers
make no
Luftwaffe aircraft claims.
1. 199 B-24s are dispatched to the marshalling yard at Mannheim,
Germany; 7
bomb the primary, 16 bomb the marshalling yard at Landau, Germany
and 8 hit
targets of opportunity; 5 B-24s are lost and 26 damaged; casualties
are 1 KIA,
4 WIA and 49 MIA.
2. 229 B-17s are dispatched to Nancy/Essay Airfield (42 bomb) and
Metz/
Frascaty Airfield (98 bomb), France and 2 hit targets of
opportunity; 2 B-17s
are lost and 33 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 20 MIA.
3. 121 of 126 B-17s hit Dijon/Longvic Airfield, France; 29 B-17s are
damaged; 2 airman are WIA.
Escort is provided by 177 P-38s, 296 P-47s and 246 Eighth and Ninth
Air
Force P-51s; the fighters claim 5-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air
and
29-7-42 on the ground; details are: P-38s claim 5-0-9 aircraft, 1
P-38 is
damaged beyond repair and 2 damaged, no casualties; P-47s claim
5-0-8
aircraft; 3 P-47s are damaged; 1 pilot is KIA; P-51s claim 24-7-26
aircraft,
2 P-51s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged, 2 pilots
are MIA.
Mission 317 Part 2: 27 of 28 B-24s bomb V-weapons sites at Wizerenes,
France without loss. Escort is provided by 40 P-47s.
Mission 318: 6 of 6 B-17s drop 4.2 million leaflets on 20 towns in
France
including Calais, Metz, Blainville, Paris, Mulhouse and Reims
without loss.
852d, 853d, 854th and 855th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 491st
Bombardment Group (Heavy), move from North Pickenham to Metfield,
England
with B-24s; first mission is 2 Jun.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 240 B-26s and 69 A-20s bomb
V-weapon
sites in the coastal area of France and gun positions at Le Treport,
Vareneville-sur-Mer, Fontenay-sur-Mer/Crisbec, Ault, Fecamp,
Houlgate and
Saint-Pierre-du-Mont, France. About 150 P-47s dive-bomb airfields in
France
and Belgium. Around 175 B-26s are forced to abort missions because
of bad
weather.
HQ 441st Troop Carrier Group and 99th, 100th and 301st Troop Carrier
Squadrons move from Langar to Merryfield, England with C-47s.
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