|
SATURDAY, 26 AUGUST 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 8 missions are flown
(numbers in
parenthesis indicate number of bombers attacking).
Mission 575: 359 B-17s are dispatched to attack gun batteries in the
Brest,
France area; targets are Brest/Pte de St Mathieu (35) and coastal
batteries
at Kerandieu (27), Cornovailles (21), Brest/Ile Longue (20), Brest/Kerviniov
(9) and Brest/Ponscorf (7); targets of opportunity are Brest/Pte des
Espagnoles II (21) and Brest/Pte des Espagnoles III (18); 3 B-17s
are damaged
beyond repair and 4 damaged; 18 airmen are KIA. Escort is provided
by 48 of
49 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost.
Mission 576: 588 bombers and 402 fighters attack oil refineries,
fuel
stores and chemical works in Germany; 10 bombers and 3 fighters are
lost:
1. 109 B-24 are dispatched to the chemical works at Ludwigshafen
(41);
secondary targets hit are marshalling yards at Ehrang (33) and Kons/Karthaus
(8); 11 others hit Alzey and 2 hit other targets of opportunity; 7
B-24s are
lost and 53 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 3 WIA and 70 MIA. Escort is
provided
by 77 of 81 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51
is lost.
2. 259 B-17s are dispatched to oil refineries at Gelsenkirchen/Buer
(89)
and Gelsenkirchen/Nordstern (85); 19 hit Deelen Airfield, a
secondary target,
and 11 hit targets of opportunity; 3 B-17s are lost and 89 damaged;
5 airmen
are WIA and 26 MIA. Escort is provided by 159 P-47s and P-51s
without loss.
3. 220 B-24s are dispatched to Dulmen fuel dump (73) and oil
refineries at
Salzbergen (71) and Emmerich (36); 36 others hit Eindhoven Airfield;
2 B-24s
are damaged. Escort is provided by 129 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; 1
P-38 and 1
P-51 are lost (pilots are MIA) and 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair.
Mission 577: 9 of 10 B-24s fly an AZON bomb mission to Moerdijk rail
bridge, the Netherlands but clouds prevent an attack. Escort is
provided by
32 P-51s.
Mission 578: 37 B-17s are dispatched to hit liquid oxygen plants at
La
Louviere, Torte and Willebroeck, Belgium but the mission is aborted
due to
clouds. Escort is provided by 18 of 18 P-51s.
Mission 579: 3 of 3 B-17s fly a special bomb test using Micro H
radar
against aviation industry targets at Meaulte, France. Escort is
provided by 7
P-47s.
Mission 580: 3 B-17s fly a Micro H test mission; 2 of the aircraft
also
drop leaflets.
Mission 581: 7 B-24s are dispatched on a radio countermeasures
mission to
aid the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command.
Mission 582: 6 of 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France and Belgium during
the
night.
183 P-47s and 206 P-51s attack transport targets in Belgium, E
France and W
Germany; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 2 P-47s and 7 P-51s are lost and
9 P-47s
and 6 P-51s are damaged; 1 pilot is WIA and 8 are MIA.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): HQ IX Troop Carrier Command
is
relieved of its assignment to the Ninth AF upon transfer of the
command and
its service organizations from the IX Air Force Services Command to
HQ First
Allied Airborne Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lewis H
Brereton.
In France, IX Bomber Command, with fighter escort, strikes fuel
dumps at
Saint-Gobain, Fournival/Bois-de-Mont, and Compiegne/Clairoix, and
troop and
equipment concentrations at Rouen; fighters fly ground forces and
assault
area cover, and armed reconnaissance in the Rouen, Dijon, Chatillon-sur-Seine
and S Loire areas; HQ 323d Bombardment Group (Medium) and 453d,
454th, 455th
and 456th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) move from Beaulieu, England
to
Lessay with B-26s; and the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron,
10th
Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), moves from Rennes to Chateaudun
with
F-6s.
|
