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FRIDAY, 4 AUGUST 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown:
Mission 514: 1,307 bombers and 746 fighters are dispatched to
strategic
targets in Germany; 15 bombers are lost:
1. Of 358 B-17s, 181 hit Hamburg oil refineries, 50 hit Bremen oil
refineries, 23 hit Nordhof Airfield, 22 hit Ostend, Belgium coastal
defenses,
14 hit Einswarden and 7 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 0-4-2
Luftwaffe aircraft; 8 B-17s are lost, 8 damaged beyond repair and
196
damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 8 WIA and 63 MIA. Escort is provided by
234 P-47s
and P-51s; they claim 38-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 9-0-1
on the
ground; 2 P-47s and 3 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 2 P-47s
and 2 P-51s
are damaged.
2. Of 425 B-27s, 221 hit Peenemunde, 110 hit Anklam Airfield and 70
hit
Anklam aircraft factories; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3
B-17s are
lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 94 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 2
WIA and
40 MIA. Escort is provided by 223 of 250 P-51s; they claim 4-0-4
Luftwaffe
aircraft on the ground; 9 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 1 is
damaged
beyond repair; 1 pilot is KIA.
3. Of 446 B-24s, 148 hit Rostock aviation factories, 89 hit Kiel, 88
hit
Schwerin aviation factories, 71 hit Wismar aviation factories, 12
hit
Schlutup, 11 hit Warien and 1 hits a target of opportunity; 4 B-24s
are lost
and 114 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 40 MIA. Escort is
provided by
209 P-38s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost and 1 P-38 is damaged; 1 pilot
is KIA.
4. Of 78 B-24s, 39 hit Husum Airfield and 29 hit Hemmingstedt/Heide
oil
refinery without loss.
Mission 515: The first APHRODITE mission is flown using 4
radio-controlled
war weary B-17s as flying bombs; targets are Mimoyecques, Siracourt,
Watten,
and Wizernes V-weapon sites but none are hit; 1 drone B-17 crashes
killing 1
crew. Escort is provided by 16 P-47s and 16 P-51s.
Mission 516: In France, 154 B-17s and 36 fighters are dispatched to
hit
V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais and coastal defenses at
Middelkerke and
Gravelines:
1. Of 95 B-24s, 24 hit the Pas de Calais, 12 hit Achiet Airfield, 11
hit
Gravelines, 11 hit Middelkerke, 6 hit Lens marshalling yard and 6
hit
Villy/Montigne marshalling yard; 17 B-24s are damaged.
2. Of 59 B-17s, 13 hit targets of opportunity, 12 hit Lille/Vendeville
Airfield and 11 hit a bridge at Gravelines; 12 B-17s are damaged.
Escort for the two groups above is provided by 35 P-47s and P-51s.
67 of 69 P-47s fly a fighter-bomber mission against Plantlunne
Airfield;
they claim 30-0-5 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-47 is lost (pilot is
MIA), 1 is
damaged beyond repair and 8 damaged.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In France, 62 A-20s and B-26s
bomb
rail bridges at Oissel, Epernon, and Saint-Remy-sur-Avre and an
ammunition
dump and bivouac area in Foret de Sille; fighters furnish cover over
the
battle area and for an armored column, fly sweeps, dive-bomb enemy
positions
and also fuel dumps at Angers, attack an ammunition dump at Tours,
and fly
armed reconnaissance in the Quimper-Nantes, Amines, and
Saint-Quentin areas;
HQ 70th Fighter Wing moves from Criqueville to Villedieu les Poeles;
the
14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command (attached to Third
Army),
moves from Le Repas to Beauchamps with L-5s. The 596th and 598th
Bombardment
Squadrons (Medium), 397th Bombardment Group (Medium), move from
Rivenhall to
Hurn, England with B-26s.
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