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MONDAY, 7 AUGUST 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 4 missions are flown:
Mission 527: 905 bombers and 471 fighters are dispatched to hit fuel
dumps
and bridges in France but heavy cloud cover forces many aircraft to
return
with bombs and other formations to be recalled; 1 bomber and 5
fighters are
lost; targets hit (number in parenthesis indicates bombers bombing)
are:
1. Of 112 B-17s, 71 hit Montbartier and 34 hit St Loubes; 1 B-17 is
damaged beyond repair and 26 are damaged; 2 airmen are WIA. Escort
is
provided by 123 of 139 P-51s; they claim 1-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft in
the air
and 0-0-1 on the ground.
2. The primary targets of 224 B-17s are Nanteuil Bridge (36), Sens
(26), St
Florentin (25), Dueny (24), Bourron Marlotte (23) and Paris-St Quen
(12);
other targets hit are Chartres Airfield (23), Maintenon Bridge (23),
Houden
marshalling yard (14), Chateaudun Airfield (11) and Rouglaf (1); 1
B-17 is
damaged beyond repair and 80 damaged. Escort is provided by 96 of 97
P-51s.
3. 1 of 182 B-17s hits Montdidier Airfield; 35 B-17s are damaged; 1
airman
is WIA. Escort is provided by 90 P-38s and P-51s.
4. Of 51 B-24s, 10 hit Andenne Bridge, 8 hit Semuse and 8 hit
targets of
opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost and 19 damaged; 11 airmen are MIA.
Escort is
provided by 34 of 35 P-47s.
5. The primary targets of 333 B-24s are Doullens Bridge (37), Saleux
(24),
Recques-sur-Course (23), Frevent Bridge (15), Rieme/Ertveld (11) and
Langerbrugge (9); 12 also hit a factory near Wendelghem and 1 hits a
target
of opportunity; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 45 damaged; 8
airmen are
KIA and 1 WIA. Escort is provided by 94 of 100 P-51s.
Mission 528: 1 of 3 B-17s flies a Mico H test mission (Micro H was a
radar
system which combined the Gee-H and H2X radar functionality for use
by
pathfinders).
Mission 529: 271 P-47s and P-51s fly fighter-bomber missions to
marshalling
yards and railroads N and E of Paris; they claim 4-0-1 aircraft on
the
ground; 3 P-47s and 2 P-51s are lost and 11 P-47s damaged; 5 pilots
are MIA.
And, 5 of 5 B-17s fly a leaflet mission over France during the
night.
In the USSR, a shuttle mission is flown in accordance with a Soviet
request;
55 B-17s and 29 P-51s attack an oil refinery at Trzebina, Poland
without
loss; the aircraft return to Operation FRANTIC bases in the USSR.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): To maintain close a
association with
ground forces, HQ IX Tactical Air Command and HQ XIX Tactical Air
Command
constitute mobile units to accompany Advance HQ of the US First and
Third
Armies, respectively, as they advance rapidly to the E; Lieutenant
General
Lewis H Brereton relinquishes command of the Ninth Air Force to
become
Commanding General First Allied Airborne Army.
In France, 380+ A-20s and B-26s bomb bridges at Nogent-sur-Seine and
Neuvy-
sur-Loire; fighters escort IX Bomber Command aircraft, furnish
defensive
cover in the Vire, Laval, and Rennes areas, and support ground
forces in the
assault area; HQ 71st Fighter Wing moves from St-Pierre-Eglise to
Ecrammeville; and the 14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air
Command, moves
from Beauchamps to Poilley with L-5s. In England, the following
squadrons
begin operating from Ramsbury with C-47s:
- 93d Troop Carrier Squadron, 439th Troop Carrier Group, based at
Upottery
- 98th Troop Carrier Squadron, 440th Troop Carrier Group, based at
Exeter
- 301st Troop Carrier Squadron, 441st Troop Carrier Group, based at
Merryfield
The 306th Troop Carrier Squadron, 442d Troop Carrier Group, based at
Weston
Zoyland, begins operating from Ramsgate with C-47s.
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