|
FRIDAY, 29 DECEMBER 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 769: 827 bombers
and 724
fighters hit communications targets in W Germany; 4 bombers and 3
fighters
are lost:
1. 219 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Frankfurt
(124),
and Aschaffenburg (67); 10 hit the secondary, the Frankfurt S
marshalling
yard; and 9 hit a target of opportunity; 1 B-17s is lost, 2 damaged
beyond
repair and 101 damaged; 5 airmen are WIA and 12 MIA. Escorting are
267 of 282
P-51s; 2 are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair.
2. 304 B-17s are sent to hit the Bingen marshalling yard (144),
Bullay rail
bridge (74) and communication center at Wittlich (50); targets of
opportunity
are Grosslittgen (12) and one near Diekirch (13); 2 B-17s are lost
and 132
damaged; 11 airmen are WIA and 15 MIA. Escorting are 61 of 64 P-51s;
1 is
lost.
3. 262 B-24s are sent to hit communications centers at Schleiden
(9),
Zulpich (31), Stadtkyll (32) and Drum (10), the Irlich rail bridge
(51), the
Gerolstein marshalling yard (26) and the Remagen Bridge (30);
targets of
opportunity are Fensbach (19), Duppach (8) and 10 others; 1 B-24 is
lost, 3
damaged beyond repair and 95 damaged; 17 airmen are KIA and 5 WIA.
Escort is
provided by 106 of 119 P-51s without loss.
4. 38 B-17s are sent to hit the Lunebach communications center (35);
1 hits
the Telm marshalling yard; 23 B-17s are damaged. Escorting are 101
of 104
P-51s without loss.
5. 4 of 4 B-17s fly a screening mission.
6. 81 P-47s and P-51s fly a fighter sweep against rail
transportation
without loss.
7. 26 of 27 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Weather causes the recall of
100+
bombers except for 7 which bomb Saint-Vith, Belgium communications
center and
Keuchingen, Germany road bridge; the XIX Tactical Air Command flies
armed
reconnaissance over Belgium and Germany and supports the US III,
VIII, and
XII Corps in the Neufchateau-Bastogne-Arlon areas of Belgium. In
France, HQ
100th Fighter Wing moves from St-Dizier to Metz; the 386th Fighter
Squadron,
365th Fighter Group, moves from Chievres, Belgium to Metz with
P-47s.
|
