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SUNDAY, 31 DECEMBER 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 772: 1,327 bombers and 785 fighters hit both strategic and
tactical
targets in Germany; they encounter about 150 Luftwaffe fighters,
mostly in the
Hamburg area, and claim 88.5-11-21 aircraft; 27 bombers and 10
fighters are
lost:
1. 526 B-17s are dispatched to hit oil industry targets at Hamburg
(68),
the Wilhemsburg refinery at Hamburg (92), the Grassbruk refinery at
Hamburg
(71) and the Misburg refinery (96), and the industrial area at
Wenzendorf
(62) and Hamburg (72); targets of opportunity are Stade (13) and
Nordholz (9)
Airfields, Heligoland Island (1) and other (17); they claim 26-8-16
aircraft;
27 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 288 damaged; 5 airmen
are KIA,
29 WIA and 248 MIA. 316 P-47s and P-51s escort and claim 59.5-2-5
aircraft in
the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; 2 P-47s and 7 P-51s are lost
(pilots are
MIA).
2. 418 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Neuss (109) and
Krefeld-
Urdingen (83), the Kordel railroad at Ehrang (69), communications
targets at
Buzburg (34), Prum (37), and Blumenthal (34), the Lutzweiler Bridge
at
Koblenz (48) and the Remagen Bridge (54); 22 hit the secondary
target at
Monchen-Gladbach; and 2 hit a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are
damaged
beyond repair and 29 damaged; 1 airman is WIA. Escorting are 162 of
171
P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft without loss.
3. 371 B-24s are sent to hit bridges at Engers (60) and Irlich (56)
and
the Gus Rail Bridge at Koblenz (62) and the rail junction and rail
bridge at
Euskirchen (30); 10 hit the secondary, the Bingen marshalling yard
and 36 hit
a target of opportunity; they claim 0-1-0 aircraft; 3 B-24s are
damaged
beyond repair and 49 damaged; 1 airman is WIA. Escort is provided by
198 of
211 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair.
4. 13 of 16 P-51s escort 7 F-5s and 2 Spitfires on a photo
reconnaissance
of the Berlin area without loss.
5. 32 of 33 P-51s fly a scouting mission claiming 1-0-0 aircraft.
Mission 773: 8 B-24s and 2 B-17s drop leaflets in France, Germany
and
Belgium.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Weather grounds the bombers;
fighters fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance, attacking numerous
ground
targets; the XIX Tactical Air Command supports the US III, VIII, and
XX Corps
around Bastogne, Belgium and between the Mosel and Saar Rivers, in
Germany in
the Merzig area. The 14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command
(attached to Twelfth Army Group) moves from Nancy, France to
Luxembourg City,
Luxembourg with L-5s. The 387th Fighter Squadron, 365th Fighter
Group, moves
from Chievres, Belgium to Metz, France with P-47s.
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