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TUESDAY, 4 JANUARY 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 174: 2 targets in
Germany
are hit; 19 bombers and 2 fighters are lost.
1. 371 of 439 B-17's and 115 of 130 B-24's are dispatched to the
port area
at Kiel; 7 B-17's and 34 B-24's hit targets of opportunity; they
claim 4-12-4
Luftwaffe aircraft; 11 B-17's and 6 B-24's are lost; 2 B-17's and 3
B-24's
are damaged beyond repair and 111 B-17's and 16 B-24's are damaged;
casualties are 22 KIA, 53 WIA and 170 MIA. 70 P-38's and 42 Ninth
Air Force
P-51's escort; they claim 1-1-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-38 and 1
P-51 are
lost and 1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair; casualties are 1 WIA and 2
MIA.
2. 68 of 75 B-17's hit Munster; 2 B-17's are lost, 1 is damaged
beyond
repair and 35 damaged; casualties are 1 WIA and 20 MIA. 430 P-47's
escort;
they claim 7-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-47 is damaged.
Mission 175: During the evening, 4 B-17's drop 800,000 leaflets on
Orleans,
Lorient, Rouen and Tours, France at 2005-2021 hours; no losses. This
is the
first CARPETBAGGER operation from Tempsford, England on this night.
US airplanes begin flying supplies from UK to underground resistance
forces
in W Europe, this operation being coded CARPETBAGGER.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): XIX Air Support Command is
activated
at Middle Wallop England with Major General Elwood R Quesada in
command; XIX
will support Patton's Third Army in Europe.
258 B-26's bomb NOBALL targets (V-weapons sites) in France. Weather
makes
bombing difficult, and results range from unknown to good.
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