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THURSDAY, 20 JULY 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 484: 1,172 bombers
and 542
fighters are dispatched to hit oil and industrial targets in C
Germany; 19
bombers and 8 fighters are lost:
1. Of 417 B-17s, 107 hit Dessau, 69 hit Kothen, 56 hit Leipzig/Mockau,
45
hit the Leipzig bearing industry, 36 hit Nordhuasen Airfield, 23 hit
Kolleda
Airfield, 20 hit targets of opportunity, 12 hit Bitterfeld, 12 hit
Giessen
Airfield, and 12 hit Rudolstadt; they claim 11-9-7 Luftwaffe
aircraft; 15
B-17s are lost and 188 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 10 WIA and 129 MIA.
Escort
is provided by 253 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 5-0-3
Luftwaffe
aircraft in the air and 2-0-0 on the ground; 2 P-47s and 4 P-51s are
lost, 1
P-51 is damaged beyond repair; 1 airman is WIA and 3 MIA.
2. Of 295 B-17s, 155 hit Merseburg, 53 hit Lutzkendorf, 47 hit
Wetzlar and
7 hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 153 damaged; 2
airmen are
WIA and 21 MIA. Escort is provided by 178 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s;
they claim
1-1-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-4 on the ground; 1 P-51
is lost
(pilot is MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair.
3. Of 460 B-24s, 123 hit Erfurt Nord and 11 hit Erfurt/Bindersleben
Airfields; 80 hit Schmalkalden; 72 hit Gotha; 24 hit Freiburg, 18
hit Fulda,
12 hit Idstein, 10 hit Bad Salzungen, 10 hit Wernhausen and 9 hit
Homburg
marshalling yards; 21 hit Berka, 12 hit Bad Nauheim, 7 hit Koblenz,
6 hit
Boppard and 6 hit targets of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost and 31
damaged; 2
airmen are WIA and 9 MIA. Escort is provided by 45 of 47 P-47s; they
claim
6-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; 1 P-47s is lost (pilot is
MIA).
Mission 485: 6 of 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.
12 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In France, weather forbids
morning
operations; in the afternoon 62 A-20s and B-26s strike the Senonches
fuel
dump and Chaulnes marshalling yard; fighters escort the bombers and
transports and fly armed reconnaissance against rail lines, bridges,
and gun
positions S of the frontlines. The following units based in England
begin
operating from Italy with C-47s:
- 75th, 76th and 78th Troop Carrier Squadrons, 435th Troop Carrier
Group,
based at Welford Pard operating from Tarquinia.
- 79th, 80th, 81st and 82d Troop Carrier Squadrons, 436th Troop
Carrier
Group, based at Membury operating from Voltone Airfield.
- 87th, 88th and 89th Troop Carrier Squadrons, 438th Troop Carrier
Group,
based at Greenham Common operating from Canino Airfield.
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