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FRIDAY, 7 JULY 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 458: 1,129 bombers
and
756 fighters are dispatched to attack synthetic oil plants, aircraft
assembly
plants and engine works, airfields and an equipment depot,
marshalling yards
railway station and railway repair shops in Germany; 37 bombers and
6
fighters are lost:
1. Of 373 B-24s, 102 hit Lutzkendorf and 64 hit Halle oil plants, 90
hit
Bernburg and 73 hit Aschersleben aircraft plants and 8 hit targets
of
opportunity; they claim 39-5-10 Luftwaffe aircraft; 28 B-24s are
lost, 1
damaged beyond repair and 126 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 11 WIA and
274 MIA.
Escort is provided by 224 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 46-1-16
Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-38 and 3 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA).
2. Of 303 B-17s, 64 hit Bohlen and 51 hit Merseburg oil plants, 67
hit
Kolleda and 32 hit Lutzkendorf Airfields, 22 hit targets of
opportunity and
16 hit Gottingen marshalling yard; 2 B-17s are lost and 112 damaged;
3 airmen
are WIA and 20 MIA. Escort is provided by 185 P-38s, P-47s and
P-51s; they
claim 9-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 3-0-1 on the ground; 1
P-47 and
1 P-51 are lost (pilots are MIA).
3. Of 453 B-17s, 114 hit Leipzig/Taucha, 79 hit Leipzig/Mockau, 35
hit
Leipzig/Heiterblick and 15 hit Leipzig/Abtnaundorf oil plants, 46
hit Leipzig
bearing industry, 35 hit Kolleda Airfield, 19 hit Leipzig Station
and 7 hit
Nordhausen; 7 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 152
damaged; 15
airmen are KIA, 5 WIA and 50 MIA. Escort is provided by 247 P-47s
and P-51s;
they claim 20-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the
ground; 1
P-51 is damaged beyond repair (pilot is WIA).
Mission 459: 6 of 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France and Belgium during
the
night.
19 B-24s participate in CARPETBAGGER operations during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In France, 100+ A-20s and
B-26s bomb
rail bridge near Tours, and targets of opportunity in the Lisieux
and
Beuzeville areas; 500+ fighters fly escort and area cover, carry out
armed
reconnaissance of communication and troop activity, and bomb
railroads,
rolling stock, marshalling yards, ammunition dumps, and bridges in
frontline
areas and wide areas of W France; HQ 36th Fighter Group moves from
Kingsnorth, England to Brucheville; and the 377th, 378th and 379th
Fighter
Squadrons, 362d Fighter Group, move from Headcorn, England to
Lignerolles
with P-47s. In England, the 392d Fighter Squadron, 367th Fighter
Group, moves
from Stony Cross to Ibsley with P-38s.
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