|
WEDNESDAY, 14 JUNE 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 412: Bad weather
again
covers all strategic targets in Germany except one in the extreme N;
a major
effort is against tactical objectives, mainly in France; 1,357 of
1,525
bombers dispatched hit the targets listed below; 14 bombers are
lost:
1. 502 B-17s are dispatched to hit airfields in France, i.e.,: Le
Bourget
(134 bomb), Coulommiers (24 bomb), Creil (25 bomb), Bretigny (69
bomb),
Melun (50 bomb), Creil (66 bomb) and Etampes (69 bomb); they claim
0-5-1
Luftwaffe aircraft; 11 B-17s are lost and 139 damaged; 6 airmen are
KIA, 14
WIA and 97 MIA.
2. 466 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields at Chateaudun (103
bomb),
Orleans/Bricy (97 bomb), Eindhoven, the Netherlands (63 bomb) and
Coxyde,
Belgium (7 bomb); and 61 hit the Emmerich, Germany oil refinery, 50
hit
Beauvois, 44 hit Domleger, 12 hit targets of opportunity and 4 hit
the
Normandy beaches; 33 B-24s are damaged.
3. Of 191 B-24s, 7 hit Ham-sur-Somme, 32 hit targets of opportunity,
52 hit
Lille/Vendeville, 12 hit Calas Tres, 12 hit Denain Drousey, 39 hit
Laon/
Athies and 70 hit Chievres; 2 B-24s are lost, 2 damaged beyond
repair and 56
damaged; 10 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 4 MIA.
4. 351 B-17s are dispatched to hit targets in Belgium: 35 bomb St
Trond
Airfield, 95 hit Florennes Airfield, 52 bomb Le Culot and 61 attack
Brussels/Melsbroek; 1 B-17 is lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 73
damaged; 1
airman is MIA.
5. 7 of 15 B-24s hit the Ham-sur-Somme Bridge and 5 use Azon
missiles
against targets of opportunity; no losses.
Escort for the bomber missions is provided by 103 P-47s; 2 P-47s
lost, the
pilots are MIA.
Other fighter missions are:
1. 168 of 176 P-47s fly fighter-bomber missions against Luftwaffe HQ
at
Chantilly, France and Panzer columns; they claim 0-0-1 Luftwaffe
aircraft.
2. 234 of 242 P-38s, 178 of 190 P-47s and 171 of 197 P-51s fly
beachhead
patrols and sweeps in front of the bomber force; they claim 4-1-7
Luftwaffe
aircraft; 3 P-38s, 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost (all pilots are MIA;
and 1 P-38
is damaged beyond repair.
Mission 413: 3 of 4 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.
20 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 500+ B-26s and A-20s attack
rail
communications SW of Paris and highway communications centers S of
the
beachhead area; junctions, bridges, marshalling yards, gun
emplacements and
various defensive strongpoints are included; 15+ fighter groups fly
escort
and attack numerous ground targets, including rail lines running
from SW of
Paris to the Rennes area, and highway traffic on the Cherbourg
Peninsula and
S of the beachhead area to the Loire River.
|
