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TUESDAY, 20 JUNE 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 425: In the morning
1,548 bombers are dispatched to attack 14 strategic targets in N
Germany and
V-weapon sites in France; 49 bombers are lost:
1. 126 of 146 B-24s bomb V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area; 1
B-24
is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 83 damaged; 4 airmen are KIA, 8
WIA and
24 MIA. Escort is provided by 44 P-47s; they claim 3-0-0 Luftwaffe
aircraft;
1 P-47 is lost (pilot is MIA).
2. Of 341 B-17s dispatched, 137 hit Fallersleben, 95 hit Magdeburg/
Rothensee and 52 hit Konigsberg; they claim 2-0-6 Luftwaffe
aircraft; 6 B-17s
are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 116 damaged; 11 airmen are WIA
and 60
MIA. Of 191 B-24s, 169 hit Hannover/Misburg and 3 hit a target of
opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 89 damaged;
4 airmen
are KIA, 6 WIA and 9 MIA. Escort is provided by 98 P-38s, 86 P-47s
and 38
P-51s and 81 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claim 10-1-10 Luftwaffe
aircraft in
the air and 8-0-3 on the ground; 1 P-38, 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost
(2 pilots
MIA).
3. Of 512 B-17s dispatched, 107 hit Hamburg/Eurotank oil refinery,
60 hit
Harburg/Ebano oil refinery, 54 hit Hamburg/Schliemanns oil refinery,
53 hit
Harburg/Rhenania oil refinery, 53 hit Hamburg/Deut.Petr.AG, 50 hit
Hamburg/
Rhenania-Ossag oil refinery, 26 hit Hamburg/Schindler oil refinery,
12 hit
Brunsbuttel canal lock and 2 hit targets of opportunity; 7 B-17s are
lost and
349 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 13 WIA and 63 MIA. Escort is provided
by 96
P-38s and 48 P-47s without claims or loss.
4. Of 358 B-24s, 245 hit Politz, 71 bomb Ostermoor and 12 hit
targets of
opportunity; they claim 10-3-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 34 B-24s are lost
and 205
damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 6 WIA and 343 MIA. Escort is provided by
50 P-38s
and 221 P-51s; they claim 28-1-9 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and
5-0-9 on
the ground; 3 P-38s are lost.
Mission 426: In the afternoon, 33 of 37 B-17s and 196 of 380 B-24s
attack
10 V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area; 1 B-24 is lost and 96
damaged.
Escort is provided by 72 P-47s and 40 P-51s without loss.
Mission 427: 5 of 5 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.
25 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions in France.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In France, about 370 B-26s
and A-20s
bomb 9 V-weapon sites and a coastal defense battery at Houlgate;
1,000+
fighters operating over frontline areas, the Cherbourg Peninsula,
and S to
Dreux, bomb and strafe rail lines, marshalling yards, bridges, troop
concentrations and other targets; HQ 368th Fighter Group and 395th
and 396th
Fighter Squadrons move from Chilboton, England to Cardonville with
P-47s; and
390th Fighter Squadron, 366th Fighter Group, moves from Thruxton,
England to
Pierre du Mont with P-47s. 112th Liaison Squadron, Ninth Air Force
(attached
to HQ Command, ETO), moves from Kingston Deverill to Hurst Park,
England with
L-5s.
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