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MONDAY, 27 MARCH 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 282: Airfields in
France
are attacked by 701 bombers.
1. 285 of 290 B-17s hit the following airfields: St Jean D/Angely
(55), La
Rochell/La Leu (59), Chartres (60), Tours/Parcay Meslay Air Depot
(74), Usine
Liotard Air Depot (35) and targets of opportunity (2); 1 B-17 is
lost and 37
damaged; casualties are 1 WIA and 10 MIA.
2. 248 of 256 B-17s hit the following airfields: Bordeaux/Merignac
(123),
Cayeux (118) and Chartres (7); 2 B-17s are lost and 51 damaged;
casualties
are 11 KIA, 2 WIA and 20 MIA.
3. All 168 B-24s hit the following airfields: Pau/Ont Long (72),
Biarritz
(49) and Mont de Marsan (47); 3 B-24s are lost, 4 damaged beyond
repair and
18 damaged; casualties are 20 KIA, 1 WIA and 31 MIA.
Escort is provided by 132 P-38s, 706 Eighth and Ninth Air Force
P-47s and
122 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; results are:
P-38s: 2 lost and 1 damaged beyond repair; 2 pilots are MIA.
P-47s claim 6-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 P-47s are lost, 1 damaged
beyond
repair and 4 damaged; 1 pilot is WIA and 5 are MIA.
P-51s claim 2-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 30-1-11 on the
ground;
3 P-51s are lost and 1 damaged; 3 pilots are MIA.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 18 B-26s attack V-weapon
sites in N
France; 35 others abort due primarily to failure of blind-bombing
equipment.
The onset of bad weather makes this the last B-26 mission until 8
Apr.
303d, 305th and 306th Troop Carrier Squadrons, 442d Troop Carrier
Group,
arrives at Fulbeck, England from the US with C-47s.
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