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SATURDAY, 4 MARCH 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 247: 502 B-17s are
dispatched to hit industrial areas in the suburbs of Berlin; bad
weather
forces aircraft to either turn back or hit targets of opportunity
and only 1
wing attacks the primary target and a total of 249 bomb. 15 B-17s
are lost, 1
is damaged beyond repair and 120 damaged; casualties are 3 KIA, 11
WIA and
141 MIA. Targets: 100 hit Bonn, 35 hit Cologne, 33 hit Dusseldorf,
30 hit
Berlin/Klein Machnow, 7 hit Frankfurt and 33 hit other targets of
opportunity. B-24s were also dispatched but abort because of the
weather.
Escort is provided by 86 P-38s, 563 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s
and 121
Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; 24 fighters were lost. Details
are:
1. P-38s: 4 lost, 2 damaged beyond repair, 1 damaged; casualties are
1 KIA
and 4 MIA.
2. P-47s claim 3-1-3 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the
ground;
4 P-47s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 5 damaged; casualties
are 3 MIA.
3. P-51s claim 5-2-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 16 P-51s are lost, 1
damaged beyond
repair and 1 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA and 16 MIA.
CARPETBAGGER operations are flown during the night of 4/5 Mar.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In France, 251 B-26s and 21
A-20s
scheduled to bomb Malines marshalling yard and Bernay Saint Martin
Airfield
abort the mission because of heavy cloud cover over the targets.
HQ 84th Fighter Wing moves from Keevil to Beaulieu, England.
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