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THURSDAY, 11 MAY 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 350: 364 B-24s and
536
fighters are dispatched to bomb marshalling yards in France; 8 B-24s
and 5
fighters are lost:
1. 144 are dispatched to hit Mulhouse; 94 bomb the primary, 19 hit
Belfort,
13 bomb Orleans/Bricy Airfield and 2 hit Mezidon/Pithiviers; 1 B-24
is lost,
2 damaged beyond repair and 17 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 7 WIA and
40 MIA.
2. 74 are dispatched to Belfort; 33 bomb the primary and 24 hit
Chaumont;
1 B-24 is lost.
3. 76 are dispatched to Epinal; 68 hit the primary and 1 bombs Caen
Airfield; 3 B-24s are lost.
4. 70 are dispatched to Chaumont but none bomb; 3 B-24s are lost, 1
damaged beyond repair and 30 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 31 MIA.
Escort is provided by 147 P-38s, 188 P-47s and 201 P-51s; the P-38s
claim
2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground, the P-47s claim 3-0-2 in the
air
and 2-0-6 on the ground and the P-51s claim 3-0-0 on the ground; 2
P-4s and
3 P-51s are lost, 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair and 2 P-38s, 6
P-47s and
2 P-51s are damaged; 5 pilots are MIA.
Mission 351: In the afternoon, 609 B-17s and 471 fighters are
dispatched
to hit marshalling yards in Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg;
8 B-17s
and 4 fighters are lost; primary targets are Brussels/Midi (55
bomb),
Brussels (49 bomb) and Liege, Belgium (119 bomb, 2 lost);
Saarbrucken (58
bomb, 5 lost), Kons Karthaus (55 bomb) and Ehrang (60 bomb, 1 lost),
Germany;
and Luxembourg (53 bomb); 12 hit the secondary target at Thionville,
France;
and 16 hit Volkingen, Germany; 19 hit Bettembourg, Luxembourg and 51
hit
other targets of opportunity; 8 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond
repair and
172 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 23 WIA and 83 MIA. Escort is provided
by 99
P-38s, 182 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 190 Eighth and Ninth
Air
Force P-51s; the P-51s claim 11-0-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 P-51s are
lost,
the pilots are MIA.
Mission 352: 4 of 5 B-17s drop 2.4 million leaflets over Denmark; 2
airmen are KIA and 3 WIA.
4 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions.
850th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), VIII Air Force Composite Command
attached to 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional), moves from Eye to
Cheddington, England with B-24s; the squadron is flying CARPETBAGGER
missions.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 330+ B-26s attack airfields
at
Beaumont-le-Roger and Cormeilles-en-Vexin and marshalling yard at
Mezieres/
Charleville, France and Aerschot, Belgium. Bad visibility and
failure to
rendezvous with fighters cause 100+ aborts. This is start of Ninth
Air
Force's participation in AAF pre-invasion offensive against
airfields.
14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command attached to Third
Army,
moves from Alderley Edge to Knutsford, England with L-5s; first
mission is
in Jul 44.
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