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THURSDAY, 25 MAY 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 370: 406 bombers
and 604
fighters make visual attacks on rail installations and airfields in
Belgium
and France; 4 bombers and 12 fighters are lost; the fighters claim
13-2-3
Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 3-0-5 on the ground; unless
otherwise
indicated, all targets are in France:
1. 307 B-24s are dispatched to marshalling yards at Belfort (74
bomb) and
Mulhouse (134 bomb); 12 hit Tonnere marshalling yard and 37 bomb
Bretigny and
1 bombs Dijon Airfields; 2 B-24s are lost and 57 damaged; 20 airmen
are MIA.
2. 320 B-17s are dispatched to Nancy/Essey Airfield (75 bomb) and
marshalling yards at Metz (69 bomb), Saarguemines (36 bomb) and
Blainville
(36 bomb); 56 B-17s hit Thionville marshalling yard and 3 bomb Liege
Airfield, Belgium; 14 B-17s are damaged.
3. 103 B-24s bomb Montignies sur Sambre marshalling yard and 9 bomb
Alos
marshalling yard; 3 B-24s are damaged.
4. In Belgium 247 B-17s are dispatched against marshalling yards at
Brussels/Schaerbeck (52 bomb), Brussels/Midi (29 bomb) and Leige/Guillemines
(50 bomb); other marshalling yards hit are Brussels/Melsbroek (18
bomb) and
Liege/Renory (50 bomb); 2 B-18s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair
and 71
damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 6 WIA and 28 MIA.
5. 18 of 38 B-17s and 18 of 18 B-24s hit Fecamp gun battery without
loss.
6. 15 B-17s hit St Valery gun battery without loss.
Escort is provided by 136 P-38s, 181 P-47s and 287 P-51s; P-38s
claim 3-1-0
Luftwaffe aircraft, 9 P-38s (pilots are MIA) are lost and 8 damaged;
P-47s
claim 4-1-2 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 3-0-5 on the ground, 6
P-47s
are damaged; P-51s claim 6-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft, 3 P-51s are lost
(pilots
are MIA) and 1 damaged.
MISSION 371: 4 of 4 B-17s drop leaflets in France without loss.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 225+ B-26s attack bridges
near
Liege, Belgium and airfields at Lille/Nord and Monchy-Breton,
France. About
250 P-47s dive-bomb various targets in W Europe.
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