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MONDAY, 8 MAY 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO): General Dwight D Eisenhower
sets D-Day
for the Normandy invasion as 5 Jun; the date subsequently will be
changed to
6 Jun.
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 344: In the
morning, 807
bombers and 729 fighters are dispatched to hit targets in Germany in
a PFF
mission; the bombers claim 76-16-16 Luftwaffe fighters, the fighters
claim
55-4-20; 36 bombers and 13 fighters are lost:
1. 500 B-17s are dispatched to bomb Berlin; 386 B-17s hit the
primary, 42
bomb Brunswick, 17 bomb Brandenburg and 8 bomb Magderburg; 25 B-17s
are lost,
1 is damaged beyond repair and 169 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 7 WIA
and 261
MIA.
2. 307 B-24s are dispatched to Brunswick; 288 hit the primary and 1
hits a
target of opportunity; 11 B-24s are lost, 7 are damaged beyond
repair and 28
damaged; 7 airmen are KIA, 8 WIA and 112 MIA.
Escort is provided by 152 P-38s, 295 P-47s and 282 P-51s; the P-38s
claim
6-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft, the P-47s claim 9-1-5 and the P-51s claim
40-3-12;
4 P-38s, 4 P-47s and 5 P-51s are lost; 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are damaged
beyond
repair; 3 P-47s and 1 P-51 are damaged; 1 pilot is WIA and 13 MIA.
Mission 345: In the afternoon, 164 bombers and 97 fighters are
dispatched
against targets in France and Belgium; 5 bombers are lost:
1. 92 of 101 B-17s bomb V-weapon sites at Glacerie and Sottevast,
France; 5
B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 29 damaged; 28 airmen
are MIA.
2. 57 of 63 B-24s hit Brussels/Schaerbeck marshalling yard, Belgium;
29
B-24s are damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 19 MIA.
Escort is provided by 97 P-47s without loss.
Mission 346: 3 of 4 B-17s drop 1.6 million leaflets on 10 towns in
France
without loss.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): About 450 B-26s and A-20s
bomb
marshalling yards, coastal defenses, bridges, airfields and
V-weapons sites
in France and Belgium.
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