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TUESDAY, 21 NOVEMBER 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 720: 1,291 bombers and 954 fighters are dispatched to make
PFF
attacks using H2X on oil targets in Germany; they claim 73-7-25
Luftwaffe
aircraft; 25 bombers and 15 fighters are lost:
1. 421 B-17s are sent to hit the Leuna synthetic oil plant at
Merseburg
(200); targets of opportunity are Meppen (24), Friedburg (21),
Hersfeld (12)
and Hunfeld (12) marshalling yards, flak gun batteries at Merseburg
(12),
Leeuwarden Airfield (11), Apolda (10) the Autobahn at Hersfeld (10),
Quakenbruck (10), and other (69); the AAF claims 1-0-1 aircraft; 14
B-17s are
lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 205 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 16
WIA and
129 MIA. Escort is 268 of 310 P-51s; they claim 63-7-20 aircraft in
the air
and 3-0-2 on the ground; 9 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
2. 402 B-17s are sent to Sterkrade, Lendorf and Hamburg but hit the
secondary, the Osnarbruck marshalling yard (166) and last resort
targets,
i.e., Giessen marshalling yard (77), Wetzlar (62), Lingen (24),
Koblenz
marshalling yard (23), Bielefeld marshalling yard (9), and targets
of
opportunity (35); 7 B-17s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 142
damaged;
2 airmen are KIA, 6 WIA and 65 MIA. Escort is 382 of 420 P-51s; 4
P-51s are
lost (pilots MIA).
3. 366 B-24s are sent to hit the Dpag (178) and Rhenania (171) oil
plants
at Hamburg; 4 B-24s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 220
damaged; 19
airmen are KIA, 8 WIA and 89 MIA. Escort is 177 P-47s and P-51s;
they claim
5-0-2 aircraft in the air and 2-0-1 on the ground; 1 P-47 and 1 P-51
are lost
(pilots MIA).
4. 12 of 12 B-17s fly a screening mission.
5. 31 of 33 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
Mission 721: 7 B-17s and 5 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the
Netherlands
and Germany during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): The 95th Bombardment
Squadron
(Medium), 17th Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from Poretta,
Corsica to
Dijon, France with B-26s.
Ninth Air Force: In Germany, the 9th Bombardment Division hits rail
bridges and defended areas at several points including Bergstein,
Echtz,
Sinzig, Neuwied, and Derichsweiler; fighters escort the B-26s and
also Eighth
AF B-17s (to Merseburg), fly area cover, sweeps, and dive-bombing
missions in
W Germany, and support the US 1st, 8th, and 104th Infantry Divisions
in
the Hurtgen area and the XII and XX Corps between Merzig and
Sarreguemines,
France. The 378th Fighter Squadron, 362d Fighter Group, moves from
Prosnes to
Rouvres, France with P-47s.
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