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TUESDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 642: 796 B-17s are
dispatched against marshalling yards in W Germany; weather prevents
about
half from bombing primary targets but most manage to bomb targets of
opportunity; 7 bombers and 1 fighter are lost:
1. Of 380 B-17s dispatched, all hit targets of opportunity, i.e.,
marshalling yards at Koblenz (87), Dillenburg (39), Limburg (37) and
Darmstadt (24); bridges at Limburg (35), Koblenz (25) and a bridge
over the
Rhine River at Koblenz (13); and Wiesbaden (38), Wetzlar (14), the
railroad
line at Koblenz (13) and Wiesbaden Airfield (12); 4 B-17s are lost
and 159
damaged; 3 airmen are WIA and 37 WIA. Escort is provided by 131
P-47s and
P-51s; they claim 3-0-1 aircraft in the air; 1 P-47 is lost (pilot
MIA).
2. 416 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Hamm (186)
and
Soest (32) and depot at Dortmund/Unna (64); other targets hit are
marshalling yards at Raesfeld (11), Wesel (9), Rheine (6) and
Munster (3);
Dillenburg (11), Emmerich (7), Hamm (5), Osnaburck (2) and others
(6); 3
B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 120 damaged; 3 airmen
are WIA
and 18 MIA. Escort is provided by 109 P-47s and P-51s without loss.
100 B-17s and 61 P-51s takeoff from bases in the USSR and bomb the
marshalling yard at Szolnok, Hungary and continue to bases in Italy.
172 of 182 P-51s supporting the First Allied Airborne Army in the
Netherlands engage 100+ fighters, claiming 23-4-14; 6 P-51s are
lost, 1
damaged beyond repair and 2 damaged; 1 pilot is KIA and 6 MIA.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, B-26s hit
marshalling
yards in the Duren area to prevent reinforcements from reaching the
Aachen
area by rail; IX Tactical Air Command supports the US V Corps in
repelling
a counterattack at the Wallendorf bridgehead, supports Operation
MARKET-
GARDEN and flies armed reconnaissance in W Germany. XIX Tactical Air
Command
escorts A-20s and B-26s, flies cover both for MARKET-GARDEN and in
the Brest
and Nancy, France areas, and armed reconnaissance over Metz, Germany
area;
HQ 100th Fighter Wing moves from Le Mans to St-Dizier; HQ 362d
Fighter Group
and the 379th Fighter Squadron move from Rennes to Prosnes with
P-47s; HQ
373d Fighter Group moves from St-James to Reims; and HQ 391st
Bombardment
Group (Medium) moves from Matching, England to Roye/Amy, France.
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