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The Mighty Eighth -Friday, 20 April 1945 |
| FRIDAY, 20 APRIL 1945 EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO) STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 962: 837 bombers and 890 fighters are dispatched to hit rail targets NNW to SSW of Berlin, Bavaria and Czechoslovakia; they claim 7-0-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost: 1. 319 B-17s are sent to hit the rail industry at Nauen (82) and marshalling yards at Wustermark (77), Neuruppin (57) and Oranienburg (82); 1 hits Neuruppin Airfield, a target of opportunity; 15 B-17s are damaged and 1 airman WIA. Escorting are 258 of 271 P-51s; 1 is lost. 2. 289 B-17s are dispatched to attack marshalling yards at Brandenburg (137), Seddin (66) and Treuenbrietzen (82); 1 B-17 is lost and 10 damaged; 10 airmen are MIA. The escort is 227 of 241 P-51s. 3. 223 B-24s are sent to hit a rail bridge and junction at Zwiesel (56); marshalling yard and rail junction at Muhldorf (53) and the railroad and rail junction at Irrenlohe (55) and Klatovy (54); 1 hits the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Straubing; no losses, damage or casualties. 228 P-47s and P-51s escort. 4. 100 of 108 P-51s fly a freelance fighter sweep for Forces 2 and 3 above; they claim 7-0-4 aircraft in the air. 5. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission. 6. 22 of 25 P-51s fly a scouting mission. 7. 11 P-51s escort 11 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. During the night of 20/21 Apr, 12 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions to Norway; 2 B-24s are lost. TACTICAL OPERATIONS First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): HQ 50th Fighter Group and the 10th, 81st and 313th Fighter Squadrons move from Ochey Airfield, Toul, France to Giebelstadt, Germany with P-47s. Ninth Air Force: In Germany, 564 A-20s, A-26s and B-26s strike oil storage at Deggendorf and Annaburg, marshalling yards at Memmingen and Wittenberg, ordnance depots at Nordlingen and Straubing, and other targets including flak positions; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols, sweeps, and armed reconnaissance, attack special targets, and cooperate with US ground forces including the VII Corps W of Dessau, the VIII Corps between Plauen and Chemnitz, the XII Corps in the Grafenwohr area, the XX Corps attacking toward the Danube River and Regensburg, and the XIX Corps in the Magdeburg-Barby area. Unit moves in Germany: HQ 370th Fighter Group and 401st Fighter Squadron from Zwartberg, Belgium to Gutershoh with P-51s; HQ 373d Fighter Group and 410th Fighter Squadron from Venlo, the Netherlands to Lippstadt with P-47s; 39th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Ninth AF [attached to 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Group (Provisional)], from Maastricht, the Netherlands to Wiesbaden, Germany with F-5s; 573d and 575th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 391st Bombardment Group (Medium), from Amy Airfield, Roye, France to Assche, Belgium with B-26s. |