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The Mighty Eighth - Thursday, 1 February, 1945 |
THURSDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 1945 EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO) AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): During Feb 45, HQ 438th Troop Carrier Group and the 87th, 88th, 89th and 90th Troop Carrier Squadrons move from Greenham Common, England to Prosnes, France with C-47s. STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 814: 699 B-17s and 328 P-51s are dispatched to hit rail targets and bridges in W Germany using Micro-H and H2X radar; no losses: 1. 463 B-17s are sent to hit the marshalling yards at Mannheim (74) and Ludwigshafen (70); 270 hit the secondary target, the highway and rail bridge at Mannheim; targets of opportunity are Pforzheim (11) and other (3); 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 24 damaged; 3 airmen are WIA. Escorting are 142 of 151 P-51s. 2. 236 B-17s are send to hit the rail bridge at Wesel (139); 36 hit the marshalling yard at Krefeld, the secondary target; and 13 hit Barth, a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are damaged. 49 of 53 P-51s escort. 3. 20 of 22 P-51s fly a scouting mission. 4. 87 of 102 P-51s fly a freelance sweep in support of the bombers. Mission 815: 6 of 9 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night. HQ 361st Fighter Group and the 374th, 375th and 376th Fighter Squadrons move from Little Walden, England to Chievres, Belgium with P-51s (the squadrons have been operating from St-Dizier, France since 23 Dec 44). TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 146 B-26s, A-26s, and A-20s bomb rail bridges and defended areas on the Rhine and Mosel Rivers and in W Germany near the battlefront. The IX and XIX Tactical Air Commands escort the bombers, fly armed reconnaissance, and in Germany, attack the Euskirchen marshalling yard and the town of Arloff. In France, HQ 98th Combat Bombardment Wing (Medium) moves from Athies Airfield, Laon to Havrincourt and HQ 367th Fighter Group moves from Juvincourt to St-Dizier. |