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The Mighty Eighth -Saturday 13 January 1945 |
SATURDAY, 13 JANUARY 1945 EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO) STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 791: 958 bombers and 469 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards and Rhine rail bridges mostly by PFF methods; they claim 6-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 8 bombers and 2 fighters are lost: 1. 367 B-17s are sent to hit the Mainz rail bridge (31), the Gustavsburg rail bridge at Mainz (95) and the Bischofsheim marshalling yard (119); 74 hit the secondary target, the Mainz marshalling yard; targets of opportunity are Euskirchen (13) and other (7); most attacks are made using Micro H but some formations bomb visually; 2 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 126 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 4 WIA and 19 MIA. Escorting are 79 of 80 P-51s; 3 are damaged beyond repair. 2. 276 B-24s are dispatched to hit rail bridges at Worms (86) and Rudesheim (89) and the Kaiserslautern marshalling yard (87); 1 hits a target of opportunity; most attacks are made using Gee-H but some formations bomb visually; 1 B-24 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 39 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA and 10 MIA. The escort is 114 of 118 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost and 1 damaged beyond repair. 3. 315 B-17s are sent to hit rail bridges at Germersheim (71, using Gee-H) and Maximiliansau (159) and rail and highway bridges at Mannheim (76) visually; 1 hits a target of opportunity; 5 B-17s are lost, 4 damaged beyond repair and 9 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 7 WIA and 42 MIA. Escorting are 77 of 82 P-51s; 2 are damaged beyond repair. 4. 102 P-47s and P-51s fly a freelance fighter sweep supporting the bombers; they claim 3-0-0 aircraft in the air and 3-0-1 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost and 1 damaged beyond repair. 5. 45 of 45 P-51s fly a fighter-bomber mission against Mannheim, Trier, etc without loss. 6. 20 of 28 P-51s fly a scouting mission without loss. 7. 4 of 4 P-51s escort an F-5 on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany. TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 95 9th Bombardment Division bombers strike road and rail bridges at Dasburg, Steinebruck, and Simmern to disrupt enemy movements; fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division, Eighth AF, and RAF bombers, fly armed reconnaissance and patrols, and bomb and strafe numerous ground targets. The IX Tactical Air Command supports the US VII Corps near Houffalize, Belgium, the XIX Tactical Air Command supports the US III, VIII, XII, and XX Corps elements in the Saint- Hubert, Belgium-Bastogne, Belgium-Wiltz, Luxembourg areas and points E and S near the Clerf River, Luxembourg and the Mosel River, Germany. |