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The Mighty Eighth -Monday 15 January 1945 |
MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 1945 EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO) STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 794: 640 bombers and 782 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards in Germany; they claim 14-0-19 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 fighters are lost. 1. 223 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Ingolstadt (111) and Freiburg (107); 1 hits the Reudenstadt marshalling yard as a target of opportunity; H2X radar is used to bomb; 5 B-17s are damaged. Escorting are 183 P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair. 2. 75 of 120 B-24 hit the secondary target, the Reutlingen marshalling yard; targets of opportunity are Tubingen (19), Urich (10), the Tubingen marshalling yard (7), Mahlberg (1) and other (1); all attacks are made visually; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair. The escort consists of 109 of 117 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft without loss. 3. 253 of 297 B-17s hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Augsburg using H2X radar; targets of opportunity are Bobingen (29) and other (5) bombed visually; 16 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is KIA. The escort is provided by 184 of 204 P-51s; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA). 4. 156 of 167 P-51s fly a fighter sweep over Germany; they claim 13-0-19 aircraft without loss. 5. 62 of 63 P-51s fly a fighter bomber mission against the marshalling yard at Gensingen without loss. 6. 6 of 7 P-51s escort a Spitfire on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany. 7 29 of 32 P-51s fly a scouting mission without loss. Mission 795: 2 B-17s and 7 B-24s drop leaflet on the Netherlands and Germany during the night without loss. HQ VIII Fighter Command moves from Bushey Hall, England to Charleroi, Belgium. TACTICAL OPERATIONS First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): HQ 64th Fighter Wing moves from Ludres to Nancy, France. Ninth Air Force: In Germany, 16 B-26s hit the Simmern bridge to help thwart movement in the Trier area; the XIX Tactical Air Command escorts the B-26s, flies armed reconnaissance and patrols, and supports the US III and VIII Corps in the Houffalize, Belgium-Bastogne, Belgium-Wiltz, Luxembourg areas. |