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The Mighty Eighth - Monday, 12 March 1945 |
| MONDAY, 12 MARCH 1945 EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO) STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown. Mission 883: 1,355 bombers and 797 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards in Germany by PFF; they claim 4-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 and 4 fighters are lost: 1. 220 of 227 B-24s and 441 of 450 B-17s attack the marshalling yard at Swinemunde; 1 other hit the marshalling yard at Husum, a target of opportunity; all attacks are made with H2X radar; 1 B-17 is lost, 6 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 10 MIA. Escorting are 412 of 452 P-51s; they claim 4-0-1 aircraft in the air; 4 P-51s are lost (3 pilots MIA). 2. 154 B-24s are sent to hit the marshalling yards at Friedberg (75) and Wetzlar (74) using Gee-H; 2 airmen are WIA. 3. 298 B-17s are dispatched to attack the marshalling yards at Siegen (141) and Marburg (113); 24 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Frankfurt using Micro H; 4 B-17s are damaged. 4. 226 B-17s are sent to bomb the marshalling yards at Betzdorf (116) and Dillenburg (110) using Gee-H without loss. 5. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th forces above are escorted by 192 P-47s and P-51s without loss. 6. 97 of 108 P-51s fly a sweep to support the bombers without loss. 7. 10 P-51s escort 5 F-5s and 2 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany. 8. 23 of 24 P-51s fly a scouting mission. Mission 884: 11 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night and 4 of 10 B-24s fly a CARPETBAGGER mission. TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 9th Bombardment Division A-20s, A-26s and B-26s attack 8 marshalling yards, an ammunition-filling plant, city areas and targets of opportunity; the attacks on the marshalling yards are aimed at blocking troop movements by rail into the Ruhr and Remagen areas; fighters escort the bombers, bomb special targets, fly armed reconnaissance, cover the Remagen area, and support the US 9th Infantry Division in the Kalenborn and Hargarten areas and the XX Corps in the Saarburg bridgehead area. The 387th and 388th Fighter Squadrons, 365th Fighter Group, move from Juzaine Airfield, Florennes, Belgium to Aachen, Germany with P-47s; and the 412th Fighter Squadron, 373d Fighter Group, moves from Le Culot, Belgium to Venlo, the Netherlands with P-47s. |