25 July 1943

SUNDAY, 25 JULY 1943

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 76: Three locations in Germany are
targetted; 19 heavy bombers are lost, mostly to effective formation
attacks by German fighters. The raid on Hamburg is part of 6 Combined
Bomber Offensive (CBO) missions against that port city and follows a raid
of the previous night during which nearly 750 Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy
bombers did tremendous damage to the target. The three targets are:
1. 123 B-17's are dispatched against the diesel engine works at
Hamburg but due to cloud cover, 100 hit the shipyard at 1630-1645 hours;
they claim 38-6-27 Luftwaffe aircraft; 15 B-17's are lost and 67 damaged;
casualties are 1 KIA, 5 WIA and 150 MIA.
2. 59 B-17's are dispatched against the Kiel Shipyard but return
because of cloud cover.
3. 141 B-17's are dispatched against the aviation industry at Warnem-
unde; 118 hit the Kiel Shipyard at 1630-1700 hours; they claim 6-0-0
Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17's are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 50
are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 40 MIA.
VIII Air Support Command Mission Number 3: 18 B-26B's are dispatched
against the coke ovens at Ghent, Belgium; 13 hit the target at 1458
hours; 6 aircraft are damaged.