17 May 1943

MONDAY, 17 MAY 1943

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 58: 159 B-17's are dispatched to hit
the port area and U-boat base at Lorient, France; 118 bomb the target at
1213-1217 hours local; we claim 47-8-29 Luftwaffe aircraft; we lose 6 B-
17's, another is damaged beyond repair and 27 others are damaged;
casualties are 1 KIA, 8 WIA and 57 MIA. An additional 39 B-17's are
dispatched to hit the docks and sub pens at Bordeaux, France; 34 bomb at
1238-1244 hours local; we claim 0-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; we lose 1 B-17
and another is damaged; casualties are 2 WIA and 11 MIA. In a third
mission 11 B-26's of the 322d Bombardment Group (Medium) are dispatched on
a low-level mission to bomb power stations at Haarlem and Ijmuiden, The
Netherlands; 1 B-26 aborts, the other 10 are all shot down before they
reach the target; casualties are 58 MIA. This mission prompts the Eighth
Air Force to abandon low-level medium bomber attacks.