19 May 1943

WEDNESDAY, 19 MAY 1943

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 59: 123 B-17's are dispatched against
the U-boat yards at Kiel, Germany; 103 bomb the target at 1329-1333 hours
local; we claim 48-7-21 Luftwaffe aircraft; we lose 6 B-17's and 28 others
are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 7 WIA and 60 MIA. A smaller force, 64
B-17's, is dispatched against the naval yards at Flensburg, Germany; 55
attack the target at 1325-1328 hours local; we claim 12-4-14 Luftwaffe
aircraft; 9 B-17's are damaged; casualties are 2 KIA and 4 WIA. An
uneventful diversion is flown by 24 B-17's.