22 Feburary 1944

TUESDAY, 22 FEBRUARY 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): HQ VIII Bomber Command is
redesignated as HQ, Eighth Air Force.
Mission 230: "Big Week" continues with 799 aircraft dispatched against
German aviation and Luftwaffe airfields; 41 bombers and 11 fighters are lost.
1. 289 B-17s are dispatched against aviation industry targets at
Aschersleben (34 bomb), Bernburg (47 bomb) and Halberstadt (18 bomb) in
conjunction with a Fifteenth Air Force raid on Regensburg, Germany; 32 hit
Bunde, 19 hit Wernegerode, 15 hit Magdeburg, 9 hit Marburg and 7 hit other
targets of opportunity; they claim 32-18-17 Luftwaffe aircraft; 38 B-17s are
lost, 4 damaged beyond repair and 141 damaged; casualties are 35 KIA, 30 WIA
and 367 MIA.
2. 333 B-17s are dispatched to Schweinfurt but severe weather prevents
aircraft from forming properly and they are forced to abandon the mission
prior to crossing the enemy coast; 2 B-17s are damaged.
3. 177 B-24s are dispatched but they are recalled when 100 miles (160 km)
inland; since they were over Germany, they sought targets of opportunity but
strong winds drove the bombers over The Netherlands and their bombs hit
Enschede, Arnhem, Nijmegen and Deventer; they claim 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft;
3 B-24s are lost and 3 damaged; casualties are 30 MIA.
These missions are escorted by 67 P-38s, 535 Eighth and Ninth Air Force
P-47s, and 57 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; the P-38s claim 1-0-0
Luftwaffe aircraft, 1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair and 6 are damaged; the
P-47s claim 39-6-15 Luftwaffe aircraft, 8 P-47s are lost and 12 damaged, 8
pilots are MIA; the P-51s claim 19-1-10 Luftwaffe aircraft, 3 P-51s are lost
and 3 damaged, 3 pilot are MIA.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 66 B-26s bomb Gilze-Rijen Airfield,
The Netherlands; bad weather causes 100+ others to abort.

UNITED STATES STRATEGIC AIR FORCES IN EUROPE (USSTAF): HQ Eighth Air Force
is redesignated as HQ, USSTAF.