29 Feburary 1944

TUESDAY, 29 FEBRUARY 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Missions 240, 241 and 242 are
flown; 1 bomber and 5 fighters are lost.
Mission 240: 218 of 226 B-17s hit aviation industry targets at Brunswick,
Germany and targets of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost and 54 damaged; casualties
are 4 WIA and 10 MIA. Escorting are 61 P-38s, 346 Eighth and Ninth Air Force
P-47s and 147 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; 2 P-38s are lost and 1
damaged, 2 pilots are MIA; the P-47s claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft, 1 P-47
is lost and 1 damaged, 1 pilot is MIA; 1 P-51 is lost, the pilot is MIA.
Mission 241: 38 of 48 B-24s hit the V-weapon site at Lottinghen, France
without loss. Escorting are 79 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s; 1 is lost
and the pilot is MIA.
Mission 242: 5 of 5 B-17s drop 250 bundles of leaflets on Orleans, Lille,
Reims, Cambrai and Chateauroux, France at 2025-2121 hours without loss.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 19 B-26s bomb a coastal gun position
and nearby Breck-sur-Mer Airfield, France. 216 B-26s abort a mission against
8 V-weapon sites in France because of total cloud cover over the targets.
Moves in England: HQ 370th Fighter Group and 401st Fighter Squadron from
Aldermaston to Andover with P-38s (first mission is 1 May); 389th Fighter
Squadron, 366th Fighter Group, from Membury to Thruxton with P-47s.