29 January 1944

SATURDAY, 29 JANUARY 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 198: Led by PFF aircraft,
675 B-17's and 188 B-24's are dispatched to hit the industrial area at
Frankfurt, Germany; 590 B-17's and 170 B-24's hit the primary target; 46
B-17's bomb Ludwigshafen due to a deviation from planned bomb route; they
claim 75-27-48 Luftwaffe aircraft; 24 B-17's and 5 B-24's are lost, 2 B-17's
and 3 B-24's are damaged beyond repair and 116 B-17's and 19 B-24's are
damaged; casualties are 22 KIA, 32 WIA and 299 MIA. Escort is 89 P-38's, 503
P-47's and 40 Ninth Air Force P-51's; they claim 47-6-14 Luftwaffe aircraft;
5 P-38's and 10 P-47's are lost, 1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair and 3 P-38's
and 1 P-47 are damaged; casualties are 14 MIA.
This is first Eighth Air Force mission in which more than 700 aircraft
attack targets.
Mission 199: During the evening, 5 of 5 B-17's drop 1.2 million leaflets
on Lille, Tours, Lorient, Nantes and Valenciennes, France without loss.
HQ 458th Bombardment Group (Heavy) arrives at Horshal St Faith, England
from the US.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 80+ B-26's bomb V-weapon sites in
coastal France.
HQ 84th Fighter Wing arrives at Keevil, England from the US.