1 January 1945

MONDAY, 1 JANUARY 1945

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 774: 845 bombers and 725 fighters are dispatched to hit oil
installations and rail bridges and junctions in W Germany visually and by
PFF; they claim 23-1-3 Luftwaffe aircraft including a jet fighter; 8 bombers
and 2 fighters are lost:
1. 451 B-17s are sent to hit an oil refinery at Magdeburg (11); secondary
targets are the Henschel marshalling yard at Kassel (292) and the Gottingen
marshalling yard (26); targets of opportunity are Hadamar (12), Wetzlar (12),
Dillenburg (15), Koblenz (11), Wetter (12), Limburg (8), Kirchbunden (7) and
other (22); 2 B-17s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 71 damaged; 10
airmen are KIA, 8 WIA and 18 MIA. Escorting are 327 of 374 P-51s; they claim
17-1-1 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair.
2. 109 B-17s are dispatched to hit oil industry targets at Dollbergen (54)
and Ehmen (24); targets of opportunity are the Koblenz marshalling yard (12),
Limburg (4) and other (5); 3 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 43 damaged;
10 airmen are KIA. Escort is provided by 199 P-47s and P-51s without loss.
3. 273 B-24s hit the Lutzel (56) and Guls (30) rail bridges at Koblens, the
Irlich rail bridge (57) and the Remagen rail bridge (6); targets of
opportunity are Andernach (26), Engers rail bridge (9), Trier (1) and others
(6); 1 B-24 is lost, 4 damaged beyond repair and 63 damaged; 20 airmen are
KIA, 8 WIA and 10 MIA. The escort is 66 of 70 P-51s without loss.
4. 12 of 12 B-17s fly a screening force mission; they are 8 minutes late
for their escort and are attacked by Fw 190s when 50 miles (80 km) ahead of
the bombers; they claim 6-0-2 aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost and 1 damaged beyond
repair; 45 airmen are MIA. Escort is supposed to be 23 of 26 P-51s.
5. 2 of 5 B-17s fly an APHRODITE mission against Oldenburg without loss.
6. 11 of 11 P-51s escort 9 F-5s and 1 Spitfire on a photo reconnaissance
mission over Germany without loss.
7. 25 P-47s and P-51s escort 3 of 4 Mosquitoes on a special operations
mission without loss.
Mission 775: 5 B-24s and 3 B-17s drop leaflet on Belgium and Germany during
the night without loss.
The 1st, 2d and 3d Bombardment Divisions are redesignated 1st, 2d and 3d
Air Divisions.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): The Luftwaffe launches an attack of
700-800 aircraft against Ninth AF and Allied airfields, mainly in the
Brussels, Belgium and Eindhoven, the Netherlands areas, and to a lesser
degree in the Metz, France area; 127 operational Allied aircraft are
destroyed; Allied fighters claim 160 air victories while AA claims 300. 190
A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s hit rail bridges, communications centers, a road
junction, a command post, and HQ, all in Belgium and Germany; fighters escort
9th Bombardment Division and Eighth AF bombers, fly patrols, sweeps, and
armed reconnaissance (claiming 39 air victories and numerous ground targets
destroyed) and support the US III, VII, and XII Corps between Saint-Hubert,
Belgium and the Mosel River, Germany. In France, the detachment of the 72d
Liaison Squadron, Ninth AF (attached to Sixth Army Group), ceases operating
from Steinbourg with L-5s and returns to base at Buhl. During Jan 45, HQ XIX
Tactical Air Command moves from France to Luxembourg.