17 March 1945

SATURDAY, 17 MARCH 1945

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 892: 1,328 bombers and 820 P-51s are dispatched to hit oil,
industrial and rail targets in Germany; clouds extend from 1,000 to 15,000
feet (305 to 4,572 m) and over the targets there is 9/10 to 10/10 cloud
cover necessitating PFF methods for bombing; 5 B-17s and 2 P-51s are lost:
1. 527 B-17s are sent to hit the oil refinery at Ruhland (214); 138 hit the
secondary target, the Bittefeld oil refinery; targets of opportunity are the
Vomag munitions factory at Plauen (125), Fulda (19), Cottbus (11) and other
(3); H2X radar is used; 4 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 46
damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 1 WIA and 35 MIA. Escorting are 252 of 280 P-51s; 1
is lost (pilot MIA).
2. 449 B-17s are dispatched to hit the oil refinery at Bohlen (152) and the
oil refinery and power station at Molbis (127); secondary targets are the
Zeiss works at Jena (71) and the marshalling yard at Erfurt (51); targets of
opportunity are Altenburg (36) and other (3); bombing is by H2X radar; 1 B-17
is lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 15 damaged; 9 airmen are MIA. 266 of 283
P-51s escort; 1 is lost (pilot MIA).
3. 346 B-24s are dispatched to hit the marshalling yard at Munster (170)
and the Hanomag tank factory at Hannover (146); 9 other hit Herford, a target
of opportunity; Gee-H and H2X are used to bomb; 3 B-24s are damaged. The
escort is 122 of 128 P-51s.
4. 6 B-24s fly a screening mission.
5. 79 of 86 P-51s fly a freelance sweep without loss.
6. 28 of 32 P-51s fly a scouting mission without loss.
7. 9 of 11 P-51s escort 2 F-5s and 1 Spitfire on a photo reconnaissance
mission over Germany.
Mission 893: 9 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany, the Netherlands and France
during the night.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 650+ A-20s, A-26s, and
B-26s bomb 5 marshalling yards, 2 communications centers, an ordnance depot,
3 city areas, and several targets of opportunity; the attacks are to impede
the enemy movement of troops, equipment, and supplies in the face of the
advancing Allied forces; fighters fly escort, patrols, and armed
reconnaissance, cover the Remagen bridgehead, support the US III Corps NE of
Remagen, cooperate with the XII Corps which has penetrated several miles E of
Bad Kreuznach at one point, and operate with the XX Corps which at one point
reaches as far E as Birkenfeld. The 386th Fighter Squadron, 365th Fighter
Group, moves from Juzaine Airfield, Florennes, Belgium to Aachen, Germany
with P-47s.