This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[Njaco]

23 MARCH 1944

EASTERN FRONT: The 1st Ukrainian Front drives between Proskurov and Tarnapol threatening to split the 1. and 4.Panzerarmees, and surrounding the Red Army headquarters at Tarnopol.

In the wake of their occupation if Hungary, the Germans today strengthened their position in Romania, which was occupied in October 1940. The dictator, Marshal Ion Antonescu, a longtime admirer of Hitler, was told that 500,000 German troops were being sent in to safeguard communications and protect the oil-wells for Germany. With the Red Army on his borders, Antonescu was less than enthusiastic. Hitler was unmoved. Four Panzer and several infantry divisions have already moved in. As Sovet troops advance into Bessarabia, the BBC today broadcast a warning to Romanians: abandon the Nazis or face retribution from the Allies.

MEDITERRANEAN: The unsuccessful Allied assault, spearheaded by the New Zealand Corps, is called off. British General Harold Alexander halts the Cassino operation due to weather and strong resistance.

In Italy, US Twelfth Air Force B-26s bomb Florence/Campo di Marte marshalling yard while B-25s hit the Pontassieve railway bridge and its approaches; P-40s attack guns in the Cassino-Esperia area, causing many fires and explosions; A-36s bomb the Cassino area with good results; the Germans have been forced into a narrow zone in the W edge of Cassino but still hold positions commanding the town and the Abbey.

Italian partisans kill 28 SS-Polizei men with a bomb on Via Rasella in Rome. Subsequently an order is received from Hitler to kill 10 Italians for each German soldier. Chief of the Rome SIPO, SS-Obstbf., Herbert Kappler, together with Pietro Caruso, the chief of the Italian police, is responsible for selecting the victims. People arrested on the spot, political prisoners and Jews are sent to the Ardeatine Caves near Rome, shot in the neck in small groups, and buried under the sand; the entrances are then sealed by exploding charges. Altogether 335 Italians are murdered, among them 78 Jews. The age of the civilians did not matter and so many teenagers and boys were among the dead found in the caves. Argentina extradited former Nazi officer, Erich Priebke, to Rome in 1995 to face trial for his role in the Ardeatine Caves massacre.

The Germans begin deporting Greek Jews to Auschwitz-Birkenau.

UNITED KINGDOM: Naval Air Facility, Dunkeswell, England, is established.

A Halifax bomber operating from Leeming airfield ran into trouble in the Kiel Canal area, hit several times by flak, then attacked by an enemy night fighter, the crew 'live' jettisoned their bombs and headed for home, which proved uneventful until they were rolling down the runway at Leeming when the pilot discovered there was no brake pressure. The bomber rolled off the runway and came to rest in a sea of mud. Within minutes the Squadron Engineering Officer pulled up in a Jeep and demanded to know why the hell they were blocking the runway and what they were doing back so early. After a heated exchange of words with the pilot, they were towed out of the mud and back to dispersal. The next night the same bomber - patched up - was back on ops. Just after take off an engine overheated, and had to be shut down. For four hours the bomber cruised up and down the Ouse Valley at 800' to use up fuel, because with only three engines it couldn't gain enough height to get to the jettison area in the North Sea just off Flamborough Head. The pilot eventually made a perfect three point landing, with a full bomb load at Leeming airfield.

WESTERN FRONT: 143 RAF aircraft - 83 Halifaxes, 48 Stirlings, 12 Mosquitos - of Nos 3,4,6 and 8 Groups to Laon. 2 Halifaxes lost. The weather in the target area was clear but the Master Bomber ordered the attack to be stopped after 72 aircraft had bombed. The local report states that about half of the bombs hit the railway yards but the remainder were scattered in an area up to 3 km from the target. The bombing did cut the through lines but these were repaired the following day. 83 houses around the station were hit but only 7 civilians were killed and 9 injured because most of the people who lived near the station moved to other parts of Laon at night.

20 Lancasters of RAF No 5 Group, including No 617 Squadron, bombed an aero-engine factory near Lyons without loss.

220 US Ninth Air Force B-26s on a morning mission bomb Creil marshalling yard and airfields at Beaumont-le-Roger and Beauvais/Tille; in an afternoon raid, 146 bomb Haine-Saint-Pierre marshalling yard.

GERMANY: 13 RAF Mosquitos to Dortmund and 2 to Oberhausen, 5 RCM sorties, 4 Serrate patrols, 2 Stirlings minelaying off Brittany, 6 OTU sorties. No losses.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 275: 524 B-17s and 244 B-24s are dispatched to attack airfields in W Germany and aircraft factories in the Brunswick area; due to unfavorable weather conditions, only 68 B-24s hit a primary target and 639 bombers hit secondary targets and targets of opportunity; the bombers claim 33-8-11 Luftwaffe aircraft; 22 B-17s, 6 B-24s and 4 P-51s are lost; details are: 205 B-17s hit Brunswick and 3 hit targets of opportunity; 16 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 221 damaged; casualties are 3 KIA, 6 WIA and 158 MIA. 47 B-17s hit the secondary target at Munster, 83 hit Hamm, 67 hit Ahlen and 19 hit Neubeckum; 6 B-17s are lost and 56 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 61 MIA. 68 B-24s hit the primary target, Handorf Airfield; 36 hit Achmer City, 21 hit Achmer Airfield, 12 hit Munster, 52 hit Osnabruck and 14 hit other targets of opportunity; 6 B-24s are lost and 45 damaged; casualties are 1 WIA and 59 MIA. Escort is provided by 119 P-38s, 539 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 183 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; details are: P-47s claim 4-0-10 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-47 is damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged. P-51s claim 18-1-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 P-51s are lost and 1 damaged; 4 pilots are MIA. The fighters also claim 2-0-10 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground.

Oblt. Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, Geschwaderkommodore of JG 3, was killed in action against P-51s. His death came exactly one year after the death of Joachim Muncheberg, who shared his first victory of the war with Wilcke on 7 November 1939. Muncheberg ended with a score of 135 kills and Wilcke had 162 kills including 13 during the Battle of Britain, 137 on the Eastern Front, 4 in the Mediterranean and 12 on Reich defense duties.

 

[Njaco]

24 MARCH 1944

WESTERN FRONT: The full weight of the Heer with massive air support, has succeeded in defeating 465 Resistance fighters of the French Maquis on the plateau of Glieres. The widespread presence of the Maquis has become a continuing source of irritation and frustration to the Vichy and German authorities. The first attack by the Vichy Milice was a failure; but today several battalions of German soldiers, backed by the Milice, are being used in the offensive. The majority of prisoners are reported to have been brutally tortured before being executed. 9 RAF aircraft dropped supplies to the Resistance without loss.

147 RAF aircraft from training units carried out a diversionary sweep west of Paris; 27 Mosquitos bombed night-fighter airfields and 15 Mosquitos bombed Duisburg, Kiel and Münster; aircraft of No 100 Group flew 4 RCM sorties and 10 Serrate patrols. 1 Serrate Mosquito lost.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 277: The B-17 primary target is Schweinfurt, Germany; the B-24 primary target are airfields at Metz and Nancy, France; the bombers make no claims of Luftwaffe aircraft: 230 B-17s are dispatched; 60 hit Schweinfurt using blind-bombing equipment and 162 hit Frankfurt/Main marshalling yard; 3 B-17s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 68 damaged; casualties are 14 KIA, 1 WIA and 30 MIA. 206 B-24s are dispatched; the primaries are overcast and 148 hit the secondary target of St Diziere Airfield and 33 hit Nancy/Essey Airfield; 24 B-24s are damaged; casualties are 3 WIA. Escort is provided by 84 P-38s, 301 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 155 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; details are: P-38s: 2 lost, both pilots MIA. P-47s claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 2-0-4 on the ground; no losses. P-51s: no claims; 3 P-51s are lost; 2 pilots are MIA.

GERMANY: The Great Escape: They have been working on it for two years and now, just after dusk, the moment has arrived for the Allied airmen held in the German PoW camp at Sagan, 80 miles south-east of Berlin. The last few feet of earth are removed and the first prisoners climb out into the wood beyond the barbed wire. The 365-foot tunnel, with air vents and underground railway for moving debris, is the brain child of a Canadian mining engineer and Spitfire pilot, Wally Moody. Two by two the men leave the tunnel and move off in different directions: south for Czechoslovakia, west for the attempt to pick up a train, and north for Baltic ports and Scandinavia. From time to time the ground beneath their feet shudders under the impact of the 4,000-pound bombs that their RAF comrades are dropping on Germany. They move warily, for the camp guard is doubled during air raids. As dawn begins to break, a guard, startled by movement close by, fires a shot that raises the alarm. Guards, some in night clothes, swarm through the camp; 76 POWs have escaped. Only three of the men would return to allied lines. Most of the rest were executed after being recaptured. In 1949 Paul Brickall authored "The Great Escape." The story of Jackson Barrett Mahon (d.1999 at 78 ), an American fighter pilot, and the Allied POW escape from Stalag Luft III in Germany during WW II. The 1963 film "The Great Escape" starred Steve McQueen, was directed by John Sturges and was based on the true story. In 1999 Arthur A. Durand published Stalag Luft III: The Secret Story." When the Russian Army closed in tens of thousands of POWs were marched 240 miles south to a new camp and thousands died in the "Black March."

This night became known in Bomber Command as 'The Night of the Strong Winds'. With the coming of spring and shorter nights, and the subsequent reduction in flight time for his planes, Bomber Harris decides to return to Berlin. 811 RAF aircraft - 577 Lancasters, 216 Halifaxes, 18 Mosquitos - went to Berlin. 72 aircraft - 44 Lancasters, 28 Halifaxes - lost, 8.9 per cent of the force. A powerful wind from the north carried the bombers south at every stage of the flight. Not only was this wind not forecast accurately but it was so strong that the various methods available to warn crews of wind changes during the flight failed to detect the full strength of it. The bomber stream became very scattered, particularly on the homeward flight and radar-predicted flak batteries at many places were able to score successes. Part of the bomber force even strayed over the Ruhr defences on the return flight. It is believed that approximately 50 of the 72 aircraft lost were destroyed by flak; most of the remainder were victims of night fighters. Most of the defenders that were sent against the bombers were from NJG 1, NJG 2, NJG 3, NJG 5, NJG 6, JG 300, JG 301 and JG 302. Needless to say, the strong winds severely affected the marking with, unusually, markers being carried beyond the target and well out to the south-west of the city. This was the last major RAF raid on Berlin during the war, although the city would be bombed many times by small forces of Mosquitos. This is the final British air assault of the Battle of Berlin. Since August 1943, Bomber Command had flown over 10,000 sorties and dropped over 30,000 tons of bombs, making it the longest and most sustained bombing offensive against a single target in the war. (The British official history of the Battle of Berlin declares it an operational defeat for Britain.)

Flight Sergeant Nicholas Stephen Alkemade (1923 - 1987), was a member of No. 115 Squadron RAF and his Lancaster II "S for Sugar" was flying to the east of Schmallenberg, Germany on its return from a 300 bomber raid on Berlin, when it was attacked by a Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88 night-fighter, caught fire and began to spiral out of control. Because his parachute was destroyed by the fire, Alkemade opted to jump from the aircraft without one, preferring his death to be quick, rather than being burnt to death. He fell 18,000 feet (5500 m) to the ground below. His fall was broken by pine trees and a soft snow cover on the ground. He was able to move his arms and legs and suffered only a sprained leg. He was subsequently captured and interviewed by the Gestapo who were initially suspicious of his claim to have fallen without a parachute until the wreckage of the aircraft was examined. He was then a celebrated POW before being repatriated in May 1945. He worked in the chemical industry after the war and died on June 22, 1987. The Lancaster crashed in flames and the pilot Jack Newman and three other members of the seven man crew did not survive and are buried in Hanover War Cemetery.

Major Friedrich-Karl Muller was promoted to Geschwaderkommodore of JG 3.

MEDITERRANEAN: 132 US Fifteenth Air Force B-24s bomb marshalling yards at Rimini and several other targets while US Twelfth Air Force A-20s, A-36s, B-25s, P-40s and P-47s bomb supply and bivouac areas, bridges, troop concentrations, etc. As part of Operation STRANGLE, the aerial interdiction of the German supply lines, aerial attacks by Allied aircraft have completely severed the rail lines from northern Italy to Rome and no rail cars enter Rome until the Allied occupation in June 1944.

UNITED KINGDOM: The Luftwaffe returned to London with 90 medium bombers (He 111s and Ju 88s).

EASTERN FRONT: The Red Army offensive in the Ukraine continues as Zhukov's forces take Chertkov and Zaleschik southeast of Tarnopol and Malinovski's 3rd Ukrainian Front takes Voznesensk.

The Zionist Relief and Rescue Committee proposes to Dieter Wisliceng, an aide of Adolf Eichmann, a US$2 million ransom with US $200,000 downpayment to guarantee that Hungarian Jews would not be deported or forced into ghettos.

Oblt. Wilhelm 'Willi' Batz of JG 52 scored his 100th victory.

 

[Njaco]

25 MARCH 1944

MEDITERRANEAN: After a week of bitter fighting around the bomb-shattered town of Cassino, the Allied offensive, aimed at dislodging the German from the monastery, has been called off. Last night the Gurkha, Essex and Rajput Regiments were evacuated from their position on Hangman's Hill. The losses sustained in this abortive attack have been severe. The 2nd New Zealand Division has lost 63 officers and over 800 men dead, wounded or missing, while the 4th Indian Division lost 1,000 men and 65 officers.

Weather severely curtails operations. In Italy, B-26s bomb the Leghorn dockyard and town of Rignano sull' Amo; P-40 fighter-bombers attack gun positions in the Anzio beachhead battle area; and fighters fly cover over the Anzio and Cassino areas.

UNITED KINGDOM: Ignoring Churchill's request for aerial attacks on V-weapon bases in France, Eisenhower gives priority to the bombing of transport and communications centres.

WESTERN FRONT: 'U-976' (type VIIC) is sunk in the Bay of Biscay near St. Nazaire by gunfire from two British Mosquito aircraft from Sqdn. 248/L/I. 4 of the U-Boat crew are lost, but 49 survive.

192 RAF aircraft - 92 Halifaxes, 47 Lancasters, 37 Stirlings, 16 Mosquitos - attacked railway yards at Aulnoye in France. No aircraft lost. 22 Lancasters of RAF No 5 Group to an aero-engine factory at Lyons, 10 Mosquitos to Berlin and 2 to Hamm, 7 Serrate patrols, 14 Stirlings minelaying in Brittany to the Frisians, 5 OTU sorties. No losses.

140+ US Ninth Air Force B-26s attack the Hirson, France marshalling yard.

EASTERN FRONT: Zhukov continues his drive between 1st and 4th Panzer Armies taking Proskurov and throwing a Tank Army across the Dniepr River. Hube's 1.Panzerarmee is now facing Red Army forces to the west, north and east and his back is against the Dniepr River already breached by enemy forces. Manstein, after confronting Hitler in person and threatening to resign, received permission to move this army to the west, against Zhukov's forces.

Soviet air force bombs the city of Tartu, Estonia.

 

[Njaco]

26 MARCH 1944

MEDITERRANEAN: A major re-organization occurs of the Allied forces facing Cassino in Italy. The US 100th Infantry Battalion lands at Anzio. It is assigned a section in the Anzio beachhead later.

Despite bad weather, Twelfth Air Force A-20s, B-25s, B-26s, P-40s and P-47s hit viaducts, railway bridges, troop concentrations and guns in support of the Anzio beachhead. Bad weather forces Fifteenth Air Force B-24s en-route to Steyr, Austria to turn back but they bomb airfields and marshalling yards at Riming while B-17s attack port facilities at Fume.

GERMANY: Hptm. Herward Braunegg, an Austrian from Graz is awarded the Ritterkreuz for his close recon work on the Eastern Front with Nahaufklaerungsgruppe 9. Oblt. Klaus Mietusch, Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 26 and Oblt. Wilhelm Batz of JG 52 were also awarded the Ritterkreuz.

Hptm. Horst Caranico was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 5.

705 RAF aircraft - 476 Lancasters, 207 Halifaxes, 22 Mosquitos - flew to Essen. The sudden switch by Bomber Command to a Ruhr target just across the German frontier caught the German fighter controllers by surprise and only 9 aircraft - 6 Lancasters, 3 Halifaxes - were lost, 1.3 per cent of the force. Essen was covered by cloud but the Oboe Mosquitos marked the target well and this was a successful attack.

22 RAF Mosquitos to Hannover, 3 to Aachen and 3 to Julianadorp, 8 RCM sorties, 13 Serrate patrols, 20 Stirlings minelaying off French ports, 4 aircraft on Resistance operations, 12 OTU sorties. No aircraft lost.

EASTERN FRONT: Red Army forces press hard against the pocketed German 1st Panzer Army, capturing Kamentets-Podolski and closing with the Prut River. The Red Army breaks through to the river Prut on a 53-mile front.

After the initial Fenno-Soviet peace feelers in the preceding months had established that there's basis for a negotiated peace, Finnish delegation travels today to Moscow. The former ambassador at Moscow Juho Paasikivi (who was also in the Finnish peace delegation in 1940) and the former Foreign Minister Carl Enckell fly via Stockholm. During the last days of March the Finns are involved in lengthy negotiations with the Soviets, whose head is FM Molotov. Soviet demands are: Finnish Army has during April to withdraw to the border of 1940 and the Army has to be cut to half by mid-May and fully demobilized to peace-time size by the end of June. Finland has also to pay $600 million as reparations. The Finns, unsurprisingly, consider the terms harsh, but Molotov retorts:

"I don't understand why we should make any concessions to you. Germany has already lost this war and you had been Germany's allies, so you must accept the position of a defeated country.".

In the area near Tallin, 4./NJG 100 - guided by the radar ship 'Togo' - intercepted several Soviet bombers. Lt. Klaus Scheer shot down a DB-3 and Hptm. Bellinghausen also claimed a DB-3. A 3d bomber was destroyed by Uffz. Haase.

WESTERN FRONT: 109 RAF aircraft - 70 Halifaxes, 32 Stirlings, 7 Mosquitos of Nos 3, 4, 6 and 8 Groups - attacked railway targets at Courtrai. No aircraft lost.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 280: V-weapon sites in France are hit. 234 of 243 and 138 of 185 B-24s hit 9 sites in the Pas de Calais area; 4 B-17s and 1 B-24 are lost, 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 134 B-17s and 38 B-24s are damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 15 WIA and 50 MIA. 128 of 145 B-17s hit 7 sites in the Cherbourg area; 64 B-17s are damaged. Escort is provided by 266 P-47s; they claim 1-1-4 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; 1 P-47 is lost (pilot is MIA) and 5 damaged.

 

[Njaco]

27 MARCH 1944

WESTERN FRONT: Eighth Air Force Mission 282: Airfields in France are attacked by 701 bombers. 285 of 290 B-17s hit the following airfields: St Jean D/Angely (55), La Rochell/La Leu (59), Chartres (60), Tours/Parcay Meslay Air Depot (74), Usine Liotard Air Depot (35) and targets of opportunity (2); 1 B-17 is lost and 37 damaged; casualties are 1 WIA and 10 MIA. 248 of 256 B-17s hit the following airfields: Bordeaux/Merignac (123), Cayeux (118) and Chartres (7); 2 B-17s are lost and 51 damaged; casualties are 11 KIA, 2 WIA and 20 MIA. All 168 B-24s hit the following airfields: Pau/Ont Long (72), Biarritz (49) and Mont de Marsan (47); 3 B-24s are lost, 4 damaged beyond repair and 18 damaged; casualties are 20 KIA, 1 WIA and 31 MIA. Escort is provided by 132 P-38s, 706 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 122 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; results are: 2 P-38s lost and 1 damaged beyond repair; 2 pilots are MIA. P-47s claim 6-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 P-47s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 4 damaged; 1 pilot is WIA and 5 are MIA. P-51s claim 2-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 30-1-11 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost and 1 damaged; 3 pilots are MIA.

18 Ninth Air Force B-26s attack V-weapon sites in N France; 35 others abort due primarily to failure of blind-bombing equipment. The onset of bad weather makes this the last B-26 mission until 8 Apr.

The Vichy French government authorises Frenchmen to enroll in the SS.

One-thousand Jews left Drancy, France for the Auschwitz concentration camp.

MEDITERRANEAN: Twelfth Air Force A-20s, A-36s, B-25s, P-40s and P-47s attack railway tracks, bridges, command posts and supply dumps.

The Destroyer 'Livermore' (DD-429) provides gunfire support at Anzio while the Motor torpedo boat PT-207 is damaged by naval gunfire off Anzio-Nettuno.

An Allied force of American and British motor torpedo boats and British motor gunboats (Commander Allen, RN) destroys six German ferry barges off Vada Rocks, Corsica. U.S. motor torpedo boats PT-208, PT-214 and PT-218 participate in the battle.

EASTERN FRONT: The Red Army takes Kamenets-Podolski, in the Ukraine. General Hube finishes preparations for his attack west into Zhukov's flank as the noose around his trapped forces continues to tighten. It would take two weeks of heavy fighting, but Hube's pocket would move west, through Zhukov's rear area and regain its freedom of action. German troops rush to reinforce Rumania as Soviet forces approach the border.

Starting today in Kovno, Lithuania SS troops round up and shoot dead all Jewish children under 13 years of age. Thousands of Jews were murdered in Kaunas, Lithuania.

GERMANY: 14 RAF Mosquitos to Duisburg and 3 to Krefeld. No losses.

UNITED KINGDOM: The Luftwaffe returned to England by night and the target were the harbour installations at Bristol while a coordinated attack was undertaken against night-fighter airfields in the area by Me 410s of I./KG 51. By this time only 297 bombers were available for operations over Britain and flares were to be dropped by Ju 188s of II./KG 2. In an attempt to jam British radar, 'Duppel' anti-radar foil was also dropped, first off-shore but later spreading almost over the entire area. 116 of 139 crews claimed to have attacked the target with 100 tonnes of bombs including HE and Phosphorus Oil IB - the first time these were used on Bristol. In actual fact, no bombs fell on Bristol and those that managed to get near the city were led astray by inaccurate marking. 13 bombers were lost and another 3 crashed in France. Incidents were reported over the whole of Southern England, from Hastings to North Somerset with the highest concentration around Highbridge and Weston.

 

[Njaco]

28 MARCH 1944

WESTERN FRONT: S class submarine HMS 'Syrtis' and all 48 of her crew are lost in the Norwegian Sea exact position unknown. There is no clear explanation for her loss, although the Germans claimed to have sunk a submarine by shore battery fire off Bodö around this time, but there is no supporting evidence.

Eighth Air Force Mission 283: 2 formations of B-17s are dispatched to hit airfields in France while B-24s are dispatched to The Netherlands. 182 B-17s are dispatched to Dijon/Longvic Airfield (117 bomb) and Reims/Champagne Airfield (59 bomb); 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 60 damaged; casualties are 3 KIA and 1 WIA. 191 B-17s are dispatched to Chateaudun Airfield (127 bomb) and Chartres Airfield (61 bomb); 2 B-17s are lost and 59 damaged; casualties are 1 WIA and 28 MIA. 77 B-24s are dispatched to the Ijmuiden, The Netherlands E-boat pens but they are recalled due to excessive clouds and failure of the escort to takeoff. Escort for the B-17s is provided by 46 P-38s, 284 P-47s and 123 P-51s; details are: P-47s claim 0-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft. P-51s claim 30-1-32 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost; the pilots are MIA.

MEDITERRANEAN: In Italy, US Twelfth Air Force B-25s knock out the bridge approach E of Perugia and bomb the railway junction and marshalling yard at Montepescali; B-25s bomb a railway bridge S of Mignano and viaduct to the SE, and hit Certaldo railway bridge; A-20s attack a tank factory N of Tivoli; P-40s strike guns in the Anzio area; guns, trucks, and roads during armed reconnaissance of the Cassino-Giulianello area; and supply dumps and truck parks near Velletri and Sora; A-36s attack 2 railroad bridges and tracks at Montalto di Castro and near Orvieto; and fighters carry out a patrol over the Anzio and Cassino areas.

Almost 400 US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s, the largest attack to date, bomb marshalling yards in Italy; the B-17s hit Verona; the B-24s hit Mestre and Verona marshalling yards and railway and highway bridges at Fano and Cessno; P-38s and P-40s provide excellent coverage and no bombers are lost; the bombers and escorts claim 12 fighters destroyed; 5 US fighters are lost.

EASTERN FRONT: As 3rd Ukrainian Front continues its advance (capturing Nikolayev and entering Rumania), the Germans and Rumanians begin the naval evacuation of Odessa. As the Germans retreat in haste from the waters of the southern Bug River, Nikolayev falls to the Red Army. The 3rd Ukrainian Front is now developing an assault toward the port of Odessa.

 

[Njaco]

29 MARCH 1944

WESTERN FRONT: 76 Halifaxes and 8 Mosquitos of RAF Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards at Vaires, near Paris, in bright moonlight. The bombing was very accurate and 2 ammunition trains which were present blew up. 1 Halifax lost. 19 Lancasters of RAF No 5 Group to the aero-engine factory at Lyons, which was bombed accurately. Mosquitos: 32 to Kiel, where 47 people were killed and 134 were injured, 11 to Krefeld, 5 to Aachen and 4 to Cologne. No losses.

77 US Eighth Air Force B-24s are dispatched to V-weapon sites at Watten, France; only 30 bomb because of PFF failures; 2 B-24s are damaged beyond repair and 6 damaged; casualties are 18 KIA and 1 WIA. Escort is provided by 37 P-47s; no claims or losses.

'U-961' (type VIIC) is sunk east of Iceland, by depth charges from the British frigate HMS 'Starling'. 49 dead (all hands lost).

MEDITERRANEAN: About 400 US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s (largest total to date) hit 3 targets in Italy; the B-17s bomb the ball bearing factory, marshalling yard and industrial area at Turin; the B-24s hit Bolzano and Milan marshalling yards; P-47s and P-38s fly escort; the bombers and fighters claim 13 aircraft destroyed; 6 US aircraft are lost.

US Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack Viterbo Airfield, causing considerable damage to the target; B-26s hit Leghorn and many small craft nearby. French B-26s attached to the Twelfth Air Force bomb Portoferraio on Elba; P-40s attack supply dumps and a bivouac area SE of Rome, a tank repair shop E of Rome and guns and supply dumps E of Velletri; P-47s cut lines at a railway overpass W of Rome while A-36s bomb harbors at San Stefano al Mare and Civitavecchia and hit nearby targets of opportunity; Spitfires, P-40s, and P-47s patrol the Anzio battle area.

Destroyers 'Ericsson' (DD-440) and 'Kearny' (DD-432), along with submarine chasers PC-626, PC-556, and PC-558, and four British destroyers--HMS 'Laforey', HMS 'Tumult', HMS 'Hambledon', and HMS 'Blencathra'--begin submarine hunt 30 miles northeast of Palermo, Sicily. Their efforts culminate in the sinking of German submarine 'U-223'.

Destroyer 'John D. Ford' (DD-228 ) is damaged when accidentally rammed by British armed trawler HMS 'Kingston Agate' while departing Gibraltar, British Crown Colony.

GERMANY: US Eighth Air Force Mission 284: 236 B-17s are dispatched to Germany; 193 hit the secondary target (Brunswick), 20 hit Unterluss, 18 hit Stedorf and 2 hit other targets of opportunity; the B-17s claim 8-3-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 66 damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 5 WIA and 90 MIA. Escort is provided by 50 P-38s, 242 P-47s and 136 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; the fighters claim 44-4-13 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 13-7-14 on the ground; results are: 2 P-38s lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged; 2 pilots are KIA and 2 MIA. 1 P-47 lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 8 damaged; 2 pilots are WIA. 9 P-51 lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; 1 pilot is WIA and 8MIA.

The Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 3, Oblt. Detlev Rohwer engaged the bombers and was hit by return fire necessiatating a belly-landing at Mettingen. No sooner had he put his aircraft on the ground than a P-38 strafed him and he suffered severe wounds. He was hospitalized where he had a leg amputated. But he died the next day from his wounds.

 

[Njaco]

30 MARCH 1944

EASTERN FRONT: Hitler, furious at the Russian victories in the Ukraine, has sacked two of his field marshals, von Manstein, commanding Heeresgruppe Sud and von Kleist, in charge of Heeresgruppe A. After being summoned to Hitler's HQ, von Manstein was awarded a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Eichenlaub), Germany's highest decoration, and summarily relieved of command of Heeresgruppe Sud and dismissed from further service to the Reich. Von Manstein's dismissal is the culmination of a long series of quarrels in which he has refused Hitler's demand that the Wehrmacht should never retreat. Von Manstein, master of the defensive battle, won the last quarrel five days ago when Hitler summoned him to the Berchtesgaden to demand that the army must stand on the line of the river Bug. Von Manstein replied that it was an impossible order, and that the 1.Panzerarmee was in danger of being caught in a Stalingrad-type "cauldron". Hitler backed down, but now he has had his revenge. He recongnised that von Manstein was a master of manoeuvre, but said that what he wanted was someone who;

"would dash round the divisions and get the very utmost out of his troops".

At the core of the quarrel is Hitler's belief that the army had run away in the Ukraine. In fact it was overwhelmed by the speed and weight of the Russian attack.

MEDITERRANEAN: Nearly 350 US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb marshalling yards at Sofia, Bulgaria and an industrial complex and airfield at Imotski, Yugoslavia. Escorting fighters and the bombers claim 13 enemy fighters shot down; 4 bombers are lost.

In Italy, US Twelfth Air Force B-25s hit the harbor at Leghorn and railroad bridge NW of Orte; P-40s and A-36s attack an ammunition dump NW of Roccasecca, trucks and supply dump NE of Tivoli and near Fumone and Gaeta, railroad bridges SE of Civita Castellana and NW of Stimigliano and Orvieto and motor transport N of Cori and at scattered points.

'U-223' (type VIIC) (Oberleutnant zur See Peter Gerlach) is sunk north of Palermo by depth charges from HMS 'Laforey' (which the U-Boat also torpedoes and sinks), HMS 'Tumult', HMS 'Hambledon', HMS 'Blencathra'. 23 of the U-Boat crew are lost, but 27 survive. Having attacked HMS 'Laforey' whilst surfaced 'U-223' then attempted an escape on the surface at 15 knots, but was unable to outrun 2 fleet and 3 escort destroyers. She finally sank by the stern after having been on the receiving end of 27 depth charge/Hedgehog attacks and gunfire. HMS 'Laforey' is the last British warship to be sunk in the Mediterranean by a submarine during WWII. There are 177 casualties and 69 survivors.

GERMANY: This would normally have been the moon stand-down period for the RAF Main Force, but a raid to the distant target of Nuremberg was planned on the basis of an early forecast that there would be protective high cloud on the outward route, when the moon would be up, but that the target area would be clear for ground-marked bombing. A Meteorological Flight Mosquito carried out a reconnaissance and reported that the protective cloud was unlikely to be present and that there could be cloud over the target, but the raid was not cancelled. 795 aircraft were dispatched - 572 Lancasters, 214 Halifaxes and 9 Mosquitos. The German controller ignored all the diversions and assembled his fighters at 2 radio beacons which happened to be astride the route to Nuremberg. The first fighters appeared just before the bombers reached the Belgian border and a fierce battle in the moonlight lasted for the next hour. 82 bombers were lost on the outward route and near the target. The action was much reduced on the return flight, when most of the German fighters had to land, but 95 bombers were lost in all - 64 Lancasters and 31 Halifaxes, 11.9 per cent of the force dispatched. It was the biggest Bomber Command loss of the war. Most of the returning crews reported that they had bombed Nuremberg but subsequent research showed that approximately 120 aircraft had bombed Schweinfurt, 50 miles north-west of Nuremberg. This mistake was a result of badly forecast winds causing navigational difficulties. 2 Pathfinder aircraft dropped markers at Schweinfurt. Much of the bombing in the Schweinfurt area fell outside the town and only 2 people were killed in that area. The main raid at Nuremberg was a failure. The city was covered by thick cloud and a fierce cross-wind which developed on the final approach to the target caused many of the Pathfinder aircraft to mark too far to the east. A 10-mile-long creepback also developed into the countryside north of Nuremberg. Both Pathfinders and Main Force aircraft were under heavy fighter attack throughout the raid. Little damage was caused in Nuremberg.

P/O Cyril Joe Barton (b.1921), RAFVR, carried out a raid alone in his damaged Halifax MK III (LK 797) of No. 578 Squadron, after three crew baled out in error. Barton was attacked in the air by a Junkers 88. He managed to evade his attacker, but his petrol tanks were ruptured and he had lost four hundred gallons of fuel. The radio and intercom systems, one engine, and the rear turret were all out of action; and, because of a Morse Code message which had been misunderstood, the wireless operator, navigator, and bomber had all baled out. Pilot Officer Barton continued with the attack and released the bombs himself, then returned to base, with a damaged propellor and no navigational aids. As he approached the coast of County Durham, the aircraft ran out of fuel, and Barton found himself heading for a group of miners' cottages. He managed to avoid these, but crashed into the yard of Ryhope Colliery. Barton was killed, but his three remaining colleagues survived with no serious injuries. Three months after his death, he was awarded the Victoria Cross. The medal is now on display at the R.A.F. Museum in Hendon, North London. Pilot Officer Barton's Victoria Cross was the only one awarded to a Halifax crew member throughout the war and the only one awarded during the Battle of Berlin, which had now officially ended.

49 RAF Halifaxes minelaying in the Heligoland area, 13 Mosquitos to night-fighter airfields, 34 Mosquitos on diversions to Aachen, Cologne and Kassel, 5 RCM sorties, 19 Serrate patrols. No aircraft lost. 3 Oboe Mosquitos to Oberhausen (where 23 Germans waiting to go into a public shelter were killed by a bomb) and 1 Mosquito to Dortmund, 6 Stirlings minelaying off Texel and Le Havre. 17 aircraft on Resistance operations, 8 OTU sorties. 1 Halifax shot down dropping Resistance agents over Belgium.

WESTERN FRONT: US Eighth Air Force Mission 285: In The Netherlands, 24 P-47 fighter-bombers escorted by 50 other P-47s dive-bomb Eindhoven and Sosterburg, Airfields without loss; 22 other P-47s strafe Venlo, Deelen and Twente/Enschede Airfields; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-2 on the ground; 1 P-47 is lost and 3 damaged; 1 pilot is MIA.

US Ninth Air Force Engineer Command is formally activated by the War Department with Brigadier General James B Newman as Commanding General.

 

[Njaco]

31 MARCH 1944

UNITED KINGDOM: 279 civilians were killed and 633 injured in air raids this month.

GERMANY: British forces last night suffered a disaster similar to the Light Brigade's destruction at Balaklava, when 545 aircrew of Bomber Command died in a single raid. The target was Nuremburg, a round trip of 1,500 miles and eight hours for those who came back. The route was direct and predictably, in bright moonlight, onto the guns of the Luftwaffe night fighters all the way from Aachen to the target. Some defenders dropped flares above the 795-strong air convoy to illuminate the bombers even more. In all, 95 planes were lost. Another 59 aircraft suffered heavy damage. The percentage loss was 20.8% of men and 11.9% of machines. The Germans lost 19 airmen (a favorable ratio of one to 28) plus 69 civilians and 59 slave workers. Although 256 buildings were hit and thousands of people have been made homeless, photo-reconnaissance suggests that Germany's war industry is unaffected. Bomber Command is suffering losses which it cannot sustain. Germany is littered with the burnt-out carcasses of Lancasters shot down by German night fighters in the "Battle of Berlin", and there is no doubt that the Luftwaffe has won the battle. Despite inflicting heavy losses on the RAF, the Germans are increasingly concerned about the effect of Allied raids on the civil population. Despite inflicting heavy losses on the RAF, the Germans are increasingly concerned about the effect of Allied raids on the civil population. The last raid on Berlin was a week ago, when 72 out of 811 aircraft were lost, and no more are planned in the immediate future. Since 18 November last year, 1,117 bombers and their crews have been lost over Berlin and other targets. So terrible have the losses been that even the eager young men of the RAF's elite aircrews, many of them still under 20, have occasionally balked. Many have been shot down on their first operation. The rest have just a 50-50 chance of completing a "tour" of 30 operations.

3 RAF Oboe Mosquitos to Essen, 28 aircraft on Resistance operations, 15 OTU sorties. 1 Halifax on a Resistance supply-dropping operation was lost.

NORTH SEA: Convoy JW-58 has triumphed in the face of one of the most powerful combined attacks of the war by German planes and submarines. The Allies were prepared for trouble and had provided the biggest-ever Arctic escort, comprising two aircraft carriers, five sloops, 20 destroyers, five corvettes and a cruiser. British aircraft shot down six German planes and sank another three U-boats, with the anti-submarine ace Captain F J "Johnnie" Walker leading the sloops from the bridge of HMS 'Starling'. Not a single merchant ship was lost.

MEDITERRANEAN: Weather prevents completion of most Twelfth Air Force operations; P-47s carry out a sweep N of Rome, Italy.

EASTERN FRONT: Malinovski's 3rd Ukrainian Front captures Ochakov.

 

[Njaco]

1 April 1944

GERMANY: The US Eighth Air Force flies Mission 287 consisting of 440 bombers and 475 fighters; the target is the chemical industry at Ludwigshafen (the largest in Europe). The 245 B-17s dispatched of the lead force abandon the mission over the French coast due to heavy clouds. The 195 B-24s in the second force became widely dispersed and bomb targets of opportunity; 101 hit Pforzheim; 38 hit Schaffhausen, Switzerland; 17 hit Strasbourg, France; and 9 hit Grafenhausen; Schaffhausen and Strasbourg were mistaken as German towns; they claim 1-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 12 B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 280 P-47 Thunderbolts and 195 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51 Mustangs: P-47s claim 13-1-19 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground 2 P-47s are lost; P-51s claim 5-2-4 aircraft, 2 P-51s are lost.

35 RAF Mosquitos bombed Hannover through thin cloud. No aircraft lost.

WESTERN FRONT: 7 RAF Mosquitos to Aachen, 6 to Krefeld and 2 to La Glacerie flying-bomb site, 1 RCM sortie, 4 Serrate patrols, 34 Halifaxes minelaying off the Dutch coast, 9 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

26 USAAF bombers kill 50 Swiss civilians as they mistakenly drop 400 bombs on Schaffhausen, Switzerland, mistaking it for German territory.

Possibly due to a lack of night-fighters, it was decided to employ I./, II./KG 51 (Me 410s) and I./SKG 10 (Fw 190s) on Wilde Sau missions over North Western France and Belgium in full moon periods. These units were under operational control of IX Fliegerkorps, who was conducting a limited offensive against England. 3(F)./122 operated as an auxilliary bomber unit during raids on Hull and Great Yarmouth in April, dropping both 50kg and 500kg bombs.

Fliegerfuhrer Atlantik was absorbed by X Fliegerkorps.

Major Anton Hackl was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 11 in place of Major Hermann Graf.

EASTERN FRONT: The 40,000 strong German Force near Skala is caught between the 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts. Elements of Zhukov's 1st Ukrainian Front reaches the Jabolnica Pass in the Carpathian Mountains. However, he is forced to redirect much of his force north of the Dniepr to contend with the unexpected movement of Hube's 1.PanzerArmee across his route of advance.

Obstlt. Karl-Gottfried Nordmann, Geschwaderkommodore of JG 51, was appointed to Jagdfliegerfuhrer Ostpreussen.

MEDITERRANEAN: US Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack Leghorn harbor, bridges at Orvieto, and railway track south of Poggibonsi; B-26 Marauders hit Arno River railroad bridges at Signa, Riva-Trigoso, and Valdarno, while A-20s hit ammunition dumps; P-40s hit targets in the vicinity of Gaeta, Formia tunnel, several fuel dumps, bridges, and guns in the battle areas; P-47s bomb Poggibonsi bridge and strafe a train; and fighters patrol the Anzio battle area without incident.

Convoy UGS 36 is attacked by German torpedo bombers off Algiers; tank landing ship LST-526 is damaged when low- flying enemy plane knocks off radio antenna. US freighter 'Jared Ingersoll' is torpedoed; destroyer escort 'Mills' (DE-383) and British tug 'Mindful' rescue the crew (including the 29-man Armed Guard) from the sinking ship. After one attempt to quell the fires consuming the ship fails, 'Mills' places a firefighting party on board which succeeds in its attempt; the destroyer escort then assists in towing 'Jared Ingersoll' out of danger. Beached off Algiers, the freighter is subsequently returned to service.

1(F)./122 was transferred from Athens-Kalamaki to Gutenfeld(East Prussia) on this date to commence conversion to the Messerschmitt Me 410.

 

[Njaco]

2 April 1944

MEDITERRANEAN: US Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26 Marauders attack railroad bridges at Arezzo, Fano, Ficulle, Magra, north of Orvieto, and south of Poggibonsi, scoring some direct hits, hits on approaches, and several near misses; fighter-bombers hit trucks and the railroad station at Fara in Sabina and east and north of Anzio, attack the Formia tunnel, fly armed reconnaissance over the Atina and Arce areas, bomb a factory and buildings north of Cassino, the town of Pignataro Interamna and numerous bridges, dumps, gun positions and targets of opportunity in or around the battle areas.

The US Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 29 B-17s and 63 B-24s to attack three targets: 35 B-24s bomb the Bihac marshalling yard, 28 B-24s bomb an air depot at Mostar, and the B-17s bomb a marshalling yard at Brod. The P-47 escorts shoot down three Bf-109s.

Submarine chaser PC-621 is damaged by aerial mine, and harbor tug YT-207 is damaged by near-miss from shore battery off Anzio.

EASTERN FRONT: The Soviets enter Romania across the Prat River near Chernovtsy. Adolf Hitler issues Operation Order 7, instructing Heeresgruppe A, Heeresgruppe Sud, and Heeresgruppe Mitte to hold a line against Russian advances.

A Finnish Air Force Brewster Buffalo of Lentolaivue 24 shoots down a Soviet La-5.

JG 54's Albin Wolf (144 kills) was killed in action.

WESTERN FRONT: US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack targets at Steyr: 125 B-17s and 30 B-24s bomb the ball bearing plant and 168 B-24s hit the Daimler-Puch aircraft components factory and the depot at the Steyr Airfield. P-38s and P-47 Thunderbolts fly 150+ sorties in support of the bombers; hundreds of enemy fighters oppose the missions and fierce air battles result in 19 bombers shot down and several missing; the AAF shoots down 33 Luftwaffe aircraft against the loss of one P-38.

 

[Njaco]

3 April 1944

WESTERN FRONT: Germany's one surviving battleship, the 'Tirpitz', has been disabled again by a daring navy attack. Repairs on the 'Tirpitz' following the midget submarine attack last September had just been completed. The Royal Navy learnt from Ultra codebreaking that she was ready to sail and sent two carriers to Altenfjord. HMS 'Victorious' and HMS 'Furious' sailed as near as they dared and launched their 41 Fairey Barracuda bombers at 4.15 this morning. They scored 14 hits on the 'Tirpitz', causing 438 German casualties. The bombs did not pierce the ship's heavy armour, but the 'Tirpitz' will not sail again for three months.

Because of a combat crew shortage which has caused abolition of the 50-mission limit tour of duty and resulted in fatigue and morale problems, IX Bomber Command establishes a new operational leave policy. Maximum leaves for bomber crews are set at 1 week between the 25th and 30th missions and 2 weeks between the 40th and 50th missions.

MEDITERRANEAN: Mount Vesuvius erupts sending clouds of dust and rock falling onto Allied merchant ships in the Bay of Naples. Tom Stainton and his ship are forced to move out to sea to avoid damage.

US Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack railway bridges at Orvieto, cutting approaches to a bridge to the north of town; other medium bomber attacks on bridges abort because of weather but light bombers successfully bomb an ammunition dump; A-36 Apaches attack the railway at Attigliano and bomb an underpass in the area, while P-40s hit Sesti Bagni railroad station, a supply dump southeast of Frosinone, the town of Itri, a bivouac area northwest of Velletri and several trucks; and P-47 Thunderbolts successfully bomb Pignataro Interamna and nearby road junction.

450+ US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb targets in Hungary and Yugoslavia; the B-17s hit an aircraft factory in Budapest, Hungary and a marshalling yard at Brod, Yugoslavia; the B-24s hit a marshalling yard at Budapest; 137 fighters escort the B-17s (B-24s miss the rendezvous) to Budapest; the bombers and escorting fighters claim 24 enemy aircraft shot down. Seven Heja II fighters of the Hungarian Air Force stationed on a field near Budapest manage to get airborne, and thereby only proved their inadequacy against modern aircraft. Still underpowered and lacking an oxygen supply, they had difficulty operating above 15,000 feet, which was still several thousand feet below the altitude preferred by the bomber formations.

EASTERN FRONT: The German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop orders all deliveries of food supplies to Finland to cease. This is in retaliation to the Finnish peace-probes, which the Germans have discovered, apparently from their spies in the Swedish airport which the Finnish envoys used in their trip. This embargo puts Finland in a very hard position; because of the wartime, the majority of Finnish supplies come from Germany or countries allied to it.

 

[Njaco]

4 April 1944

UNITED KINGDOM: DeGaulle announces the Committee of National Liberation. Of the various appointments, two are communists. He also takes control of the Free French armed forces, squeezing General Giraud off the Committee of National Liberation. He said on Free French radio:

"The efforts of all Frenchmen must depend on a single leadership."

Giraud, has been offered the role of inspector-general.

Early in the morning the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards launch six of their amphibious Valentine 'Duplex Drive' (DD) tanks from landing craft for a live-firing rehearsal for D-Day. The weather is marginal at launch but later deteriorated, resulting in the loss of the tanks and six lives.

EASTERN FRONT: An Allied reconnaissance aircraft photographs part of the Auschwitz death camp.

350 US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack Bucharest; both hit marshalling yards and the B-24s also hit an air depot; 110 P-38s support of the mission; between 150 and 200 enemy fighters attack the bombers, shooting down 10; the bombers and escorts claim 50+ aircraft destroyed in combat. This is the first mission to Romanian support of the Soviet Army's drive across the Balkans.

German forces begin limited local counterattacks against the advancing Red Army forces. They succeed in blunting the drives into the Carpathian Mountains and securing, at least temporarily, the passes near Kolomya. Further north, Army Group Center attacks and relieves the besieged garrison at Kovel.

MEDITERRANEAN: The Greek Army Brigade mutinies.

US Twelfth Air Force medium bomber missions are aborted due to weather but A-20s manage to bomb an ammunition dump and fighter-bombers bomb Terracina and Formia, attack a bridge and several vehicles during armed reconnaissance of the Rome-Orte area, bomb Itri and Fondi, hit numerous gun positions, a railway station, a bivouac area, and a vehicle concentration, and attack targets of opportunity between Atina and Cassino.

British troops captured Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

NORTH AMERICA: USAAF orders 1,000 P-80As; delivery of the first 500 was to be completed by the end of 1945; the remaining 500 were to be delivered by February 1946. Because of the introduction of jets by the Luftwaffe, the P-80 program was given the same high priority as the B-29 program.

HQ Twentieth Air Force is activated in Washington, DC. General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold is named Commanding General and he retains that position until the Twentieth moves to the Pacific in July 1945. It has been decided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff that this strategic air force will not be assigned to a theater commander but rather, operations will be controlled by Washington.

GERMANY: 41 RAF Mosquitos dispatched to Cologne; none lost. 16 other Mosquitos were dispatched: 5 to Aachen, 4 to Essen, 3 to Duisburg, 2 to Krefeld and 2 to La Glacerie. No losses.

 

[Njaco]

5 April 1944

WESTERN FRONT: The US Eighth Air Force flies Mission 288: 21 B-24s dispatched hit V-weapon sites at St Pol/Siracourt without loss; heavy clouds and the failure of blind-bombing equipment cause other B-24s to return to base without bombing. 50 P-47s escort the B-24s without loss.

144 RAF Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of No 5 Group succesfully attacked the Gnome et Rhône aero-works at Toulouse, France, effecting the complete destruction of the factory. 1 Lancaster exploded in the air over the target. 24 Stirlings minelaying off Biscay ports, 37 aircraft on Resistance operations. No losses.

GERMANY: The US Eighth Air Force flies Mission 289: 96 P-38s, 236 P-47 Thunderbolts and 124 P-51 Mustangs are dispatched to attack airfields in Germany; heavy cloud hinders most groups: 1 P-38s is lost; P-47s claim 2-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft, 1 P-47 is lost; P-51s claim 96-4-120 aircraft, 7 P-51s are lost.

EASTERN FRONT: Malinovski's Advancing elements of the 3rd Ukrainian Front cut the last rail line to Odessa near the town of Kishinev as the collapse of the southern German forces continues. Soviet troops enter Tarnopol.

The US Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 95 B-17s and 135 B-24s against marshalling yards at Ploesti. Five B-24s are lost. The US Fifteenth Air Force also dispatches B-17s and B-24s to attack marshalling yards in Yugoslavia. The B-17s bomb a marshalling yard at Nis while the B-24s hit a marshalling yard at Leskovac.

MEDITERRANEAN: Weather precludes all light and medium bomber action by the US Twelfth Air Force; P-40s hit the Colleferro railway station, several fuel dumps, and gun positions in the US Fifth Army battle areas; A-36 Apaches bomb Formia, and railway stations northwest of Rome and in the Frosinone area.

In response to Allied interdiction during Operation 'Strangle', the Germans ordered all supply columns after 5 April to move only at night, meaning convoys could no longer make round trips in one day.

 

[Njaco]

6 April 1944

WESTERN FRONT: The US Eighth Air Force flies Mission 290: 12 B-24s bomb V-weapon sites at Watten without loss. Escort is provided by 27 P-47s without loss.

German trucks rolled up to the safehouse of Sabina Zlatin in Izieu-Ain, France, and 44 children and 7 teachers including Mr. Zlatin were arrested. The raid was ordered by Klaus Barbie, head of the German police in Lyons.

EASTERN FRONT: The German 1.Panzerarmee, after a westward fight of over 150 miles, regains a line of communications with the rest of Heeresgruppe Sud at Buchbach south of Tarnopol. Zhukov, who was anticipating a withdraw to the south and subsequently surprised by the move, was blamed for the debacle. Further to the south, elements of the German 6.Armee trapped at Razdelnaya are heavily engaged by elements of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

The Staffelfuhrer of 8./SG 3, Oblt. Hans-Adolf Meyer was awarded the Ritterkreuz.

MEDITERRANEAN: US Twelfth Air Force B-25s hit Perugia Airfield while B-26 Marauders bomb a bridge and its approaches northwest of Orvieto; weather prevents other medium bomber operations; fighter-bombers attack the railroad stations at Capronica and Maccarese, guns southeast of Littoria, a road bridge east of Pescasseroli, railroad bridges in the Arezzo area, other rail facilities in central Italy, and small transport vessels in the Aegean Sea.

US Fifteenth Air Force B-24s bomb the airfield at Zagreb; numerous other B-24s and B-17s abort because of weather; escorting fighters and the bombers claim 17 enemy fighters destroyed in combat; 6 US aircraft are shot down.

US motor torpedo boats engage German E-boats and a flak ship south of Vada Rocks, sinking one E-boat; flak ship later explodes as the result of gunfire damage. Enemy shore batteries take the motor torpedo boats under fire but inflict no damage.

GERMANY: 35 RAF Mosquitos to Hamburg; 1 aircraft lost. 14 Mosquitos bombed 7 targets in the Ruhr and the Rhineland, and 3 aircraft flew RCM sorties. No losses.

 

[Njaco]

7 April 1944

GERMANY: In a desperate effort to rescue Berlin from the chaos created by Allied bombing, Hitler has suspended civil law and administration and installed Göbbels as Stadtspresident with unlimited powers. The city's military commanders, and the chiefs of police, fire brigades, medical, ambulance and rescue services, as well as food and relief organizations will be answerable to him alone. Shop assistants, office workers and commercial travellers are being drafted into labour units to clear bomb damage. Under the relentless air attacks, Berlin's fire-fighting services have broken down, relief organizations have failed to provide enough food and clothing for bombing victims, and wide-spread looting has been reported. There have been repeated outbreaks of disorder, with SS troops forced to intervene. The destruction of police records has allowed what the authorities call "undesirable characters" to evade arrest and roam the city without identity papers.

The Ta 154V-5 of EKD 154 crashed due to an undercarriage failure at Erfurt.

MEDITERRANEAN: 400+ US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack marshalling yards; the B-17s bomb Treviso, the B-24s hit Mestre and Bologna; almost 100 P-38s provide escort; P-47s fly a sweep over the Gorizia-Udine area; the bombers and fighters claim almost 20 aircraft shot down. US Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26 Marauders attack bridges, tracks and a viaduct at Attigliano, Ficulle, Certaldo, Pontassieve and Incisa in Valdarno, and hit the Prato marshalling yard; A-20 Havocs hit an ammunition dump; Ausonia, Pignataro Interamna, San Apollinare and Terracina are bombed by P-40s along with a dump and several gun positions southeast of Rome; P-47 Thunderbolts also hit bridges and trucks in this same area and attack the Empoli marshalling yard while A-36 Apaches hit gun emplacements, train and tracks in the Orvieto area and vicinity and approaches to the Montalto di Castro bridge.

The remaining units of JG 2, after a day of heavy fighting, packed up their equipment and headed for Marseille, France, their Med operation days over. In action for 5 weeks and with about 18 aircraft at any given time, I./JG 2's pilots claimed 52 enemy machines. On this performance, 1./JG 2 would seem to be the most effective part of the Gruppe, scoring high and incurring no casualties.

EASTERN FRONT: Generalmajor Ferdinand Schorner makes an inspection of the defenses of Fortress Crimea. He states that everything is sufficient.

Heavy fighting continues at Razdelnaya as the trapped German and Rumanian forces continue to hold out. Further to the north, the German garrison trapped in Tarnopol makes an unsuccessful attempt at withdrawal. Elements of the II SS Panzer Korps (9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions) begin counterattacks toward the besieged city.

Major Erich Rudorffer of II./JG 54 shot down 6 Russian aircraft to bring his score to 134 kills.

WESTERN FRONT: Destroyer USS 'Champlin' (DD-601) is damaged when she intentionally rams German submarine 'U-856', 380 miles (612 km) southeast of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, Canada. 'Champlin' and destroyer escort USS 'Huse' (DE-145) had teamed to sink 'U-856'.

RAF Activity: 1 RCM sortie, 4 Mosquitos on Serrate patrols, 12 Halifaxes minelaying off the Dutch coast. No aircraft lost.

 

[Njaco]

8 April 1944

GERMANY: The US Eighth Air Force flies Mission 291: 3 separate forces, a total of 664 bombers divided into 13 combat wings, escorted by 780 fighters, are dispatched against airfields in northwestern Germany and aircraft factories in the Brunswick area; 34 bombers and 23 fighters are lost. 59 B-17s hit Oldenburg Airfield, 83 B-17s hit Quakenbruck Airfield, 60 hit Achmer Airfield, 41 hit Rheine Airfield, 22 hit Twente Enschede, 21 hit Hesepe, 19 hit Handorf and 3 hit targets of opportunity; 4 B-17s are lost. 190 B-24s bomb aviation industry targets in Brunswick, 59 hit Rosslingen, 48 hit Langenhagen Airfield and 6 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 58-9-32 Luftwaffe aircraft; 30 B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 136 P-38 Lightnings, 438 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47 and 206 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51 Mustangs; the fighters claim 88-3-46 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 49-6-38 on the ground: 5 P-38s, 4 P-47s and 14 P-51s are lost. US aircraft bomb the Volkswagen plant at Fallersleben, near Hanover.

The Arado 234 V6 four jet-engined bomber makes its first flight. It is powered by four 800kg thrust BMW 003A-1 turbojets in four separate nacelles.

40 RAF Mosquitos attacked the Krupps works at Essen without loss. 3 Mosquitos to Duisburg and 3 to Osnabrück, 2 RCM sorties, 8 Halifaxes minelaying off Texel and Den Helder. No losses. Fw. Heinz Reis and his He 177 of 2./KG 100 was shot down during the night by a Mosquito.

The incompetence of the 'Fighter Staff' was best illustrated when Herr Saur addressed a meeting this day with the following statement;

"We cannot win the war with our airmen but they are a prime necessity for the creation of conditions under which tank production can go on. It will be the tanks with which we shall win the war in the East."

And so the Luftwaffe fought on.

WESTERN FRONT: 198 US Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders attack Hasselt marshalling yard and hit Coxyde Airfield; and 32 P-47 Thunderbolts bomb the area around Hasselt.

The pilots of 2./JG 26 lost their Staffelkapitaen Oblt. Karl Willius (RK, 50 kills) and Fw. Emil Babenz (24 kills) in combat with US 361st FG P-47s over the Zuider Zee, Holland.

MEDITERRANEAN: US Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack a bridge northwest of Orte while A-20 Havocs successfully attack supply stores; fighter-bombers hit several bridges, motor transport, and supply dumps in central Italy, and bomb railroad tracks at Sesti Bagni and Maccarese.

EASTERN FRONT: Russia launches a major Crimean offensive. The 17.Armee (a mix of Germans and Romanians) in Fortress Crimea are mostly wiped out, the survivors retreating back to Sevastopol.

Fighting ends at Razdelnaya as the 3rd Ukrainian Front eliminates the German and Rumanian forces fighting in the pocket. Further north, 1st and 2nd Ukrainian Fronts continue to drive into Rumania reaching the Siret river and the Slovinian border, capturing Botosani and Dorohoi. Soviet forces under Marshal Ivan Konev cross the Pruth into Romania.

A 324-gun salute in Moscow marks the First Ukrainian Front reaching Czechoslovakia and Romania.

 

[Njaco]

9 April 1944

WESTERN FRONT: Rockets and machine gun fire from four TBM Avengers and FM-2 Wildcats of Composite Squadron 58 (VC-58) in the escort aircraft carrier USS 'Guadalcanal' (CVE-60), together with depth charges from destroyer escorts USS 'Pillsbury' (DE-133), USS 'Pope' (DE-134), USS 'Flaherty' (DE-135), and USS 'Chatelain' (DE-149), sink German submarine 'U-515' at 1515 hours local off Madeira Island, Portugal. 44 of the 60 man crew on the U-boat survive.

During US Eighth Air Force Mission 294, 5 B-17s drop 2.752 million leaflets on Rouen, Paris, Amiens and Caen, France at 2224-2338 hours without loss. During the night, 23 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER operations delivering supplies to the Resistance.

239 RAF aircraft - 166 Halifaxes, 40 Lancasters, 22 Stirlings, 11 Mosquitos of Nos 3, 4, 6 and 8 Groups - to railway yards at Lille. 1 Lancaster lost. 225 aircraft - 166 Lancasters, 49 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitos to another railway target, this time at Villeneuve St Georges near Paris. No aircraft lost. 36 Mosquitos to Mannheim and 8 to four other targets, 16 Serrate patrols, 103 Lancasters of Nos 1 and No 5 Groups minelaying off Danzig, Gdynia and Pillau in the Baltic, 61 aircraft on Resistance operations, 9 OTU sorties. 9 Lancasters from the minelaying force and 1 Serrate Mosquito were lost. Oblt. Berger from 2./NJG 3 claimed 3 bombers and Hptm. Werner Husemann of Stab I./NJG 3 claimed 2 bombers.

Many Lancasters fell in Denmark. On its way to the target area JB725 was attacked by a German night fighter piloted by Oberfeldwebel Rudolf Mangelsdorf from 12./NJG 3 while flying at 4000 metres altitude. The Lancaster caught fire, exploded in the air and crashed to the ground south of the village of Jelling at 23:48 hours killing the whole crew. Outbound ND625 was attacked by a German night fighter from 12./NJG 3 while flying at 5500 metres altitude and crashed into the Sejrø Bay at 00:06 hours 10 kilometres SSE of Sejrø island lighthouse killing the whole crew. The night fighter was a Bf 110G-4 coded D5+AX with the crew of Hptm. Eduard Schröder, Kaisig and Brusendorf. On the return flight JB734 was attacked by a night fighter piloted by Uffz. Carl-Hans Hurth of 12./NJG 3 and crashed at Bjerremose bog near Gunderup. ME663 was flying at 23.000 feet on the return flight to England when it was attacked by a German night fighter piloted by Uffz. Erich Scheding of 2./ NJG 3 and started burning. Pilot F/O Peter A. Crosby dived to 18.000 feet to escape the night fighter and ordered the crew to bale out. At the same moment the Lancaster turned over and dived to 6000 feet before Crosby managed to level it off. ME663 dived again with flames from both wings and after a short while it exploded at 03:58 hours one kilometre north of Aale. The wreckage was spread over a couple of kilometres. For more info and pics: On the night of 9/10 April 1944

GERMANY: The US Eighth Air Force flies Mission 293: 542 bombers and 719 fighters are dispatched to aircraft factories and airfields in Germany and Poland; the bombers claim 45-8-14 Luftwaffe aircraft; 32 bombers and 10 fighters are lost. 41 B-17s bomb the aviation industry at Rahmel, Poland and 96 attack Marienburg, Germany; 3 others hit targets of opportunity; 6 B-17s are lost. 33 B-17s bomb the Focke-Wulf plant at Poznan, Poland and 85 bomb the Heinkel plant at Warnemunde, Germany; 18 others hit Marienehe Airfield; 12 B-17s are lost. 106 B-24s bomb an assembly plant at Tutow, Germany; 14 hit Parchim, Germany and 6 hit targets of opportunity; 14 B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 119 P-38s, 387 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 213 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; the fighters claim 20-1-6 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 19-0-8 on the ground; no fighter support is available over the targets because of bad weather or distance: 2 P-38s, 4 P-47s and 4 P-51s are lost.

At the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany, Dr. Hans von Dohnanyi is executed for several anti-Nazi offences.

MEDITERRANEAN: US Twelfth Air Force P-40 and A-36 Apache fighter-bombers bomb the railroad line between Rome and Bracciano, hitting tracks, a station, and a warehouse; attack Littoria and Terracina, repair shops northwest of Valmontone and several gun positions; and bomb scattered motor transport during armed reconnaissance of the Avezzano-Sora-Pontecorvo-Ceprano areas.

EASTERN FRONT: Red Army forces continue to advance in southwestern Ukraine and Rumania as 3rd Ukrainian Front forces reach the Odessa and 4th Ukrainian Front forces break the German lines at Kerch and storm into the Crimean peninsula.

I./KG 27 transferred to Romania and supported the heavy fighting in the Crimea.

 

[Njaco]

10 April 1944

EASTERN FRONT: Russian forces take Odessa. Elements of the Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front move into Odessa as the 4th Ukrainian Front continues to push the German 17th Army back on the now doomed city of Sevastopol. Further to the west, elements of 2nd Ukrainian Front cross the Siret River and capture Radauti and Suceava.

Oblt. Anton Hafner of JG 51 scored his 134th victory.

WESTERN FRONT: The Royal Navy's X-craft, the midget four-man submarines which disabled the 'Tirpitz' battleship last September, scored another devastating success today. And this time there was no loss of life. X-24, commanded by Lt. M H Shean, managed to get in and out of the heavily-protected Bergen harbour without being detected. Shean guided his midget submarine underneath the 7,500-ton merchant ship 'Barenfels', placed his charges and escaped, undetected from the harbour before they went off. The explosion sank the 'Barenfels' but did not harm a dock which was also targeted. The puzzled Germans have assumed that the attack was sabotage.

The US Eighth Air Force flies Mission 295: 729 bombers and 496 fighters are dispatched to hit aviation industry targets and airfields in Belgium and France; 3 bombers and 2 fighters are lost. 123 B-17s bomb the aviation industry and airfield at Evere, 52 hit Melsbroek Airfield at Brussels, 39 hit aviation industry targets at Brussels, and 20 hit Bergen op Zoom; 1 B-17 is lost. In Belgium, 62 B-17s hit Maldagem Airfield, 60 hit Schaffen Airfield at Diest and 42 hit Juzaine Airfield at Florennes; in France, 21 B-17s hit Courcelles and 21 hit Beaumont sur Oise Airfield; they claim 0-2-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost. In Belgium, 151 B-24s hit the airfield and aviation industry at Bourges; in France, 28 hit Bricy Airfield Orleans, 21 hit Romarantin Airfield and 15 hit V-weapon sites at Marquise/Mimoyecques; they claim 6-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-24 is lost. Escort is provided by 51 P-38s, 295 P-47s and 150 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s: P-38s have no claims or losses; P-47s claim 12-0-7 Luftwaffe aircraft, 1 P-47 is lost; P-51s claim 40-0-16 aircraft, 1 P-51 is lost.

258 US Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders and 41 A-20s, including 12 aircraft dropping Window, attack coastal batteries at Le Harve/Le Grand Hameau, France, and military installation nearby. In Belgium during the afternoon 267 B-26s and A-20s bomb the marshalling yard, airfield, coastal defenses, and NOBALL targets at Charleroi/Montignies, Namur, Coxyde, Nieuport and other points on the northern coast of Western Europe. 47 P-47s dive-bomb the airfield at Evreux, France.

'U-68' was sunk north-west of Madeira, Portugal, by depth charges and rockets from Avenger and Wildcat aircraft of the US escort carrier USS 'Guadalcanal' (VC-58 ). 56 dead and 1 survivor.

180 RAF Lancasters of No 5 Group to Tours to attack railways (1 aircraft lost); 157 Halifaxes of No 4 Group and 10 Pathfinder Mosquitos to Tergnier (10 Halifaxes lost); 148 Lancasters and 15 Mosquitos to Laon (1 Lancaster lost); 132 Lancasters and 15 Pathfinder Mosquitos to Aulnoye (7 Lancasters lost); 122 Halifaxes of No 6 Group with 10 Pathfinder Mosquitos to Ghent in Belgium (No losses). With the exception of the raid at Laon, all the attacks inflicted heavy damage on their intended targets. 36 Mosquitos to Hannover and 2 to Duisburg, 17 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of No 617 Squadron to St Cyr signals depot, 8 RCM sorties, 9 Serrate patrols, 8 Stirlings minelaying off La Pallice, 46 aircraft on Resistance operations, 17 OTU sorties. No aircraft lost.

MEDITERRANEAN: US Twelfth Air Force A-20s hit an ammunition dump at Gallicano near Lazio; B-25s bomb the Orvieto marshalling yard and 2 bridges; B-26s hit Poggibonsi and Cecina railroad bridges and tracks, and viaducts at Bucine and west of Arezzo; fighter-bombers operating over wide areas of central Italy and in the battle zones hit railroad bridges, railroad cars, motor transport, barracks, and troop concentrations with good effect.

Convoy UGS 37 transits Straits of Gibraltar (60 merchantmen and six tank landing ships), escorted by TF 65 (Commander William R. Headden): four destroyers, eight destroyer escorts and British antiaircraft cruiser HMS 'Delhi' and frigate HMS 'Nadder', in addition to radar jamming ships, destroyer 'Lansdale' (DD-462) and British corvette HMS 'Jonquil' (see 11 April). Escorts keep German submarines 'U-421', 'U-471' and 'U-969' at bay.

 

[Njaco]

11 April 1944

EASTERN FRONT: Kerda falls to the Soviets. Fighting is heavy in the Crimea as the Soviet 4th Ukrainian Front captures Dzhankoy.They also take Kerch, in the Crimea, forcing a German retreat to Sevastapol.

Several awards were given to Eastern Front Luftwaffe pilots. Oblt. Anton Hafner of JG 51 was awarded the Eichenlaub (Oak Leaves) and promoted to Leutnant. Fw. Otto Kittel of 2./JG 54 was also awarded the Eichenlaub for 152 victories and promoted to Leutnant. Major Erich Rudorffer of II./JG 54 was awarded the Eichenlaub for 134 victories.

WESTERN FRONT: Six RAF Mosquitoes of No. 613 Squadron precision-bomb the Gestapo offices in the Kleizkamp Art Galleries, The Hague, destroying files on the resistance and Dutch people earmarked for deportation.

229 US Ninth Air Force B-26s and 36 A-20s, including 3 dropping Window, attack Montignies Airfield at Charleroi, military installations on the coast, and Chievres Airfield. 90+ US Ninth Air Force P-47s dive-bomb a military installation and Gael Airfield, France.

Ofw. Friedrich Jost of 10./ZG 1 was recommended for an award after flying 118 Fw 190 missions including 13 against partisans on the plateau of Savoy in France.

GERMANY: The US Eighth Air Force flies Mission 298: 917 bombers and 819 fighters are dispatched in 3 separate forces to bomb production centres (primarily fighter aircraft factories) and targets of opportunity in northern Germany; 64 bombers are lost, one of the heaviest single-day losses of World War II. The bombers also drop 2.4 million leaflets: 108 B-17s hit aviation industry targets at Sorau and 17 bomb Cottbus; 127 hit Stettin, 20 hit Trechel, 16 hit Dobberphel and 23 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 12-2-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 19 B-17s are lost. 172 B-17s hit Rostock, 52 hit Politz, 35 hit the industrial area at Arnimswalde and 15 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 34-20-19 Luftwaffe aircraft; 33 B-17s are lost. 121 B-24s hit aviation industry targets at Oschersleben and 99 bomb Bernburg; 9 bomb aviation industry targets at Halberstadt, 9 bomb Eisleben and 5 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 27-2-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 12 B-24s are lost. Escort is provided by 124 P-38s, 454 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts and 241 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51 Mustangs; the fighters claim 51-5-25 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 65-0-67 on the grounds: 7 P-47s and 9 P-51s are lost.

341 RAF Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3, 5 and 8 Groups despatched to Aachen. 9 Lancasters lost, 2.6 per cent of the force. This raid was accurate and caused widespread damage and fires in the centre of Aachen and in the southern part of the town, particularly in the suburb of Burtscheid. This was Aachen's most serious raid of the war. Control of the air-raid services was quickly lost when one of the first salvoes or bombs cut communications between the main operations centre and outlying posts. 7 Mosquitos to bomb night-fighter airfields, 36 Mosquitos on diversion raid to Hannover and 3 each to Duisburg and Osnabrück, 7 RCM sorties, 7 Serrate patrols, 35 Halifaxes and 8 Stirlings minelaying off Brest and in the Kattegat, 26 aircraft on Resistance operations, 8 OTU sorties. No aircraft lost.

MEDITERRANEAN: US Twelfth Air Force B-25s hit the Montalto di Castro railroad bridge, while B-26s hit marshalling yards at Ancona and Siena; fighter-bombers concentrate on attacks against railroad targets northeast of Rome and buildings inland from the east coast; tracks are hit hard in the Arezzo-Pontassieve area as are stations at Maccarese and Cesano; an overpass, bridges, railroad cars and dumps throughout central Italy are attacked, as is the town of Gaeta.

Increased German aerial mining activities are noted off Anzio.

Convoy GUS 37 is attacked by German bombers and torpedo bombers east of Algiers. Destroyer escort 'Holder' (DE-401) is damaged by aerial torpedo 35 miles northeast of Algiers, as she lays smoke ahead of the convoy. Freighter 'Charles Piez' is damaged by strafing, her crew (including a 28- man Armed Guard), however, suffers no casualties. Aerial torpedoes narrowly miss destroyer escorts 'Stanton' (DE-247) and 'Swasey' (DE-248 ).

UNITED KINGDOM: Flying Me 410s, 5./KG 51, led by Hptm. Dietrich Puttfarken attacked RAF bombers on their way back to base in England during the night. Hptm. Puttfarken shot down 2 bombers and Lt. Wolfgang Wenning of Stab II./KG 51 claimed one bomber.