This day in the war in Europe 65 years ago

[Hugh Spencer]

24th August 1943
8 Mosquitoes went to Berlin and 66 aircraft went minelaying in the Heligoland, Frisian and Texel areas, without loss.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Red Army forces entered Kharkov, the fourth, and last time the city would change hands in this war. The Germans attempted to launch a spoiling attack, but this was met by the newly reconstituted 5th Guards Tank Army and beaten back. Troops of General Konev's Steppe front took the city after Field Marshal von Manstein pulled his XI Corps out in defiance of Hitler's orders that Kharkov had to be held at all costs. Von Manstein had no alternative. His soldiers were about to be cut off by immensely superior Russian forces sweeping round the city, and he knew that the men of XI Corps were of more value to him than the shattered ruins of Kharkov. In the south, General Tolbhukin had broken the German line at the river Mius and was driving for the Donets bason with the aim of recovering the area's mineral riches and cutting off the German forces still in the Crimea and the Kuban bridgehead. The Germans admitted that a "Soviet spring flood" was pouring through a gap smashed in their lines at Mius.
....The fall of the city effectively ended the Battle of Kursk. A massive 224-gun salute by the Red Army thundered out in Moscow in celebration of the recapture of the principal city of the Ukraine.
....The Soviet motor torpedo boat TK 94 sank the Finnish minelayer 'Riilahti' in the Baltic Sea. 24 men, including commander, Knight of the Mannerheim Cross, Lt.-Cdr Osmo Kivilinna were lost.
....The crews of III./JG 52 moved yet again, leaving Kutanikowo for the airbase at Makejewka.

GERMANY: The Battle of Berlin: RAF bombers once again took to the night skies over Berlin sending 727 planes carrying 1700 tons of bombs. The raid was badly scattered but still managed to kill over 900 people. This was the opening of a new Bomber Command terror campaign which would come to be known as “The Battle of Berlin”. With the first of the Berlin raids, the 'Wilde Sau' concept was fully realized. Every available night-fighter including all servicable 'Wilde Sau' fighter became airbourne to intercept the Berlin raiders. On the ground, searchlights brilliantly lit up the sky and gun batteries had been issued incandescent rockets to launch, providing even more illumination. With the raiders illuminated by all this, the night-fighters destroyed 56 of the attacking bombers.
....The fate of one Halifax lost on the Berlin Raid: Halifax V DK261 crashed near the island of Mandø on 24/8 1943

MEDITERRANEAN: US Ninth Air Force B-24 Liberators hit a marshalling yard at Bari and Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) B-26 Marauders bombed the Battipaglia marshalling yard.

CANADA: Quebec: The "Quadrant" conference between Mr. Churchill, President Roosevelt and the Canadian prime minister, Mr. Mackenzie King, and their staffs ended with a decision to press for a "second front" against Germany in France. This invasion, to be codenamed "Overlord", would be the top priority.
....The communiqué issued today said that "the whole field of world operations" had been surveyed, and the "necessary decisions have been taken to provide for the forward action" of Allied forces. Mr. Churchill had favoured a number of operations, against Norway and in southern Europe by continuing the offensive in Italy; the Americans wanted a frontal assault in France. A study was to be made of a landing in southern France.
....There were also strategic differences over the conduct of the war in South-east Asia, where the US generals want to invade Burma, while Mr. Churchill wants to attack Sumatra. Again the Americans won the argument, although the new South-east Asia Command (SEAC) to direct operations in Burma would likely be headed by a Briton. Preparations for a new offensive in Burma would now proceed, along with a second campaign behind Japanese lines by Brigadier Wingate's Chindits. Britain also approved US plans for the next stages of the Pacific War.

WESTERN FRONT: The 40th Escort Group, consisting of sloops HMS 'Landguard', 'Bideford', 'Hastings' and frigates HMS 'Exe', 'Moyola' and 'Waveney' were deployed on a U-boat hunt off Cape Ortegal. Light cruiser HMS 'Bermuda' covered the whole operation. On the 25th, the Canadian 5th Support Group, consisting of frigates HMS 'Nene', 'Tweed' and corvettes HMCS 'Calgary', 'Edmundston' and 'Snowberry' were deployed to relieve the 40th Escort Group. While this was in progress the ships were attacked by 14 Dornier Do-217's and 7 Ju-88's with the new German weapon, the Henschel Glider Bombs, (the "Hs293 A-1"). Designed by the German Professor Herbert Wagner. HMS 'Landguard' and 'Bideford' were the first of the Allied and RN ships to be attacked and damaged by them. Several sailors were injured on 'Bideford' and one sailor was killed.

IRELAND: On the slopes above Slieveglass, above Brandon village, Dingle Penninsula, a Short S.25 Sunderland III of RAF No. 201 Sqn crashed at about 06:00 on a hill side. Several crewmen were killed. The wreckage was completely burned out except for the tail but was abandoned where it was after the recovery of some ordinance.

[Njaco]

GERMANY: SS Chief Heinrich Himmler was promoted to Reichminister of the Interior by Hitler. Neurath resigned as Protector of Bohemia and Moravia with Frisch as his replacement.

WESTERN FRONT: The USAAF's VIII Air Support Command and VIII Bomber Command in England flew missions to France. US VIII Air Support Command Missions 33A and 33B: B-26B Marauders flew 2 diversions for the VIII Bomber Command B-17s. An air depot and airfields in France were targeted by the US VIII Bomber Command in Mission 86 Part I. 110 B-17s were dispatched to the Villacoublay Air Depot. 86 hit the target at 1800-1805 hours and claimed 1-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft. 42 B-17s were dispatched to the Conches and Evreux/Fauville Airfields and a B-17 was lost. US VIII Bomber Command Mission 86 Part II had 85 B-17s, which had flown to North Africa after attacking Regensburg, Germany on 17 August, dispatched to the Merignac Airfield at Bordeaux. 58 hit the target at 1157-1200 hours and claimed 3-3-10 Luftwaffe aircraft. 3 B-17s were lost. Nine B-17s returned to North Africa after encountering difficulties.
....There were several bomb incidents in Copenhagen, Denmark and strikes in shipyards, courtesy of the Danish resistance.
....A Bf 110G-2 of 8./ZG 26 collided with another Bf 110G-2 from 8./ZG 26 north of the Frisian islands and crashed into the North Sea with the loss of both crews.
....The US Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command was redesignated I Bomber Command and reassigned to the First Air Force after the USAAF and US Navy reached an agreement under which the USAAF withdrew from antisubmarine operations.
....Two German submarines were sunk. 'U-134' was sunk in the North Atlantic near Vigo, Spain by 6 depth charges from an RAF Wellington Mk XIV of No 179 Squadron based at Gibraltar. All 48 men on the U-boat were lost. 'U-185' was sunk in the mid-Atlantic, by depth charges from 3 USN TBF Avengers of Composite Squadron Thirteen (VC-13) in the escort aircraft carrier USS 'Core' (CV-13). 22 of the 51 crewmen in the U-boat survived.

MEDITERRANEAN: Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) fighter-bombers hit a railroad tunnel and a cruiser offshore at Sibari, tracks and buildings at Castrovillari, and the town area at Sibari. RAF Desert Air Force airplanes strafed motor transport north of Reggio di Calabria and provided withdrawal cover for the NATAF fighter-bombers.

EASTERN FRONT: On the first mission of the day, Hptm. Erich Rudirffer of II./JG 54 shot down 5 Russian aircraft. On the second mission he downed another 3 Russian aircraft to bring his total for the day to 8 kills. Uffz. Georg Kauper of 10./JG 5 went missing and was presumed killed.

[Hugh Spencer]

25th August 1943
6 Mosquitoes went to Berlin and 42 aircraft went minelaying off Brest and the Biscay ports without loss.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Red Army forces pursued the retreating Germans occupying Zenkov and Akhtyrka, west and north of Kharkov.
.... The Soviet 'Shkval' (Senior-Lt V.S. Timofeev) struck two mines laid on 12 August by 'U-625' in the east part of the Yugorskij Shar Strait in the Kara Sea and sank immediately. The ship provided a transfer of river ships from Pechora to Ob´ river.

WESTERN FRONT: The US Eighth Air Force was assigned to the role of bombing important Luftwaffe targets in Operation STARKEY, designed to contain enemy forces in the west to prevent their transfer to the Eastern Front, and to serve as a dress rehearsal in the Pas de Calais, France area for the invasion of western Europe. The Allies hoped to provoke the Luftwaffe into a prolonged air battle.
....The US VIII Air Support Command flew Missions 34A and 34B against two targets in France. 21 B-26B Marauders bombed the power station at Rouen and 31 B-26s attacked Tricqueville Airfield. They claimed 1-8-5 Luftwaffe aircraft.
....In a military first, the Germans test a new guided bomb, the Hs293, in the Bay of Biscay. The Canadian 5th Support Group, consisting of frigates HMS 'Nene', 'Tweed' and corvettes HMCS 'Calgary', 'Edmundston' and 'Snowberry' were deployed to relieve the 40th Escort Group. While this was in progress the ships were attacked at 1415 hours by 14 Dornier Do-217s of Hptm. Molinus' II./KG 100 and 7 Ju-88s with the new German weapon, the Henschel Glider Bombs, (the "Hs293 A-1"). Designed by the German Professor Herbert Wagner, the device, launched from a bomber, was guided by radio signal from an airborne observer to the target. HMS 'Landguard' and 'Bideford' were the first of the Allied and RN ships to be attacked and damaged by them. Several sailors were injured on 'Bideford' and one sailor was killed. The initial test failed to hit the ship, but the system did show great promise.
....German submarine 'U-523' was sunk west of Vigo, by depth charges from the RN destroyer HMS 'Wanderer' and the corvette HMS 'Wallflower'. 37 of the 54-man crew of the U-boat survived. 'U-340' rescued 5 Luftwaffe airmen off Spain. Shortly afterwards the boat was attacked by an aircraft and a few men were wounded, the boat being damaged.
....German warships attack and sink two Swedish trawlers in Danish waters.

GERMANY: The Arado 234 V3 jet bomber made its first flight. This aircraft had a pressurized cabin, an ejector seat and RATOG (Rocket Assisted Take-Off Gear).

MEDITERRANEAN: US Ninth Air Force B-24s bombed the marshalling yard at Foggia while about 135 Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses and 140 P-38 Lightnings attacked satellite airfields at Foggia. The P-38s of the US 1st FG swept in on a low level attack and destroyed 43 Ju 88s, 1 Ju 52 and 1 Bf 109 along with dozens of others damaged for the loss of two Lightnings to flak. Unwilling to expose their aircraft and pilots to the free ranging Lightnings, the Luftwaffe found itself on the ground at Foggia when another 136 B-17s with P-38 escort blasted the complex into ruin. As many as 47 aircraft were destroyed on the ground. Major Johannes Steinhoff of Stab./JG 77, intercepting the Allied force, accounted for 4 P-38s destroyed while 3 B-17s fell to pilots from JG 53 and JG 3.

[Hugh Spencer]

26th August 1943
32 aircraft went minelaying off Brest and the Biscay ports witout loss.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: The US Eighth Air Force's VIII Bomber Command in England flew Mission 35: 36 B-26s attacked Carpiquet Airfield at Caen, France.

GERMANY: Stalag 383, Bavaria: Two British prisoners made a daring escape from this camp yesterday by walking out of the gate wearing home-made German uniforms and carrying forged passes. The escapers, Lance-Sergeant Suggit of the 5th (Inniskilling) Dragoon Guards and Sergeant Beeson of the RAOC, had to bring their attempt forward a day because there was so much activity, masterminded by the escape committee, that their original plan would have clashed with an attempt by others to "go over the wire". They made their German uniforms from Australian tunics dyed green with dyes acquired from the camp theatre. Their badges were made of cardboard covered in silver paper, and their medal ribbons cut out of tin coloured with red and black ink. A friendly guard from Alsace lent them his papers so that they could be forged. At dusk tonight, with sandwiches in their fake holsters, they walked nonchalantly out of the gate.

EASTERN FRONT: Soviet submarine SC-203 was sunk near Cape Uret in the Baltic Sea by a torpedo from Italian submarine SB.4. All hands were lost.
....JG 5 lost several aircraft during the day. A Bf 109G-2 from II./JG 5 was damaged during taxiing at Petsamo and a Bf 110F-2
from 13.(Z)/JG 5 crashed at Kirkenes with no injuries. A Bf 109G-2 from I./JG 5crashed and the pilot Obfhr. Benno Schmieder was wounded.

MEDITERRANEAN: The RAF's Desert Air Force (DAF) was assigned to the Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF), along with US units of the Ninth Air Force which have been an operational part of DAF and Northwest African Tactical Bomber Force (NATBF).
....80+ Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) B-17s, with P-38 escort, bombed Capua Airfield and 100+ fighter-escorted medium bombers hit Grazzanise Airfield and satellite field.
....At 22.16 hours, 'U-410' fired a spread of three torpedoes at the convoy UGS-14 off La Calle, Algeria, heard three hits and reported two ships sunk and another damaged. In fact, the 'John Bell' and 'Richard Henderson' were sunk. The 'John Bell' (Master David Dunlap Higbee) had been in station #52, but changed the to station #32 in the afternoon as the convoy was reformed into four columns to pass through minefields. The ship was struck by one torpedo on the starboard side between the #4 and #5 holds in a compartment with aviation gasoline. The explosion ignited the cargo, the flames rose 25 feet above the holds and spread rapidly aft and slowly forward. The most of the eight officers, 35 crewmen and 29 armed guards (the ship was armed with two 3in and eight 20mm guns) abandoned ship immediately in five of the six lifeboats. But five armed guards on the stern had to jump overboard and swam to the boats. The ship was soon ablaze from stem to stern and burned for nine hours before sinking stern first.
....The survivors were picked up within 45 minutes by the British minesweeper HMS BYMS-23 and the South African armed whaler HMSAS 'Southern Maid' (T 27) and landed at Bizerte on 27 August. The only casualty was an oiler who had been trapped in the shaft alley.
....The 'Richard Henderson' (Master Lawrence Joseph Silk) had been in station #43, but changed to station #22 in the afternoon as the convoy was reformed into four columns to pass through minefields. The ship was struck by one torpedo on the starboard side, aft of the #5 hatch. The explosion destroyed the quarters of the gun crew, blew away the rudder and screw and flooded the engine room. As the vessel began to settle slowly by the stern, the engines were secured and the eight officers, 34 crewmen and 28 armed guards (the ship was armed with two 3in and eight 20mm guns) abandoned ship in six lifeboats. The ship sank by the stern after five hours. The next morning, three lifeboats made landfall at La Calle, Algeria. The remaining survivors in the other three boats were rescued by escort ships, among them the South African armed trawler HMSAS 'Southern Maid' (T 27) and landed on 27 August at Bizerte, Tunisia.

[Hugh Spencer]

27th August 1943
349 Lancasters, 221 Halifaxes and 104 Stirlings attacked Nuremberg, 33 aircraft lost. The marking for this raid was based mainly on H2S. 47 of the Pathfinder H2S aircraft were ordered to check their equipment by dropping a 1,000 lb bomb on Heilbronn while flying to Nuremberg. 28 Pathfinder aircraft were able to carry out this order. Heilbronn reported that several bombs did drop in the north of the town soon after midnight. The local officials assumed that the bombs were aimed at the industrial zone. Several bombs did fall around the factory area and other bombs fell further away. No industrial buildings were hit. One house was destroyed but there were no casualties.
Nuremberg was found to be free of cloud but it was very dark. The initial Pathfinder markers were accurate but a creepback quickly developed which could not be stopped because so many Pathfinder aircraft had difficulties with their H2S sets. The Master Bomber, whose name is not recorded, could do little to persuade the Main Force to move their bombing forward. Only a quarter of the crews could hear his broadcasts. Bomber Command estimated that most of the bombing fell in open country south-south-west of the city but the local reports said that bombs were scattered across the south-eastern and eastern suburbs. The only location mentioned by name was the Zoo which was hit by several bombs. 65 people were killed.
47 aircraft went minelaying in the Frisians and off La Pallice, Lorient and St Nazaire, 1 aircraft was lost.

[Njaco]

WESTERN FRONT: US VIII Bomber Command Mission 87: 224 B-17s were dispatched to the German rocket-launching site construction at Watten, France and lost 4 B-17s. The bombers thoroughly destroyed the site. The mission escort consisted of 173 P-47s and they claimed 8-1-2 Luftwaffe aircraft. 1 P-47 was lost and the pilot was listed as MIA. This was the first of the Eighth Air Force's missions against V-weapon sites (later designated NOBALL targets).
....US VIII Air Support Command Missions 36A & 36B: Two missions were scheduled to targets in France. 36 B-26s were dispatched to the Poix Nord Airfield and 21 B-26s were dispatched to the Rouen Power Station but the mission was aborted because of bad weather and extremely heavy enemy fighter opposition.
....Ex French president Lebrun was arrested by the Gestapo. Lebrun deferred to the National Assembly's 10 July 1940 vote approving Marshal Henri Petain as head of state and then he retired to Vizille in the Italian zone of occupation. He was arrested after the Germans moved in and deported to Austria from 1943 to 1945. He survived the war and met with de Gaulle shortly after the war ended to acknowledge the General's leadership.
....A second operation using the new Luftwaffe guided missle weapon brought a better result that the first operation on 25 August. Sloop HMS 'Egret', HMCS 'Athabaskan', a Tribal-class destroyer, Capt. G.R. Miles, OBE, RCN, in company with three other British warships, was attacked in the Bay of Biscay by 16 German Dornier Do-217 bombers from II./KG 100, each carrying one HS-293 radio-controlled bomb. HMS 'Egret', the name ship of her class of sloops, was hit. When the smoke of the initial explosion cleared, all that could be seen of 'Egret' was her upside down bow section. 'Egret' was thus the first ship to be sunk by a guided missile. Three missiles were launched at 'Athabaskan'. Two were near misses - one missed astern and the other skimmed over the bridge and landed to starboard. The third hit the port side abaft ‘B-turret’, flew straight through the wheelhouse and the CPO’s Mess, exited the starboard side and exploded after hitting the water. There was extensive damage from the missile, exploding cordite in the gun house, and shrapnel. Amazingly, only four men were killed and another 36 were wounded. 'Athabaskan' was dead in the water for about two hours. She was transferred the survivors from 'Egret' and detached for Plymouth, which she reached under her own power on 30 August after a very difficult voyage. Two German Do-217s were shot down and another was damaged in this engagement. 'Athabaskan' was under repair until 01 Jan 44. HM ships 'Grenville', the flotilla leader for the U-class fleet destroyers, 'Rother' and 'Jed', both River-class frigates, were undamaged in the engagement.
....A Junkers Ju.52/3m, msn 5459, registered PP-SPD to the Brazilian airline VASP (Viacao Aerea Sao Paulo S.A.), struck a building and crashed at Rio de Janeiro; 3 of the 21 aboard the aircraft survived.
....USN Composite Squadron One (VC-1) in the escort aircraft carrier USS 'Card' (CVE-11) has a busy day with German submarines. TBF Avengers and F4F Wildcats attacked 'U-508' but the sub escaped. Later, they sank 'U-847' in the Sargasso Sea, by air-launched (Fido) torpedoes. All hands, 62 men, on the U-boat were lost.
....A Douglas DC 3 belonging to ABA Sweden on a Passenger flight to Bromma Sweden, crashed at Skagerak. Radio contact with the aircraft which was named ”Gladan” was lost at approx. 01:30 English time. It was believed that Lt. Karl Rechberger of 12./NJG 3 claimed this aircraft at 23:41 hours Danish time at 5100 metres altitude in Plan Quadrat FT-72 which is located west of Hirtshals. At 00:30 hours the crew of the rescue launch of Hirtshals were alerted and at 01:05 the boat with a German marine onboard left for a search South West of Hirtshals, presumably looking for a German aircraft. At 09:15 the launch returned to Hirtshals without having found anything.

MEDITERRANEAN: In Italy, Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) B-17s bombed the Sulmona marshalling yard, and medium bombers hit the Benevento and Caserta marshalling yards. Nearly 150 P-38s escorted the bombers. Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) medium and light bombers, and fighters attacked targets in S Italy, including Cantanzaro rail and road junction, guns near Reggio di Calabria, Sibari rail junctions, Cetraro marshalling yard, barracks at Tarsia, train and repair shops at Paola, and a barge at Diamante.
....Fighting broke out between the Germans and elements of the Italian 15th Corps in Ljubljana, Slovenia after the Italians refused to withdraw from the city.
....A British reconnaissance group found the toe of the Italian boot had been deserted by German and Italian forces and was open for invasion.
....The Badoglio government secretly moved former dictator Benito Mussolini to a mountaintop resort in the Apennine mountains 70 miles (112.7 kilometres) east of Rome. For the past month, Mussolini's guards moved him from place to place to foil German rescue schemes.

EASTERN FRONT: The Soviet offensive contiued as the Central Front took Sevsk and Vatutin’s forces took Kotleva. Field Marshal von Manstein told Adolf Hitler that his Army Group South can't hold off the Soviet offensives in southern Russia and Ukraine. He urged falling back to the Dnieper, the largest river in the western Soviet Union. Hitler insisted the Donets area must be held.
....'U-354' fired a single torpedo at a Soviet convoy consisting of four merchants and two patrol boats and heard a detonation after 1 minute 55 seconds and two further detonations five minutes after firing a spread of three torpedoes at 20.22 hours. The U-boat saw after the attack only two merchants and one escort and claimed the sinking of two ships. In fact, the 'Petrovskij' was only damaged.

IRELAND: An RAF Coastal Command Liberator Mk. V, RAF s/n BZ802, aircraft "V" of No. 86 Squadron based at Aldergrove, County Antrim, Ireland, crashed at Kilmacown, County Cork in poor weather. Seven crewmen were killed.

ENGLAND: The last Westland Wallace (K 4344) biplane target-tug was 'struck off charge' by the RAF.

[pbfoot]

HMCS Athabaskan was not a lucky ship she was sunk by freindly fire from an RN MTB late April 44 while battling a couple of KM Destroyers in the Channel

[Hugh Spencer]

29th August 1943
4 Oboe Mosquitoes went to Coplogne and 4 to Duisburg, 1 aircraft lost.

[Njaco]

EASTERN FRONT: Red Army forces captured Lyubotin. Taganrog on the Sea of Azov was evacuated by German troops.
....'U-18' fired one torpedo at the TSC-11 'Dzhalita', observed a hit under the aft mast after 1 minute 55 seconds and further detonations as the ship sank quickly by the stern about 25 miles northwest of Poti. The survivors were picked up by the Soviet coastal minesweeper SKA-0108.
....Flying from his airbase at Makejewka, Hptm. Gunther Rall, Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 52 downed his 200th aircraft during his 555th mission, becoming the 3d Luftwaffe pilot to do so. But the Geschwader lost another experte when Lt. Berthold Korts of 8./JG 52 (113 kills) was listed as missing in action and believed killed.

WESTERN FRONT: The Danish government of Prime Minister Erik Scavenius, resigned and the Danish Army was disbanded after the Danes refused to yield to a German demand that saboteurs be executed. General von Hanneken declared marshal law and moved in 50,000 troops as sporadic fighting was reported. Most of the Danish fleet was scuttled, preventing its capture by the Germans. 1 coast defence ship, 9 submarines, a tender, 3 minesweepers and 4 minelayers, were scuttled at Copenhagen and a coast defence ship was scuttled at Isefjord. A patrol boat, 3 motor minesweepers and 9 small auxiliary vessels sortied to Sweden; the German captured 3 minesweepers and 2 patrol boats.
....The formation of USN combat units for the employment of assault drone aircraft began within the Training Task Force Command as the first of three Special Task Air Groups was established. The component squadrons, designated VK, began establishing on 23 October.
....Ofw. Addi Glunz of 4./JG 26 was awarded the Ritterkreuz with 40 victories over western front aircraft.

MEDITERRANEAN: Northwest African Strategic Air Force B-17s hit the Orte marshalling yard, and B-26s bombed Torre Annunziata. Northwest African Tactical Air Force fighters escorted the NASAF bombers, hit a rail junction at Bagnara, bridge and town of Angitola, gun positions in the Villa San Giovanni-Reggio di Calabria areas, and a marshalling yard at Lamezia.
....III./KG 100 was equipped with 'Fritz X' mounted Do 217K-2s and started operations over the Med.
....A Me 410 from 2(F)./122 failed to return from a sortie. Two crew, Ofw. Alexander Kaschub and Uffz. Werner Kirchoff were missing.

ENGLAND: US Eighth Air Force Major General William E Kepner succeeded Major General Frank O Hunter as Commanding General US VIII Fighter Command.

[B-17engineer]

wow 50,000 troops

[Hugh Spencer]

30th August 1943
297 Lancasters, 185 Halifaxes, 107 Stirlings, 57 Wellingtons and 14 Mosquitoes attacked Monchengladbach and Rheydt, 25 aircraft lost.
This was a 'double' attack with a 2 minute pause after the first phase while the Pathfinders transferred the marking from Monchengladbach to the neighbouring town of Rheydt. It was the first serious attack on both towns. The visibility was good and the Oboe assisted marking of both targets was described in Bomber Command's records as a 'model' of good Pathfinder marking. The bombing was very concentrated with little creepback. Approximately half of the built up area in each town was destroyed. Only short reports were available from Germany. Monchengladbach recorded 1,059 buildings destroyed - 171 industrial, 19 military and 869 domestic with 117 people killed. Ther town's telegraph office was the only building mentioned by name. The number of buildings destroyed in Rheydt was given as 1,280 with damage to the main railway station and many rail facilities being stressed and with 253 people being killed. A further 2,152 people were injured and 12 were missing but these last figures were combined ones for the two towns.
OTU crews made the first of a series of small raids in which they bombed ammunition dumps located in various forests of Northern France. A handful of Pathfinder aircraft marked each target and one of the purposes of the raids was to accustom OTU crews to bombing on to markers before being posted to front line squadrons. This raid was carried out by 33 OTU Wellingtons with the Pathfinders providing 6 Oboe Mosquitoes and 6 Halifaxes. The target was a dump in the Foret d'Eperlecques, just north of St Omer. The bombing was successful and a large explosion was seen. 2 Wellingtons were lost.
12 Mosquitoes went to Duisburg and 9 Stirlings went minelaying in the Frisians. 1 Mosquito was lost.

[Hugh Spencer]

31st August 1943
331 Lancasters, 176 Halifaxes, 106 Stirlings and 9 Mosquitoes went to Berlin, 47 aircraft lost, among them was Lanc JB132 which collided with Lanc R5698 of 1654 HCU after the raid and crashed at Beasley Moreton, Nottinghamshire. The crew were S/Ldr D.C. Wellburn, F/Lt R.E. Davies, F/O R.L. Clarke, F/O T.F. Joyce, Sgt J. Blackett, Sgt J.R. Forrest, Sgt A. Paterson and Sgt J.K. Watson, from 61 Sqdn. The Stirling casualties were 16%. Approximately two thirds of the bombers lost were shot down by German fighters operating over or near Berlin. The use of 'fighter flares' dropped by German aircraft to 'mark' the bomber routes into and away from the target was noted for the first time in Bomber Command records. This raid was not successful. There was some cloud in the target area. This, together with difficulties with H2S equipment and probably the ferocity of the German defences, all combined to cause the Pathfinder markers to be dropped well south of the centre of the target area and the Main Force bombing to be even further away.The main bombing area eventually extended 30 miles back along the bombers' approach route. 85 dwelling houses were destroyed in Berlin but the only industrial buildings hit were classed as damaged, 4 severely and 3 lightly. The only important public buildings hit were the headquarters of the Berlin inland canal and harbour system, the state police hospital and some market halls. 66 civilians and 2 soldiers were killed, 109 people were injured nd 2,784 bombed out. After this raid Gauleiter Goebbels ordered the evacuation from Berlin of all children and all adults not engaged in war work to country areas or to towns in Eastern Germany where air raids were not expected.
30 Wellingtons with 6 Mosquitoes and 5 Halifaxes of the Pathfinders bombed an ammunition dump in the Foret de Hesdin and 6 Mosquitoes were sent to Brauweiler without loss.
During this month RAF Bomber Command losses, killed or POW, were 2,030.