70 Years Ago Today: Monday, March 13, 1944 American Theater The main body of the US Third Army headquarters sails from New York, for England. Atlantic Theater (Caribbean) The 6th Air Force moves the 32nd Fighter Squadron, of the XXVI Fighter Command and flying P-39s, from Curacao, to the Canal Zone. European Theater, Strategic (POINTBLANK) 8th Air Force Mission 257 – 127 B-17s and 144 B-24s are dispatched to bomb V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area, of France, but the strike is cancelled due to bad weather. However, seven B-17s bomb the Poix Airfield as a target of opportunity. Two B-17s are lost, with 26 men listed as killed or missing. Escort is provided by 213 P-47s. During the night, the RAF sends 213 Halifaxes and nine Mosquitos on a repeat raid to Le Mans. One Halifax and its crew are lost. The local report shows that the Maroc Station and two nearby factories are severely damaged, with many lines being cut and 15 locomotives and 800 wagons being destroyed. Elsewhere, 39 Mosquitos are sent to five German targets, with the largest raid being by 26 aircraft to Frankfurt. In the mean time, four other aircraft fly radio countermeasures sorties, four more fly Serrate patrols, and 19 aircraft fly resistance operations, while 25 Stirlings and 10 Halifaxes lay mines off French Channel ports, losing one Stirling and its crew. 8th Air Force Mission 258 – During the night, seven B-17s drop 350 bundles of leaflets on Reims, Orleans, Paris, Amiens, Rouen and Chartres, France. During the night, 21 RAF aircraft fly nighttime training sorties. European Theater, Tactical (OVERLORD) The 9th Air Force sends 40 B-26s to attack a V-weapon site at Lottinghen/Les Grands Bois, France, but 37 abort due to bad weather. Russian Front Troops of Third Ukrainian Front plunge across lower Dnieper and take Kherson. Mediterranean Theater, Tactical 12th Air Force B-26s bomb railway bridges northwest and west of Sarzana and at Viareggio, hit tracks and, along with South African Air Force (SAAF) light bombers, bomb the Fabriano marshalling yard. Meanwhile, B-25s bomb the Spoleto marshalling yard, hitting east and west chokepoints and the line to Terni, and also attack the Perugia marshalling yard with less successful results. In other action, A-36s bomb a railroad station between Orte and Orvieto, while P-40s hit a supply dump near Velletri and gun positions along a beachhead line directly south of Rome. Mediterranean Theater, Strategic The 775th Bomb Squadron (Heavy), with B-17s, joins the 15th Air Force, arriving in Italy, from the US. China – Burma – India Theater (China) The 14th Air Force dispatches eight B-24s and four P-40s to attack the airfield and seaplane anchorage at Kiungshan on Hainan Island, China. Meanwhile, 16 P-40s bomb a bridge at Puchi, scoring direct hits on both approaches. The 14th Air Force activates the 312th Fighter Wing at Kunming, China. China – Burma – India Theater (Burma) The 10th Air Force sends a force of over 140 P-40s, A-36s, and P-51s, along with two B-25s, to attack numerous targets of opportunity in the Shaduzup area, of Burma. They knock out a span of a bridge in Shaduzup, hit the town of Loilaw, pound supply and ammunition dumps near Warazup and Seton, and bomb a building area north of Namti. On the ground in Burma, the 1st Battalion, of the US 5307th Unit, reaches Makuy Bum. Admiral Mountbatten orders the diversion of 30 aircraft from the Hump, to fly the Indian 5th Division to the central front, in the British Fourteenth Army area, where the enemy is gaining ground. Japanese aircraft attack the Chindits’ BROADWAY airstrip. Southwest Pacific Area The 5th Air Force sends a large group of over 160 B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, P-47s, and P-40s to attack the Wewak, New Guinea area. US aircraft shoot down eight interceptors. Other aircraft, operating singly or in flights of two or three, attack several targets in the northeastern New Guinea-New Britain area. On Bougainville, the 129th Infantry, of the 37th Division, in a coordinated tank-infantry counterattack, regains all ground lost to the enemy in its sector. The Japanese withdraw from the Hill 100 area. Meanwhile, the 1st Battalion, of the 132nd Infantry, of the Americal Division, tries in vain to recover the South Knob of Hill 260. In the Admiralty Islands, the 2nd Squadron, of the 7th Cavalry, with tank assistance, completes clearing Hauwei Island. Artillery is then brought ashore to assist in the operations against Manus. South Pacific Area Air Command North Solomons sends two B-24s, with US Navy fighter escort, and 22 B-25s to bomb the Rabaul area, hitting the northwest part of Rabaul, and the harbor and waterfront section. Meanwhile, a group of 27 P-39s, P-40s, and P-38s pound the Wunapope supply area. The 13th Air Force moves the 31st Bomb Squadron (Heavy), with B-24s, from New Georgia Island, back to its base on Guadalcanal Island. Central Pacific Area 7th Air Force B-25s bomb Kusaie Island, while B-24s hit Ponape Island, and other B-25s pound Mille Atoll. The 7th Air Force moves the 38th Bomb Squadron (Heavy), flying B-24s, from the Ellice Islands, to Kwajalein Atoll.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 12:30:11 +0000