USAAF in WW II - 27 February

FRIDAY, 27 FEBRUARY 1942

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, 5th Air Force): The Battle of Java Sea. Allied air and naval units try to stop a convoy of some 80 ships approaching Java from the NE. All available B-17's, A-24's, P-40's and LB-30's are put into the air but achieve only insignificant results. An Allied naval force, 5 cruisers and 11 destroyers, under Rear Admiral Karel W Doorman, Royal

Netherlands Navy, meets the enemy near Surabaya, Java and is decisively defeated, losing 5 ships. Most of the 5th Air Force ground echelon in Java is evacusted by sea. The SS Sea Witch delivers 27 crated P-40's to Tjilatjap, Java, but these will be destroyed to prevent their falling into Japanese hands. 32 P-40's aboard the Seaplane Tender USS Langley (AV-3), which sailed

from Australia for India on 23 Feb, are lost when the USS Langley is sunk by aircraft 100 mi (160 km) S of Tjilatjsp. The pilots are rescued by other vessels in the convoy, but the enemy sinks these ships with the exception of a destroyer, which delivers 2 of the pilots to Perth, Australia.   13th Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy), 43d Bombardment Group (Heavy),

arrives at Melbourne, Australia from the US with B-17's; first mission is Oct

42.

SATURDAY, 27 FEBRUARY 1943

AIRCRAFT MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT:

  A-20, Douglas Havoc

  B-17, Boeing Flying Fortress

  B-24, Consolidated Liberator

  B-25, North American Mitchell

  P-38, Lockheed Lightning

  P-40, Curtiss

  Spitfire, Vickers Supermarine

  Ventura, Lockheed (RAF)

AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eleventh Air Force)

In the Aleutians, 6 B-24s, 6 B-25s and 4 P-38s bomb and strafe the Main Camp area on Kiska Island.  On the return trip, a weather aircraft flies reconnaissance and makes a bombing and strafing run on Attu Island and nearby barges with negative results.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Tenth Air Force)

In Burma, 24 P-40s bomb and strafe Waingmaw.  Direct hits are scored on a warehouse and fuel and ammunition dump.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)

VIII Bomber Command Mission 38:  63 B-17s of the 1st Bombardment Wing and 15 B-24s of the 2d Bombardment Wing are dispatched against the U-boat pens, port and naval facilities at Brest, France; 46 B-17s and 14 B-24s drop 155 tons of bombs on the target between 1455 and 1500 hours local; 2 B-24s are damaged; there are no casualties.    Spitfire Mk Vs of the 4th Fighter Group fly 40 uneventful sorties; 16 on shipping patrols and 24 as part of an escort for RAF Venturas bombing Dunkirk, France.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS

EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (Ninth Air Force)

In Tunisia, P-40s fly top cover, strafing, and fighter-bomber missions against positions along the Mareth Line. The 515th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 376th Bombardment Group (Heavy)

with B-24s transfers from Gambut, Libya to Soluch, Libya.

WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN (North African Air Force)

In Sardinia, B-17s bomb the Cagliari area and ships north of Capo d'Orlando. In Tunisia, RAF Wellingtons hit Bizerte.  Fighters fly sweeps and reconnaissance, attacking ground forces at points along the battleline, including the Medjez el Bab area where the enemy advance is being halted. The 37th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group with P-38s arrives at La Senia, Algeria from the U.S.  This squadron will become the third squadron of the 14th Fighter Group when it is reassigned to the 14th on 1 Mar. The 85th Bombardment Squadron (Light), 47th Bombardment Group (Light) with A-20s transfers from Youks-les-Bains, Algeria to Canrobert, Algeria. A detachment of the 111th Observation Squadron, 68th Observation Group with A-20s ceases operating from La Senia, Algeria and returns to its base at Oujda, French Morocco.  Prior to WWII, the 111th was a Texas National Guard unit.

SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air Force)

In the Solomons, P-40s and P-38s join Navy aircraft in an attack on small vessels off Vella Lavella Island; hits are claimed on 2 vessels.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air Force)

In New Guinea, B-25s hit Japanese-occupied villages in the Labu area. B-17s, operating individually, strafe a schooner off Matiu Point and bomb Finschhafen Airfield.

SUNDAY, 27 FEBRUARY 1944

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS

 

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 30+ P-51s and A-36s and 2 B-25s hit ammunition dumps near the Kamaing-Walawbum road, warehouses, railroad and power facilities, bridges, and targets of opportunity in the Ye-u and Tindeinyan areas.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In French Indochina, 4 B-25s fly a sea sweep from Vinh to Nam Dinh, bombing the Nam Dinh distillery and railroad yards; no ships are sighted. 8 P-40s hit the railroad bridge at Puchi, China, rendering it unusable.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Major General Elwood R Quesada (reappointed Commanding General IX Fighter Command on 21 Feb) receives authority to revive the IX Fighter Command (existing only on paper since creation of the IX Air Support Command) on a temporary basis as an operational HQ to function as a Combined Control Center with RAF 11 Group at Uxbridge, England, where Fighter Command will prepare operations orders for

Ninth Air Force fighter and fighter-bomber groups. Quesada retains command of the IX Air Support Command.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, A-36s attack Littoria and Guidonia Airfields and Ladispoli dock area; rail cars NE of Rome are also attacked; P-40s follow up with a raid against Littoria and hit trucks and other targets in the area; weather prevents other operations by the Twelfth Air Force.

4th Troop Carrier Squadron, 62d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Catania to Ponte Olivo, Sicily with C-47s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): A-24s and P-40s from Makin Island pound Jaluit and Mille Atolls, while B-25s from Abemama Island hit Wotje and Mille Atolls; B-24s from Makin Island and Tarawa Atoll bomb Ponape Island.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (SOPAC, Thirteenth Air Force): 16 P-39s strafe barges and other targets of opportunity along the SW coast of Bougainville Island throughout the day. On New Britain Island, Wunapope is attacked by 21 B-24s and 24 B-25s (both forces supported by fighter escorts) and by 14 P-38s; P-40s and USN fighters cover a USN dive bomber strike on Lakunai AA positions. 3 other P-38s strafe a radar station at Cape Saint George on New

Ireland Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, Fifth Air Force): Colonel Jarred V Crabb becomes Commanding General V Bomber Command. In New Guinea, 30+ B-24s, with P-40 support, hit airfields at Boram, Wewak, and Tadji, 27 B-25s hit the Hansa Bay area, and over 30 A-20s attack Alexishafen and Marakum village. 30+ other B-25s attack Momote on Los Negros Island, Lorengau on Manus Island and other targets in the Admiralty Islands. P-39s maintain armed reconnaissance over New Britain Island.

TUESDAY, 27 FEBRUARY 1945

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 12 B-25s knock out 4 bridges and damage 2 others in N French Indochina. In China, 12 others bomb Ishan and Hwaiyuanchen; 4 B-24s over the Gulf of Tonkin and S China Sea attack shipping, claiming 2 vessels sunk; 19 fighter-bombers hit barracks SW of Ishan, 15 attack Kiungshan Airfield, 12 hit targets of opportunity in the Yoyang area, 23 hit targets of opportunity around Kiyang, and 30 others hit scattered targets of opportunity at other points in S and E China; the 22d Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 341st Bombardment Group (Medium), based at Yangkai with B-25s, sends a detachment to operate from Peishiyi; the 35^th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Fourteenth AF, based at Chanyi with F-5s, sends a detachment to operate from Laohwangping (another detachment is

operating from Chengkung).

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 40: In the Malayan States during the night of 27/28 Feb, 10 of 12 B-29s mine Johore Strait on the E of Singapore and 1 mines Penang harbor.   Personnel of the 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy) begin shipping out of Calcutta, India for Tinian and Guam Islands, implementing the redeployment orders of the 6 Feb War Department directive; the final shipment arrives in the the Mariana Islands on 6 Jun, completing the transfer of the wing from India without loss of a single life or aircraft. 

INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 18 P-47s closely support ground forces in the Mongmit area; 4 others knock out a small bypass bridge at Hay-ti; about 100 fighter-bombers attack troop concentrations, supplies, gun positions, elephant transport, and road traffic along the battlefronts and behind enemy lines. Transport operations continue on a large-scale as 589 sorties are completed.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.   Mission 851: 1,107 bombers and 745 fighters are dispatched to hit road and rail communications at Halle and Leipzig using H2X radar; they claim 83-0-19 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-24s and 2 P-51s are lost:

  1. 314 of 351 B-24s hit the marshalling yard at Halle; targets of opportunity are Bitterfeld (21) and other (3); 2 B-24s are lost and 4 damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 18 MIA. Escorting are 196 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 45-0-3 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost

(pilots MIA).

  2. 717 of 756 B-17s hit the rail center at Leipzig; 7 others hit targets of opportunity; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA. The escort is 453 of 489 P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 36-0-16 on the ground without loss.

  3. 28 P-51s fly a scouting mission without loss.

  4. 13 P-51s escort 2 F-5s and 2 Spitfires on a photo reconnaissance mission over C and E Germany. Mission 852: During the night of 27/28 Feb, 23 of 26 B-24s bomb Wilhelmshafen oil storage by PFF without loss and 1 B-17 and 11 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 118 A-20s, A-26s and B-26s attack the Ahrweiler rail bridge, communications centers at Glessen, Munstereifel, and Monheim, and a target of opportunity; fighters fly leaflet missions, attack Frankfurt/Main oil storage tanks, fly alerts, and strafe from W of Duisburg to Worringen; the XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) also flies support for the XIII and XIX Corps SW and S of Monchen-Gladbach.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 540+ B-24s and B-17s, with fighter escort, bomb marshalling yards at Augsburg, Germany and Salzburg, Lienz, and Jenbach, Austria plus several targets of opportunity; escorting fighters strafe targets of opportunity during the return flight. Routine reconnaissance and supply missions continue.

 TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 26/27 Feb, A-20s bomb enemy movement at 14 different places in the Po Valley, marshalling yards at Villafranca di Verona and Isola della Scala, the town of Bazzano, and airfields at Villafranca di Verona and Ghedi; XXII Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers concentrate on railroad cutting in the Brenner area and NE Italy, claiming 36 cuts, and attack rolling stock in the Villach, Austria area; medium bombers destroy a railroad diversion bridge at San Michele all'Adige and cut approaches on the Ala and Lavis bridges and effectively blast the Spilimbergo and Pagnocco dumps.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 9 Guam Island-based B-24s blast pillboxes, artillery emplacements, blockhouse, and mortar positions on the N part of Iwo Jima Island. On Mindanao Island, 22 B-24s from Angaur Island bomb Daliao and Libby Airfields. During the night of 27/28 Feb, 9 B-24s, flying snooper strikes out of Guam, bomb airfields, radio stations, and the town of Okimura on Haha Jima Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s, A-20s, and P-38s strike Puerto Princesa on Palawan Island in preparation for the following morning's allied amphibious landings. On Luzon Island, ground support continues on a largescale including a strike on Baguio by P-51s. On Mindanao P-38s and USMC aircraft hit airfields. B-24s bomb Tarakan and Jesselton Airfields in Borneo. On Formosa, Takao is hit by B-24s while fighters sweep the W coast. Sweeping the China coast, B-25s hit a fleet of junks and sampans near Hong Kong destroying and damaging 25+. The 8th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Group, moves from San Jose, Mindoro Island to Lingayen, Luzon with P-38s and the 12th Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group, moves from Lingayen to San Jose with P-38s. The 65th and 66th Troop Carrier Squadrons, 403d Troop Carrier Group, moves from Biak Island to Morotai Island with C-46s and C-47s (the squadrons cease operating from Hill Field, Mindoro); and the 432d Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group, moves from Dulag, Leyte Island to Clark Field, Luzon with P-38s (a detachment is operating from San Jose, Mindoro).