FRIDAY,
18 SEPTEMBER 1942
AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS
ZONE OF
INTERIOR (HQ AAF): The designation of all air forces is changed from a number
to a name, e.g., 1st to First, 2d to Second, etc.
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
Eighth Air
Force: VIII Ground Air Support Command at Membury, England is redesignated VIII
Air Support Command.
Twelfth Air
Force: 12 British units--signal, observer, radar, and air warning--are attached
to the XII Fighter Command in the UK. Colonel Rosenham R Beam becomes
Commanding Officer XII Ground Air Support Command.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, Fifth Air Force): In
New Guinea, 1 B-17 bombs Salamaua while a B-25 strafes pack trains on the
Kokoda trail in the Andemba- Wairopi-Kokoda area; and HQ 8th Fighter Group and
the 35th and 36th Fighter Squadrons move from Townsville, Australia to Milne
Bay with P-39s and P-400s.
SATURDAY,
18 SEPTEMBER 1943
AMERICAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS
ANTISUBMARINE WARFARE (First Air Force): The 12th Antisubmarine Squadron
(Heavy), 25th Antisubmarine Wing, ceases flying ASW patrols from Langley Field,
Virginia with B-24's and begins a movement to Blythe AAF, California. The
squadron will be redesignated the 859th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) and
transfer to England on 1 Jan 44.
CENTRAL PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Seventh Air
Force): 24 B-24's, flying out of Funafuti Island in the Ellice Islands and
Canton Island in the Phoenix Islands, bomb Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll and
Maiana and Abemama Islands in the Gilbert chain during the night of 18/19 Sep.
This action is part of a coordinated AAF-USN attack on Tarawa, aimed at
preventing Japanese attacks on US installations at Baker Island and in the
Ellice Islands.
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER OF OPERATIONS
BURMA-INDIA
(Tenth Air Force): The 71st Liaison Squadron, US Army Forces CBI, based at
Ramgarh, India sends a detachment to Ledo, India with L-4's and L-5's.
CHINA
(Fourteenth Air Force): 4 B-25's and 7 P-40's attack rail yards and blast
furnaces at Shihhweiyao, China.
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force):
VIII Air Support Command Missions 61 and 62: 3 installations in France are
targeted:
1. 25 of 72
B-26's hit the Beauvais/Tille Airfield; 12 B-26's are damaged.
2. 18
B-26's dispatched to the Rouen marshalling yard and 72 B-26's dispatched to the
Beaumont le Roger Airfield are recalled because of failure to rendezvous with
fighter escort and bad weather, respectively.
The 328th,
329th, 330th and 409th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 93d Bombardment Group
(Heavy), based at Hardwick, England begin operating from Oudna, Tunisia with
B-24's.
MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS
ANTISUBMARINE WARFARE (First Air Force): The 1st Antisubmarine Squadron
(Heavy), 480th Antisubmarine Group, ceases operating from Protville, Tunisia
and returns to it's base at Port Lyautey, French Morocco with B-24's.
EASTERN
MEDITERRANEAN (Ninth Air Force): B-24's hit the marshalling yard at Pescara,
Italy.
WESTERN
MEDITERRANEAN (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-17's of the XII Bomber Command
hit Viterbo airfield and Salerno-Avellino road, while B-25's and B-26's bomb
the airfields at Ciampino and Pratica di Mare; B-25's fire 75mm shells at small
vessels and a lighthouse near Capraia and between Pianosa and Corsica; P-38's
on detached service with the NATAF strafe 4 satellite airfields at Foggia and
bomb roads, railroads, bridges, and towns in the battle area.
On the
ground in Italy, US Seventh Army forces take Altavilla, Persano, and
Battipaglia without opposition.
HQ 27th
Fighter-Bomber Group transfers from Sicily to Capaccio, Italy.
The
detachments of the 27th, 71st and 94th Fighter Squadrons, 1st Fighter Group,
operating from Dittaino, Gerbini, and Dittaino, Sicily respectively with P-38's
return to their base at Mateur, Tunisia.
The 65th
Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, transfers from Sicily to Rocco Bernardo,
Italy with P-40's.
The 522d,
523d and 524th Fighter-Bomber Squadrons, 27th Fighter-Bomber Group, transfer
from Barcelona, Sicily to Capaccio, Italy with A-36's.
SOUTH PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Thirteenth Air
Force): B-24's bomb the airfield and attack a phosphate plant and radio station
on Nauru Island in the Gilbert Islands.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Fifth Air
Force): In New Guinea, A-20's hit Tami Island in the Lae area; B-26's and RAAF
airplanes bomb and strafe Finschhafen.
The 65th
Troop Carrier Squadron, 54th Troop Carrier Wing, based at Port Moresby begins
operating from Tsili Tsili, New Guinea with C-47's.
MONDAY,
18 SEPTEMBER 1944
CHINA-BURMA-INDIA (CBI) THEATER OF OPERATIONS
BURMA-INDIA
(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 9 P-47s pound Japanese positions in the Myothit
area; 8 B-25s hit supply dumps and installations at Chefang, China; 18 B-24s
fly fuel to Liuchow, China; and 200+ other sorties by C-47s deliver men and
supplies to several points in the CBI. The detachment of the 2d Combat Cargo
Squadron, 1st Combat Cargo Group, operating from Yunnani, China with C-47s
returns to base at Sylhet, India.
CHINA
(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 30 B-25s attack town areas and fuel dumps at
Lingling, Taohsien, and Chuanhsien and damage the approaches to the Lingling
ferry crossing; 4 B-24s over the Formosa Strait claim 1 freighter sunk; about
115 P-40s and P-51s on armed reconnaissance attack troops, trucks, tanks,
shipping, town areas, and other targets of opportunity throughout Hunan
Province S of Tungting Lake to Luicbow Peninsula and Chikhorn Bay; and the
529th Fighter Squadron, 311th Fighter Group, based at Pungchacheng with P-51s,
sends a detachment to operate from Hsian.
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC
OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown.
1. Mission
639: 248 of 252 B-24s drop supplies to the First Allied Airborne Army in the
Netherlands; intense flak downs 7 B-24s, 6 are damaged beyond repair and 154
damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 26 WIA and 61 MIA. 500+ P-38s, P-47s and P-51s escort
the B-24s, escort C-47s of the First Allied Airborne Army as the second troop
echelon is dropped in the Netherlands to participate in heavy fighting around
the Arnhem area; 2 fighter groups strafe rail and highway traffic and 50+
fighters bomb flak positions; 100+ Luftwaffe fighters attack; AAF claims 29-0-1
aircraft in the air; 20 fighters are lost, 9 damaged beyond repair and 46
damaged; 1 pilot is KIA and 20 MIA.
2. Mission
640: In the last Operations FRANTIC mission, 107 of 110 B-17s drop 1,248 containers
of supplies to Polish forces in Warsaw; 1 B-17 is lost and 7 damaged. Escort is
provided by 137 of 150 P-51s (64 P-51s continue to the USSR), they claim 4-0-0
aircraft in the air and 3-0-6 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA).
3. Mission
641: 8 of 8 B-17s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during
the night.
TACTICAL
OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Weather cancels all bomber activity;
<100 fighters support US VII Corps in W Germany
and fly cover in the area of Brest, France, where organized resistance comes to
an end. In France, HQ 9th Bombardment Division (Medium) moves from Marks Hall,
England to Chartres; HQ 371st Fighter Group moves from Beuzeville to Perthes;
HQ 387th Bombardment Group (Medium) and the 556th, 557th, 558th and 559th
Bombardment Squadrons
(Medium) move from Maupertuis to Chateaudun with
B-26s; HQ 394th Bombardment Group (Medium) moves from Tour-en-Bassin to Bricy;
and HQ 409th Bombardment Group (Light) and the 640th, 641st, 642d and 643d
Bombardment Squadrons
(Light) move from Little Walden, England to
Bretigny with A-20s.
MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)
AAFMTO: The
72d Liaison Squadron, AAFMTO (attached to Seventh Army), moves from
Lons-le-Saunier to Vesoul, France with L-5s.
STRATEGIC
OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 463 B-17s and B-24s, some with fighter
escort, hit marshalling yards at Subotica and Szeged, Hungary and railroad
bridges at Novi Sad and Belgrade, Yugoslavia and Szob, and Budapest, Hungary;
fighters maintain cover over the Budapest area.
TACTICAL
OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, B-25s continue to hit troop
concentrations and gun positions, in support of the British Eighth Army forces
which open an assault on defenses in the Rimini area; despite bad weather B-26s
and P-47s maintain attacks on bridges, rail lines, and transportation in the Po
Valley; HQ 47th Bombardment Group (Light) moves from Salon, France to
Follonica; HQ 320th Bombardment Group (Medium) moves from Decimomannu, Sardinia
to Alto, Corsica with B-26s; and the 525th Fighter Squadron, 86th Fighter
Group, moves from Poretta, Corsica to Grosseto with P-47s.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)
AAFPOA
(Seventh Air Force): 2 B-24s on armed reconnaissance from Saipan Island bomb
Marcus Island. 28 Eniwetok Atoll-based B-24s bomb Truk Island.
Gilbert Islands-based B-25s pound Ponape Island.
HQ AAF
(Twentieth Air Force): HQ 499th and 500th Bombardment Groups (Very
Heavy) arrive at Isley Field, Saipan Island from
the US; and the 3d Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron (Very Heavy), 11th
Photographic Group (Mapping), arrives on Saipan Island from the US with F-13s
(the squadron will fly photo, electronic and weather recon in the W Pacific, 1
Nov 44-Sep 45).
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force
(FEAF)]: B-24s blast several targets in the Davao, Mindanao Island area,
including oil storage at Sasa.
B-25s hit Langoan Airfield and lake area on Celebes
Island. Bad weather forces B-24s over the Ceram-Amboina Islands area to
individually attack targets which include 4 airfields. In New Guinea, B-25s hit
Samate Airfield and fighter-bombers hit the airfield and town of Manokwari and
AA guns at Moemi; HQ 310th Bombardment Wing (Medium) moves from Hollandia to
Morotai Island; and the 371st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 307th Bombardment
Group (Heavy), based on Wakde Island with B-24s begins operating from Noemfoor
Island.
SUNDAY, 2
SEPTEMBER 1945
FINI!
Hostilities with Japan end officially with the
signing of the instrument of surrender aboard the USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo
Bay.
