1943

JANUARY 1 In North Africa, Brigadier

General John K. Cannon is appointed commanding general of the XII Bomber Command, Twelfth Air Force.

JANUARY 2 Over Burma, P-40s of the China Air Task Force (CATF) bomb and strafe Japanese columns along the Burma Road near Loiwing while B-25s attack airfields at Monywa.

JANUARY 3 Over Saint-Nazaire, France, 68 VIII Bomber Command aircraft strike U-boat pens, losing 7 B-17s, with a fur­ther 47 damaged and 70 aircrew missing. This time, the Germans throw up a wall of predetermined flak instead of trying to track individual bombers. This is also the heaviest air raid to date against submarine facilities.

JANUARY 4 Over Burma, Tenth Air Force heavy bombers strike marshalling yards at Mandalay, while one B-25 and nine P-40s are assigned to strike rail tar­gets at Naba.

JANUARY 5 In Northwestern Africa, the Allied Air Forces under Major General Carl A. Spaatz is officially activated by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. This consists of the Twelfth Air Force and some attached Royal Air Force units.

Brigadier General Kenneth N. Walker, head of V Bomber Command, Fifth Air Force, and an architect of AWPD-1, dies while leading an air raid over Rabaul, New Britain; he is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor post­humously.

JANUARY 6 Over New Guinea, Fifth Air Force B-26s attack Japanese positions at Sanananda Point while B-17s, B-24s, and B-26s attack a Japanese convoy headed for Lae.

JANUARY 7 Over Italy, nine Ninth Air Force B-25s drop bombs on shipping in Palermo harbor; one B-24 with special bombs also attacks Maiouli Quay at Piraeus, Greece.

JANUARY 8 Over Lae, New Guinea, Fifth Air Force heavy bombers, medium bombers, and fighters assist RAAF aircraft in attacking a body of4,000Japanese rein­forcements as they come ashore. Enemy aerial resistance is reported as fierce.

JANUARY 9 Over Burbank, California, the prototype Lockheed C-69, a milita­rized Constellation transport craft, makes its maiden flight; this is presently the larg­est transport aircraft in the world.

JANUARY 10 Over Burma, medium and heavy bombers dispatched by the Tenth Air Force attack the Myitnge Bridge, knocking out one span and temporarily severing Japanese supply lines.

JANUARY 11 Over North Africa, B-17s of the Twelfth Air Force attack enemy positions and bridges near the town of Gadames as escorting P-38s engage German interceptors in a swirling 25- minute dogfight; one German and two American fighters are downed.

JANUARY 12 Over Munda, New Geor­gia, SOPAC B-26s, P-38s, P-39s, and P-40s attack Japanese positions, while other P-39s strafe enemy troops on Gua­dalcanal.

JANUARY 13 On Espiritu Santo and New Caledonia, newly promoted Major Gen­eral Nathan F. Twining takes command
of the 13th Air Force (“The Jungle Air Force”). His instructions are to bomb all Japanese targets within the Southwest Pacific theater, commencing with Munda, New Georgia.

JANUARY 14 In England, one squadron of the 4th Fighter Group is the first Eighth Air Force formation to become fully equipped with P-47 Thunderbolt fighters.

JANUARY 14—23 At Casablanca, French Morocco, Major General Ira C. Eaker per­suades Prime Minister Winston Churchill to accept the Army Air Forces’ strategy of precision bombing during daylight hours. This will be performed to augment night­time saturation attacks by the Royal Air Force, and constitutes a major part of the Combined Bomber Offensive.

JANUARY 15 In the Central Solomon Islands, the Thirteenth Air Force dis­patches B-17s, P-40s, P-39s, and P-38s to attack enemy shipping. On

Guadalcanal, other P-39s assist mopping up efforts and also attack enemy vessels sighted off Kolombangara.

JANUARY 16 Over Yunnai, China, China Air Task Force (CATF) P-40s engage Japanese aircraft attempting to attack their airfield, claiming seven fight­ers shot down. Afterwards, Brigadier General Claire L. Chennault dispatches six B-25s and eleven P-40s to Lashio, Burma, in the expectation that the raiders will land there; none are found so they attack nearby enemy installations.

JANUARY 17 On Guadalcanal, Thir­teenth Air Force P-39s continue assisting army units in their final mop up ofJapa – nese holdouts near Mount Austen. At this time, B-17s based at Henderson Field are used to run in supplies and ammunition to the troops.

JANUARY 18 Over Lae, New Guinea, Fifth Air Force B-25s bomb Japanese

motor pool and supply dumps while two B-24s drop bombs on Malahang and Madang airfields.

JANUARY 19 Over North Africa, Ninth Air Force B-24s pound enemy ships and docks at Tripoli, Libya, while B-25s attack enemy motor transports and tanks as they withdraw up the coast.

JANUARY 20 Over North Africa, Twelfth Air Force B-17s strike Cape Mangin near Gabes, Tunis, while B-25s begin attacking enemy shipping in the Straits ofSicily.

JANUARY 21 In North Africa, American and British air leaders help formulate the “Casablanca directive,” which declares that the purpose of bombing campaigns is to undermine the morale of the German people while also destroying military, economic, and industrial sys­tems. For this reason, VIII Bomber Com­mand is largely relieved of operations in North Africa and begins returning to England.

JANUARY 22 Over North Africa, Ninth Air Force B-25s attack the road junction near Tripoli, Libya, while the Eighth Army, closely supported by RAF and P – 40s fighter-bombers, presses to within 17 miles of the city.

JANUARY 23 Over France, the Eighth Air Force unleashes 19 heavy bombers against U-boat pens at Brest while another 35 strike at Lorient-Keroman. Air crews report that the Germans are employing a new tactic of attacking in groups of six aircraft; five bombers are shot down.

JANUARY 24 Over Burma, the Tenth Air Force sends nine B-24s from the new 492nd Bomb Squadron on a raid against

Rangoon, which sets several fires on the wharfs and sets a large freighter on fire. Meanwhile, P-40s are called in to strafe enemy positions at Shaduzup.

JANUARY 25 Over Wake Island, seven B-24s of the Seventh Air Force drop 60 bombs while also making a reconnais­sance photo run; they previously staged through Midway.

JANUARY 26 In Hawaii, P-40s of the

73rd Fighter Squadron arrive after flying 1,400 miles from Midway Island. This is one of the longest overwater flights of the war by single-engine fighters.

JANUARY 27 Over Wilhelmshaven and Emden, Germany, the American daylight strategic bombing campaign against industrial targets accelerates when 55 B – 17s and B-24s of the 1st and 2nd Bombardment Wings, Eighth Air Force, strike German port facilities. This attack constitutes the first American day­light raid against the enemy homeland; three bombers are lost and 22 fighters are claimed to have been shot down.

In the Pacific, Major General Nathan Twining, head of the Thirteenth Air Force, crashes in the ocean with 13 members of his staff and survives the next four days in a raft until being rescued on February 1. However, because their raft was not equipped with a radio for sig­naling purposes, dingy radio sets become standard equipment on all aircraft rescue rafts.

JANUARY 28 Over North Africa, the Twelfth Air Force unleashes 60 heavy and medium bombers to attack the har­bor, airfields, and defenses around Sfax, Tunis. Meanwhile, P-40s support French and American land units as they seize control of the western exit of Kasserine Pass.

JANUARY 29 Over Germany, 86 heavy

bombers from the Eighth Air Force bomb military targets in Frankfurt. However, a navigational error forces one formation to bomb Ludwigshaven by mistake; three bombers are shot down.

JANUARY 30 Over Rabaul, New Britain, Fifth Air Force B-17s attack enemy ship­ping and wharves. Meanwhile, at New Guinea, A-20s pound and strafe Japanese positions at Lae while a handful of B-24s attack vessels in Open Bay.

JANUARY 31 Over New Britain, Thir­

teenth Air Force P-39s assist Navy aircraft in attacks on enemy shipping in Vella Gulf. Other P-38s and P-40s attackJapa – nese positions at Munda.

FEBRUARY 1 Over North Africa, Twelfth Air Force B-17s bomb enemy facilities and shipping at Bizerte and La Gou – lette harbor while A-20s and P-40s strike tank and troop concentrations at Sidi Khalif.

FEBRUARY 2 In the Solomon Islands,

Thirteenth Air Force B-17s, escorted by P-40s and P-38s, attack Japanese shipping off Shortland Island. Around 20 enemy interceptors rise to meet them, and the escorts claim shooting 9 down.

FEBRUARY 3 In Los Angeles, California, the first North America P-51A flies for the first time. An excellent, low-altitude design, it has yet to be fitted with a British Rolls Royce Merlin engine.

FEBRUARY 4 In England, Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews is appointed commander, European Theater of Oper­ations (ETO) while Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes com­mander, North African Theater of Oper­ations (NATOUSA).

Over the Aleutians, the Eleventh Air Force dispatches three B-17s, three B – 24s, three B-25s, four P-38s, and eight P – 40s on a raid against Kiska’s North Head submarine base; three of five floatplanes rising to intercept are claimed shot down.

FEBRUARY 5 Over Burma, Tenth Air Force B-24s attack the railroad station at Rangoon while P-40s bomb the railway west of Meza and B-25s attempt to knock out the bridge at Myitnge, but fail.

FEBRUARY 6 Over New Guinea, Fifth Air Force A-20s attack Japanese positions from Mubo to Salamaua as P-39s, P-38s, P-400s, and P-40s tangle with a large intercepting force; they claim to shoot down 24 Japanese craft without loss.

FEBRUARY 8 Over Burma, 18 Tenth Air Force B-24s bomb the Rangoon marshal­ling yard, inflicting heavy damage, while 3 bombers are detached to hit the runway at Mingaladon.

FEBRUARY 10 Over the Mediterranean, Twelfth Air Force B-25s are dispatched to attack Axis shipping between Tunisia and Sicily, sinking one vessel and damag­ing others.

FEBRUARY 12 Over Burma, seven B-24s of the Tenth Air Force attack the bridge at Myitnge but fail to score any hits. This attack also marks the first time that 2,000-pound blockbusters have been used in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater.

FEBRUARY 13 In the Solomon Islands,

the Thirteenth Air Force sends six B-24s of the 424th Bomb Squadron on a raid against Buin and nearby Shortland Island. The Japanese mount fierce fighter resis­tance, and shoot down three bombers and three fighters.

FEBRUARY 14 Over North Africa, Twelfth Air Force A-20s bomb German tanks in the Faid Pass, Tunis, while P-40 fighters strafe vehicles and gun emplace­ments at El Guettar and Sened-Maknassy.

FEBRUARY 15 In England, Major Gen­eral Ira C. Eaker is directed to head up the Eighth Air Force bombing campaign, while Major General Carl A. Spaatz relo­cates to the Mediterranean to direct Northwest African Air Forces during Operation torch.

Land-based aircraft operating in the southern Solomon Islands fall under a new command, Aircraft Solomons (Air – Sols). This force is both multiservice and multinational in nature.

FEBRUARY 16 Over France, Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s strike military tar­gets at Saint-Nazaire; 8 bombers are lost and 30 receive damage.

FEBRUARY 17 In North Africa, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder assumes com­mand of the new Mediterranean Air Command, which encompasses the Northwest African Air Forces of Major General Carl A. Spaatz, the Middle East Air Command, and the Royal Air Force Malta Command.

February 18 Boeing’s giant XB-29 prototype bomber crashes during a flight-test, killing celebrated test pilot Edmund T. “Eddie” Allen.

At Bowman Field, Kentucky, the first class of 39 flight nurses graduates from the Army Air Forces School of Air Evacuation.

FEBRUARY 19 Over Burma, Tenth Air Force P-40s dive-bomb a Japanese head­quarters at Hpunkizup and bomb a rail track passing through a defile, burying it under rubble.

FEBRUARY 20 In North Africa, bad weather prevents all but a handful of Twelfth Air Force P-39s from flying close support missions as Allied forces are stag­gered by a serious German counterattack through Kasserine Pass.

FEBRUARY 21 The 93rd Bombardment Group, having flown 43 missions from North Africa, including the famous Ploesti raid, is reassigned to the Eighth Air Force in England. All told, this unit completes 396 missions as a group, higher than any other unit.

FEBRUARY 26 In England, Major Gen­eral James H. Doolittle assumes control ofXII Bomber Command.

FEBRUARY 27 Over France, Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s bomb naval and dock facilities at Brest.

FEBRUARY 28 Over Tunis, fighters and fighter-bombers of the North African Air Force (NAAF) attack Axis troop, tank, and motor transport targets southwest ofMateur and adjoining areas.

MARCH 1 In Algeria, Major General Carl A. Spaatz is appointed head of the Twelfth Air Force. Meanwhile, B-17s of the North African Air Force (NAAF) bomb docks and shipping at Cagliari.

MARCH 2—4 In the Bismarck Sea, Fifth Air Force and Australian fighters and medium bombers attack and savage Rear Admiral Masatomi Kimura’s 16-ship Jap­anese convoy, sinking 8 transports, 4 destroyers crammed with troops, and downing 25 aircraft. The loss of 3,500 men and 40,000 tons of shipping is a major blow to enemy plans for reinforcing Lae, New Guinea. This attack also employs low-level “skip bombing” techniques for the first time and consti­tutes one of Lieutenant General George C. Kenney’s greatest achievements.

MARCH 10 At Kunming, China, the China Air Task Force (CATF) is recon­stituted as the new Fourteenth Air Force under Major General Claire L. Chen – nault. His roster includes an entire wing of Chinese pilots who conduct reconnais­sance missions from Kunming into Burma.

Over North Africa, the Twelfth Air Force dispatches B-17s to hit the harbor at Palermo, Sicily, while B-26s and B – 25s strike at Axis positions in and around Faid Pass, Sidi bou Zid, and Kasserine, Tunis.

MARCH 15 Over the Aleutians, the Elev­enth Air Force dispatches 6 B-25s, 11 B – 24s, and 24 P-38s to strike Japanese posi­tions at Kiska Harbor; 1 P-38 is lost while on a strafing run. Heavy damage and sev­eral fires are reported.

MARCH 18 Over Vegesack, Germany, Lieutenant Jack W. Mathis, lead bombar­dier of the 359th Bomb Squadron, is mor­tally wounded by flak during a bomb run, yet releases his bombs and dies at his post; he receives the Eighth Air Force’s first Congressional Medal of Honor. He is replaced by his brother Mark, who sadly also dies on a mission in 1943.

MARCH 19 In Washington, D. C., Lieu­tenant General Henry H. Arnold, chief of the Army Air Forces, is the first airman pro­moted to the rank of full (four-star) general.

MARCH 26 Army Nurse Lieutenant Elsie S. Ott is the first woman to receive the Air Medal after faithfully escorting five patients across 10,000 miles from India to the Walter Reed Hospital in the United States.

MARCH 31 Over North Africa, B-25s of the Ninth Air Force attack enemy positions at Sfax, destroying six parked aircraft. Meanwhile, P-40s bomb and strafe enemy vehicles along the highway north of Gabes.

April 1 Over China, 25 Tenth Air Force B-25s bomb rail yards at Maymyo and Ywataung. A dogfight also develops between twelve P-40s and Japanese fight­ers over Lingling, with seven of the latter being shot down in exchange for one P-40.

April 2 The Army Air Forces School of Aviation Medicine opens a new research building that houses four altitude decom­pression chambers. The facility is staffed by 27 officers and 35 civilians.

April 4 Over Paris, France, 85 Eighth Air Force bombers strike the Renault armaments factory, inflicting heavy dam­age. Aggressive German fighters manage to claw down four American aircraft.

April 5—22 Allied air units in North Africa commence Operation flax, designed to interdict Axis supply and troop reinforcements in the Mediterra­nean; they also claim to shoot down 60 enemy airplanes.

APRIL 8 In England, the 4th Fighter Group, VIII Fighter Command, is bol­stered by the arrival of the 56th and 78th Fighter Groups. P-47 Thunderbolts are now available in sufficient quantity to begin long-range escort missions to defend the heavy bombers. However, their lim­ited range precludes them from accompa­nying the bombers into German airspace.

April 12 In Washington, D. C., the War Department releases details about its highly secret Norden bombsight, which is highly accurate and designed to remain on target despite aircraft movements.

April 14 Over France, a P-47 from the 4th Fighter Group shoots down a German aircraft for the first time.

In the Pacific, Fleet Radio Unit, Pacific Fleet, receives intelligence that Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is planning an inspection tour of three bases near Bougainville. Admiral William F. Halsey then assigns a P-38 Lightning unit on Guadalcanal to intercept and kill him.

In the Zone of the Interior (United States) the new Weather Wing is acti­vated to assume supervision of the Army Air Forces Weather Service from Head­quarters AAF.

APRIL 15 Over the Aleutians, the Elev­enth Air Force sends 20 B-25s, 23 B – 24s, 25 P-38s, and 44 P-40s to raidJapa – nese positions at Kiska Harbor. These drop 85 tons of bombs on various targets; one B-24 is shot down.

Over New Guinea, the Fifth Air Force scrambles 40 P-38 and P-40 fighters to intercept a large Japanese air raid over Milne Bay; little damage is done to Allied facilities and the Americans claim 14 enemy aircraft downed.

APRIL 17 Over Bremen, Germany, the Eighth Air Force launches its first 100- plane air raid against the Focke-Wulf fac­tory; German fighters and antiaircraft artillery shoot down 16 bombers for a total loss of 150 men. Consequently, a cry goes out for additional fighter groups as bomber escorts.

April 18 Off the Tunisian coast, Ameri­can P-40 fighters slaughter a force of German transport aircraft and they try desperately to airlift supplies to Panzer Armee Afrika; no less than 51 aircraft are bagged in the space of half an hour.

Over Kahili, Buin (Solomon Islands), a force of 16 P-38 Lightnings under Major John W. Mitchell expertly intercept and shoot down a Japanese bomber carrying Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, commander in chief, Combined Fleet. The Americans were tipped offas to his impending arrival by cracking Japanese radio codes, and flew from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, to kill him. Both Lieutenant Rex T. Bar­ber and Captain Thomas G. Lanphier receive credit; one P-38 is shot down by the escorting Zero fighters.

APRIL 20 In the Pacific, Seventh Air Force B-24s stage out of Funafuti, Ellice Islands, and bomb Tarawa Atoll for the first time.

April 22 Over Lashio, Burma, Lieuten­ant John S. Stewart, 76th Fighter Squad­ron, and Lieutenant Chin Hao, Chinese Air Force, commit the first joint recon­naissance mission in the China-Burma – India theater.

April 24 The U. S. Army Air Forces graduates its first class of women pilots.

APRIL 29 The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is transferred under the jurisdiction of the War Department. It is responsible for operating 4,700 light aircraft, 4,000 vehicles, and a 17,000-radio-station com­munications network.

APRIL 30 Over Sicily, B-24s of the Ninth Air Force strike dock facilities in the Straits of Messina while P-40s drop down to attack enemy shipping. They claim to sink four vessels, including one destroyer, along with five Me-109 fighters; three P-40s are lost.

May 1 Over Saint-Nazaire, France, the

Eighth Air Force commits 56 heavy bombers in two waves against the U – boat pens, while also striking the ship­yard. En route, Staff Sergeant Maynard H. Smith, 423rd Bomb Squadron, bravely administers to a wounded airman, mans waist guns, and fights flames as the rest of the crew bails out of his stricken craft. He becomes the first enlisted AAF man to win the Congressional Medal of Honor; only three others are so honored.

May 3 Over Iceland, Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews, commanding the European Theater of Operations (ETO), is killed when his plane crashes into a mountainside. Previously, he had been instrumental in educating army senior staff officers in the proper application of air power.

May 4 Over Antwerp, Belgium, 65 Eighth Air Force bombers attack Ford and General Motors factories, while a smaller force launches a diversionary raid against the French coast. A force of 100 German fighters rises to oppose them but they fall for the feint, and the main strike force encounters little opposition.

May 6 Off Long Island Sound, New York, a Sikorsky XR-4 Hoverfly flown by Captain H. Franklin Gregory com­pletes the first landing on a ship by a heli­copter when he touches down on the deck of the merchant tanker Bunker Hill.

May 8 In the Mediterranean, the Italian island of Pantelleria is subject to heavy aerial attacks by Ninth Air Force B-26s, B-25s, and P-40s, assisted by Royal Air Force Wellington bombers. Concur­rently, P-40 fighters strafe and bomb additional targets throughout the Gulf of Tunis.

May 14 In England, the VIII Bomber Command marks another aerial milestone when the first 200-bomber raid is launched against four targets on the European mainland. Submarine yards and naval facilities at Kiel, and factories near Antwerp, Belgium, are the primary targets.

May 15 In England, the Eighth Air Force

dispatches 135 heavy bombers to hit air­fields and naval installations at Helgoland, Emden, and Wilhelmshaven.

Over China, a force of 35 Japanese bombers attacks Fourteenth Air Force airfields at Kunming, but their aim is poor and all bombs fall short of their target. They are attacked in turn by 28 P-40s, who claim to shoot down 13 fighters and 2 bombers.

May 17 In England, a B-17 Flying For­tress named Memphis Belle completes 25 combat missions over Europe under Cap­tain Robert Morgan; they are allowed to return home to tour the United States and sell war bonds.

Over Holland, ten B-26 Marauders of the 322nd Bomb Group are shot down at low altitude by German defenses; only one aircraft returns to base. Such attacks are immediately suspended for all medium bombers.

May 18—25 In Washington, D. C., the Combined Chiefs of Staff approves plans for the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO), which calls for alternating, around-the-clock attacks on German industrial centers by the Army Air Forces and the Royal Air Force. The destruction of German fighter factories is given the highest priority, followed by submarine bases, ball bearing plants, and oil produc­tion refineries. Secondary targets include synthetic rubber plants, tire factories, and military vehicle factories.

May 31 Over Italy, B-17s of the North

African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) bomb airfields and marshalling yards at Foggia while medium bombers and fighters attack Axis positions on Pantelleria Island.

June 1 In the Mediterranean, B-17s and

P-38s of the North African Air Force (NAAF) attack the island of Pantelleria in the wake of an RAF raid. P-40s of the North African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) also strafe and bomb the sea­plane base on Stagnone Island.

June 2 Over Tunis, the first combat mis­sion flown by the African American 99th Fighter Squadron is led by Lieutenants William B. Campbell and Charles B. Hall.

June 10 The Combined Operational Planning Committee arises to coordinate daylight bombing ofGerman targets by the Eighth Air Force and nighttime raids mounted by the Royal Air Force Bomber Command. Together their efforts consti­tute the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO), whose around-the-clock attacks are intended to destroy German industry and morale.

June 10-11 In the GulfofTunis, the Ital­ian island of Pantelleria is continually attacked by British Wellington bombers of the North African Air Force and B-25s from the Ninth Air Force. A month later the island’s garrison unconditionally sur­renders in the first instance of a military objective being gained by air power alone.

June 13 Over Kiel, Germany, an attack by 60 Eighth Air Force bombers under­scores the need for fighter escorts when 26 aircraft are lost to enemy fighters.

June 15 At Marietta, Georgia, the 58th Bombardment Wing is the first Army Air Forces unit outfitted with new Boe­ing B-29 Superfortresses.

Over the Solomon Islands, 120 Japa­nese aircraft approaching Guadalcanal are intercepted by 100 Army Air Forces, Navy, and New Zealand fighters. The

Allies claim to down 79 of the attackers at a cost of 6 of their own. However, the Japanese do manage to hit several ships and damage several land installations on the island.

June 16 Over Buka, Solomon Islands, a

B-17 flown by Captain Jay Zeamer, Jr., is attacked by an estimated 20 Japanese Zeroes. Zeamer, despite severe wounds, remains at his controls while his gunners shoot down at least five fighters. Lieuten­ant Joseph R. Sarnoski, who volunteered to serve as bombardier, also ignores severe wounds and mans his position, dying there. Both men receive Congressional Medals of Honor.

June 17 Over Western Europe, Project window unfolds as American bombers drop chaff (tinfoil strips) to confuse German radar for the first time.

June 22 Over Germany, 182 Eighth Air Force bombers strike industrial targets in the Ruhr Valley for the first time, includ­ing chemical works and synthetic rubber plants at Huls. Ford and General Motors plants at Antwerp are also struck by ancil­lary raids. Damage is extremely heavy and regular production cannot resume for six months.

June 24 Over Ephrata, Washington, Lieutenant Colonel william R. Lovelace of the AAF Aeromedical Laboratory per­forms a record parachute jump from

42,0 feet.

June 30 In England VIII Fighter Com­mand is freed from RAF operational con­trol, whereupon all fighter groups present revert to the 65th Fighter Wing.

General Douglas MacArthur initiates Operation cartwheel, the aerial reduc­tion of Rabaul, New Britain, into effect. American Army and Navy aircraft bomb and strafe the harbor and airfields over ensuing months to keep Japanese rein­forcements from reaching Bougainville and New Georgia Island.

July 1 In Washington, D. C., General

Henry H. Arnold receives a memo from Major General B. Giles stating that at least one fighter group is needed to escort every two bomber groups to avert present heavy loss rates.

July 2 Over the Aleutians, the Eleventh Air Force commits 17 B-24s and 16 B – 25s on a major raid against Japanese posi­tions at Kiska Harbor; two ofthe missions are radar-guided. Antiaircraft fire dam­ages three bombers but several structures are left in flames as the aircraft depart.

July 4 In some noted events, a C-47 Sky – train completes the first transatlantic flight to Great Britain from North America; a Waco CG-4A glider is also safely towed 3,500 miles from England to Russia with medical supplies and other necessities.

July 7 In the Zone of the Interior (ZI), the Army Air Forces Training Command is established and assumes responsibilities formerly accorded the Technical Train­ing and Flying Training Commands.

July 8 Colonel Malcolm G. Grow, a medical surgeon with the 8th Air Force, invents an armored vest and steel helmet for aircrews. For drastically reducing casualties, he receives the Legion ofMerit for saving hundreds of American lives.

July 10 Over Sicily, hundreds of C-47 transports convey the 82nd Airborne Division in the first large American air­borne assault of World War II. Several aircraft are shot down by U. S. Navy ves­sels which, not being informed of their mission, mistake them for German bombers.

July 15 Over Vella Lavella, the Thir­teenth Air Force pits several fighters against an incoming Japanese force of27 bombers and 40-50 escorts; in the ensu­ing scrape 3 American aircraft are lost against claims of 15 bombers and 30 Zeroes shot down.

July 19 Over Italy, 500 American heavy bombers of the North African Strategic Air Force, flying from Bengasi, Libya, strike German and Italian targets in and around the city of Rome. Special care is taken not to damage sites of cultural or religious significance, but 2,000 people are killed. The raid also underscores the preponderance of Allied air power in the theater.

July 21 Over Castelvetrano, Italy, Lieu­tenant Charles B. Hall, 99th Fighter Squadron, becomes the first African American pilot to score an aerial victory after he downs a German Fw-190 fighter.

July 22 In England, British intelligence reports that the Combined Bomber Offensive is slowly grinding down the vaunted German Luftwaffe, forcing it to deploy half its resources to defending the Fatherland and effectively weakening it along other fronts. It is also believed that German industry in the Ruhr Valley has been heavily damaged with respect to rubber, coal, iron, and fuel production.

July 24 Over Her0ya, Norway, 167 Eighth Air Force bombers strike alumi­num and magnesium plants; they employ “splasher beacons” for the first time to form up in poor weather conditions. At 1,900 miles round trip, this is also the lon­gest mission to date.

July 24-AuGUST 3 Hamburg, Ger­many, is the first target of the Operation gomorrah, part of the Combined Bomber Offensive, as 750 British aircraft attack at night, followed up by 200 American Eighth Air Force bombers during the day. The U-boat installations at Kiel are also struck, and the ensuing firestorm kills an estimated 40,000 peo­ple. German defense is nevertheless tena­cious and knocks down 19 American aircraft.

July 25-August 11 At Presque Isle, Maine, a flight of eight P-47s, accompa­nied by two B-24s and one C-87, departs on a transatlantic crossing to Prestwick, Scotland. One Thunderbolt is lost in a landing accident at Greenland while a second develops engine trouble en route and heads back to Iceland. This is the only such flight attempted by fighter air­craft during the war; the pilots are from the 2nd Ferrying Group and include Captain Barry Goldwater, a 1964 presi­dential candidate.

July 26 From Midway Island, 8 B-24 Liberators from the Seventh Air Force attack Japanese installations on Wake Island; they claim 11 intercepting Zeroes shot down.

July 28 Over Germany, the Eighth Air Force stages its deepest penetration raid by striking at aircraft factories and assembly plants in Kassel and Oschersle – ben. Twenty-two aircraft are lost from a total of three hundred; for the first time, German fighters also attack the bomber stream with unguided rockets. An escort of P-47 Thunderbolts could not accom­pany the bombers to the targets, but did shoot down nine aircraft for a loss ofone.

Over France, Flight Officer John C. Morgan’s B-17 is attacked by fighters that critically wound the pilot; he manages to control the wobbling aircraft for the rest of the mission and back, winning a Congressional Medal of Honor.

July 29 Over Messina, Sicily, the Ninth Air Force dispatches 200 P-40 Warhawks on a mission to bomb and strafe targets of opportunity; this is the largest sortie of the entire campaign to date.

July 30 Over Hengyang, China, a force of 39 Japanese fighters and 24 bombers attempt to raid Fourteenth Air Force air­fields but are intercepted by 15 P-40s and driven off with a loss of 2 fighters and 3 bombers; 2 P-40s are shot down.

August 1 North ofBucharest, Romania, 177 B-24 Liberator heavy bombers from five bomb groups, Ninth Air Force, con­duct Operation tidalwave by striking the strategic oil fields of Ploesti. The attack, badly mishandled, inflicts 40 percent damage with 311 tons of bombs, while suffering a loss of 54 aircraft and 532 air­men. This is also the longest bombing mission thus far in the war, and five Congressional Medals of Honor are issued.

August 3 Over New Guinea, Fifth Air

Force B-25s, B-17s, and B-24s work over Japanese positions at Lae, striking barges, airfields, villages, and military encamp­ments.

August 5 The new Women Airforce Service Pilots(WASPs) arises after the Women’s Flying Training Detachment merges with the Woman’s Auxiliary Fer­rying Squadron under noted aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran. Meanwhile, Nancy Harkness Love becomes an executive within the Ferrying Division of Air Transport Command. Both retain civilian status and are never considered members of the military establishment.

AUGUST 13 Bombers of the Northwest African Strategic Air Forces lift off from bases in Italy for the first time and attack German targets.

AUGUST 15 Over France and the Netherlands, the Eighth Air Force sends over 300 heavy bombers to strike at Luft­waffe airfields at Vlissingen, Lille, Mer – ville, and Abbeville.

AUGUST 16 In the Southwest Pacific, P­

38 Lightnings and P-47 Thunderbolts of the Fifth Air Force sweep down on Japa­nese targets at various locations, claiming 12 enemy aircraft downed. This is also the combat debut of P-47s in that theater.

AUGUST 17 Over Germany, on the one-

year anniversary of the Eighth Air Force’s first air raid, 315 B-17 Flying Fortresses

stage their first attack on the ball bearing plants in Schweinfurt, Germany, and the Messerschmitt aircraft factory at Regensburg. This is the deepest Ameri­can penetration of enemy airspace to date and 724 tons of bombs are drop­ped, but the bomber streams lose 20 per­cent of their number—60 B-17s—to ferocious resistance. Consequently, no further raids can be mounted until Sep­tember 6.

A raid by 200 American aircraft fly­ing off a secret airstrip 60 miles west of Lae, New Guinea, completely surprises Japanese air units in the Lae-Salamaua region, decimating them as a fighting force.

A C-87 Liberator flown by the Air Training Command conveys First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt on the tour of the Pacific theater to boost morale.

AUGUST 18 Over Wewak, New Guinea, 70 Allied bombers, escorted by 100 fight­ers, sweep over Japanese airfields, destroying aircraft on the ground and another 30 in the air. During the attack a B-25 flown by Major Ralph Cheli, Fifth Air Force, is severely damaged but he elects to continue flying the mission, then crashes into the sea. He is captured but does not survive the war, winning a post­humous Congressional Medal of Honor.

AUGUST 20 At New Delhi, India, Major General George E. Stratemeyer is appointed head of Army Air Forces, China-Burma-India (CBI).

AUGUST 21 In Alaska, Eleventh Air Force records reveal that 69 enemy air­craft have been shot down, 21 ships sunk, and 29 damaged, and 29 aircraft lost since June 3, 1942.

AUGUST 25 In England, Eighth Air Force planners commence Operation starkey, designed to prevent Germany from rede­ploying air assets to the Russian front and, instead, keeping them tied down in a war of attrition over the homeland.

Over Foggia, Italy, 140 P-38 Light­nings from the 1st and 82nd Fighter Groups, Twelfth Air Force, make the first mass, low-level strafing attack of the war. Zooming in at treetop level, they claim to destroy 143 enemy aircraft on the ground.

AUGUST 26 The U. S. Army Air Forces, in an attempt to improve high-altitude bombing results, introduces a new kind of perspective map, with targets rendered as they would be seen from the air.

AUGUST 27 Over Watten, Germany, 180 Eighth Air Force bombers unload their ordnance on V-1 and V-2 rocket­launching sites for the first time.

At Carney Field, Guadalcanal, 10 radar-equipped SB-24 “Snooper” bomb­ers, capable of attacking targets in all kinds of weather, begin operations.

AUGUST 28 The 482nd Bomb Group, utilizing Oboe, H2X, and H2S blind­bombing radars, are the first operational Pathfinder unit of the Army Air Forces.

AUGUST 30 Over Rabaul, New Britain, fighter pilot Lieutenant Ken Walsh flames four Zeroes for a total of20 air-to-air vic­tories. He survives crashing in the water and subsequently wins the Congressional Medal of Honor.

AUGUST 31 Over Italy, a force of 150 North African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) B-17s bomb a marshalling yard in Pisa, inflicting heavy damage. Medium bombers and fighters of the North Afri­can Tactical Air Force (NATAF) also strike the railroad junction at Catanzaro and Sapri.

September 1 In the United States, war­plane production has manufactured

123,0 aircraft and 350,000 aircraft engines to date; in a war of protracted attrition, these are levels of production that Axis powers cannot sustain.

Over New Guinea, B-24 and B-25 bombers of the Fifth Air Force unload 201 tons of bombs over Alexishafen – Madang, its heaviest single mission tally to date.

Over China, seven B-25s and eight P – 40s of the Fourteenth Air Force attack a Japanese destroyer anchored off of Shihh – weiyao, although no hits are registered. Other P-40s bomb and strafe shipping and barges at Ichang at Swatow harbor.

SEPTEMBER 5 In the Mediterranean, the Ninth Air Force, having flown 1,060 mis­sions, dropped 36 million pounds of bombs, shot down 666 Axis aircraft, and sunk 109 enemy ships, concludes its mis­sion and begins transferring aerial assets back to England.

On northern New Guinea, the Fifth Air Force deploys 82 C-47 transports to drop paratroopers and seize Nadzab air­field west of Lae. Shortly afterwards, the Australian 7th Division is flown in by transports.

SEPTEMBER 6 Over Stuttgart, Germany, the Eighth Air Force conducts its first 400-bomber mission; poor weather fouls up bombing results and 45 bombers are lost despite P-47 fighter escorts.

SEPTEMBER 9 Near Paris, France, Opera­tion starkey commences with a 300- bomber raid, but the Luftwaffe fails to mount serious opposition.

Over Italy, the Twelfth Air Force commences Operations avalanche and slapstick in support of the Allied inva­sion, and which are continued for the rest of the year.

SEPTEMBER 13 At March Field, California, glider expert Richard Dupont is killed in a training accident; he was previously a spe­cial assistant to General Henry H. Arnold.

Over Salerno, Italy, 80 C-47s of the 52nd Troop Carrier Wing drop 1,200 men of the 82nd Airborne Division directly into the combat zone; the opera­tion, though perilous, succeeds.

SEPTEMBER 15 Over Indochina (Viet­

nam), five Fourteenth Air Force B-24s are sent to bomb a cement factory in Hai­phong; Japanese fighters manage to shoot down four ofthe aircraft and the sole sur­viving B-24 claims ten fighters had been shot down.

SEPTEMBER 18 Over the Gilbert Islands, a

combined force of Army B-24 Liberators and carrier-based aircraft from Task Force 15 under Rear Admiral Charles A. Pownall begin joint air strikes on Tarawa Atoll.

SEPTEMBER 20 Over Bougainville, a P­38 flown by Lieutenant Henry Meigs II, 6th Night Fighter Squadron, flames two Japanese bombers in just minutes.

SEPTEMBER 22 In an attempt to lessen heavy losses, Eighth Air Force B-17s fly a nighttime mission alongside Royal Air Force bombers; however, the Army Air Forces determines to stick to daylight, precision bombing.

After flying its final mission from North Africa, B-24s of the IX Bomber Command transfer to the Twelfth Air Force in Italy.

September 27 In England, two signifi­cant firsts unfold: the first mission is flown with bombers guided by a pathfinder air­craft outfitted with British-developed H2S direction-finding radar, enabling them to bomb accurately through heavy overcast. P-47 Thunderbolts equipped with droppable belly tanks also provide fighter escorts for bombers from Emden and back, a distance of 600 miles. This act constitutes the beginning of long – range fighter escort missions over the German heartland.

SEPTEMBER 30 Over Italy, Twelfth Air Force P-38s, B-25s, and B-26s strike road, bridge, and rail lines at Ausonia, Piana, Castelvenere, Amorosi, and Capua, while fighter-bombers also strafe targets north of Naples.

OCTOBER 1 In England, Eighth Air Force intelligence reports that Germany fighter production, despite a terrific pounding, has actually increased thanks to moving production facilities underground; air resistance over the homeland remains as strong as ever.

Over Indochina (Vietnam), 21 Four­teenth Air Force B-24s, escorted by 21 P-40s, bomb power plant and warehouse areas of Haiphong. Many Japanese fight­ers rise to oppose them and down 2 air­craft, but lose 30 to the escorts.

October 2 The Aerojet XCAL-200, the nation’s first rocket-powered airplane, successfully flies for the first time.

OCTOBER 3 At the Lewis Flight Propul­sion Laboratory, NACA technicians con­duct the first successful test of a turbojet afterburner.

OCTOBER 5—6 In England, Major Gen – eralJames H. Doolittle temporarily repla­ces Lieutenant General Carl A. Spaatz as commander of the Twelfth Air Force.

October 7 Over Paris, France, aircraft of the 422nd Bombardment Squadron, Eighth Air Force, complete their first nighttime drop of propaganda leaflets.

October 8 Over Bremen and Vegesack, German, 350 Eighth Air Force bombers strike industrial targets and U-boat pens, losing 30 aircraft to enemy defenses. This is also the first mission to employ elec­tronic jamming (Carpet equipment) against German radar.

OCTOBER 10 In a significant technologi­cal development, an Army Air Forces air­craft drone flies for the first time using a closed circuit television screen to monitor feedback.

Over Munster, Germany, 313 Eighth Air Force bombers make a determined raid against industrial targets, losing 33 aircraft shot down and 102 damaged.

October 11 Over Wewak, New Guinea, Colonel Neel E. Kearby leads a flight of four P-47 Thunderbolts on a reconnaissance mission. He single – handedly shoots down six Japanese air­craft, receiving a Congressional Medal of Honor.

OCTOBER 12 Over Rabaul, New Brit­ain, 350 Allied fighters and bombers drawn from the Fifth Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force launch a mas­sive air strike against Japanese shipping and installations; 3 vessels and 50 aircraft are claimed to be sunk or destroyed.

OCTOBER 13 In Sunninghill Park, England, Major General Lewis H. Brere – ton assembles his staff and begins readying his Ninth Air Force for a new mission into Western Europe.

OCTOBER 14 Over Germany, 291 Eighth Air Force B-17s make a second bombing raid against ball bearing plants in Schweinfurt. Sixty-seven aircraft are lost to German fighters, which launch unguided rockets into the massed bomber streams; a further 138 aircraft are badly damaged. In the face ofsuch losses, future deep penetrations of German airspace are cancelled unless fighter escorts are available.

OCTOBER 15 In England, Headquarters, U. S. Army Air Forces, United Kingdom, is established under Lieutenant General Ira C. Eaker to serve as a liaison between the Eighth Air Force and the Ninth Air Force, under Major General Lewis H. Brereton. The latter is arriving from the Mediterranean and will be employed as a tactical strike force.

Over New Guinea, the Fifth Air Force dispatches 50 P-38s and P-40s to inter­cept a Japanese force of 100 aircraft that is bombing Allied shipping in Oro Bay. They claim to shoot down no less than 40 of the attackers.

OCTOBER 16 General Henry H. Arnold

recommends that the Fifteenth Air Force be established in Italy, where better weather conditions will allow it to bomb German targets during usually harsh win­ter weather. In said manner it will supple­ment the Combined Bomber Offensive already in play from England.

In Burbank, California, Lockheed Air­craft Company contracts with the U. S. Army Air Forces to design and build the XP-80, which becomes America’s first operational jet fighter.

October 22 For his role in developing air routes across Africa and the Middle East, Major R. C. Heffner receives a Dis­tinguished Flying Cross.

OCTOBER 25 Over Rabaul, New Brit­ain, 60 B-24s from the Fifth Air Force strike Japanese airfields, destroying 50 air­craft on the ground and in the air. These attacks, made in concert with a ground offensive on Bougainville, continue up through November 1.

OCTOBER 30 Over China, seven B-25s and twelve P-40s bomb and strafe a motor pool and barracks at Shayang while nine P-38s are dispatched to hit the dock­yards at Chiuchiang.

NOVEMBER Because of recent German advances, General Henry H. Arnold instructs greater effort on guided missile programs. Dr. Theodore von Karman, Arnold’s principal scientific adviser, draws up extensive plans to acquire such long-range weapons.

NOVEMBER 1 In England, a Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) progress report estimates that 19 German towns and cities have been almost completely destroyed, with another 9 also heavily damaged. The Ministry of Economic Warfare and

Air Ministry Intelligence Branch also issue a joint report that estimates at least 10 percent of Germany’s war-making potential has likewise been eliminated.

At Tunis, Tunisia, General James H. Doolittle accepts command of the new Fifteenth Air Force, and prepares to relo­cate his men and heavy bombers to Italy for attacks against Germany proper.

NOVEMBER 2 Over Austria, the Fifteenth Air Force under Major General James H. Doolittle flies its first combat mission by launching 74 B-17s and 38 B-24s against industrial targets in Wiener Neustadt. They also enjoy the luxury of a P-38 fighter escort en route.

General Douglas MacArthur orders preemptive air strikes against Japanese forces gathering at Rabaul, New Britain, to forestall any possible offensive against operations at Empress Augusta Bay. The Fifth Air Force complies with B-25 Mitchells and P-38 Lightnings which send

94,0 tons of shipping to the bottom; American losses are 21 aircraft. During the attack Major Raymond H. Wilkins’s B-25 is badly damaged by antiaircraft fire, but he manages to complete his bomb run before crashing; he wins a post­humous Congressional Medal of Honor.

NOVEMBER 3 Over Germany, a force of 530 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s, guided by nine pathfinders employing H2X search radar, strike the port of Wil – helmshaven. The bomber stream enjoys a complete fighter escort of P-38 Light­nings for the first time.

NOVEMBER 5 In England, the 56th Fighter Group is the first Eighth Air Force fighter unit to destroy 100 enemy aircraft.

NOVEMBER 6—7 In India, B-24s belong­ing to the Tenth Air Force commence night mining operations along the Ran­goon River, Burma.

NOVEMBER 11 Over Rabaul, New Brit­

ain, bombers and fighters of the Fifth and Thirteenth Air Forces strike Japanese airfields, in concert with Navy forces. This is the first time that the Thirteenth Air Force has mounted sorties here.

NOVEMBER 13 Bremen, Germany, wit­nesses the longest American fighter escort of the war thus far, as P-38 Lightnings accompany 115 Eighth Air Force bomb­ers to their target and back; 7 of the fight­ers fall to stiff Luftwaffe resistance. Previously, poor weather forced over 100 other bombers back to their bases.

Over New Guinea, the Fifth Air Force launches 57 B-24s and 62 B-25s against airfields at Alexishafen and Madang, while other aircraft strike targets at Gas – mata, Kaukenau, and Timoeka. This is one of the largest American raids in the region to date, and they are assisted by Bristol Beaufighters of the Royal Austral­ian Air Force (RAAF).

November 14 Over Bulgaria, 90 B-25 Mitchells belonging to the Twelfth Air Force make their first-ever attack by hit­ting targets in Sofia with 135 tons of bombs.

November 15 Over New Guinea, 30 Fifth Air Force B-24s pound Japanese positions at Alexishafen. Meanwhile a force of 88 B-25s and 16 P-40s headed for Wewak are intercepted by Japanese fighters that are themselves escorting bombers on a raid to Gusap. The Ameri­cans claim 20 aircraft shot down at a cost of2 P-40s.

NOVEMBER 20 In Salina, Kansas, XX

Bomber Command is activated at Smoky Hill Air Field under Major General

Kenneth B. Wolfe, being equipped solely with new Boeing B-29 Superfortresses.

In New York City, the play Winged Victory, written by Moss Hart and spon­sored by the Army Air Forces, debuts on Broadway. It is concerned with the strug­gles of air cadets to earn their wings and features a cast of over 300 actors, virtually all of them active duty personnel.

NOVEMBER 22—26 In Cairo, Egypt, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Generalissimo Jiang Jieshi discuss the pos­sibility of using new B-29 bombers to attack Japan from Chinese bases. The plan, called Operation twilight, is the first aerial offensive launched from the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater.

NOVEMBER 25 Over France, P-47s of the VIII Fighter Command initiate the first fighter-bomber attacks by striking the Saint-Omer Airfield.

Formosa (Taiwan) is the subject of an attack by B-25s, P-38s, and P-51s of the Fourteenth Air Force for the first time.

NOVEMBER 26 Bremen, Germany, is the target of 440 Eighth Air Force bombers, which encounter poor weather and lose 29 aircraft to German defenses.

NOVEMBER 29 Over Sarajevo, Yugo­slavia, 25 B-25 Mitchells from the Twelfth Air Force strike targets for the first time, including several rail yards.

NOVEMBER 30 Over Germany, the 78

Eighth Air Force heavy bombers strike targets in Solingen with the aid of blind­bombing equipment. This comes after nearly 200 aircraft had to abort owing to heavy cloud formations while assembling over England.

December 1 Over Germany a force of 281 Eighth Air Force bombers strikes industrial targets in and around Solingen. The raid, originally intended for Lever­kusen, was switched after Pathfinder equipment failed; the Germans manage to down 20 aircraft.

December 2 In Washington, D. C., the Combined Chief of Staff directs the Allied Expeditionary Force to begin attacking so-called “ski sites” at Pas-de – Calais and Cherbourg, France, once they are positively identified as V-1 missile launchers.

December 3 Operation pointblank, designed to drain the Luftwaffe white prior to the cross-channel invasion of France, begins receiving top priority. Presently, its objectives are still well behind target.

December 5 A force of North American P-51 Mustangs from the 354th Fighter Squadron, Ninth Air Force, escorts Eighth Air Force bombers to northern Germany and back, a total of 490 miles. This is the P-51’s first escort mission of the war and proves essential for defeating the Luftwaffe in its own airspace.

Meanwhile, a force of 250 B-26 Marauders is forced to return to England on account of poor flying weather.

December 8 In England, Lieutenant General Carl A. Spaatz becomes overall commander of American air operations for the forthcoming Operation over­lord.

DECEMBER 13 Over Germany, Bremen, Hamburg, and Kiel are targeted by 649 B-17s and B-24s of the Eighth Air Force, the first time an American bomber stream has exceeded 600 aircraft. The raid would have been even bigger but for poor weather that forced 100 bombers back to base.

December 18 In Washington, D. C., General Henry H. Arnold finalizes his command list for 1944: General Ira C. Eaker, Mediterranean Theater of Opera­tions (MTO); General Cannon, Twelfth Air Force; General Nathan Twining, Fif­teenth Air Force; General Carl A. Spaatz, U. S. Strategic Air Forces; General James H. Doolittle, Eighth Air Force, and Gen­eral Lewis H. Brereton, Ninth Air Force.

DECEMBER 20 Bremen, Germany, is the object of another massive raid by Eighth Air Force bombers, 27 of which are shot down by German fighters. This is also the first American mission to jettison strips of metal foil to confuse enemy radar. Tech Sergeant Forrest L. Vosler wins a Congressional Medal of Honor for ignoring serious injuries and assisting wounded crewmen on his aircraft after its ditches in the English Channel.

British Air Chief Marshal Arthur Ted­der assumes command of the Mediterra­nean Allied Air Forces, while Lieutenant General Carl A. Spaatz heads up the North African Theater of Operations.

December 24 The Eighth Air Force commits its largest bomber raid to date by dispatching 670 B-17s and B-24s against German V-1 launching sites at Pas-de-Calais, France. No aircraft are lost and, by this date, the Americans possess 26 bomber groups in the ETO. Such operations go under the Codename crossbow, of which this is the first.

In the Pacific, Japanese positions on Cape Gloucester, New Britain, are hit by 190 B-25s, B-24s, and A-20s of the Fifth Air Force in relentless daylight attacks.

December 2 Over Burma, a force of 25 Fourteenth Air Force P-40s strafe and bomb Japanese positions around Pailochi, and also claim 3 enemy aircraft destroyed.

Bombs destroy the vital Catapult Aircraft Merchantman ball-bearing plant and the nearby Hispano Suiza aircraft engine repair depot in Paris, France on December 31, 1943. This was part of the ongoing strategic bombing cam­paign against Hitler’s “Festung Europa.” (National Archives)

December 26 Fifth Air Force bombers obliterate targets on Cape Gloucester, New Britain, while escorting P-40s, P – 38s, and P-47s claim an additional 60 aer­ial victories. Hereafter, “Gloucesterizing” enters the military vernacular to imply the total destruction of a target.

December 28 In another aviation first, the VIII Bomber Command assembles a “Radio Countermeasure Unit” consist­ing of 24 especially outfitted B-24 heavy bombers to defeat German radar and communications.

December 31 Along the coast of northern France, the Eighth Air Force launches a 500-plane raid against targets, losing 25 bombers. A landmark is reached when the tonnage of bombs dropped by American bombers finally exceeds that delivered by the Royal Air Force.

Over New Georgia, Fifth Air Force A- 20s continue pounding Cape Gloucester while 50 P-40s and P-47s intercept Japa­nese aircraft attempting to bomb the Arawe beachhead, claiming 12 kills. Meanwhile, 150 heavy and medium bombers strike Jap­anese positions at Madang, Alexishafen, and Bogadjim, New Guinea.

JANUARY 1 In Pasadena, California, California Institute of Technology (Cal-

Project ORDCIT commences as the tech) begins researching a practical,

long-range projectile. This is the origin of the Private A and Corporal tactical mis­siles.

The United States Strategic Air Force in Europe (USSAFE) is created to wield operational control over the Eighth Air Force (England) and the Fifteenth Air Force (Italy).

Over Saidor, New Guinea, the Fifth Air Force commits over 120 B-24s, B – 25s, and A-20s against Japanese troop and supply concentrations in preparation for the coming Allied invasion there.

During a raid in Burma by B-25s and P-38s of the Tenth Air Force on a bridge spanning the Mu River, a bomber flown by Major Robert A. Erdin pulls up sharply to avoid hitting a ground obstacle, then releases his bombs. Two spans of the bridge are hit and collapse, giving rise to the “Burma Bridge Busters.”

In Great Britain, the U. S. Strategic Air Forces is organized and initiated.

JANUARY 2 In Yenangyaung, Burma, oil and power plant facilities are struck by medium and heavy bombers belonging to the Tenth Air Force.

JANUARY 4—5 Over Germany, various

ports are struck by 500 heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force. Operation carpet­BAGGER also begins that evening across Western Europe as Lieutenant Colonel Clifford Heflin flies the first supply mis­sion aimed at bolstering the French underground; such missions originate from Tempsford, England.

JANUARY 6 In England, Lieutenant Gen­eral Carl A. Spaatz gains appointment to command U. S. Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSAFE); he also receives operational control of the Fifteenth Air Force. Furthermore, Lieutenant General James H. Doolittle becomes head of the Eighth Air Force in England, while

Lieutenant Ira C. Eaker transfers south to direct Mediterranean Allied Air Forces.

JANUARY 7 In the Pacific, Lieutenant General Hubert R. Harmon assumes command of the Thirteenth Air Force.

JANUARY 8 At Muroc Air Force Base, California, the Lockheed XP-80 chris­tened Lulu Belle flies for the first time; it is destined to become the F-80 Shooting Star, America’s first jet-powered fighter plane and the first to exceed 500 miles per hour in level flight. Noted aircraft constructor Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson designed the prototype, which was con­structed in only 143 days.

JANUARY 10 Over New Britain, P-39 Airacobras attack and strafe Japanese – occupied villages and barges, while Fifth Air Force heavy and medium bombers work over Madang, Alexishafen, and Bogadjim, New Guinea.

Waves of B-24s are dispatched by the Thirteenth Air Force against airfields and supply depots at Lakunai and Vunakanau. This is the beginning ofa protracted night bombardment campaign, while Thir­teenth Air Force fighters also assist the Navy covering carrier dive bombers as they strike targets at Cape St. George.

JANUARY 11 Over Germany, targets in

Halberstadt, Brunswick, and Oschersle- ben are targeted by 600 Eighth Air Force bombers, which lose 60 of their number to an estimated 500 fighters. This is also the first mission to employ radar- equipped B-24 bombers as pathfinder air­craft to strike targets through overcast.

Over Halberstadt, Germany, a P-51 Mustang flown by Major James H. Howard shoots down three German fighters while singlehandedly engaging a formation of 30 aircraft to protect the bomber stream. He is the only Mustang pilot to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

A Fifteenth Air Force bombing mis­sion over Piraeus, Italy, goes awry when six aircraft are lost to midair collisions in poor weather.

January 13 A force of 200 B-26 Marauders conducts another Noball raid by striking German rocket sites in northern France and reports being shot at by antiaircraft missiles.

At New Delhi, India, command of the XX Bomber Command passes to Lieuten­ant General Kenneth B. Wolfe. He is tasked with orchestrating the initial moves of Operation Matterhorn, whereby B-29 Superfortresses will begin striking at Japan from bases on the Asian mainland.

January 13—14 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s launch another nocturnal air raid against Japanese airfields at Vunakanau and Malaguna. Army and Navy aircraft also strike targets near Buna, Wakuni, and Simpson Harbor, New Guinea.

January 14 Over Pas-de-Calais, France, 500 Eighth Air Force bombers strike at 20 V-1 weapon launch sites.

Over Italy, Twelfth Air Force bombers assist Fifth Army operations near Monte Trocchio, by launching scores of B-25s, A-20s, A-36s, and P-40s in close air sup­port missions.

January 15 In Italy, command ofMedi – terranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) for­mally passes to Lieutenant General Ira C. Eaker.

In the Pacific, nine B-25s from the Seventh Air Force stage from Tarawa and strike Japanese installations at Maloe – lap, inflicting heavy damage on installa­tions and shipping; one B-25 is downed by antiaircraft fire.

JANUARY 18 Over New Guinea, the

Fifth Air Force dispatches B-24s to bomb Japanese targets at Laha and Hansa Bay. Meanwhile, Madang and Bogadjim are hit by 70 B-25s while P-38 fighters con­duct a sweep over Wewak; 3 Lightnings are lost.

January 21 Across northern France, German V-weapon sites are struck by more than 500 bombers of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces; 19 targets are spared assault due to low overcast and 400 bombers are forced back to base.

January 22 Over Anzio, Italy, aircraft of the Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces conduct over 1,200 close air support and air superiority missions during the landing phase of Operation shingle. German re­sistance remains tenacious and missions are required to be flown well into Febru­ary.

Heavy and medium bombers belong­ing to the Thirteenth Air Force strike the airfields at Lakunai again, inflicting considerable damage. They are escorted by a force of more than 90 fighters.

JANUARY 27 Over Italy, fighters of the Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces conduct several sweeps over Rome and Florence, shooting down several dozen German aircraft in support of the Fifth Army there.

January 28 Over Bonnieres, France, Eighth Air Force B-24 Liberators strike German V-weapon launching sites with the new Gee-H blind-bombing radar sys­tem. This new system is more accurate than previous devices, but is limited to a range of 200 miles.

JANUARY 29 Over Frankfurt, Germany, a force of 763 Eighth Air Force bombers strikes numerous industrial targets with 1,900 tons of bombs. German fighters manage to claw down 30 of the giant craft; ominously for them, this is the first American attack mounting over 700 air­craft.

Japanese positions in the Gilbert Islands, Kwajalein, and Mille are struck by Seventh Air Force B-24s, which are then followed up by strafing attacks by P-39s. This “softening up” continues over the next few days until the Allied invasion is launched.

JANUARY 30 Over Germany, a second force of 700 Eighth Air Force bombers, guided by early bomb-guiding radar, strikes at targets around Brunswick and Hannover; fighter defenses claim 20 American bombers.

In Italy, the 451st Bomb Group (B – 24s) joins the Fifteenth Air Force as its nine bomb group. Fighters of the Twelfth Air Force also continue conducting sweeps over the Anzio battleground, encountering no enemy resistance.

JANUARY 31 Over Saint-Pol/Siracourt,

France, 74 Eighth Air Force B-24s attack V-1 launching sites while 70 P-47 fighter-bombers, escorted by 87 P-47 fighters and 47 P-38s, bomb and strafe the Gilze-Rijen airfield. The Germans throw up 84 fighters in a swirling combat; 6 P-38s are shot down while 13 German aircraft are claimed.

FEBRUARY The Army Ordnance Division and the Army Air Forces begin joint development of a guided, supersonic surface-to-air missile to intercept hostile aircraft. This is the origin of the Nike I antiaircraft missile.

The AAF deploys its first VB-1/2 Azon (“azimuth only”) radio-controlled bombs in Europe. These primitive “smart weapons” are dropped from bombers and guided through a radio-equipped bombsight; a total of 15,000 Azons are manufactured through November 1944, although their record in combat is mixed.

FEBRUARY 1 In England, Command of IX Air Support Command reverts to Major General Elwood Quesada; this for­mation includes several fighter and recon­naissance units.

Fighter aircraft belonging to the Sev­enth Air Force deploy on newly captured airfields in the Gilbert Islands prior to beginning attacks on the Japanese-held Marianas (Operation catchpole).

Over Burma, 6 Tenth Air Force B-24s bomb Mingaladon Airfield while 32 P – 51s and A-36s strike the main airfield at Myitkyina.

FEBRUARY 2 In Moscow, Soviet Union, Premier Josef Stalin approves plans to allow U. S. “shuttle missions” against tar­gets in eastern Germany, after which American bombers will land at Soviet bases.

FEBRUARY 3 In England, the newly arrived 358th Fighter Group joins the 354th Fighter Group, Ninth Air Force, to fly escort missions. The Eighth Air Force also launches 1,200 B-17s, B-24s, and escort fighters against targets in Emden and Wilhelmshaven, Germany.

A force of five P-51 Mustangs under Colonel Philip G. Cochran flies the first air-commando mission in the China- Burma-India (CBI) theater.

Japanese airfields on Wewak are struck by fighters and bombers belonging to the Fifth Air Force; an estimated 80 enemy aircraft are destroyed. Enemy shipping in the Bismarck Sea is also struck by P-39s and B-25s.

FEBRUARY 7 This day, U. S. Army Air Forces fighters adopt a peculiar tactic known as the “Luftwaffe Stomp.” If

pursued by German fighters, the Ameri­can pilot would suddenly stall and turn his aircraft, allowing his antagonist to zoom by and become the hunted.

FEBRUARY 8 In Italy, the 454th Bomb Group (B-24) joins the Fifteenth Air Force in Italy, bringing the total of bomb groups present to 10. Meanwhile, B-17s continue hammering targets at Orvieto, Piombino, and Prato, heavily escorted by P-47s and P-38 fighters.

FEBRUARY 9 As the Fifth Army opera­tions resume around Cassino, Italy, it receives intense close air support missions by the Twelfth Air Force.

In the Pacific, a force of 250 fighters and bombers from bases ringing the Solo­mon Islands coordinate their efforts in a major attack against Japanese installations on Rabaul, New Britain.

FEBRUARY 11 Over Germany, Eighth Air Force bombers employ radar bomb­ing techniques to strike chemical plants in poor weather.

FEBRUARY 13 In Washington, D. C., the

Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) is altered by the chief of staff to concentrate on German lines of communication, as well as the destruction of the Luftwaffe. This switch is undertaken in light of suc­cessful German attempts to disperse industrial targets and new tactical prior­ities for the upcoming Operation OVER­LORD.

FEBRUARY 15 Over Indochina, four B – 25s of the Fourteenth Air Force attack enemy shipping in the Gulf of Tonkin and also drop bombs on several targets in Haiphong harbor.

FEBRUARY 15—18 In Italy, German posi­tions in and around the ancient

Benedictine abbey at Monte Cassino are bombed by 254 B-17s, B-25s, and B-26 bombers belonging to the Twelfth Air Force. However, three days of con­stant bombing do little to dislodge the defenders and, by allowing them to occupy the wreckage, actually strength­ens their position. The Allied drive spear­headed by the Fifth Army and the British Eighth Army remains stalled for several weeks.

FEBRUARY 18 At Cheddington, England, the 8th Reconnaissance Wing is activated to provide enhanced photo­graphic capability in support of Operation OVERLORD. Command of the unit goes to Colonel Elliott Roosevelt, the president’s son.

February 18—19 At Anzio, Italy, a seri­ous German counterattack threatens the Allied beachhead, so Twelfth Air Force A-20 light bombers, A-36 dive bombers, and P-40 fighters bore in with 200 close – support sorties that drive them back.

FEBRUARY 19 Over Rabaul, New Brit­ain, a 139-aircraft raid hits Japanese air­fields and installations, claiming 23 enemy planes shot down. Consequently, all remaining Japanese aircraft are with­drawn from the island.

In Burma, the Tenth Air Force launches 60 A-36s, P-51s, and B-25s against Japanese fuel depots, rail cars, and river traffic to maintain pressure against enemy units.

In China, B-24s, B-25s, and P-40s belonging to the Fourteenth Air Force begin conducting sweeps between For­mosa (Taiwan) and Indochina. These raids are seeking out targets of opportu­nity and three ships are sunk along with numerous bridges and trains wrecked.

As U. S. forces land and occupy Eniwe- tok, heavy bombers from the Seventh Air

Force bomb Japanese targets near Ponape and Wotje.

FEBRUARY 20—26 Over Germany, heavy bombers and escort fighters of the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces commence “Big Week,” a maximum effort to cripple aviation production capacity and cripple the Luftwaffe’s ability to resist. This is also the first time that the Americans get

1,0 bombers airborne. Their loss holds at six percent which, while, is acceptable. In contrast the Luftwaffe is hard pressed to reconstitute its strength.

Lieutenant William R. Lawley, severely wounded by the same blast that killed his copilot, gingerly nurses his damaged B-17 back to England after learning two of his crew are unable to bail out; he wins the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Lieutenant Walter E. Truemper, navi­gator, takes control of his damaged B-17 after his pilot and copilot are killed. Though desperately injured himself, he refuses to bail out and flies back to England only to die in a crash while landing; he wins a Congressional Medal of Honor. Sergeant Archibald Mathies, Truemper’s gunner, dies with him and also becomes one of four enlisted airmen to receive a Medal of Honor.

FEBRUARY 21 Over Germany, the Eighth

Air Forces unleashes 764 B-17s and B-24s against aircraft factories near Brunswick and Diepholz; results are unclear due to heavy overcast.

In the Pacific, Army bombers belonging to the Air Solomons Command (AirSols) sink two Japanese freighters attempting to evacuate ground crews from Eniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands.

FEBRUARY 22 Over Germany, the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces put up 101 B-17s against Halberstadt, Germany, while a fur­ther 154 bombers hit aircraft production facilities near Regensburg; German fighters manage to claw down 50 American craft.

February 23 Over England, poor weather grounds most Eighth Air Force operations, but the Fifteenth Air Force manages to launch a B-24 attack against industrial targets in Steyr, Germany; escorting fighters claim 30 German fight­ers downed.

FEBRUARY 24 Over Germany, and fol­lowing the onset of good weather, the Eighth Air Force hurls over 231 bombers at Schweinfurt, 238 against Gotha, and 236 against Rostow. Simultaneously, Fif­teenth Air Force B-17s also strike Steyr and Fiume again, losing 19 aircraft. That evening the Royal Air Force strikes the same targets as part of the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO).

FEBRUARY 25 Over Germany, aviation – related targets in Regensburg, Augsburg, Furth, Stuttgart, Zara harbor, and Fiume are struck by Eighth Air Force bombers in an attempt to lure Luftwaffe fighters up against their powerful escorts. Casu­alties are heavy on both sides, but the Germans cannot replace their losses as quickly.

FEBRUARY 26 In England, bad weather grounds operations on the final day of Big Week, but hereafter the Luftwaffe begins a precipitous decline towards irrel­evance. American losses are steep but Lieutenant General James H. Doolittle’s gamble pays huge dividends by D-Day, when German aerial resistance proves nonexistent.

FEBRUARY 28 Over New Guinea, the Fifth Air Force commits B-24 bombers to soften up Japanese airfields in Nubia, Awar, and Hansa Bay in preparation for Allied landings.

Japanese positions on Rabaul, New Britain, are struck by waves of Thirteenth Air Force B-25s and P-38s at low altitude, then by B-24s at high altitude. Some of the attacks also involve glide bombs.

FEBRUARY 29 Over Italy, Twelfth Air Force B-26s strike German airfields at Viterbo and targets of opportunity along the west coast, while B-25s attack troops and gun positions west of Cisterna di Roma. Meanwhile, P-40s and A-36s conduct close support missions for the struggling Allied landing zone at Anzio.

Japanese air bases at Alexishafen, New Guinea, are struck by Fifth Air Force bombers. These attacks are carried out in concert with U. S. landings made on the Admiralty Islands, and part of an overall strategy to isolate the main Japanese garri­son at Rabaul.

MARCH In Washington, D. C., the Office of War Information reports that the Soviet Union has received more than 7,800 aircraft under the Lend-Lease program to date.

The Bell XP-59 undergoes high – altitude testing at the hands ofthe NACA Lewis Laboratory to enhance the devel­opment of turbojet technology.

MARCH 1 At Shemya, Alaska, the XI Strategic Air Force becomes operational to patrol and defend the Aleutian Islands. It consists of the XI Bomber Command and XI Fighter Command.

Over the Admiralty Islands, the Fifth Air Force contributes more than 100 B-24 bombers in raids against Los Negros and Lorengau. Other aircraft go in and soften up Japanese positions at Wewak, New Guinea; these attacks
persist up until the U. S. landing there on April 22.

Over China, 14 B-25s and 16 P-40s from the Fourteenth Air Force attack military targets in northeastern Nanchang.

MARCH 2 In Italy, the 459th Bomb Group joins the Fifteenth Air Force, while 300 heavy bombers, escorted by 150 fight­ers, support Army operations at Anzio.

MARCH 3 In the Caroline Islands, Opera­tion forager commences as Seventh Air Force bombers and fighters attack Japa­nese positions to neutralize enemy air activity around the Marianas. Their over­arching purpose is to seize land bases capable of sustaining B-29 operations against the Japanese mainland.

MARCH 4 Berlin, Germany, experiences its first raid by aircraft of the VIII Bomber Command as 238 B-17s bore in towards Kleinmachnow. However, they are turned back by poor weather and a deceptive “recall” message broadcast by German intelligence. Only 31 B-17s from the 95th Bombardment Group actually reach the target and release bombs from 28,000 feet. Previously, Lieutenant General James H. Doolittle sought permission to lead the raid in per­son, but Lieutenant General Carl A. Spaatz refused.

MARCH 5 Over Burma, army gliders from Colonel Philip G. Cochran’s Air Com­mandos insert 539 British and American troops under British brigadier general Orde C. Wingate 50 miles northeast of Indaw and deep behind enemy lines.

MARCH 6 Over Berlin, Germany, the Eighth Air Force returns with a vengeance as 658 heavy bombers unload 1,600 tons of bombs. German fighters and flak down 69 aircraft, the highest toll of any single mission day. This is despite the fact that the bombers are escorted by P-51 Mustangs, who claim 170 German craft.

MARCH 8 Over Germany, the Eighth Air Force unleashes 460 heavy bombers against industrial targets at Erkner; Wildau and Berlin are likewise struck by an additional 75 bombers. Thirty-six air­craft are lost this day.

MARCH 9 The German cities of Berlin, Brunswick, Hannover, and Nienburg are struck by 450 bombers belonging to the Eighth Air Force.

MARCH 11 On Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, B-24 bombers from the Seventh Air Force take off and strike at Japanese installations on Wake Island for the first time.

In India, Operation Thursday com­mences as Army Air Forces transports air­lift 9,000 personnel and 1,400 mules to a point 200 miles behind Japanese lines in Burma.

MARCH 15 In a major tactical shift, P-51 Mustangs are released from escort duty and directed to go after German fighters on the ground and in the air.

Over Italy, the Fifteenth Air Force hurls 300 B-17s and B-24s against German positions at Monte Cassino in support of the Fifth Army; the bulk of air­craft are forced back by poor weather. Meanwhile, P-38s and P-47s sweep through the Viterbo-Canino region, encountering no organized opposition.

On Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, Sev­enth Air Force B-24s lift off from bases and strike at Truk Atoll for the first time. B-25 medium bombers on Tarawa also attack enemy positions at Maloelap.

Lieutenant General Hubert R. Harmon is appointed Commander, Air, Solomon Islands (COMAIRSOLS).

MARCH 16 The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) releases a study calling for a rocket – propelled research aircraft capable of tran­sonic speeds; in 1947 it emerges as the Bell XS-1.

MARCH 18 Over Germany, 679 bombers of the Eighth Air Force strike industrial targets while under heavy escort. The Luftwaffe rises to the occasion, clawing down 43 bombers and 13 fighters while incurring heavy losses of its own. Con­stant attrition is slowly driving the Ger­mans from the skies.

MARCH 19—May 11 Over Italy, Opera­tion strangle commences. This is a seven-week campaign conceived by General Ira C. Eaker to interdict and neu­tralize German supplies, railways, train yards, and ports across the peninsula. By the time the operation ceases, Allied air­craft fly over 50,000 sorties and unload

26,0 tons of bombs; however, it fails to sever German supplies as anticipated.

MARCH 20 Over Normandy, France, the 67th Reconnaissance Group completes 83 missions, and maps the entire region in advance of Operation overlord. No aircraft are lost and 9,500 detailed photos are taken.

As U. s. Marines storm ashore on the Admiralty Islands, bombers from the Thirteenth Air Force attack nearby air­fields to neutralize them. RADAR- equipped sB-24s also played a major role in covering the advance to the island.

MARCH 22 Near Naples, Italy, ancient Mount Vesuvius erupts, destroying or damaging aircraft belonging to the Twelfth Air Force.

MARCH 25 Over Italy, the Brenner Pass to Austria is completely interdicted by bombers and fighters of the Fifteenth Air Force, severely slowing the flow of supplies to German units from Austria. The Americans also employ their radio-guided VB-1 Azon bomb, a lineal predecessor to modern “smart bombs.”

MARCH 26 Over France, Pas-de-Calais and Cherbourg are struck by 500 B-17s and B-24s belonging to the Eighth Air Force in an attempt to cripple V-weapon launching sites. Meanwhile, 338 B-26s strike motor torpedo boat pens at Ijmui – den, the Netherlands, while 140 P-47s and P-51s attack marshalling yards at Creil and other locations.

MARCH 27 Across France, 700 heavy bombers belonging to the Eighth Air Force strike multiple airfields and aircraft works.

MARCH 28 In England, the 801st Bom­bardment Group (Heavy) is activated by the Eighth Air Force; this unit is to con­duct special missions throughout the ETO.

March 28-April 2 Over Italy, the Fifteen Air Force launches a series of heavy air raids in support of ongoing Operation strangle when 400 B-17s and B-24s attack rail yards around Verona and Cesano. They are escorted by P-40s and P-38s and no aircraft are lost; this is also the Fifteenth’s first 1,000-ton raid. This attack is followed by subsequent strikes against Turin, Milan, and Bolzano, where 6 bombers are shot down. Finally, 530 bombers pound ball bearing factories at steyr, Germany, losing 19 aircraft.

MARCH 29 In Burma, the success ofBrit – ish Chindits in rear-area operations against Japanese units results in creation of the 1st Air Commando Group under Lieutenant Colonel Philip G. Cochran.

The unit had functioned on an ad hoc basis for several months previously, but now its operations are formalized.

Over Truk, B-24s from the Thirteen Air Force commit the first daylight raid against the atoll; two bombers are lost.

MARCH 30 Over Bulgaria, 350 B-17s and B-24s ofthe Fifteenth Air Force attack marshalling yards at Sofia, along with industrial zones and airfields at Imotski. Four bombers are lost, but escorting fighters claim thirteen enemy aircraft.

Over Hollandia, New Guinea, Japanese positions are struck by fighters and bomb­ers from the Fifth Air Force. A variety of fuel dumps, troop concentrations, and airfields are targeted from Wewak to Madang.

APRIL 1 Over Germany, the Eighth Air Force sends 438 heavy bombers to destroy the chemical industry plants at Ludwigshafen, then the largest in Europe. However, poor weather forces the 192 B-27s launched to turn back while the remaining 246 B-24s become widely dis­persed in heavy cloud cover. Several Swiss and French towns near the target are bombed by mistake.

April 2 At Chakulia, India, the first operational Boeing B-29 Superfortress of the new XX Bomber Command lands under the command of Colonel Leonard F. Harman. As B-29s accumulate there in strength, they are shuttled off to bases in China to begin bombing the Japanese mainland for the first time.

APRIL 3 In England, IX Bomber Com­mand adopts a new leave policy whereby crews receive one week’s leave between their 25th and 30th missions. Between their 40th and 50th missions, they are enti­tled to take off an additional two-week respite.

APRIL 3—4 Over Budapest, Hungary, industrial targets are targeted for the first time by 450 Fifteenth Air Force bombers, while a 300-bomber raid is launched the following day; 10 B-24s are lost along with a score of German fighters.

April 4 In Washington, D. C., the new XX Air Force is secretly activated. This unit is destined to employ giant B-29 Superfortress bombers against the Japa­nese mainland from China and India. The force is regarded as so significant that it is controlled by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) through General Henry H. Arnold.

April 5 The refineries and marshalling yards at Ploesti, Romania, are struck by the Fifteenth Air Force; 13 bombers suc­cumb to enemy fighters and flak.

APRIL 8 Over Germany, the Eighth Air Force launches 13 combat wings in three distinct waves. The city of Brunswick is the hardest hit, being the object of 192 B-17s; 34 bombers are lost.

At Hasselt, Belgium, the Ninth Air Force commits more than 163 B-26s and 101 P-47s in a major tactical raid against German-manned positions.

April 9 Across Germany and Poland, 399 B-17s and B-24s belonging to the Eighth Air Force strike various targets, losing 32 aircraft to doughty German defenses; 3 aircraft also make forced landings in Sweden and are interned. The attack is escorted by 719 P-38s, P-47s, and P-51s culled from the VIII and IX Fighter Commands.

APRIL 11 Over Germany, the Eighth Air

Force launches 800 B-17s and B-24s against fighter production factories and airfields; 64 bombers are shot down, the second-highest loss for a single day. Lieutenant Edward S. Mitchell, ignoring his own wounds, manages to fly his damaged B-17 to safety once his bombardier’s para­chute is damaged; he wins the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Across northern France, 300 B-26s, A-20s, and P-47s from the Ninth Air Force are committed against various military targets.

APRIL 13 In England, General Dwight D.

Eisenhower receives authority to direct American aerial operations relative to Operation overlord, especially those by the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces. Launching sites for v-weapons and German lines of communication remain priority targets.

530 bombers from the Fifteenth Air Force hit numerous targets in Hungary and southern Germany, and claim the destruction of 120 enemy aircraft.

APRIL 15 Over central and western Ger­many, 530 fighters of the Ninth and Tenth Air Forces sweep in low to shoot up airfields and targets of opportunity. Bad

U. S. Fifth Army Air Force planes bomb the Japanese-held base of Hollandia in New Guinea, 1944. (Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis)

weather forces most of the aircraft to return to base, but they claim 58 enemy aircraft destroyed in air and ground attacks; 33 American fighters go missing with at least 19 attributable to unknown causes.

April 16 Hollandia, New Guinea, is again hit by the Fifth Air Force, which dispatches 170 A-20s, P-38s, P-40s, and B-25s on the bombing mission. However, the onset of poor weather during the return flight leads to the loss of 37 aircraft—a higher loss rate than that experienced in combat.

April 17 In South China, bases operated by the 308th Bombardment Group are threatened by a Japanese land offensive; this is the only American heavy bomber outfit then in China, and it is especially outfitted for stalking enemy shipping in the South China Sea.

APRIL 22 Over New Guinea, the Fifth Air

Force provides close air support to Allied invading forces at Hollandia and Aitape. This comes after six weeks of continuous air raids on Wewak and Hansa Bay.

April 24 In India, Lieutenant General Kenneth B. Wolfe, commanding the XX Air Force, pilots one of the first two B-29s to cross over the “Hump” (Hima­layas) and land at Kwanghan, China. The American bomber offensive against the Japanese mainland originates here.

APRIL 25 Over France, the Eighth Air Force launches 114 B-117s to attack the Lyon/Bron airfield, while a further 177 B-17s hit the Clermont/Ferrand/Aulnat airfield. A further 22 P-38s and 21 P-47s also conduct a combination of high – and low-altitude bombing attacks on airfields at Orleans/Bricy. One heavy bomber and sixty-five fighters are shot down by German aircraft and flak.

Guam is the target of Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators operating from Eniwetok for the first time; this is also the first raid by land-based bombers. A Navy PBY reconnaissance aircraft accompanies them to observe results.

In Burma, a Sikorsky YR-2 Hoverfly flown by Lieutenant Carter Harman, 1st Commando Group, executes the first helicopter rescue mission in history by extracting four downed airmen from the jungle.

May 1 In England, the Eighth Air Force sends over 500 heavy bombers to attack 23 V-1 rocket launching sites near Pas – de-Calais, France. Bad weather forces many aircraft to abort their mission.

In China, Operation matterhorn moves a step closer to reality with the opening of the first B-29 base at Chengtu. As bombers, supplies, and bombs accu­mulate, the aerial offensive against the Japanese mainland draws nearer.

May 5 Over Ploesti, Romania, the Fif­

teenth Air Force, enlarged to include 20 heavy bombardment groups, launches 640 bombers against the oil refineries. Over 240 fighter sorties are also launched to escort them; this is the largest raid to date by the Fifteenth Air Force.

May 7 Over Germany, the Eighth Air Force breaks its own record when it dis­patches over 900 bombers against indus­trial targets in Munster and Osnabruck, Germany, while additional aircraft are dis­patched against Liege, Belgium. This is the first time that the Eighth Air Force marshals over 900 aircraft one a single day.

May 9—11 Over France and Belgium,

the Eighth Air Force begins a concerted bombing campaign against German air­fields to render them inoperable during the build up to D-Day. Two days later tactical aircraft of the Ninth Air Force are likewise thrown into the fray.

May 10 In China, Project chengtu con­cludes as 400,000 laborers finish work on five heavy bomber and six fighter bases near the city of Chengtu. The Chinese contribution to the project was unglamo­rous and largely unheralded, but also essential to the project. B-29 air raids against the Japanese mainland will com­mence shortly.

May 11 In Italy, Operation strangle

concludes apace, having delivered

26,0 bombs against German lines of communication and supply since March 19. However, it has failed to com­pletely disrupt German supply lines.

May 12 Over Germany, the Eighth Air Force dispatches 800 bombers against oil production facilities in Merseburg, Chemnitz, and Brux; the Luftwaffe manages to down 46 American aircraft.

The Ninth Air Force begins Operation EAGLE as a dress rehearsal for airborne operations over Normandy. This maneu­ver tests the tactics and techniques for all specific missions to be executed on June 5.

The Fifteenth Air Force, having reached its authorized strength of 21 bombardment groups, launches 730 bombers against German headquarters at Massa d’Albe and Monte Soratte, Italy. This is the Fifteenth’s largest raid to date and includes 250 escort fighter sorties.

May 13—14 In northern Italy, the Twelfth Air Force commits light bombers and fighter-bombers to assist the Fifth Army as it assaults the German Gustav Line. They are joined by 700 heavy bombers from the Fifteenth Air Force, which conduct interdiction missions against German supply lines.

May 15 Over Bougainville and Shortland Island, the Thirteenth Air Force puts up 25 B-25s and 40 P-40s, P-38s, and P-39s to attack antiaircraft positions, villages, trails and other targets of opportunity.

May 17—18 Over New Guinea, the Fifth Air Force dispatches more than 100 B-24s against Japanese targets as Allied forces come ashore unopposed at Arare and Sarmi. Another 100 medium bombers are dispatched against enemy positions around Wewak.

May 19 In Italy, German aerial opposition north of Rome disappears once the Fifteen Air Force begins pushing attacks into that region.

May 25 Over Anzio, Italy, the Twelfth Air Force harries retreating German forces as they withdraw, and also cover the Fifth Army as it breaks out from the beachhead.

May 27 Across Europe, the Eighth, Ninth, and Fifteenth Air Force put up

2,0 warplanes, which strike targets across France, Germany, and Italy; 24 heavy bombers are lost. From this point forwards, air raids by the Eighth Air Force routinely number 800 aircraft or more.

At Nanchang, China, P-40 fighters from the Fourteenth Air Force fire air-to-ground rockets at Japanese troop positions for the first time.

On Biak, Japanese positions are worked over by B-25s and B-24s oper­ated by the Fifth Air Force. Other medium bombers continue providing close air support for Allied forces at Wewak, New Guinea.

May 29 An A-20 test aircraft named Alcad Nag is used for target practice by gunners who fire.50 caliber machine guns loaded with “frangible bullets.”

These shatter after hitting an aerial target, leaving only a small mark for scoring purposes.

May 31 In the Zone of the Interior (ZI), the VB-7 (vertical bomb) is tested for the first time; this device employs radio- controlled fins and television for guidance to targets.

Over Italy, medium bombers of the 43rd and 57th Bomb Wings, Twelfth Air Force, are unleashed on a ground sup­port mission to assist the Fifth Army and its drive on Rome. Concurrently, A-20s of the XII Tactical Air Command begin blasting German troop concentrations, tanks, and motor vehicles throughout the same region. Incredibly, despite this literal deluge of bombs, the Germans continue mounting fierce resistance.

June 1 In the Pacific, XIII Bomber Com­

mand relocates from the New Hebrides to Los Negroes. Meanwhile, B-25s attack parts of Rabaul while 30 P-38s and P-40s strike at Talili Bay.

June 2 Across northern France, the Eighth and Ninth Air Force contribute

1,0 bombers and fighters for around – the-clock air strikes against airfields and communication facilities, especially at Pas-de-Calais, to deceive German intelli­gence; 8 bombers are lost.

In Italy, the Twelfth Air Force contin­ues launching heavy air raids north of Rome to support the Allied drive.

Lieutenant General Ira C. Eaker leads Operation frantic, the first shuttle­bombing run from Italy to targets at Debreczen, Hungary, and then lands at Poltava in the Soviet Union. The strike force consists of 130 B-17s and 70 P-51 fighter escorts.

June 4 In England, Lieutenant General

Dwight D. Eisenhower delays Operation overlord for 24 hours in the face of severe weather, although 500 tactical air strikes continue. The storm also provides a convenient cover for the amphibious operation.

In Italy, the Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces continue supporting Allied ground troops as they advance towards the German Gustav Line; aircraft are being siphoned off to support Operation anvil/dragoon, the invasion of southern France.

June 5 Over northern France, as part of the wind-up to Operation overlord, 629 heavy bombers from the Eighth Air Force attack coastal forces; 6 are lost to German flak. Lieutenant Colonel Leon R. Vance, Jr., badly wounded by a direct hit on his B-24, flies his craft long enough to allow it to ditch in the English Channel and save the crew; he wins the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Over Southeast Asia, a force of 75 B-29s of XX Bomber Command strike Japanese rail targets in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 98 aircraft were launched, but 5 of the new bombers are lost to mechanical prob­lems while others abort for the same reason.

Over Wadke, New Guinea, Japanese fighters attack the Allied airfield, destroying and damaging several aircraft.

June 5—6 Over Normandy, France, Operation overlord kicks off at mid­night as 1,400 C-47s of the IX Troop Carrier Command, Ninth Air Force, begin dropping three full divisions of American and British airborne troops behind German lines. Army Air Forces and Royal Air Force tactical aircraft also fly 15,000 sorties in support of the amphibious operation over the next 24 hours. Heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force, now up to its assigned strength of 40 bomb groups, drop an additional 3,600 tons of ordnance on German supply and communications centers further back from the beaches. Moreover, 1,800 fighter sorties are flown in support of the landings; 36 aircraft fall to enemy flak.

Throughout northern Italy, aircraft of the Twelfth Air Force continue striking German positions and communications for the rest of the war.

From Italy, Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers continue making shuttle runs against Ploesti, Brasov, and Turin. Oil refineries and storage facilities remain priority targets.

June 6 Over Normandy, France, the Eighth, Ninth, and Royal Air Forces con­duct over 15,000 interdiction, close air support, and airlift sorties in support of ongoing landing operations. The Luft­waffe can mount only token opposition.

June 7 At Freeman Field, Indiana, Colonel E. T. Rundquist initiates the Army Air Forces’ helicopter training program.

Over Normandy, France, the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces fly 2,000 sorties in support of five beachheads established during Operation overlord. Transport air­craft also drop 356 tons of supplies to the troops. Despite the deluge ofbombs, how­ever, German resistance remains resolute.

In Italy, the Fifteenth Air Force reaches its peak strength as its 21 heavy bomber groups are activated; here, as well as in the rest of Europe, American aircraft are flying thousands of sorties daily in the cause of victory.

June 8 In England, Lieutenant General Carl A. Spaatz declares that Axis oil production and storage facilities are the highest priority targets of American air power in Europe.

June 9 Only three days into Operation overlord, the first Allied air units begin operating from airfields in northern France.

June 11 At Poltava, Soviet Union, B-17s and P-51s complete Operation frantic by launching against oil and refinery tar­gets in Eastern Europe and returning to home bases in italy.

June 12 At Normandy, France, General Henry H. Arnold accompanies the Joint Chiefs of Staff as they cross the English channel to inspect the recently acquired beachheads.

In the Russell Islands, Special Task Force Air Group I deploys as the first guided missile unit deployed to the Pacific.

June 13 In a portent of things to come, the Germans launch V-1, or “vengeance weapons,” from sites in France and Bel­gium against Great Britain; one of the pilotless flying bombs strikes Swan – scombe, Kent, and General Henry H. Arnold personally inspects the damage inflicted.

June 15 In England, the Eighth Air Force dispatches 1,225 heavy bombers to strike the oil refinery at Misburg, along with airfields, bridges, marshalling yards, and other targets in northern France.

At Brisbane, Australia, General George E. Kenney becomes commander of the new Far East Air Force (FEAF), which incorporates the Fifth and Thirteenth Air Forces. Meanwhile, aircraft from the for­mer strikes a Japanese airfield south of Bougainville while bombers of the latter continue pounding enemy positions at Rabaul.

At Chengtu, China, a force of 68 Boe­ing B-29 Superfortresses under Brigadier General LaVerne G. Saunders of XX Bomber Command fly 1,500 miles to bomb steel factories at Yawata, Kyushu. This is the first major air raid against the Japanese mainland since the famous “Doolittle Raid” of April 1942.

However, bombing results are poor owing to encounters with the jet stream at high altitude.

June 21 Over Germany, the Eighth Air

Force mounts its first 900-bomber raid against Berlin, escorted by 900 fighters provided by the Ninth Air Force. Addi­tional aircraft attack rocket launching sites at Siracourt, France.

June 22 On Saipan, the 19th Fighter Squadron, 318 Fighter Group, Seventh Air Force, deploys on Aslito Airfield. Over the next week they will help pio­neer close support using napalm bombs.

June 22—23 Operation frantic continues

as 144 bombers belonging to the Eighth Air Force bomb targets in Eastern Europe and land at bases in the Soviet Union. That evening, German bombers raid Poltava, destroying 43 B-17s and damaging 19 more parked there.

June 23 From England, aircraft of the Eight and Ninth Air Force continue pounding suspected V-1 launching sites throughout northern France.

Over Ploesti, Romania, the Fifteenth Air Force launches 400 bombers and 300 fighter escorts against oil refineries; resis­tance is fierce and costs the Americans 100 aircraft. Lieutenant David R. Kingsley, who refuses to bail out when ordered and instead assists the crewmen to escape— even giving his parachute to the tail gunner—dies when his B-17 crashes, but wins a Congressional Medal of Honor.

The 52nd Fighter Group also scores 12 kills over Romania for a total of 102 aerial victories in only 30 days. This record is never equaled by any other American fighter group in Europe.

June 24 On Saipan, P-47 fighter – bombers of the Seventh Air Force provide close air support to army and marine units fighting on nearby Tinian.

June 25 At Cape Kurubai, Aleutians, two B-24s of the Eleventh Air Force bomb a suspected Japanese airfield. This is despite the fact that the Kiska campaign had ended in August 1943.

June 26 Over Saipan, the night skies are patrolled by Northrop P-61 Black Wid­ows, while P-47 Thunderbolts attack Japanese positions during the day.

June 27 Over Germany, Brigadier Gen­eral Arthur W. Vanaman becomes the first Army general captured in Europe when his bomber is shot down on a raid; he spends the rest ofthe war at Stalag Luft III, southeast of Berlin.

June 30 Over Burma, 47 Tenth Air Force B-25s continue airdropping ammunition to hard-pressed British forces defending Imphal, while an addi­tional 17 B-25s carry gasoline to Kama – ing. Other B-25s and P-38s continue striking at Tamu and Wauinggyo.

July 1 In the Mariana Islands, Seventh Air Force P-47s are dispatched to make strafing runs over Saipan, Tinian, and Rota while B-24s, staging through Eniwe – tok, bomb Japanese naval facilities at Truk.

July 2 In the Southwestern Pacific, fight­ers and bombers belonging to the Far East Air Forces (FEAF) strike at Japanese posi­tions near Kamiri on Noemfoor Island in preparation for an amphibious attack.

July 3 Over France, the Northrop P-61 Black Widow, the sole American aircraft designed as a night fighter, begins flying nocturnal missions.

At New Guinea, the 54th Troop Carrier Wing drops the 1st Battalion, 503rd

Parachute Infantry Regiment over the Japanese airfield at Kamiri.

July 5 Over Harper Dry Lake, Califor­nia, the rocket-powered Northrop MX – 324 performs its maiden flight. Originally designed as a glider, its sports an Aerojet XCAL-200 rocket motor and is unoffi­cially known as the “Rocket Ram.”

July 6 Over Saipan, a Japanese G4M bomber is flamed at night by a P-61 Black Widow flown by Lieutenant Francis Eaton, Lieutenant James Ketchum, and Sergeant Gary Anderson. This is the first confirmed kill for the P-61.

In China, the Fourteenth Air Force launches myriads of P-40s, P-51s, and B – 25s against Japanese targets along the Yangtze River; ground support missions for Chinese forces are also flown at vari­ous locations.

July 7 Over Germany, the aerial cam­paign against petroleum, oil, and lubri­cant (POL) targets intensifies as aircraft of the Eighth, Twelfth, and Fifteenth Air Forces stage 3,000 sorties against them; German defenses claw down 60 aircraft.

July 8 In occupied France, a C-47 flown

by Lieutenant Colonel Clifford Heflin touches down for the first time to rescue down Allied airmen.

July 9 Over Ploesti, Romania, Fifteenth Air Force bombers employ Pathfinder nav­igation devices for the first time; escorting P-38 and P-51 fighters claim 14 German aircraft. Lieutenant Donald D. Puckett flies his damaged B-24 long enough to allow most of his crew to bail out; he dies when it crashes, winning a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor.

At Wright Field, Ohio, a wrecked Fies – eler Fi. 103 (V-1) is delivered for technical inspection. Slightly over two weeks later, a working copy of its pulse-jet engine is replicated by Ford Motor Company engi­neers; copies of the V-1 enter the Ameri­can arsenal as JB-1 Loons.

July 11 On Saipan, Seventh Air Force P-

47s take off to strike Japanese positions in the Marianas Islands, especially Tinian and Pagan, in anticipation offorthcoming amphibious landings there. B-24s also stage out of Eniwetok and bomb Tinian over the next several days until the land­ings are affected.

July 11-16 Over Germany, the Eighth Air Force commits over 1,000 bombers and 800 escort fighters in a series of repeated strikes against rail yards and aircraft engine factories in Munich.

In southern France, the Fifteenth Air Force begins attacking ground targets in support of Operation anvil/dragoon. However, heavy bombers are also detailed to strike oil-related targets in Romania.

July 12 Over Italy, Operation mallory major is begun by U. S. Army Air Forces tactical bombers to systematically destroy all bridges over the Po River.

July 15 Over China, the Fourteenth Air Force sorties over 100 B-25s, P-40s, and P-51s, which attack Japanese positions at Sinshih, Chuzhou, Siantan, Siangsiang, Sungpai, and Chaling. Meanwhile, a force of 26 additional P-40s provide ground support to Chinese forces in the Salween area.

July 17 Over Coutances, France, P-38

Lightnings drop napalm (jellied gasoline) on German fuel depots for the first time; it proves to be a frightening and highly destructive weapon.

July 18 Over southern Germany, a P-51 Mustang flown by Lieutenant C. D.

“Lucky” Lester, an African American fly­ing with the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, downs three German fighters while escorting heavy bombers. Ultimately, black fighter pilots complete 15,000 missions and claim 261 enemy aircraft.

July 19 Over Germany, 1,100 bombers from the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces strike against Munich and other industrial targets, while escorted by nearly 1,000 fighters. Munich is struck by similar raids for the remainder of the month.

In the Pacific, scores of B-24s from the Far East Air Forces (FEAF) strike Japanese targets on Yap, Ngulu, and Sorol Islands while fighter-bombers provide close sup­port to Allied troops in the Sarmi-Sawar sector of New Guinea.

July 21-August 10 As the struggle for Guam unfolds, bombers and fighters of the Seventh Air Force continue striking Truk and Tinian to pin down Japanese forces and prevent them from interfering.

July 22 From Italy, Operation frantic continues as 76 P-38s and 38 P-51s of the Fifteenth Air Force attack airfields near Ploesti, Romania, then fly on to bases in southern Russia. This is the first all-fighter shuttle mission.

July 24-AUGUST 1 Over Tinian, P-47s belonging to the Seventh Air Force drop napalm bombs on heavy jungle vegeta­tion to deny Japanese defenders tactical cover as U. S. Marines advance inland.

July 25 At Normandy, France, 1,495 heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force commence Operation cobra by carpet bombing German positions around St. Lo and creating paths for American ground forces to pour through. The elite Panzer Lehr tank training division is nearly annihilated by American air power, whose bombs leave the surround­ing landscape as cratered as the moon’s surface. However, several bombs fall short and kill Lieutenant General Leslie McNair, commander of U. S. Ground Forces, along with 102 soldiers. A further 1,500 fighter-bombers of the Ninth Air Force continue hammering enemy posi­tions as they begin to give way.

JULY 29 Over Anshan, China, the Showa Steel Works is struck by B-29s of XX Bomber Command. One bomber is lost to enemy fighters while another, badly damaged, is forced down at Vladivostok, Soviet Union, and the crew is interned. This particular aircraft serves as the model for the Tupolev Tu-4 BULL, the first Soviet strategic bomber which flies in 1947.

July 30 In the Pacific, B-25s and P-47s launched from Tarawa continue pound­ing Japanese positions at Saipan as B-24s stationed in the Marshall Islands bomb naval installations on Truk.

Over Burma, constant attacks by Tenth Air Force fighter-bombers result in a Japanese withdrawal from Myitkyina; after issuing the order, the Japanese com­mander commits suicide.

At the western tip of New Guinea, Far East Air Forces (FEAF) aircraft mount an aerial diversion by striking Japanese posi­tions at Wewak and Aitape are likewise attacked.

AUGUST 1 Over France, 191 Eighth Air

Force B-17s drop supplies to under­ground forces as 320 more hit targets in Paris, and a force of 75 heavy bombers strike at Tours. B-24s meanwhile con­duct numerous raids against V-1 launch­ing sites across northern France.

At Fort Shafter, Hawaii, Lieutenant General Millard F. Harmon becomes commander of the new Army Air Forces, Pacific Oceans Areas (AAFPOA). He also serves as deputy commander of the XX Air Force, reporting directly to General Henry H. Arnold.

On Saipan, P-47s and P-61s of the Seventh Air Force continue their day and nighttime patrolling actions over Guam, Rota, and Pagan, in support of Allied ground forces fighting there.

AUGUST 4 Over Pas-de-Calais, France, several worn-down and pilotless B-17s and B-24s participate in the first project aphrodite mission; the aircraft are packed with several tons of explosives and flown by a crew of two that bails out over the English Channel, whereupon a pacing air­craft guides them along via radio control to their target. Considering the dangers such missions pose to the crew, they are abandoned shortly after and television – guided bombs receive increased emphasis.

AUGUST 4—6 Over Western Europe, 1,250 heavy bombers are launched by the Eighth Air Force against multiple tar­gets in Germany and northern France, and the raids are repeated over the next two days. Targets include four oil refiner­ies, four aircraft factories, coastal batteries at Calais, and the rocket research facility at Peenemunde. Concurrently, Opera­tion aphrodite continues as radio – controlled B-17 drones, packed with 20,000 pounds of explosives, are launched against V-1 rocket sites at Pas – de-Calais, France.

Over the Balkans, the Fifteenth Air Force launches another Operation FRAN­tic mission by dispatching 70 P-38s and P-51s to targets in Eastern Europe. This attack is in response to a request by the Soviet high command, the first of its kind.

AUGUST 5 The 63rd Bombardment Squad­ron, Fifth Air Force, commences the first night attack with a single radar-equipped B-24 Snooper II aircraft, which strikes the Sasa Airdrome on the island of Mindanao.

AUGUST 6 Over Brandenburg, Germany, a P-51 Mustang flown by Major George E. Preddy tangles with a horde of inter­cepting German fighters, and he downs six in only five minutes. Before his death by flak on December 15, 1944, Preddy becomes the highest-scoring Mustang ace, with 25 victories.

AUGUST 8 In England, command of the Ninth Air Force is assumed by Lieutenant General Hoyt S. Vandenberg.

Over China, a major air raid by the Fourteenth Air Force strikes Japanese communication and storage facilities at Hengshan, Hamoy, and Swatow, China. Several radio stations and storage facilities are likewise destroyed.

AUGUST 9 Over the Seine River, France, a B-26 Marauder flown by Captain Dar­rell R. Lindsey is set aflame by flak. Lind­sey continues flying his crippled bomber until the crew bails out, then dies in the ensuing crash; he posthumously receives a Congressional Medal of Honor.

AUGUST 10 On Guam, Tinian, and Sai­pan, construction crews begin repairing and enlarging airfields for mounting B – 29 operations against the Japanese home­land. These islands have not yet been declared secure and fighting continues.

Over Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands, the Sev­enth Air Force commits the first B-24 operations against Japanese positions, pre­paring them for an amphibious invasion six months hence. They also attack Chi­chi Jima and the Carolines throughout the period leading up to the U. S. assault.

August 10-11 In China, B-29s of XX Bomber Command flying from Chengtu strike industrial targets in Nagasaki, Japan. Another force staging from China Bay, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), hits oil refineries at Palembang, Sumatra, 3,900 miles away; this is the longest mission flown by B – 29s in the war.

AUGUST 10-14 In the Mediterranean, the Twelfth Air Force launches hundreds of B-25s, B-26s, and P-47s in strikes along the French and Italian coasts west of Genoa. Shortly after, the Fifteenth Air Force unleashes heavy bombers to soften targets for the intended invasion of southern France.

AUGUST 11 To further assist American ground forces in eastern France, the Eighth Air Force launches 956 heavy bombers and 578 escort fighters to strike transportation facilities and other German military targets.

AUGUST 13 At LeHavre, France, Ameri­can aircraft unleash two television- guided GB-4 glide bombs against U – boat pens as part of Project aphrodite.

AUGUST 14 Throughout the Pacific, the Seventh Air Force is reorganized into a hard-hitting tactical force whose aircraft, on this day, strike Japanese targets across a vast arc, including Iwo Jima, Pagan, Rota, Ponape, and the Wotje Islands.

AUGUST 14-15 In the Mediterranean, hundreds of heavy and medium bombers from the Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces pound German positions in the Toulon-Nice-Genoa area in support of Operation anvil/dragoon. They are escorted by 200 fighters, although resis­tance is almost nonexistent. This is the largest effort mounted by the Mediterra­nean Allied Air Forces during the war, which flies 4,249 sorties and lands 9,000 airborne troops.

AUGUST 15 Over Belgium and the Netherlands, the Eighth Air force launches 850 heavy bombers against German air­fields, assisted by RAF Mosquito raiders and 607 VIII Fighter Command sorties. The Americans lose 17 bombers and 6 fighters while claiming 27 aircraft downed along with 29 locomotives destroyed. Another force of 33 P-47s also dive bombs a locomotive repair ship at Braine-le-Compte.

AUGUST 16 Over Merseburg, Germany, a flight of B-17 bombers is attacked by Me-163 Komet rocket-propelled fighters for the first time. Though spectacular at 590 miles per hour, the Komet proves ineffective against heavily armed bombers; only 279 are constructed.

In India, following the defeat of a deter­mined and bloody Japanese offensive, the Tenth Air Force commits fighter-bombers and bombers to targets in northern Burma, where they harass retreating enemy columns.

AUGUST 18 In northern France, waves of B-26 and A-20 bombers strike at enemy fuel and ammunition dumps, covered by more than 1,000 escort fighters. The German army is beginning to crack and retreat under the weight ofthese incessant aerial onslaughts.

AUGUST 20 On Saipan, the Seventh Air Force launches B-24s against Yap for the first time, while Marshall Islands-based aircraft continue bombing enemy posi­tions on Truk.

AUGUST 23 Over Burma, the Tenth Air Force commits 32 P-47 fighter-bombers to provide close air support during a British advance. Troop concentrations, batteries, and headquarter buildings are all ravaged.

AUGUST 24 In the Mariana Islands, a B-29

piloted by Brigadier General Edmund “Rosie” O’Donnell, 73rd Bomb Wing Headquarters, deploys. This is the first air­craft of the XX Air Force to deploy there.

AUGUST 26 In another series of major raids, the Eighth Air Force commits 997 heavy bombers and 897 fighter escorts against targets in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Enemy resistance remains sharp and downs 13 bombers and 13 fighters while a further 148 bombers and 15 fighters receive damage.

AUGUST 28 Over Germany, P-47 pilots Major Joseph Myers and Lieutenant Manford O. Croy, Jr., team up to down the first Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter claimed by American fighters. This is the first operational jet fighter, packing a top speed of 540 miles per hour, and a formi­dable bomber destroyer. It also stimulates Army Air Forces interest in acquiring jet bombers to counter the threat, and plan­ning for the North American XB-45 begins this year.

Brigadier General Haywood Hansell takes charge of the new XXI Bomber Command, equipped with B-29s, while Brigadier General Lauris Norstad is appointed chiefofstaffwith the Twentieth Air Force.

AUGUST 29 Major General Curtis E. LeMay becomes commander of the XX Bomber Command. LeMay, a hard­hitting strategist, is determined to wring out the best possible performance from his new and expensive B-29s.

AUGUST 31 Over Romania, the Fif­teenth Air Force unleashes 45 P-51s against airfields at Reghin, while an addi­tional 97 fighters strafe and bomb airfields at Oradea and Kecskemet. They claim to have destroyed over 150 aircraft on the ground. Meanwhile, at Bucharest, 36 B-17s begin evacuating U. S. airmen interned in Romania as that city falls to the Red Army.

September 1 In England, the Eighth Air Force sorties 950 heavy bombers for raids in France and Germany, but most are recalled due to poor flying conditions. Meanwhile one P-47 fighter group makes strafing attacks along the Brussels – Antwerp region of Belgium, as an addi­tional seven groups attack rail lines through northeastern France.

Over the Philippines, a force of 555 Fifth Air Force B-24s attack dispersal areas at three airfields near Davao, Min­danao, losing two of their number to Jap­anese antiaircraft fire. Enemy fighters also damaged several of the lumbering craft, but post-strike photography reveals 22 wrecked airplanes on the ground.

SEPTEMBER 3—11 Over Germany, the

55th Fighter Group shoots down 106 enemy fighters and earns a Distinguished Unit Citation.

September 4 At Kunming, China, Brigadier General William H. Tunner is appointed commander of Air Transport Command and he orchestrates the conveyance of thousands of gallons of gasoline and bombs over the “Hump” (Himalayas).

SEPTEMBER 5 Over Germany, Captain William H. Allen, 55th Fighter Group, bags five enemy fighters in a few minutes, becoming an ace. The rest of his flight downed a further 11 aircraft in the same dust up.

September 8 In a major technological breakthrough, one portending ominous implications for future warfare, the

Germans launch their first V-2 rockets. Suburbs in Paris and London are struck, and heavy damage ensues. The Allies pos­sess no comparable technology.

Over France and Belgium, Ninth Air Force bombers drop leaflets—not bombs —while scores of transports drop supplies and pick up wounded troops as a large aerial supply line to the front deploys in force.

Over Anshun, China, 100 B-29s arrive from Chengtu to bomb the Showa Steel Works again. In retaliation, Japanese bombers stage at night attack against Chengtu’s airfields, damaging a B-29 and a C-46.

In England, the Allied high command issues its “Joint British-American Directive on Day Bombing Operations Involving Fighter Cooperation,” which solidifies the outline of around-the-clock attacks on Germany’s industrial base.

SEPTEMBER 10 At Hagerstown, Mary­land, the Fairchild XC-82 cargo plane prototype, which employs twin tail booms, performs its maiden flight. After the war it enters service as the “Flying Boxcar.”

Over south central Germany, the Eighth Air Force commits over 1,000 bombers against industrial targets, while aircraft of the Ninth Air Force continue chewing up railroad targets to sever enemy supply lines.

In central France, as forces of Opera­tions overlord and anvil/dragoon link up, they are supported by 800 transports belonging to the Ninth Air Force.

In the China-Burma-India (CBI) the­ater, Air Transport Command missions begin averaging 300 flights per day to China bases and back.

SEPTEMBER 11 Chemnitz, Germany, is the object of a 1,000-bomber raid by the Eighth Air Force as factories, motor transport parks, and a jet engine facilities are struck. This is also the last shuttle raid whereby the aircraft are recovered in the Soviet Union.

SEPTEMBER 12 Over Germany, the Luft­waffe hurls 400 fighters against a stream of 800 Eighth Air Force bombers, shooting down 45 aircraft along with 12 P-51s. Though crippled, they remain a dangerous adversary.

SEPTEMBER 13 Over Hungary, Eighth Air Force bombers attack and destroy the Diosgyor Steel Works.

September 14 Colonel Floyd B. Wood, Major Harry Wexler, and Lieutenant Frank Reckord intentionally fly their Douglas A-20 Havoc into a hurricane to gather meteorological data. They acquire the nickname “Hurricane Hunters.”

September 15 Over Greece, 276 B-17s and B-24s of the Fifteenth Air Force attack military targets in Salamis, Tatoi, Eleusis, and Kalamaki. Meanwhile, escorting P-38s and P-51s swoop down

Paratroopers, planes, and gliders litter the skies during Operation Market-Garden in September 1944, during which the Allies dropped more than 20,000 paratroopers and landed more than 13,500 glidermen behind German lines in the Netherlands. (Corbis)

low to bomb and strafe enemy units attempting to withdraw from the region.

SEPTEMBER 16 Over Germany, a stream of Eighth Air Force bombers, escorted by no less than seven fighter groups, sav­age targets in Hannover, Bremen, and Osnabruck. Other aircraft are detailed to attack targets in Ahlhorn, Mannheim, and Kaiserslautern.

SEPTEMBER 17—30 Over the Nether­lands, Operation market garden com­mences as 1,546 Allied transports and 476 gliders convey 35,000 men of the First Allied Airborne Army near Arnhem to seize the Rhine River bridges. German defenders manage to down 16 B-24s and 21 fighters over the next two weeks.

September 20 At Farmingdale, New York, the Republic Aircraft Company rolls out its 10,000th P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber. Another 5,000 machines are manufactured over the next 10 months.

SEPTEMBER 21 In France, in order to relieve pressing fuel shortages experi­enced by ground units, the Eighth Air Force begins delivering gasoline to bases. Within a week, 200 spacious B-24 Liberators are acting as flying fuel pumps.

SEPTEMBER 23 In New Guinea, the

Thirteenth Air Force relocates it base of operations to Noemfoor Island from Hol – landia. Meanwhile, B-24s of the Seventh Air Force continue pounding Japanese positions on Chichi Jima, Haha Jima, and Ani Jima in the Bonin Islands.

In La Spezia Harbor, Italy, a force of24 B-25s from the 340th Bomb Group attack and sink the light cruiser Taranto.

September 24 Over Kurabu Cape, Aleutians, B-24s of the Eleventh Air Force are attacked by Japanese fighters, whereupon one damaged Liberator force lands in Soviet territory, and the crew is interned.

SEPTEMBER 28 In China, the Fourteenth Air Force dispatches 100 camera – equipped fighters over targets in southeastern China and Indochina (Southeast Asia).

SEPTEMBER 30 Over Germany, the Eighth Air Force unleashes 850 heavy bombers that strike airfields at Bielefeld, Hamm, and Munster. They are escorted by 13 fighter groups, while 2 additional fighter groups sweep in low over the region.

OCTOBER 1 In Italy, the Fifteenth Air

Force reaches its fully authorized strength through the addition of the 5th Photo Group, Reconnaissance. It also possesses 21 heavy bomber groups and 7 fighter groups.

Over China, 18 B-25s from the Four­teenth Air Force bomb Japanese airfields at Tien Ho and White Cloud while over 100 P-40s and P-51s strafe and bomb mili­tary targets south of the Yangtze River.

OCTOBER 2 Over Germany, beginning today and continuing over the next 30 days, the Eighth Air Force launches 1,000-bomber raids against varied locales over two 3-day intervals. Airfields, oil production facilities, and aircraft factories remain priority targets, while Cologne is also hard hit. Another six lesser raids include 450 heavy bombers each, while the number of escorting groups numbers between 5 and 17 per mission.

Over Austria, Lieutenant Valmore Beaudrault is credited with shooting down the first Me-262 jet fighter claimed by the Ninth Air Force.

OCTOBER 2—16 Throughout the China – Burma-India (CBI) theater, transport aircraft of the Tenth Air Force haul sup­plies and troops to distant points in the region, sometimes accomplishing as many as 250 sorties per day.

OCTOBER 12 Over Bologna, Italy, Opera­tion pancake unfolds as the Twelfth Air Force unleashes 700 heavy bombers, escorted by 160 fighters. The targets sought are ammunition and fuel dumps, repair facilities, and munition factories. This action is undertaken in support of Fifth Army offensive operations in northern Italy.

Over Germany, Lieutenant Chuck Yeager is credited with shooting down five German aircraft in one encounter; though better known as a test pilot, his final war­time tally is 12 victories.

On Saipan, Brigadier General Haywood Hansell personally lands Joltin’ Josie, the Pacific Pioneer, the first XX Bomber Command B-29 bomber to reach that island. Elements of the 73rd Bomb Wing also arrive throughout the day.

October 14 At Chengtu, China, the XX Air Force launches 100 B-29s on a strike against an aircraft factory at Okayama, Formosa (Taiwan). The raid coincides with American actions on Leyte, Philippines.

OCTOBER 15 Over Germany, over 1,000

Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attack marshalling yards and a gas unit plant at Cologne; they are escorted by less than twelve fighter groups. Another two P-47 groups swoop in low to bomb and strafe targets in Hannover and MUnster-Kassel.

Aslito Airfield, Saipan, is repaired and enlarged for operations by B-29 Superfor­tresses. From here the Japanese homeland will be within striking distance.

OCTOBER 17 Over Cologne, Germany, a roused Luftwaffe downs 52 bombers
and 15 fighters. Several of these fall to futuristic Me-262s; four of the jets are downed in turn.

October 20-24 At Tacloban, Philip­pines, ground elements of the 308th Bombardment Wing, the Fifth Air Force, and the 475th Fighter Group come ashore with General Douglas A. MacAr – thur’s invasion force to set up shop as quickly as possible for aerial echelons to follow.

October 22 Over Ceram, Netherlands East Indies, P-38s of the 12th Fighter Squadron, 18th Fighter Group, drop napalm on oil storage tanks at Boela. At this time the squadron has been staging out from Sansapor, New Guinea.

October 24 Over the Hannover-Kassel region of Germany, the Eighth Air Force dispatches 415 P-47s and P-51s to per­form tactical fighter-bomber strikes against military targets.

OCTOBER 26 Over China, Fourteenth Air Force B-24s and B-25s strike Japa­nese shipping and rail yards off the Luichow Peninsula and Hsuchang. During the raid, the Liberator flown by Major Horace S. Carswell is crippled by antiaircraft fire, yet he refuses to abandon his burning craft until his crew bails out. He dies once the bomber crashes into a mountainside, winning a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor.

October 27 At Tacloban, Philippines, 34 P-38 Lightnings of the 9th Fighter Squadron become the first American fighters to operate from the islands since 1942. Major Richard I. Bong, the highest-scoring American ace of World War II, is among them and chalks up several aerial kills.

October 27-December 31 The Japa­nese aerial units make 1,050 sorties over Leyte while pilots of the V Fighter

Command are credited with 314 con­firmed aerial victories and 45 additional probables.

OCTOBER 28 On the Marianas, a small force of B-29s belonging to XXI Bomber Command fly their first mission from when they strike submarine pens on Dublin Island; the aircraft flown by Brigadier General Haywood Hansell aborts due to mechanical difficulties.

OCTOBER 29 Over Leyte, Philippines, the 49th Fighter Group downs its 500th Japanese airplane.

OCTOBER 30 Over Burma, 10 Tenth Air Force B-25s attack bridges at Namhkai, Wuntho, Theygyaung, and Nankan while 50 P-47s are dispatched to perform similar works at Hpao Nam and other locations.

NOVEMBER 1 In Pasadena, California,

the new Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is created at the California Institute of Technology; it serves as the locus of American rocket research.

In England, the Eighth Air Force sor­ties over 300 heavy bombers against synthetic oil plants at Gelsenkirchen, Germany, the bridge at Rudesheim, and airfields at Koblenz and Hamm.

Over Tokyo, Japan, an F-13 (recon­naissance version of the B-29) becomes the first American warplane to fly over the city since the Doolittle raid of April 18, 1942.

NOVEMBER 2 Over Germany, a huge air battle erupts over the synthetic fuel plant at Merseburg/Leuna, as 1,100 heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force run into determined resistance; 40 bombers and 28 fighters are lost, although 150 German aircraft are also claimed. Navigator Lieu­tenant Robert E. Femoyer, severely wounded by flak, refuses a morphine injection so that he can complete his bomb run and finally dies from loss of blood; he receives a posthumous Congressional Medal ofHonor.

NOVEMBER 3 Fifth Air Force P-38 fight­ers begin attacking targets throughout the Philippines, particularly on the Celebes and Halmahera. These sorties continue unabated until all Japanese resistance is eliminated.

NOVEMBER 4 Over Germany, the Eighth Air Force unleashes 1,100 B-17s and B – 24s, which strike military and industrial targets at Hamburg, Hannover, and Saarbrucken.

In Italy, the Twelfth Air Force launches 300 medium bombers against German lines of communication in the Brenner Pass and along the Po Valley. Four P-47s also strafe a hotel in Milan where Hitler is supposedly staying.

NOVEMBER 5 Over Vienna, Austria, the Fifteenth Air Force launches 500 B-17s and B-24s, escorted by 350 fighters, against the Floridsdorf oil refinery. This turns out to be the Fifteenth’s largest single operation directed against a single target.

In the Pacific, 24 B-29s from the XX Air Force lift off from the Marianas to strike Japanese targets on Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands. Another 53 Superfortresses depart Calcutta, India, to bomb the King George VI Graving Dock in Singapore for the first time since 1942.

November 6-December 24 Off the Bonin Islands, the Seventh Air Force dis­patches B-24s on mining operations to prepare that region for an amphibious invasion in the spring.

NOVEMBER 7 General Henry H. Arnold asks Professor Theodore von Karman to investigate possible future trends in aviation technology and their implica­tions for national defense. His report is ultimately issued as Towards New Hori­zons, which establishes the scientific foundation for the new U. S. Air Force.

November 8 From Saipan, the XXI Bomber Command dispatches 17 B-29s on a strike against Iwo Jima; one Super­fortress is lost after it is damaged by phos­phorous bombs dropped by Japanese aircraft into its formation.

NOVEMBER 9 The Eighth Air Force com­mits 1,100 heavy bombers in support of Third Army maneuvers near Metz, Thion – ville, and Saarbrucken, France; German re­sistance proves fierce and 40 aircraft are lost. A B-17 flown by Lieutenant Donald J. Gott sustains heavy damage over Saar – brucken, yet he refuses to bail out, in order to save several wounded crewmen by crash-landing in friendly territory; the plane explodes on contact, killing all on board; Gott receives a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor. Another B-17 flown by copilot Lieutenant William E. Metzger is also crippled over Saarbrucken, he attempts to crash-land to save his gravely injured pilot and radio operator, but all die upon impact; Metzger is also awarded a post­humous Congressional Medal of Honor.

November 10 Over Ormoc Bay, Phil­ippines, the Fifth Air Force unleashes 36 B-25 medium bombers upon Japanese shipping; 3 vessels are sunk.

November 12 To avoid burnout, the combat tour length for fighter pilots is set at 270 flight hours.

November 15 The large Boeing XC-97 cargo plane, based on the B-29 Superfor­tress, flies for the first time. It enters pro­duction in the postwar period as the Stratofreighter.

In light ofrecent German advances, the Army Ordnance Department commences Project hermes to research and develop ballistic missiles of it own.

Over Indonesia, Far East Air Forces (FEAF) B-25s and fighter-bombers offer close support to amphibious landings at Mapia Island while B-24s and P-38s strike Japanese positions at Lahug. Other targets in the Celebes and Mindanao, Philip­pines, are also bombed.

November 16 In eastern France, as the American First and Ninth Armies com­mence a new offensive, they are supported by 4,000 bombers and 750 fighters, which drop 10,000 tons of bombs. This is the largest single ground-support mission flown to date.

November 18 Over Italy, the Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 680 heavy bombers and 186 P-51 escorts to strike airfields at Aviano, Villafranca di Verona, Udine, and Vicenza.

NOVEMBER 21—25 Over Germany, the Eighth Air Force launches another 1,000-plane raid at oil refineries in Mer – seburg/Leuna, losing 35 aircraft. Four days later 900 bombers return in poor weather, guided by Pathfinders, and hit the same targets; 65 aircraft become lost in the overcast and make emergency landings on airfields in France.

November 22 A Japanese air raid against Morotai (Indonesia) strikes Far East Air Forces installations on the ground, killing two and wounding fifteen. A further fifteen aircraft are destroyed and eight damaged.

November 24 Over Tokyo, Japan, 88 B-29 heavy bombers under General Hay­wood S. Hansell of XXI Bomber Com­mand, operating from Guam, Saipan, and Tinian, strike the Musashino Aircraft Factory for the first time since April 18, 1942. The mission is dogged by technical problems and 17 B-29s are forced to abort en route. One B-29 is lost after it is rammed by a fighter, and another ditches once it runs out of fuel.

NOVEMBER 30 Over Germany, synthetic oil plants in Bohlen, Zeitz, Merseburg/ Leuna, and Lutzkendorf are struck by 1,200 heavy bombers from the Eighth Air Force. These are escorted by no less than 19 fighter groups, but German flak and fighters are relentless and 41 bombers are lost.

From Saipan, 23 B-24s of the Seventh Air Force make a bombing run over Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands. Another 37 Liberators launched from Angaur also strike Japanese installations on Legaspi.

DECEMBER 1 Over Burma, the Tenth Air Force commits 30 P-47s to support Allied ground forces in the vicinity of Bhamo. Meanwhile, a like number of Thunder­bolts strike troop concentrations, supply dumps, and bridges at Myitson, Mingon, and Old Lashio. Transport aircraft also fly 240 supplies sorties to the forward areas.

DECEMBER 1—16 At Camp Irwin, Cali­fornia, technicians from the Jet Propul­sion Laboratory (JPL) fire off two-dozen Private A rockets developed over the past 11 months as part of Project ordcit.

DECEMBER 5 Over Germany, 500 heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force and P-47s and P-51s from the Ninth Air Force struggle with 300 German fighters over Berlin and Munster; dozens of aircraft are lost on either side.

December 8 In the Pacific, Lieutenant General George Kenney, Far East Air Forces (FEAF), recommends Major

Richard I. Bong for the Congressional Medal of Honor after he downs eight Japanese aircraft on a series ofsweeps over Balikpapan, Borneo. His score now stands at 38 kills, making him America’s leading ace.

Japanese aerial raids against the Mariana Islands destroy 11 B-29s and damage 43, so the XX Air Force launches 60 of the giant bombers against airfields on Iwo Jima to stop them. By the time the raids stop in February 1945, 11 B-29s are destroyed and 43 more are damaged.

DECEMBER 13 Over Nagoya, Japan, the XX Air Force launches another large B-29 raid against the Mitsubishi aircraft engine factory, inflicting considerable damage.

DECEMBER 15 Over the Bay of Biscay, a Noorduyn C-64 Norseman carrying Major Glenn Miller, director ofthe Army Air Forces Band, disappears without a trace.

Over western Germany, 300 A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s of the Ninth Air Force attack German troop concentrations, ammunition dumps, and oil storage areas at Heimbach, Wollseifen, Ruthen, and Dorsel. Close support missions are also flown for the 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions along the Westwall fortifications, and the 78th Infantry Division at Kesternich.

December 17 At Wendover Field, Utah, the 509th Composite Group forms under Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr.; this is a highly classified unit tasked with delivering the atomic bomb once it is developed.

Over the Ardennes, Belgium, poor weather grounds most American bomb­ers, but over 1,000 fighters belonging to the Ninth Air Force sortie to provide close air support to hard-pressed Army units in the Battle of the Bulge. All air­craft are then grounded the following day and remain inoperative until the 23rd.

Major Richard I. Bong shoots down his 40th Japanese airplane over Mindoro, Philippines, making him America’s top­scoring ace of World War II. Lieutenant General George Kenney immediately grounds him and arranges his transfer back to the United States.

DECEMBER 18 Over Hankow, China, the docks are the object of the first firebombing raid conducted by XX Bomber Command B-29s, assisted by 200 aircraft belonging to the Fourteenth Air Force.

December 19 Over Santa Monica, Cali­fornia, fighters of the Fourth Air Force are scrambled after receiving reports that Japanese balloons have been spotted over the city; none are intercepted.

December 21 In Washington, D. C., General Henry H. Arnold gains pro­motion to five-star general ofthe Army; he is the first and only aviator so decorated.

December 23 In Belgium, bad weather lifts sufficiently over the Ardennes region, allowing clouds of A-20 and B-26 bombers from the Ninth Air Force to strike German tank and infantry formations during closing phases of the “Battle of the Bulge”; the Americans lose 31 bombers, but claim to down scores of German aircraft.

December 24 Over western Europe, the Eighth Air Force launches 2,000 heavy bombers, escorted by no less than 13 fighter groups, at select targets across Europe, including 11 airfields, 14 com­munications centers, and 5 cities. The

Germans muster 200 fighters and lose approximately 50 in swirling aerial actions. One B-17 piloted by Brigadier General Frederick W. Castle is crippled by German fighters, but he flies on, allowing his crew to bail out; he receives a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor and Castle Air Force Base, California, is named in his honor.

Over Belgium, fighter-bombers and medium bombers of the Ninth Air Force brave poor weather to fly thousands of sorties in support of the Army’s III, VIII, and XII Corps along the southern fringes of the Ardennes. They persist until the U. S. 4th Armored Division breaks the siege of Bastogne.

DECEMBER 26 Over Luzon, Philippines, P-38 fighters sweep over Mabalacat Aerodrome, encountering numerous Japanese fighters. Major Thomas B. McGuire, the Army’s second-highest scoring ace, downs four fighters while defending a crippled bomber, raising his tally to 38—second only to Major Richard I. Bong.

DECEMBER 31 Above Germany, 1,200 Eighth Air Force bombers attack a series ofrefineries, aircraft plants, U-boat yards, and airfields across northern Germany. Over Hamburg, 14 escorting fighter groups tangle with 150 German intercep­tors, claiming to down 60; 14 bombers are lost to fighters and flak.

Brigadier General Haywood Hansell relocates his XXI Bomber Command headquarters from Saipan to Guam, a sign that the air war is moving ever closer to the Japanese mainland.

This year the Far East Air Forces (FEAF) conducted 163,397 sorties throughout the Pacific region, dropping 92,134 tons of bombs and destroying 2,518 Japanese aircraft. FEAF lost 2,584 aircraft of all kinds, mostly to antiaircraft fire.