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World War II real time

lordroel
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World War II in real time Jan 31, 2023 3:46:33 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Jan 31, 2023 3:46:33 GMT

Day 1604 of World War II, January 31st 1944

Eastern Front

The Soviet's opened a new offensive against Nikopol. 3rd Ukrainian Front spearheaded the attack along the lower Dnepr aimed at the industrial and transportation hub. The attacks around Leningrad continued as Red Army forces reached Kingisepp.

Air War over Europe

The total number of bombers involved in Unternehmen Steinbock was fewer than the 600 claimed by Germany (an RAF assessment was 200), but the raids seemed to confirm to the Allies intelligence reports that the Germans were still building aircraft at a rate which made good their losses. Such a situation would cast doubt on the belief of Sir Arthur Harris that strategic bombing alone would end the war. This claim was also under fire after the heavy losses which the RAF has suffered (as well as inflicted) in the raids on Berlin.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 203: 74 of 74 B-24s hit a V-weapon site construction at St. Pol/Siracourt, France; 2 aircraft were damaged beyond repair; no losses. The B-24s were escorted by 114 P-47s.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 204: 70 of 75 P-47 fighter-bombers, escorted by 47 P-38s and 87 P-47s bombed Gilze-Rijen Airfield, The Netherlands; they claimed 13-1-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 6 P-38s were lost, 1 P-38 was damaged beyond repair and 2 P-47s damaged.

Hptm. Hermann Segatz was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 1 after Hptm. Walter Hoeckner was posted to Stab I./JG 4.

US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s with P-38 escort, hit Klagenfurt Airfield, Austria; they claimed 16 aircraft shot down.

Italian campaign

Swift German reaction to the Anzio landings was threatening to turn the tables completely on the huge Allied army which landed nine days ago. The element of surprise was gone. Instead of the dash to Rome, activity has been limited to cautious attacks with heavy Allied casualties. Field Marshal Kesselring has now pulled reserves from all over Italy to ring the beach-head. US Rangers waded four miles in darkness along a half-dry irrigation canal to attack the village of Cisterna, but were detected at the last moment and came under withering tank fire. Only six men survived. The British 24 Guards Brigade met stiff resistance on the night of 29-30 January at the small hamlet of Carroceto, where the 29th Panzergrenadier Regiment was dug in and waiting; and the Sherwood Foresters suffered huge casualties in an assault on Campoleone. The US 5th Army made some progress against the Gustav Line as 2nd Corps captured Caira and the Free French Corps captured Monte Abate.

Photo: Shells being prepared for a Priest 105mm self-propelled gun in action, Operation Shingle, at Anzio, Italy, 31 January 1944

US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s bombed airfields at Aviano and Udine, Italy; P-38s and P-47s provided escort. Obstlt. Johannes Steinhoff, Geschwaderkommodore of JG 77 and Lt. Klinker were scrambled against the 80 B-17s heading to Udine. One B-17 was shot down by Lt. Klinker but his Bf 109 was damaged and he had to bale out, unhurt.

In Italy, A-20s bombed Artena and road junction N of town; P-40s and A-36s, operating E of the Anzio battle area, hit a road junction at Sezze, the town of Fondi, and junction and town area at Priverno; P-47s bombed San Benedetto de Marsi; the XII Air Support Command flew 250+ sorties over the Anzio beachhead; air opposition was absent.

Battle of the Atlantic

SS 'Emerald' (736t) cargo ship, North-East port to Poole, was sunk by E Boats, SE of Beachy Head.

'U-592' was sunk in the North Atlantic south-west of Ireland, by depth charges from the British sloops HMS 'Starling', 'Wild Goose' and 'Magpie'. 49 dead (all hands lost).

Pacific War

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): US Army and USMC troops land on Kwajalein Atoll, under overall command of Admiral Raymond A Spruance, the USAAF hits other atolls. 19 A-24s bomb Mille Atoll airfield, over which P-39's and P-40's maintain all-day cover and harassment; 9 P-40's carry out a strafing mission against Jaluit Atoll; during the night of 31 Jan/1 Feb, 8 B-24's, attacking at intervals, bomb Wotje Atoll.

GILBERT AND MARSHALL ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Marines and Army troops (Major General Holland M. Smith, USMC) land on atolls of Kwajalein and Majuro, in the Marshalls, in Operation Flintlock. The operation is under the overall command of Commander Central Pacific force TF 50 (Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance) and is composed of Southern Attack force TF 51 (Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turner), Northern Attack Force TF 53 (Rear Admiral Richard L. Conolly), and Reserve Force and Majuro Attack Group TF 51.2 (Rear Admiral Harry W. Hill). Landings are supported by carrier-based aircraft TF 58 (Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) and land-based aircraft TF 57 (Rear Admiral John H. Hoover).

Photo: Gun crew of 105 Howitzer in action on Carlson Island, Kwajalein Atoll. 31 January, 1944

Aircraft from fast carrier group TG 58.3 (Rear Admiral Frederick C. Sherman) bomb aircraft and airfield facilities at Engebi Island, Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshalls. Attacks by this carrier group continue on the first three days of February and afterward by Rear Admiral Samuel P. Ginder's carrier group TG 58.4 through 7 February. TG 58.3 aircraft and destroyer Harrison (DD-573) sink Japanese auxiliary netlayer Katsura Maru off Eniwetok.

U.S. air strike on Nauru, in support of the Marshalls operations, sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chasers Cha 25 and Cha 33.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): 40+ Allied fighters cover a strike by USN dive bombers on Tobera; 8 enemy aircraft are claimed shot down; this strike is immediately followed by an attack by 17 B-24's, with fighter support, on the same target. The detachment of the 17th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 4th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), operating from Munda with F-5's, returns to base on Guadalcanal.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): A-20's attack Uligan Harbor and P-39's strafe Bogadjim, Bostrem Bay, and landing strip at Alexishafen. B-24's hit a motor vessel off Ceram. 89th Bombardment Squadron, 3d Bombardment Group, transfers from Dobodura to Nadzab, New Guinea with A-20's.

NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN

Japanese plane carries out high-level bombing raid on U.S. shipping in Langemak Bay, New Guinea; freighter Stephen Crane is damaged by bomb that glances off her stack and explodes in the water nearby. One Army passenger is killed; 22 men (including one merchant seaman and one of the 29-man Armed Guard) are injured.

Photo: A No. 76 Squadron P-40 Kittyhawk undergoing maintenance at Kiriwina in 31 January 1944

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): In the Aleutians, 5 bombers fly a negative sea-search mission.

PACIFIC

Cargo ship Enceladus (AK-80) is damaged by storm, Solomons, 08°09'N, 157°38'E.

Submarine Trigger (SS-237) sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine depot ship Yasukuni Maru northwest of Truk, 09°21'N, 147°02'E, and damages destroyer Michisio, 09°50'N, 147°06'E.

Submarine Tullibee (SS-284) sinks Japanese auxiliary netlayer Hiro Maru north-northwest of Saipan, 15°23'N, 145°35'E.

USAAF B-24 sinks Japanese guardboat Seisho Maru off Celebes.

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lordroel
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World War II in real time Feb 1, 2023 4:04:06 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Feb 1, 2023 4:04:06 GMT

Day 1605 of World War II, February 1st 1944

Eastern Front

The Red Army continued to attack on the eastern front. Kingisepp fell in the north and spearheads were at the Estonian border. Model attempted to launch counterattacks at Luga and Utorgosh, but they failed to make an impression.

Air War over Europe

12 RAF Mosquitos were sent to Berlin, 3 to Aachen and 3 to Krefeld. 3 Serrate patrols. 1 Mosquito lost on the Berlin raid.

Italian campaign

German planes carried out torpedo attack on convoy UGS 30, and the freighter 'Richmond P. Hobson' was damaged. There were no casualties among the crew (including the Armed Guard) and the ship reached Port Said, Egypt, on 10 February. Freighter 'Edward Bates' was torpedoed 65 miles from Oran and was abandoned; one of the 46-man merchant complement was killed, but there were no casualties among the 38-man Armed Guard or the seven passengers.

US Fifteenth Air Force Operations were limited to a fighter sweep of the Orvieto-Viterbo, Italy area by P-47s and to photo and weather reconnaissance. US Twelfth Air Force B-25s bombed the Albano Laziale road junction; P-40s bombed Cori, while A-36s hit Poggio Mieteto and P-47s attacked the station at San Valentino; fighters cover the Anzio battle area.

Map: Allied Force dispositions at Anzio, 1st February 1944

United Kingdom

The Allied Combined Chiefs of Staff agree to postpone Operation Overlord by a month.

Photo: Meeting of the Supreme Command, Allied Expeditionary Force, London, 1 February 1944

Left to right: Front row:

Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur W Tedder, Deputy Supreme Commander, Expeditionary Force
General Dwight Eisenhower, Supreme Commander, Expeditionary Force
General Sir Bernard Montgomery, Commander in Chief, 21st Army Group
Back row:

Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, Commander in Chief, US 1st Army
Admiral Sir Bertram H Ramsay, Allied Naval Commander in Chief, Expeditionary Force
Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Allied Air Commander in Chief, Expeditionary Force
Lieutenant General Walter Bedell Smith, Chief of Staff to Eisenhower

North Africa

Photo: The U.S. Navy troop transport USS General A. E. Anderson (AP-111) debarks troops at Oran, Algeria, on 1 February 1944

Pacific War

GILBERT AND MARSHALL ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Invasion of the Marshalls continues as Marines land on Roi and Namur and Army troops land on Kwajalein under cover of heavy naval gunfire from battleships, cruisers and destroyers. During this day, heavy cruiser Louisville (CA-28) is damaged by richocheting 8-inch shell from heavy cruiser Indianapolis (CA-35), 09°00'N, 167°00'E; destroyer Anderson (DD-411) is damaged when she runs aground in northern Kwajalein lagoon, 09°10'N, 167°25'E; destroyer Haggard (DD-555) is damaged by accidental explosion, off northwestern end of Kwajalein, 09°00'N, 167°00'E; destroyer Colahan (DD- 658) is damaged when she runs aground on a coral reef at the north end of Enubuj Island, Kwajalein, 08°52'N, 167°38'E; battleships Washington (BB 56) and Indiana (BB 58), operating in TG 58.1, are damaged in collision, 07°00'N, 167°00'E; and minesweeper Chief (AM-135) is damaged by grounding, Marshalls, 09°00'N, 167°00'E.

Map: Landings on roi-namur island in the Kwajalein Atoll

Photo: Kwajalein Operation, January-February 1944: U.S. Navy assault landing craft approach Namur (center) and Roi (right) Islands, Kwajalein Atoll, during landings on them, 1 February 1944. Note devastation on Namur Island, with smoke still rising from bombardment. A flock of Grumman TBF Avenger bombers is in the upper left, and a single Vought OS2U Kingfisher is in lower center. The photo was taken by an aircraft from the escort carrier USS Suwanee (CVE-27)

Japanese naval vessels destroyed in the preinvasion shelling and bombing at Kwajalein include auxiliary submarine chaser No.11 Fuji Maru and guardboats Kikyo Maru, Meiho Maru, Palau Maru, Takeura Maru, and Yamashiro Maru.

Photo: Kwajalein under attack on 1 February 1944. A New Orleans-class cruiser and a Fletcher-class destroyer are visible inside the lagoon

Photo: A Japanese ammunition depot explodes during the Battle of Kwajalein on Bigej Island (conde-named "Bennett"), circa on 1 February 1944

Photo: Explosion of a torpedo warhead magazine on Namur, Kwajalein Atoll, at 1305 hrs, 1 February 1944, as seen from Roi. A demolition team of F Company, 24th Marines, led by Lieutenant Saul Stein threw satchel charges into a presumed bunker. However, the building turned out to be a torpedo warhead magazine and the following explosions (one large and two smaller ones) killed 20 U.S. Marines and wounded another 100

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 6 B-24s bomb Mingaladon Airfield; another hits the airfield at Nyaungbinwun; 32 P-51s and A-36s and a single B-25 hit the main airfield at Myitkyina; some of the aircraft then strafe the Radhapur transport depot and storage area to the NW.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China during Feb 44, a detachment of the 16th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, based at Chengkung, operates from Nanning with P-40s; 449th Fighter Squadron, 51st Fighter Group, transfers from Kunming to Suichwan with P-38s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): B-24s from Makin hit the beach defenses on Kwajalein; P-40s on armed reconnaissance over Mille Atoll, Marshall Islands strafe a beached schooner. Operation CATCHPOLE is begun to occupy and defend Eniwetok Atoll, which is to furnish a striking base for operations against the Marianas. During the operation, Seventh Air Force aircraft operating from newly acquired bases in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands neutralize airfields in the Marianas and continue to pound by-passed airfields in the Marshalls.

NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN

Naval Base, Finschhafen, New Guinea, is established.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): Weather prevents 50 B-24s sent against installations in the Admiralty Islands from reaching the target; 2 B-24s bomb a freighter NE of Vanimo, New Guinea while a single B-24 on armed reconnaissance strafes barges in the Solomon Sea. HQ 308th and 309th Bombardment Wings and 310th Bombardment Wing (Medium) are activated at Oro Bay, Lae and Gusap respectively; the wings will operate with various groups that are attached for brief periods. Lost on a ferry flight is B-25D 41-30532. Transfers in New Guinea: 8th Bombardment Squadron from Dobodura to Nadzab with A-20s; 421st Night Fighter Squadron, V Fighter Command, from Milne Bay to Nadzab with P-70s. During Feb 44, a detachment of the 26th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, based at Dobodura, begins operating from Port Moresby with F-5s.

HAWAII

Command designated Amphibious Forces, Pacific Fleet, with headquarters at Pearl Harbor, is established. Vice Admiral Richmond K. Turner, Commander Fifth Amphibious Force, is ordered to assume this command as additional duty.

ESPRIRITU SANTO ISLAND

Photo: U.S. Navy Grumman F6F-3 Hellcats of Fighting Squadron 40 (VF-40) on the ground at Turtle Bay fighter strip on Espiritu Santo island on 1 February 1944

PACIFIC

Destroyers Guest (DD-472) and Hudson (DD-475) sink Japanese submarine I-171, 15 miles west of Buka Island, 05°37'S, 154°14'E.

Submarine Guardfish (SS-217) attacks Japanese convoy heading for Truk's south pass, just off the reef, and sinks destroyer Umikaze, 07°11'N, 151°44'E.

Submarine Hake (SS-256) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Nanka Maru and transport Tacoma Maru off northeast coast of Halmahera, 01°32'N, 128°50'E.

Submarine Seahorse (SS-304) attacks Japanese convoy on the Palau-Rabaul track, sinking transport Toei Maru about 175 miles south of Woleai, 04°24'N, 143°15'E.

USAAF B-24s damage Japanese ship Hakka Maru, 02°43'S, 141°28'E, as she is en route from Hollandia to Aitape.

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lordroel
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World War II in real time Feb 2, 2023 3:59:31 GMT stevep and Max Sinister like this

Post by lordroel on Feb 2, 2023 3:59:31 GMT

Day 1606 of World War II, February 2nd 1944

Eastern Front

In the north, Red Army forces entered Estonia and captured Vanakula. To the South, 4th Ukrainian Front joined the offensive against Nikopol, threatening to surround the German 6.Armee defending the area.

Marshall Josef V Stalin agreed to provide 6 bases for US aircraft in the USSR.

Air War over Europe

7 RAF Mosquitos flew to Rheinhausen and 6 to Elberfeld, 2 RCM sorties, 5 Serrate patrols, 50 Halifaxes minelaying in Kiel Bay. The Kiel Bay mining operation was a ploy to draw up German fighters, even though no major bombing raid was planned. No aircraft were lost from these operations.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 205: 95 of 110 B-24s hit V-weapon construction sites at St Pol/Siracourt and Watten, France; 2 B-24s were lost, 1 was damaged beyond repair and 2 damaged. 183 P-47s escorted the B-24s without loss. US Ninth Air Force 36 B-26s attacked Triqueville Airfield, France. Eighth Air Force escorts were 34 P-38s and 44 P-47s. No losses.

Italian campaign

Lucas called off attacks to break out of the Anzio beachhead as it became obvious that the Germans were in great strength and preparing their own counter attack. Unknown to the Allies, the Germans had intended on launching those attacks this very day, but the Allied attacks had disrupted those plans.

In Italy, B-25s attacked the Marino road junction and A-20s bombed Norma; A-36s and P-40s bombed villages, road junctions, trucks, trains, parked aircraft, supply dump, and the Viterbo road during several fighter-bomber missions; P-40s on patrol over the battle areas attacked Cisterna di Latina and Formia.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Cloues (DE-265) underway in San Francisco Bay on 2 February 1944

Battle of the Mediterranean

Sailing vessel 'Yahia' rammed and sunk by 'U-453' in eastern Mediterranean.

US Fifteenth Air Force B-24s, with Spitfire escort, bombed the radar station at Durazzo, Albania.

Major General Gordon P Saville became Commanding General, XII Air Support Command.

Pacific War

GILBERT AND MARSHALL ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Roi and Namur Islands in the Marshalls are secured.

Photo: U.S. infantry and M4 Sherman tanks attack amid the rubble of fortifications on Kwajalein on 2 February 1944. Note the 37 mm gun brought into position

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): A-24s and P-40s from Makin bomb runways and gun positions on Mille Atoll and along with P-39 escort strafe NE tip of the island; B-24s from Tarawa Atoll bomb Rongelap Island, Marshall Islands.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): 31st Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 5th Bombardment Group (Heavy), based on Guadalcanal Island, begins operating from Munda, New Georgia Island with B-24s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): B-24s bomb Sorong and Alexishafen; nearly 50 A-20s pound installations in the Madang area. B-25s hit coastal targets on New Britain Island from Cape Gauffre to Rein Bay. Other B-25s attack shipping off Tingwon Island in the Bismarck Archipelago and off the SE coast of New Britain Island.

PACIFIC

Destroyer Walker (DD-517) sinks Japanese submarine RO-39 10 miles east of Wotje, Marshalls, 09°24'N, 170°32'E.

Submarine Plunger (SS-179) attacks Japanese convoy south of Honshu, and sinks merchant cargo ships No.5 Toyo Maru and No.8 Toyo Maru off Kushimoto, 33°29'N, 135°59'E, and survives resultant depth-charging.

Japanese transport Katsura Maru sinks after running aground off Futsing, China, 25°37'N, 119°47'E.

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lordroel
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World War II in real time Feb 3, 2023 9:08:33 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Feb 3, 2023 9:08:33 GMT

Day 1607 of World War II, February 3rd 1944

Eastern Front

Victory salvoes were crashing out in Moscow as the Russians celebrated victories all along the front. In a special order of the day Stalin announced the trapping of ten German divisions in the Dniepr Bend in the biggest encirclement since Stalingrad. Meanwhile, in the north, General Govorov's troops crossed the Estonian border in their great Leningrad offensive.

Map: Sweeping Soviet advances that created the pocket

Air War over Europe

7 RAF Mosquitos flew to Krefeld, 4 to Dortmund and 3 to Cologne, 6 RCM sorties, 1 Serrate patrol, 35 aircraft minelaying off French Channel and Atlantic ports, 4 OTU .sorties. No aircraft lost.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 206: 553 of 671 B-17s hit the port area at Wilhelmshaven, Germany; another 56 hit the Emden area; and 1 hits Oldenburg; 1.8 million leaflets were dropped by B-17s; 193 B-24s were dispatched but they aborted the mission over the Zuider Zee due to clouds; 0-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft were claimed; 4 B-17s were lost, 1 B-24 was damaged beyond repair and 47 B-17s were damaged. Escort was provided by 74 P-38s, 508 P-47s of the Eighth and Ninth Air Force and 50 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claimed 8-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 8 P-47s and 1 P-51 were lost, 3 P-47s were damaged beyond repair and 13 P-47s were damaged. The accommodation ship 'Monte Pasqual' was sunk and the minesweepers M 18 and M 19 were damaged by the attack.

The 358th Fighter Group at Raydon became operational with P-47s. This was the first of 17 fighter groups which were to be added by 9 May 44 to the Ninth Air Force, which previously had only 1 fighter group, the 354th at Boxted with P-51s.

52 US Ninth Air Force B-26s bombed V-weapon sites on the W coast of France. Weather caused 100+ other aircraft to abandon the mission.

Italian Campaign

German forces began a counterattack at Anzio. Hitler had ordered that the Anzio beach-head "must be crushed in the blood of British soldiers". As dusk fell last night those soldiers were suffering a massive artillery barrage as the German 14.Armee prepared a full-scale counter-attack on the British salient. Every German gun was trained on the "thumb" created by the British 1st Division on 30 January in an abortive attempt to reach Campoleone. "Anzio Annie", a 14-inch railway gun, was used to devastating effect. However, the Germans' latest secret weapon - "Goliath", a radio-controlled miniature tank packed with explosive - failed under small-arms fire. German forces made probing attacks against the British 1st Division, attacking the exposed position around Campoleone. By mid-morning the "thumb" was nearly severed. Over 1,400 men had been lost. The Germans suffered similar losses, but showed no sign of letting up. To the south, the US 5th Army was reinforced by the New Zealand Corps and was deployed opposite Cassino.

In Italy, B-24s, finding the primary target obscured by bad weather, bombed targets of opportunity (railroad yards and stations) at Stimigliano and Sulmona; other B-24s returned to base without bombing; P-47s flew a fighter sweep over the Prato-Pontassieve area. US Twelfth Air Force Medium bomber missions were all aborted. In Italy, A-36s hit roads and other targets S of Rome, destroying or damaging numerous trucks and bombing the towns of Sezze and Fondi as US ground forces met strong resistance in their drive toward Cassino; P-47s hit Manopello and railroad facilities at Sulmona; and fighters patroled the Anzio area.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Stern (DE-187) at anchor off New York City (USA) on 3 February 1944. She is painted in in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 10D

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS O'Neill (DE-188) at anchor off New York City (USA) on 3 February 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 31, Design 10D

Photo: The U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Block Island (CVE-21) underway in the Atlantic Ocean outside of Norfolk, Virginia (USA), on 3 February 1944

Pacific War

GILBERT AND MARSHALL ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Cruiser and destroyer gunfire supports landing of Army troops on Ebeye, Kwajalein Atoll, Marshalls.

Photo: Men of the 7th Division, U.S. Army, move gun up to the frontlines, Kwajalein Island, 3 February, 1944

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 16 P-38s attack bridges, encampments, and buildings along the Prome-Taungup road; 1 bridge is knocked out and another damaged; a tugboat is sunk at Akyab; 14 A-36s and a B-25 attack troops and camp area at Kumnyen and Lalawng Ga, and hit a motor pool and repair depot at Shingban; 16 P-51s hit an encampment at Sawnghka.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): P-40s from Makin bomb and strafe Mille Atoll.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): P-40s and US Navy fighters cover a USN dive-bomber strike on Tobera; 15 B-24s with P-38 and USN fighter escort bomb Lakunai Airfield; Allied aircraft claim 13 Japanese interceptors downed during the 2 strikes. Lost is F4U Corsair 56039.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): Nearly 100 B-24s and B-25s, supported by P-38s, P-40s and P-47s, pound airfields in the Wewak area; about 80 aircraft are destroyed on the ground and in the air; A-20s attack Alexishafen and the Hansa Bay areas; P-39s and B-25s on armed reconnaissance hit trucks at Erima, barges on the New Britain coast, shipping in the N Bismarck Sea, and Momote and Hyane Harbor. Transfers in New Guinea: HQ 3d Bombardment Group from Dobodura to Nadzab; 25th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, from Brisbane, Australia to Lae with F-5s, first mission on 5 Feb; 673d Bombardment Squadron, 417th Bombardment Group, from Cape Sudest to Dobodura with A-20s, first mission on 25 Mar.

PACIFIC

Submarine Tambor (SS-198) attacks Japanese convoy in East China Sea, sinking fleet tanker Goyo Maru and merchant fleet tanker Ariake Maru about 200 miles southeast of Shanghai, 28°53'N, 124°19'E. Although damaged by depth charges from escort vessels, the submarine remains on patrol.

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World War II in real time Feb 4, 2023 14:55:07 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Feb 4, 2023 14:55:07 GMT

Day 1608 of World War II, February 4th 1944

YouTube (Leningrad: NO STEP BACK! - February 4, 1944)

Eastern Front

Von Manstein massed four panzer divisions and an ad hoc heavy tank brigade under Bake and opened his counterattack to relieve their comrades at Korsun. The forces was denuded of the full strength of 24.Panzerdivision at the last minute as Hitler personally intervened and sent it south to help at Nikopol. In the end the 24.Panzerdivision would waste it's fuel and supplies slugging through mud marching to no purpose.

Air War over Europe

28 RAF aircraft were minelaying in the Bay of Biscay, 49 aircraft - 27 Stirlings, 17 Halifaxes, 3 Lysanders, 2 Hudsons - flew on Resistance operations. This was the first widespread use of the No 3 Group Stirling squadrons for Resistance operations work. No aircraft lost.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 208: 589 B-17s and 159 B-24s were dispatched to attack industry and railroad yards at Frankfurt/Main, Germany; 346 B-17s and 27 B-24s hit the target; due to weather and navigational problems, 122 B-17s hit Giessen, 51 B-17s hit Wiesbaden, 17 B-24s hit the Trier area, 15 B-24s hit the Arloff area, 2 B-24s hit the Russelheim area, 1 B-24 hits Grafenhausen, 1 B-24 hits Darmstadt, 1 B-17 and 1 B-24 hit Koblenz and 26 B-24s and 23 B-17s hit unknown targets; they claimed 4-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 18 B-17s and 2 B-24s were lost, 2 B-17s and 1 B-24 were damaged beyond repair and 359 aircraft were damaged. Escort was provided by 56 P-38s, 537 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 44 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claimed 8-0-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-38 was lost, 1 P-47 was damaged beyond repair and 5 P-38s and 4 P-47s were damaged.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 209: 7 of 7 B-17s dropped 319 bundles of leaflets on Lorient, Tours, Nantes, Raismes, Lille and Cambrai, France and Antwerp, Belgium at 2102-2132 hours without loss.

In France, US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s bombed Antheor viaduct and Toulon harbor; B-24s were forced by bad weather to return bombs to base; many of the B-17s returning from the Toulon raid were forced to land at various friendly fields because of unsafe flying conditions.

9 RAF Mosquitos were sent to Frankfurt, 5 to Elberfeld and 1 to Aachen, 2 Serrate patrols.

Italian Campaign

German forces opened up serious attacks against the British 1st Division, forcing them back. To the south, the US 34th Infantry Division captured two important peaks near Colle Sant'Angelo.

In Italy, weather prevented all medium, light and fighter-bomber missions; P-40s and Spitfires maintained patrols over the Anzio area, where a strong German counter-offensive had been launched during the night of 3/4 Feb.

Battle of the Atlantic

'U-453' shot down a SAAF 17 Sqn Ventura. 'U-519' shot down a RAF 172 Sqn Wellington. The U-boat was possibly lost in this attack. 'U-763' shot down two Liberators from RAF 53 Sqn. One at 0821, the second at 2211.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Callaghan (DD-792) off San Pedro, California (USA), on 4 February 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 31, Design 7D

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Prichett (DD-561) underway off Aiki Point, Washington (USA), on 4 February 1944. The ship is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 13D

Pacific War

GILBERT AND MARSHALL ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

U.S. 27th Army defeat organized Japanese resistance Kwajalein.

Photo: 7th Division troops board LSTs to leave Kwajalein, 4 February, 1944

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): 12 P-51s strafe runways and buildings at Indaw, Burma.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): B-24s, flying from Tarawa Atoll and Makin bomb Wotje, Maloelap and Mille Atolls; B-25s from Tarawa and Abemama also hit Wotje and Maloelap; P-40s based on Makin bomb and strafe Mille Atoll.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): 25 B-25s, escorted by 40+ fighters, pound the airfield at Tobera; 18 B-24s, covered by 30+ P-38s and USN fighters, hit the airfield at Vunakanau. HQ 5th Bombardment Group transfers from Guadalcanal Island to Munda, New Georgia Island. 68th Fighter Squadron, 347th Fighter Group, transfers from Fiji to Bougainville with P-38s.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): B-24s and B-25s carry out small raids against Ambon, Namlea on Buru Island and Amboina. In New Guinea, 170+ B-24s, A-20s. and B-25s bomb But and Dagua Airfields, Marienberg and the Madang-Alexishafen area; P-39s bomb and strafe Atemble and strafe targets of opportunity in the Alexishafen area. 672d, 674th and 675th Bombardment Squadrons , 417th Bombardment Group, transfer from Cape Sudest to Dobodura, New Guinea with A-20s, first mission on 25 Mar.

PACIFIC

TG 94.6 cruisers and destroyers (Rear Admiral Wilder D. Baker) bombard Japanese installations at Paramushiro, Kuril Islands, damaging cargo ship Kokai Maru.

Destroyers bombard Sarine Plantation, northwest coast of Bougainville, Solomon Islands; destroyer Claxton (DD- 571) is damaged by return fire from Japanese shore battery, 05°49'S, 154°39'E.

Destroyer Charrette (DD-581) and destroyer escort Fair (DE-35) sink Japanese submarine I-175, 100 miles north of Jaluit, Marshalls, 06°48'N, 168°08'E.

PV-1s sink Japanese water tanker Goryu Maru off Emidj Island, Jaluit, 06°00'N, 169°44'E.

USMC PB4Ys (VMD 154) reconnoiter Truk in the first general reconnaissance of that important Japanese fleet base by U.S. planes.

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World War II in real time Feb 5, 2023 7:13:06 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Feb 5, 2023 7:13:06 GMT

Day 1609 of World War II, February 5th 1944

Eastern Front

As the German counterattack to relieve the Korsun pocket continued, 1st Ukrainian Front continued to drive west against the greatly depleted 4.Panzerarmee, capturing Rovno and Lutsk. The German forces inside the pocket were designated Group Stemmermann (after the senior commander). The Germans began air resupply missions to their trapped forces and had limited success. Soviet attacks began to reduce the pocket. To compound difficulties for both sides, the temperature plummeted to well below zero throughout the battle area.

Photo: The relief attempt begins. Tanks and halftracks of 1st Panzer Division begin movements towards the pocket, early February 1944

Air War over Europe

29 RAF Stirlings and 17 Halifaxes flew on Resistance operations, 19 Halifaxes minelaying off Oslo and Fredrijkstad in Norway, 15 OTU sorties. 1 Stirling lost on Resistance operations work.

In view of the previous decision to concentrate most of the training activities of the Eighth Air Force in the VIII Air Force Composite Command, a decision was made to transfer HQ from Limavady, County Derry, Ireland, to Cheddington, England, to bring it closer to the combat crew training stations over which it was to be given supervision. Most of the transfer was completed between 7 and 15 Feb.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 210: Airfields in France were targetted. 103 B-17s were dispatched to Chateauroux/Martinerie and Avord Airfields with 50 hitting each target; 121 B-17s were dispatched to Chateaudun (61 bomb) and Orleans/Bricy (60 bomb) Airfields; 182 B-17s were dispatched to Romilly-sur-Seine air depot but 133 hit Villacoublay; 103 B-24s were dispatched to Meslay Airfield (90 bomb) and 8 hit Chateaudun; they claimed 5-0-5 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 B-24s were lost, 3 B-17s and 1 B-24 were damaged beyond repair and 39 B-17s and 31 B-24s were damaged. Escort was provided by 92 P-38s, 496 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 46 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claimed 6-0-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-47s were lost, 1 P-38 and 1 P-47 were damaged beyond repair and 1 P-38 and 1 P-47 were damaged.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 211: 5 of 5 B-17s dropped 300 bundles of leaflets during a CARPETBAGGER mission on Ghent, Monceau-sur-Sambre, Antwerp and Brussels, Belgium at 2026-2037 hours without loss.

Around 180 US Ninth Air Force B-26s attacked 6 V-weapon sites in N France.

18 RAF Mosquitos went to Berlin, 7 to Duisburg and 1 to Hannover, 3 Serrate patrols.

Italian Campaign

In Italy, B-25s bombed Terni marshalling yard, and A-20s hit the Lanuvio and Piedimonte areas. P-40s and A-36s hit road junctions at Cisterna di Latina, Vetralla, and Velletri, bombed the towns of Vetralla, Ardea, and Villa Santa Lucia degli Abruzzi, and attacked motor transport at several points, including areas N, NE and SE of Rome.

Battle of the Atlantic

'U-763' shot down an RAF 502 Sqn Halifax. 'U-963' shot down an RAF 53 Sqn Liberator.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy amphibious force command ship USS Catoctin (AGC-5) underway near the Philadelphia Naval, Shipyard, Pennsylvania (USA), on 5 February 1944

Photo: A U.S. Navy Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat (BuNo 40164) in flight over the Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River, Maryland (USA), on 5 February 1944

Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma during the early morning hours, 8 B-24s bomb the airfield at Heho while 6 others hit Aungban Airfield; 9 B-25s follow with strikes on Heho, Sagaing and Myittha Airfields. During the daylight hours 14 fighter-bombers hit the marshalling yard at Wuntho; during the night of 5/6 Feb, 9 B-24s again hit Heho and 4 bomb Aungban.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): 8 B-24s during the night of 5/6 Feb bomb Bangkok. 3 others hit Nakhon Nayok and an unidentified airfield on the Mekong River both in French Indochina. 2 B-24s and 2 B-25s attack a convoy E of Hong Kong and claim 2 freighters and 3 smaller cargo vessels sunk. In Burma, 4 P-40s on armed reconnaissance strafe a big wagon and truck column N of Hsenwi; 4 others bomb and strafe Hopang, causing large fires in the village.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): P-40s from Makin dive-bomb and strafe oil storage area, radio facilities, and small craft at Jaluit Atoll, Marshall Islands; P-39s strafe runways on Mille Atoll.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): 24 P-40s join 40+ USN fighters in covering a strike by more than 60 USN dive bombers on Lakunai. This strike is followed by an attack of 13 B-24s, with 30+ P-38 and USN fighter escort, on the same target.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): In New Guinea, 70+ B-25s and A-20s attack the Hansa Bay area; 48 B-24s pound Hoskins Airfield, and some also bomb Gasmata, after weather prevents an attack on Kavieng. B-24s fly a light raid on Kaimana, New Guinea. B-25s on armed reconnaissance in the W Bismarck Sea claim 1 freighter sunk; others bomb wrecked ships off New Hanover Island.

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): In the Kurile Islands, 6 B-24s and 16 P-38s join USN aircraft to fly air cover in several relays during retirement of US light cruisers and destroyers following bombardment of installations in the Kurabu Cape-Musashi Bay areas; shortly afterwards, the aircraft also photograph and attack installations at Paramushiru and Shimushu.

PACIFIC

Submarine Flasher (SS-249) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Taishin Maru about 60 miles west of Mindoro, 13°09'N, 120°24'E.

Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) delivers supplies and evacuates certain personnel from near Libertad, Panay, P.I.

British submarine HMS Stonehenge sinks Japanese ship No.2 Koryo Maru north of Sumatra.

USAAF B-25s sink Fatsumi Maru off Wewak.

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World War II in real time Feb 6, 2023 3:49:02 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Feb 6, 2023 3:49:02 GMT

Day 1610 of World War II, February 6th 1944

Eastern Front

The attacks by 3rd Ukrainian Front captured Manganets and Apostolovo east and west of Nikopol, threatening to cut off the Germans there.

Continuation War

150 heavy Soviet bombers attacked Helsinki as a part of Stalin's plan to soften Finland to separate from Germany and conclude peace. Thanks to the efficient Finnish air-defences, mostly equipment purchased from Germany, the damage to the city was limited, but still 103 people were killed.

Air War over Europe

US Eighth Air Force Mission 212: Airfields in France were targetted but weather forces 400+ bombers to abort the mission. 189 B-17s were dispatched against the Romilly-sur-Seine Air Depot and 60 hit St Andre de L'Eure Airfield and 40 hit Evreux/Fauville Airfield; 303 B-17s were dispatched to Nancy/Essay and Dijon/Longvic Airfields but only 60 hit Caen/Carpiquet Airfield; 150 B-24s were dispatched to St Pol/Siracourt V-weapon site but 37 hit Chateaudun Airfield and 9 hit the Eclimeux V-weapon site; they claimed 3-3-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17s were lost, 1 B-17 and 1 B-24 were damaged beyond repair and 43 B-17s and 7 B-24s were damaged. Escorting were 85 P-38s, 506 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 47 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claimed 11-2-3 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 2-0-7 on the ground; 3 P-38s and 1 P-47 were lost, 1 P-38 and 2 P-47s were damaged beyond repair and 1 P-38 and 1 P-47 were damaged. Uffz. Artur Beese of 9./JG 26 was killed.

Italian Campaign

Both on the Cassino front and on the beachhead south of Rome, Allied troops were forced to withdraw under heavy German counterattacks.

Battle of the Atlantic

'U-177' was sunk in the South Atlantic west of Ascension Island, by depth charges from a USN VB-107 Sqn Privateer. 50 dead and 15 survivors.

United States

Photo: USS Atlanta (CL-104) slides down the shipways during her launching, at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard, Camden, New Jersey, on 6 February 1944

Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): 12 P-51s hit warehouses and freight cars at Wuntho, Burma and claim 4 warehouses destroyed.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): 11 P-40s on armed reconnaissance strafe sampans and power launches between Yoyang and Puchi, China. 6 B-25s knock out bridges and damage 3 trains at Anxuan, Tien An, Phong Loc and Dong Hoi, French Indochina.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): B-24s from Tarawa Atoll hit Maloelap and Wotje Atolls; A-24s and P-40s from Makin attack Mille Atoll; Tarawa-based P-39s strafe Jaluit Atoll.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): P-39s and RNZAF Ventura's hit barges in the Green Island area. Lakunai Airfield is hit by 32 B-25s, covered by 60+ AAF and USN fighters, and shortly afterwards by 19 B-24s, escorted by nearly 50 Allied fighters; Allied aircraft claim 16 aircraft shot down; Lakunai is practically unserviceable as a result of cumulative damage.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): B-25s and B-24s pound Bunabun Harbor, Madang, and targets from Bogia to Cape Croisilles; P-39s strafe and sink barges near Nubia; and A-20s hit shipping near Kairiru and Mushu Islands causing considerable damage and destruction. Other bombers hit targets in the Admiralty Islands, concentrating on Momote and carry out light attacks on Talasea village and Cape Dampier gun positions on New Britain Island.

PACIFIC

USAAF A-20s and P-40s sink Japanese ships Kaiyu Maru and Takegiku Maru and damage Torihime Maru off Wewak.

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World War II in real time Feb 7, 2023 3:49:04 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Feb 7, 2023 3:49:04 GMT

Day 1611 of World War II, February 7th 1944

Eastern Front

Hitler ordered German troops trapped in the Korsun pocket to break out. Group Stemmermann, under continuous pressure from Soviet attacks, contracted its perimeter, abandoning Gorodische and Yanovka, and prepared for a breakout attack. Meanwhile, the break-in attack continued against very heavy resistance.

Air War over Europe

19 RAF Mosquitos were dispatched to Frankfurt, 8 to Elberfeld, 5 to Krefeld, 2 to Aachen and 1 to Mannheim, 4 Serrate patrols. No losses.

Italian Campaign

The German attacks at Anzio intensified as the British positions at Aprilla and "The Factory" were hit hard. The British 56th and US 45th Infantry Divisions were landed at Anzio and moved to the front.

Destroyer 'Ludlow' (DD-438) was damaged by dud shell from a German shore battery off Anzio, Italy.

In Italy, B-26s bombed the bridge approach S of Manziana; B-25s hit the Viterbo marshalling yard and, in support of US Fifth army troops, bombed the town of Cisterna di Latina as the enemy counterattack began in the Anzio area; A-20s hit Piedimonte and the road junction and railway station at Campoleone; A-36s hit San Stefano al Mare and nearby railroad siding, Pontecorvo and Belmonte in Sabina, plus several targets of opportunity and targets in support of ground forces in the battle areas; P-40s attacked an observation tower at Littoria, trucks at Villa Santa Lucia degli Abruzzi, Campoleone, a railroad gun, the Sezze railroad yards, Cisterna di Latina and gun positions in battle areas. Fighters encountered heavy aircraft activity over the Anzio battle area and claimed 16 shot down. Three Bf 109s from Stab JG 77 were scrambled and made contact with 20 P-47s in the Padova-Verona area. After combat, Uffz Wolters belly-landed north of Treviso unhurt. Fw. Eckhardt Kruger from 1./JG 77 went missing in action near Verona. No Thunderbolts were claimed by the German fighters.

Battle of the Atlantic

The first schnorkel equipped German U-boat entered the Atlantic.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Birmingham (CL-62) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 7 February 1944. Birmingham was at the yard from 22 December 1943 until 15 February 1944 for battle damage repair. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 33, Design 6d

Photo: Launch of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) at Newport News Shipbuilding, Virginia (USA), on 7 February 1944

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Thatcher (DD-514) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California (USA), on 7 February 1944. Thatcher was in overhaul at Mare Island form 13 December 1943 until 10 February 1944. The ship is painted in Camouflage Measure 31, Design 2C

Pacific War

GILBERT AND MARSHALL ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Kwajalein Atoll is declared secured.

Escort carrier White Plains (CVE-66) and destroyer Caldwell (DD-605) are damaged in collision while transferring people at sea, Marshalls area.

Photo: U.S. Navy ships of Task Force 52 anchored in Kwajalein Lagoon, 7 February 1944, at the conclusion of the conquest of the atoll. The attack transport in right the center distance, with two stacks, is USS Feland (APA-11). The photo was taken from the escort carrier USS Manila Bay (CVE-61)

Photo: The U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Suwannee (CVE-27) at anchor in Kwajalein harbour, Marshall Islands, on 7 February 1944 with Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters, Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers, and Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bombers on her flight deck. The photo was taken from the heavy cruiser USS Baltimore (CA-68)

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): A single B-25 bombs a motor pool at Sumprabum, Burma.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 16 P-40s and 4 P-51s damage railroad bridges at Kienchang and Puchi and strafe warehouses at Teian. In French Indochina, 2 B-25s score 2 direct hits on the powerplant at Thanh Hoa, strafe nearby barracks, and attack the radio station at Vinh.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): B-25s from Tarawa Atoll and Abemama Island hit Wotje and Maloelap Atolls and P-40s from Makin hit a storage area at Jaluit Atoll.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): P-40s join USN fighters in covering a USN dive-bomber strike on Tobera; several gun positions and grounded aircraft are hit and the runway is bombed into unserviceable condition; 11 aircraft are claimed shot down; Vunakanau Airfield is bombed by 17 B-24s, escorted by P-38s and USN fighters.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): 14 B-24s bomb Amboina, Ambon and Lautem, Timor Island. P-39s fly strafing sweeps over New Britain. Single B-25s on reconnaissance bomb Garua Harbor, Cape Dampier on New Britain and Kavieng. Lost is L-4 Grasshopper 43-29071 near Saidor. Transfers in New Guinea: HQ 35th Fighter Group from Nadzab to Gusap; HQ 417th Bombardment Group from Cape Sudest to Dobodura; 25th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, from Lae to Nadzab with F-5s; 110th Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter), 71st Reconnaissance Group, from Port Moresby to Gusap with P-39Qs.

JAPANESE OCCUPIED PHILIPPINES

Submarine Narwhal (SS-167) delivers supplies and evacuates certain people from near Balatong Point, Negros, P.I.

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World War II in real time Feb 8, 2023 3:48:33 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Feb 8, 2023 3:48:33 GMT

Day 1612 of World War II, February 8th 1944

Eastern Front

At Korsun, the Soviets offered Group Stemmermann the opportunity to surrender. It was refused. To the south, 3rd Ukrainian Front captured Nikopol as the Germans beat a hasty retreat from the trap.

Air War over Europe

12 Lancasters of RAF No 617 Squadron, led by its new commanding officer Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire, attacked the Gnome Rhone aero-engine factory at Limoges in France. This was a very important raid. No 617 Squadron had been experiencing difficulty in finding a useful role after the Dams Raid nearly 9 months earlier. Low-level precision raids on targets in Germany had been too costly. High-level precision bombing on small targets in France and Belgium had been unsatisfactory, despite marking by Oboe-equipped Mosquitos. For this attack, Cheshire was given official permission to attempt low-level marking of this target, which had many French civilian houses near by. The factory was undefended, except for 2 machine-guns, and Cheshire made 3 low-level runs in bright moonlight to warn the French factory workers to escape. On his 4th run, he dropped a load of 30lb incendiaries from between 50 and 100ft. Each of 11 other Lancasters then dropped a 12,000lb bomb with great accuracy; dropped for the first time, 10 bombs hit the factory and the remaining one fell in the river alongside. The factory was severely damaged and production almost completely ceased. There were few if any casualties among the French people. No Lancasters were lost. Despite the success of the low-level marking, it was never adopted by the Pathfinders, but was used on raids by No 617 Squadron and No 5 Group.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 214: 53 of 54 B-24s hit the V-weapon site at Siracourt, France while 57 of 73 B-24s hit the V-weapon site at Watten, France; 41 B-24s were damaged. Escort was 89 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s. 88 of 236 B-17s hit the marshalling yards at Frankfurt, Germany using blind-bombing techniques; 107 other B-17s hit targets of opportunity; they claimed 1-3-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 13 B-17s were lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 108 damaged; escort was provided by 77 P-38s, 435 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 41 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claimed 16-1-8 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-38s, 3 P-47s and 4 P-51s were lost, 1 P-47 was damaged beyond repair and 4 P-47s were damaged.

Photo: a B-24D-15-CF Liberator Named "Dorothy" s/n 42-63960 564th Bomb Squadron, 389th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. on raid over Congac France

US Eighth Air Force Mission 215: 6 of 6 B-17s dropped 360 bundles of leaflets in a CARPETBAGGER operation over Caen, Rouen, Paris, Rennes and Amiens, France.

HQ US Ninth Air Force extended IX Bomber Command's choice of targets considerably, although first priority for Operation POINTBLANK missions [the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) of US and RAF air forces against the Luftwaffe and German aircraft industry] and next priority for Operation CROSSBOW (code name for operations against German V-weapon sites) targets was maintained.

In a morning raid, nearly 200 B-26s attacked V-weapon sites and targets of opportunity in NW France. In an afternoon raid, 100+ B-26s bombed V-weapon sites and military instsllations in the same general area, most of the B-26s attacking Breck-sur-Mer. This was the IX Bomber Command's first 2-mission day.

Italian Campaign

The German counterattack at Anzio continued to hit the British 1st Infantry Division. The British reluctantly gave ground under the pressure but held the key positions of Aprilia and "The Factory".

Photo: German portable pillbox made of approximately two inch cast iron being removed to rear area after being dug out of its position along the Gustav Line, near Cassino. 8 February, 1944

In Italy, B-25s bomb Cisterna di Latina; B-26s hit the Siena marshalling yard and warehouses, and a railway bridge NE of Civita Castellana; A-20s bomb Piedimonte; A-36s attack gun positions near Ausonia, tracks between Rome and Orte, and the town of Veroli, and fly strafing and bombing sweeps in the Anzio battle area against motor transport, gun positions, road junction E of Cisterna di Latina, and the town of Pontecorvo; P-40s hit Roccasecca, Castello, Caprile. Piedimonte, Aquino and other targets, including a supply dump and gun positions; P-47s bomb Atina; Desert Air Force (DAF) fighters (US and RAF) destroy a large number of trucks near Sora. B-24s bomb airfields at Viterbo, Tarquinia, Orvieto, Piombino and Prato; B-17s hit the marshalling yard at Verona; P-38s and P-47s escort the Orvieto, Piombino, and Prato missions.

Battle of the Atlantic

Light cruiser Marblehead (CL-12) rescues the survivors of German submarine U-177, sunk by PB4Y (VB 107) on 6 February.

Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 7 B-25s bomb bridges at Budalin and Songon, displacing a section of the former and destroying an approach to
the latter; 7 others hit the stronghold at Badana; 16 A-36s and P-51s and 1 B-25 hit a camp at Mogaung; 4 P-51s strafe railroad cars NW of Myitkyina while 1 B-25 bombs a camp at Kumnyen.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): B-24s from Makin and Abemama Islands hit Maloelap and Mille Atolls.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

( Thirteenth Air Force): P-39s over Bougainville Island bomb and strafe Tiaraka huts and bivouac area.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): In New Guinea, nearly 50 A-20s and B-25s hit the Alexishafen and Madang areas; P-39s strafe targets of opportunity during sweeps over wide areas of NE New Guinea and New Britain Island; during the night of 8/9 Feb, B-25s bomb Toeal.

PACIFIC

Submarine Snook (SS-279), in attack on Japanese convoy off the west coast of Kyushu, sinks transport Lima Maru about 30 miles southeast of the Goto Archipelago, 31°05'N, 127°37'E, damages army cargo ship Shiranesan Maru, and survives depth-charging by one or more of the convoy's escorts that include Patrol Boat No.38, auxiliary submarine chaser No.5 Kyoei Maru and torpedoboat Sagi.

Photo: The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3) on 8 February 1944. The photo was taken from one of her planes of Carrier Air Group 12 (CVG-12), of which many aircraft are visible on deck, mainly Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers and Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters

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World War II in real time Feb 9, 2023 3:49:20 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Feb 9, 2023 3:49:20 GMT

Day 1613 of World War II, February 9th 1944

Eastern Front

The Germans redouble their efforts to fly supplies into the Korsum Pocket, delivering about half the daily requirement the trapped forces needed. Exit flights were able to evacuate some of the seriously wounded.

Photo: Ju 52s at Korsun airfield, Ju 87s in formation above (Febuary 1944)

Air War over Europe

The RAF dispatched 16 Mosquitos - 8 to Elberfeld, 7 to Krefeld and 1 to Aachen. 1 aircraft lost on the Krefeld raid.

US Ninth Air Force: 133 B-26s bomb V-weapon sites in coastal France, marshalling yards at Tergnier, France and targets of opportunity in the area. This marks the first of the IX Bomber Command raids on marshalling yards.

A Spitfire bombing a freighter in Nice harbour was attacked by 4 Fw 190Ds - the new modified German fighter with an inline engine as opposed to the old radial engined Fw 190s. Two Spitfires were lost, Lt. Hoover bailing out. When 6 Spitfires were sent to search for Lt. Hoover, they were also attacked by the new 'Doras', which downed another Spitfire before losing one of the new machines. Ofw. Siegfried Lemke of 1./JG 2 claimed 4 Spitfires for the day.

Italian Campaign

The Germans continue to launch attacks against the Anzio beachhead, once again hitting the British 1st Infantry Division hardest. In heavy fighting, Aprilia is lost to the Germans, but "The Factory" continues to be held.

Weather grounds all US Fifteenth Air Force aircraft with exception of 1 P-38 which flies a weather reconnaissance mission. In Italy, US Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s, in close support to US Fifth Army forces, attack motor transport and troop concentrations in the Campoleone area while A-20s blast another troop concentration to the W; P-40s hit Cisterna di Latina and gun positions; A-36s and P-40s pound concentration points of a counterattack against the Fifth Army beachhead in the Anzio area, strike along the main Fifth Army front, and attack the villages of Piedimonte and Aquino and gun positions near Cassino and Ausonia.

Battle of the Atlantic

The British submarine HMS 'Venturer' torpedoes and sinks German submarine 'U-864' in the North Sea, with the loss of 73 lives. This is the first time a submarine destroys another submarine while both are submerged.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS England (DE-635) off San Francisco, California (USA), on 9 February 1944

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Livermore (DD-429) coming alongside the escort carrier USS Card (CVE-11), while crossing the Atlantic Ocean for duty in the Mediterranean Sea, 9 February 1944

Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, B-25s, P-51s, P-38s, P-40s, and A-36s carry out 75 attack sorties against Seinnyinba, bivouac and supply areas in the Mogaung-Loilaw area, bivouac and buildings at Pyindaw, camps at Kumnyen and near Maingkwan and Shingban, and storage area and bivouac on the Mogaung-Kamaing road near Sawnghka; a bridge over the Namtamng River near Maingkwan also is destroyed.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 16 P-40s strafe and bomb large barracks and oil storage at Chefang and pound town areas of Homun and Mangshih. 2 B-25s demolish a radio station SW of Haiphong, French Indochina.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): A-24s from Makin Island along with supporting P-40s, bomb and strafe oil storage and gun positions on Jaluit Atoll; during a dusk-to-dawn operation on 9/10 Feb B-24s operating at intervals from Tarawa Atoll maintain strikes against Wotje Atoll and Taroa.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): P-40s and USN fighters cover a USN dive-bomber attack on Vunakanau Airfield, scoring many hits on AA positions, buildings, and runways; 24 B-24s with USN fighter escort follow with a strike on the same target hitting runways and revetment area; 19 B-24s with 20 P-38s supporting, hit Tobera Airfield, thoroughly saturating the runway.

NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN

(Fifth Air Force): The occupation of the Huon Peninsula is completed as US and Australian forces meet SE of Saidor; A-20s pound the village of Mindiri. B-24s bomb Amboina, Ambon and Lautem, Timor Island.

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World War II in real time Feb 10, 2023 8:38:18 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Feb 10, 2023 8:38:18 GMT

Day 1614 of World War II, February 10th 1944

Eastern Front

As the ring around the trapped German forces at Korsun tightens, 1st Ukrainian Front continues its offensive capturing Shepetovka.

Air War over Europe

21 RAF Mosquitos to Berlin and 4 to Aachen, 2 Wellingtons on RCM flights, 21 aircraft minelaying off Brittany and Biscay ports, 26 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 216: 141 of 169 B-17s hit the industrial area at Brunswick, Germany and 2 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 42-30-61 Luftwaffe aircraft; 29 B-17s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 52 damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 3 WIA and 295 MIA; escort is provided by 64 P-38s, 357 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 45 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claim 56-1-40 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 0-0-2 on the ground; 5 P-38s and 4 P-47s are lost, 1 P-38 and 1 P-51 are damaged beyond repair and 6 P-47s are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 1 WIA and 9 MIA. The Luftwaffe sent 350 fighters to attack the force. One of the successful experten assing to their scores was Hptm. Georg-Hermann Greiner of 10./NJG 1 flying a day mission.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 217: In a CARPETBAGGER mission, 5 of 5 B-17s drop 260 bundles of leaflets on Rennes, Caen, Rouen and Amiens, France and Antwerp, Belgium at 2111-2145 hours without loss. 114 US Ninth Air Force B-26s attack V-weapon sites in coastal France, airfields at Poix and Beauvais/Tille, a bridge at Le Crotoy, and a coastal battery N of the Conch River.

27 of 81 B-24s hit the Gilze-Rijen Airfield, The Netherlands; dense contrails and frost prevent most aircraft from attacking; 4 B-24s are damaged beyond repair; casualties are 26 KIA and 14 WIA; escort is provided by 91 P-47s without loss.

Italian Campaign

In Italy, B-17s bomb Albano Laziale, Cisterna di Latina and Cecina; B-24s strike Campoleone and Velletri; P-38s bomb and strafe the Tivoli, Vicovaro, and Monterotondo area; P-47s fly uneventful sweeps over Cisterna di Roma and Albano; numerous heavy bombers are forced to abort operations because of unsafe flying conditions. Light and medium bomber missions are aborted because of bad weather. In Italy, P-40s and A-36s support an unsuccessful attempt of the US Fifth Army's 1st Infantry Division to stem an attack in the Carroceto area; P-47s fail to locate their target (Sora) and drop bombs on targets of opportunity.

Pacific War

GILBERT AND MARSHALL ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

TG 58.4 (Rear Admiral Samuel P. Ginder) planes bomb Japanese installations on Eniwetok Atoll, Marshalls; similar strikes are made on 11 and 12 February.

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): 9 B-24s bomb the Ban Mah arsenal at Bangkok and Don Maung Airfield immediately to the N. In Burma, 3 B-24s bomb Prome and Akyab, 9 B-25s pound Chiradan and Godusara, and 16 P-51s hit barracks and a road at Chishidu.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 8 P-40s bomb Wanling and vicinity while 3 others fly top cover; the target area, a supply staging and training center, is heavily damaged; 5 B-24s during the night of 9/10 Feb mine the mouth of the Yangtze River; B-25s on sea sweeps claim 2 freighters sunk near Hainan Island and SW of Hong Kong; 12 P-51s and P-38s strafe boats and parked aircraft in the Chiuchiang area; 12 P-40s strafe power boats and sampans along the Yangtze River from Puchi to Yoyang.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): B-25s from Tarawa Atoll hit Wotje and Maloelap Atolls; 9 B-24s from Abemama Island, sent to bomb a weather and radio station on Rongelap Island, abort due to a fuel leak in the lead B-24; an attempt to bomb Jaluit Atoll during the return flight is unsuccessful.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): P-40s, USMC and USN fighters cover a USN dive-bomber attack on Vunakanau Airfield; B-25s with fighter escort bomb the same target later in the day; Tobera is pounded by 21 B-24s supported by P-38s and USN fighters; the Allied aircraft claim 30+ aircraft downed in the New Britain area. Lost is F4U Corsair 02566. P-39s hit buildings at Bonis and barges in Matchin Bay on Bougainville Island and near Green Island.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): 50+ B-24s bomb Boram Airfield and harbor at Wewak. 6 B-25s and a B-24 hit Momote Airfield and jetties at Manus. P-39s strafe targets of opportunity during a sweep over wide areas of New Britain Island. The junction of Allied forces from Arawe and Cape Gloucester marks the completion of the campaign for the W end of New Britain Island; occasional missions will still be flown in the area, but most will be restricted to barge sweeps and patrols.

NEW GUINEA CAMPAIGN

Photo: A U.S. Navy Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina from Patrol Squadron 52 (VP-52) taxiing on 10 February 1944. VP-52 operated from forward bases in Papua New Guinea at that time

AUSTRALIA

Photo: The U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Fanshaw Bay (CVE-70) moored at Brisbane, Australia, 10 February 1944. USAAF Republic P-47 Thunderbolts are parked aft

NEW CALEDONIA

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Lovelace (DE-198) in the harbour of Nouméa, New Caledonia, sometime between 10 and 19 February 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 31, Design 13D. Note the HF/DF antenna in place of the SA radar at the masthead

PACIFIC

Tank landing ship LST-170 is damaged by horizontal bomber, off eastern New Guinea, 08°39'S, 148°27'E.

Submarine Hake (SS-256) attacks Japanese mine/netlayer Wakatake, escorting a convoy to Manokwari, 01°43'N, 129°30'E, but achieves no damage. Wakatake's depth charge counterattack is also unsuccessful.

Submarine Pogy (SS-266) sinks Japanese destroyer Minekaze and merchant cargo ship Malta Maru, 85 miles north-northeast of Formosa, 23°20'N, 121°30'E.

Submarine Spearfish (SS-190) damages Japanese transport Tatsuwa Maru southwest of Formosa, 21°53'N, 119°13'E.

PBY sinks Japanese fishing boat Inawa Maru off Wewak.

Japanese fishing vessel Kirishima Maru is damaged by mine off Moulmein.

Japanese cargo ship Waka Maru is sunk by "sea trouble" near Bokai Bay, western Korea, 35°40'N, 126°20'E.

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World War II in real time Feb 11, 2023 15:34:40 GMT

Post by lordroel on Feb 11, 2023 15:34:40 GMT

Day 1615 of World War II, February 11th 1944

YouTube (German Desperation in Korsun Pocket)

Eastern Front

Having finally assembled an effective force, 3rd Panzerkorps begins its attacks to relieve the German forces trapped at Korsun.

Air War over Europe

The primary target for 223 B-17s is the marshalling yard at Frankfurt, Germany; 157 hit the primary, 32 hit Ludwigshafen, 19 hit Saarbrucken and 4 hit other targets of opportunity; they claim 3-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 124 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 26 WIA and 51 MIA; escort is provided by 82 P-38s, 486 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47's and 38 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claim 30-2-28 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 2-1-4 on the ground; 8 P-38s, 4 P-47's and 2 P-51s are lost, 2 P-47's and 1 P-51 are damaged beyond repair and 2 P-38s and 4 P-47's are damaged; casualties are 14 MIA. The mission was costly for the 20th FG, as 8 of their 48 pilots sent out were lost. All the pilots in the 79th FS 'White Flight' did not return as well as 2 other 79th pilots and an addistional 2 pilots from the 77th FS' 'White Flight'. Hptm. Eduard Tratt of Stab II./ZG 26 claimed 3 of the P-38s.

11 RAF Mosquitos to Brunswick, 8 to Elberfeld, 4 to Aachen and 4 to Duisburg, 2 RCM sorties, 5 Serrate patrols, 52 aircraft minelaying off French Channel and Atlantic ports, 27 aircraft on Resistance operations, 6 OTU sorties. No aircraft lost.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 218: 94 of 201 B-24s bomb the Siracourt V-weapon site in France with PFF equipment; the remaining aircraft were assigned individual targets without PFF and were unable to locate their targets; 1 B-24 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 17 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 1 WIA and 10 MIA; escort is provided by 85 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47's and 41 P-51s without loss.

Most of the 139 B-26s dispatched to attack NOBALL (V-weapon) targets in N France are recalled because of bad weather; 35 manage to bomb the marshalling yard at Amiens.

Italian Campaign

Heavy fighting continues at Anzio as the Germans continue their attacks. The Allied troops give ground, loosing "The Factory". For the first time, talk turns to plans to evacuate the beachhead. Further to the south, The US 34th Division makes one last attempt to take the monetary at Cassino. It fails. The exhausted American forces are replaced by Indian and New Zealand troops at Casino.

Map: First Battle: Northern Sector 24 January – 11 February 1944

Germany

German Admiral Wilhelm Canaris is relieved of his Abwer command.

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy escort carrier USS Long Island (CVE-1) underway in in Puget Sound, Washington (USA), on 11 February 1944. She is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 9A

Photo: The U.S. Navy attack transport USS Alpine (APA-92) fitting out at the Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oregon (USA), 11 February 1944

Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 10 A-36s and P-51s hit the supply area at Sawnghka; 12 A-36s and P-51s and a single B-25 bomb a supply
and bivouac area at Pyindaw; 8 P-51s hit a road junction near Mogaung and nearby supply area; 8 P-51s and P-40s on armed reconnaissance strafe a large river steamer and a launch in the Mandalay-Shwebo area.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 12 P-38s knock out 1 bridge and damage another at Sheklung; 6 B-25s, escorted by 20 US and Chinese P-40s, bomb the storage area at Kai Tek Airfield; the P-40s claim 5 Japanese fighters shot down; Japanese aircraft bomb and strafe Namyung putting the field out of use for several days.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): P-40s and P-39s dive-bomb and strafe hangar, airfield installations and gun positions on Mille Atoll.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): P-40s join USN fighters in covering a USN dive-bomber strike on Vunapope; 22 B-25s, escorted by USN fighters, pound Vunakanau Airfield; Tobera Airfield is bombed by 15 B-24s with P-38 and USN fighter escort. SBD NZ5037 is lost on a training flight on Espiritu Santo.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): About 50 B-24s pound the airfield at Kavieng, and 2 bomb Garove Island. 7 B-24s bomb Kendari Airfield, Celebes Island and Dili. P-40s and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft pound Japanese forces still remaining in the Saidor area. Fighter sweeps and armed reconnaissance continue over wide areas of the SWPA. 25th Liaison Squadron, 512th Photographic Wing (Provisional), arrives at Lae, New Guinea from Brisbane, Australia with L-5s.

ALASKA

(Eleventh Air Force): 77th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 28th Bombardment Group (Composite), moves from Amchitka Island to Attu Island with B-25s.

PACIFIC

Motor torpedo boat PT-279 is sunk in collision with PT-282, Solomons, 05°30'S, 154°15'E.

Submarine Gudgeon (SS-211) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Satsuma Maru (previously damaged by Chinese B-25s off Wenchow, China, at 28°01'N, 121°30'E), 27°38'N, 121°15'E.

U.S. aircraft damage Japanese guardboat Miyo Maru off Leyte, P.I.

Photo: The U.S. Navy attack transport USS Henry T. Allen (APA-15) underway at sea on 11 February 1944

Last Edit: Feb 11, 2023 17:25:06 GMT by lordroel

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World War II in real time Feb 12, 2023 5:57:29 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Feb 12, 2023 5:57:29 GMT

Day 1616 of World War II, February 12th 1944

Eastern Front

Red Army forces capture the important communications center of Luga, 100 miles southwest of Leningrad as their offensive continues to drive Heeresgruppe North west. In the south, The German relief force heading toward Korsun meets ever stiffening resistance.

Air War over Europe

10 Lancasters of RAF No 617 Squadron attempted to bomb the Anthéor Viaduct, an important railway link between France and Italy but, as on two earlier raids, were not successful despite low-level runs by Wing Commander Cheshire and Squadron Leader Martin. The sides of the valley were very steep and the target was defended by guns which damaged both of the low-level aircraft. Flight Lieutenant RC Hay, the bomb aimer in Martin's aircraft and the Squadron Bombing Leader since No 617's formation, was killed.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 220: 97 of 99 B-24s hit the V-weapon site at St Pol/Siracourt, France; 29 B-24s are damaged; no losses or casualties; escort is provided by 84 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47's and 41 P-51s; no claims, losses or casualties.

8 Mosquitos to Elberfeld and 4 to Duisburg, 3 Serrate patrols, 25 Halifaxes and Stirlings minelaying in the Frisians and off Cherbourg. 1 Halifax minelayer lost.

Italian Campaign

Fighting at Casino pauses as the entire US 2nd Corps is replaced by the New Zealand Corps. At Anzio, the British 1st Infantry Division is also withdrawn due to exhaustion. Lucas orders the construction of a last ditch defensive perimeter. Since January 20, Allied casualties number 14,375, with German casualties at 6,444.

In Italy, B-17s and B-24s strike troop concentrations and highways in the Cecina area and near Lake Nemi. Bad weather causes all other missions to abort. US Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack gun positions at Campoleone and the surrounding area; B-26s hit Cecina; A-36s hit aircraft and trucks on the landing ground and in the area near Fahrica di Rorila, attack troops in the area, bomb gun positions SW of Roccasecca, and hit the towns of Fondi and Lanuvio; P-40s attack Gisterna di Roma, Sezze station and road junction, Cori and gun positions NW of Atina.

Battle of the Indian Ocean

The Japanese submarine I-27 sinks the British troopship Khedive Ismail, in the Indian Ocean, killing nearly 2,000 people, and is herself sunk by the destroyers HMS Petard and HMS Paladin .

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Monssen (DD-798) off Staten Island, New York (USA), upon completion of construction by the Bethlehem Steel Company's Staten Island Shipyard, 12 February 1944

Pacific War

GILBERT AND MARSHALL ISLANDS CAMPAIGN

Marines land on Arno Atoll, beginning a series of "mopping-up" operations in the minor atolls of the Marshalls.

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 8 P-40s hit the town of Ransa and motor convoys S of Sumprabum; 40 P-51s and A-36s attack bivouacs at Walawbum, bivouac and motor pool at Padaw, storage area at the road junction near Chishidu and the town of Chishidu; 30+ P-51s and B-25s hit camps between Tsumhpawng Ga and Walawbum, storage area and motor pool S of Kamaing, motor convoy on the Myitkyina-Sumprabum road, the town of Namting and bridges at Meza and Kanni. 59th Fighter Squadron, 33d Fighter Group, arrives at Karachi, India from Italy; they will be equipped with P-47Ds.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): 9 P-40s pound the warehouse area at Wanling, Burma. In French Indochina, 6 P-40s bomb the barracks at Vinh and strafe Dong Cuong Airfield, railroad yards at Cam Duong, and sampans at Phu Tho; 5 B-25s on a sea sweep in the Gulf of Tonkin claim 2 trawlers sunk and hit shore targets of opportunity SW of Haiphong; a single B-25 damages a bridge at Ha Trung. 24 P-38s, P-51s, and P-40s intercept 25 Japanese fighters near Suichwan, China, claiming 7 shot down; 2 US fighters are lost.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): B-25s from Tarawa Atoll and Abemama Island hit Wotje and Maloelap Atolls; A-24s and P-39s from Makin bomb and strafe Mille Atoll.

HAWAII

The US Fleet sails, from Majuro Harbor in Nauru, bound for Truk in the Marianas Islands. Glen Boren is told 'it was their "Pearl Harbor" and that they were expecting to find a lot of shipping in the area and a lot of aircraft also.'

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): 23 B-25s, with US Navy fighters in support, bomb Tobera Airfield; 21 B-24s, escorted by P-39s and USN fighters, pound Vunakanau Airfield. Lost is B-24D 42-72818. P-40s join USN fighters in covering a USN dive-bomber strike on Lakunai.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): Brigadier General Carl W Connell resumes command of the V Air Force Services Command. About 50 A-20s blast occupied areas SE of Wewak, New Guinea. Lost on a flight is C-47A "Ghost of Billie L" 42-23713.

PACIFIC

Japanese flying boats bomb and destroy supply concentrations on Roi Island, Marshalls; tank landing craft LCT-346 and LCT-347 are damaged.

Submarine rescue vessel Macaw (ASR-11), stranded at entrance to Midway Channel since 16 January, slips off the reef and [begin to sink, going under following day].

Submarine Tambor (SS-198) sinks Japanese merchant tanker Ronsan Maru in East China Sea about 40 miles southwest of Amami O Shima, 27°45'N, 128°42'E.

British submarine HMS Stonehenge sinks Japanese netlayer Choko Maru off west coast of Malaya, 05°46'N, 99°52'E.

USAAF B-25 aircraft attack Japanese fishing boats operating in Tonkin Gulf, sinking No.12 Kainan Maru and damaging No.11 Kainan Maru, 20°44'N, 107°02'E.

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World War II in real time Feb 13, 2023 3:55:55 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Feb 13, 2023 3:55:55 GMT

Day 1617 of World War II, February 13th 1944

Eastern Front

Soviet forces continue their offensive out of the Leningrad area capturing Polna and Lyady. To the south, the trapped Germans at Korsun contract their perimeter and concentrate forces for a breakout attempt. The break-in force meets heavy resistance and makes little headway.

Air War over Europe

The Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) accepts revision of the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) Plan. The targets are reduced to a number that can be decisively attacked and target lists are revised to keep up with the effort of the Germans to relocate vital industrial plants. Disruption of communication lines and reduction of the Luftwaffe are high priority aims included in the CCS directive on this date.

Reichsmarschall Goering was at Rheine to watch He 177 bombers of 2. and 3./KG 100 set off to bomb England as part of 'Unternehmen Steinbock'. Of the 14 bombers that taxi out, 13 were able to take off, 8 soon returned with overheated or burning engines, 4 reached London but only 3 came back.

US Eighth Air Force Mission 221: V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area of France are hit; 266 of 277 B-17s hit 12 sites and 138 of 192 B-24s hit 5 sites; 12 B-24s hit targets of opportunity; they claim 0-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 B-17s are lost, 2 B-17s and 2 B-24s are damaged beyond repair, and 74 B-17s and 57 B-24s are damaged; casualties are 7 KIA, 23 WIA and 24 MIA. Escort is provided by 189 P-47s and 43 P-51s; they claim 6-1-4 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 0-0-4 on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost and 4 P-47s damaged; no casualties.

182 US Ninth Air Force B-26s attack V-weapon sites in the coastal area of France; 16 others bomb secondary targets in the area.

Italian Campaign

Allied forces, mistakenly assuming that the Germans occupy the monastery at Cassino warn the Italian monks that the dominant feature will be bombed.

Photo: Long Tom speaks. A 155mm gun ("Long Tom") is fired by american troops. Nettuno area, Italy. 13 February 1944

In Italy, B-26s bomb the Bucine viaduct; B-25s and A-20s support Fifth Army forces N and E of the Anzio beachhead, blasting an ammunition dump and troop and vehicle concentrations; P-40 and A-36 fighter-bombers give support in the same areas, hitting troop concentrations, a railway tunnel, buildings, vehicles, a supply dump, and gun positions.

Photo: Aerial USAAF photograph of a bomb hit on the railroad viaduct at Bucine, Tuscany, Italy. The viaduct was first bombed on 13 February 1944 by Martin B-26 Marauder bombers

United Kingdom

Photo: Sherman tank using a Churchill 'Ark' armoured ramp carrier to climb over an escarpment, 79th Armoured Division, 13 February 1944

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy attack transport USS Fremont (APA-44) wearing camouflage Design 1F at Norfolk, Virginia (USA), on 13 February 1944. An 6 August 1944, a memo identifies this as Measure 32, but the colours look light enough to be Measure 33. After inspection, Measure 1F was found inadequate and Fremont was repainted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 3D

Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 6 P-51s and a B-25 damage a road bridge and 2 warehouses in the Wuntho area; 32 P-51s and A-36s hit the supply area and radio installations S of Kamaing and blast bivouacs S of Walawbum; 18 P-51s hit the road and railroad junction N of Sahmaw, a bivouac N of Kamaing and a camp between Tsumhpawng Ga and Walawbum; during the night, 16 B-24s bomb Heho Airfield.

CHINA

(Fourteenth Air Force): In French Indochina, 23 B-24s pound railroad shops at Vinh; 4 B-25s hit a convoy E of Foochow, China claiming 3 freighters
and a transport sunk; 4 other B-25s damage 2 vessels off SW Hainan Island and bomb dock, railroad, and oil dump at Bakli on Hainan Island; 6 P-40s bomb and strafe barracks and hangars at Phu Tho and strafe freight cars at Yen Bay and Suo Ha.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): During the night of 13/14 Feb, B-24s from Tarawa Atoll operating individually at intervals, bomb Wotje and Mille Atolls and Taroa.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): 20 B-25s bomb Tobera Airfield and 23 B-24s of the 5th BG bomb Lakunai Airfield; both forces are escorted by fighters; P-40s and USN fighters escort USN SBDs and TBFs dive-bombing runway and AA positions at Vunakanau. Lost is P-40N Kittyhawk NZ3165

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): 24 A-20s hit Aitape, New Guinea. 70+ B-25s pound Momote Airfield and 35 B-24s bomb Kavieng Airfield.

HAWAII

Photo: USS Indiana (BB-58) at Pearl Harbor on 13 February 1944, showing damage to her starboard side received in collision with USS Washington (BB-56) on 1 February 1944

Photo: Under salvage at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, 13 February 1944. The ship, which capsized to port after being torpedoed in the Japanese attack of 7 December 1941, is seen at about the 68 degree position at the completion of the first pulling period. Her blister plating has been cut away around the turn of the bilge to provide fairlead to hitch pads. Salvage efforts rolled her back toward Ford Island, but she was not refloated

PACIFIC

Submarine Permit (SS-178) is damaged by depth charges off western Carolines, 07°42'N, 148°18'E, but remains on patrol.

Submarine Robalo (SS-273) conducts unsuccessful attack on Japanese army cargo ships Minryu Maru and Sekino Maru (see 14 February).

USAAF A-20s (5th Air Force) sink Japanese army cargo ship Yoshino Maru and motor sailboat Tok_n Maru (in tow of the cargo ship) off Aitape, 03°20'S, 143°00'E.

USAAF B-25s (14th Air Force) sink Japanese cargo ship Shoka Maru and damage Kokoku Maru off Hainan Island, 18°35'N, 108°30'E; USAAF and Chinese aircraft sink fishing vessel Meiji Maru off the China Coast, 26°40'N, 121°40'E.

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World War II in real time Feb 14, 2023 3:51:25 GMT stevep likes this

Post by lordroel on Feb 14, 2023 3:51:25 GMT

Day 1618 of World War II, February 14th 1944

Eastern Front

Heavy fighting continues at Korsun as the relief force meets ever stiffening resistance and makes little headway. The perimeter of the pocket continues to shrink as the Soviet forces capture Kosun-Sevchenkosky against the determined resistance of the SS Walloon Brigade.

Air War over Europe

US Eighth Air Force Mission 222: 48 P-47s are dispatched to Eindhoven Airfield in the Netherlands; the primary target is overcast and 46 of 48 hit Gilze-Rijen Airfield without loss.

Italian Campaign

Adolf Hitler orders a heavy counter-attack on Anzio, Italy.

In Italy, US Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack the marshalling yards at Modena, Brescia, and Verona and several targets of opportunity including the airfield and Piaggio aircraft factory at Pontedera and railroad bridges and lines at Parma, Sassuolo, Rubiera, and S of Vicenza; B-17s and escorting P-47s claim 20 fighters shot down; B-24s bomb the marshalling yards at Mantua, Verona, Massa Lombarda, Fenara and Arezzo, and targets of opportunity including the Pisa and Prato marshalling yards, airfields at Pisa and Pontedera, and road-rail junction near Vaiano.

US Twelfth Air Force B-25s bomb the Perugia marshalling yard, A-20's hit Grottaferrata; A-36s attack guns in the Pontecorvo area, railway yards at Civita Castellana and Frosinone, motor transport near Genzano di Roma, airfield at Furbara, and Ferentino railway station, some of the missions being in direct support of the US Fifth Army main front; P-40s bomb and strafe troop concentrations N and E of the Anzio beachhead, scoring hits on tanks, motor transport and guns near Cisterna di Roma, Cori and Rocca di Papa; P-47s hit Colleferro and dump at Valmontone; P-40s score direct hits on a vessel and fuel dump in the Rogoznica area.

The Twelfth Air Force loses several of its operational units, the 12th Bombardment Group (Medium) and 33d and 81st Fighter Groups being moved to India, and the 52d Troop Carrier Wing and its 4 groups being sent to England.

Photo: Snow camouflage coated AFPU cameraman, Sergeant Eric Deeming, filming troops of the 2nd Coy., 1st Battalion, 1st Carpathian Rifles Brigade, 3rd Carpathian Rifles Division, returning from a patrol. Height 1210, north of Rionero in Vulture, 14 February 1944

Battle of the Atlantic

The Free French minesweeping trawler 'Cap D'Antifer' was torpedoed by an E Boat off the Humber.

United Kingdom

General Dwight D Eisenhower establishes HQ Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC) comes under control of SHAEF.

Photo: A Lancaster Mk III of No. 619 Squadron on a test flight from RAF Coningsby, 14 February 1944

United States

Photo: The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Richard S. Bull (DE-402) off the Brown Shipbuilding Company, Houston, Texas (USA), on 14 February 1944

Pacific War

BURMA-INDIA

(Tenth Air Force): P-51s and A-36s carry out 70+ sorties against a variety of targets in Burma; targets include the supply area at Shingban, a truck convoy N of Maingkwan, supply dumps and motor transport in the Kamaing area, a bivouac near Mogaung, troop and vehicle concentrations between Mogaung and Kamaing, artillery positions at Laawn Ga, and railroad station and warehouses at Lundaung.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA

(Seventh Air Force): 40+ B-24s from the 11th and 90th Bombardment Groups (Heavy), flying out of Makin and Tarawa strike Ponape in the first Seventh Air Force raid on the Caroline Islands; 2 of the B-24s hit the alternate target of Emidj Island.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA

(Thirteenth Air Force): 30 escorted B-25s pound Vunakanau Airfield while 28 B-24s, also with escort, bomb Rapopo Airfield; B-24s bomb the Rabaul area in a diversionary strike while USN TBFs lay mines in Simpson Harbor at dark, six are lost: TBF 47506, TBF 06311, TBF 24264, TBF 24340, TBF 25327, TBF 25316. P-40s and USN fighters escort a USN dive-bomber raid on Tobera gun positions and airfield revetments; 4 B-25s also bomb Tobera. On Bougainville Island weather clears, permitting the first attacks, by 19 B-25s, on Kara and Kahili, in recent weeks; P-39s attack Puriata River bridges.

New Zealand Army seize Green Island in the Solomons. The island is developed into a forward air base for Allied strikes on Rabaul.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA

(Fifth Air Force): A-20s with P-40 support, bomb and strafe Dagua Airfield destroying and damaging 20+ aircraft. Lost are P-40N 42-104986 and P-47D 42-22662. 80+ plus B-25s pound Momote Airfield. 40+ B-24s bomb the airfields at Kavieng and Panapai on New Ireland Island. 20th Combat Mapping Squadron, 6th Photographic Group, moves from Port Moresby to Nadzab, New Guinea with F-7s; first mission is 5 April.

PACIFIC

Command designated Central Pacific Forward Area (Rear Admiral John H. Hoover) is established; Rear Admiral Hoover flies his flag in seaplane tender Curtiss (AV-4).

Light cruiser St. Louis (CL-49), covering the unopposed landing at Pakonian Plantation, west side of Green Island, is damaged by bomb dropped by Japanese dive bomber, 06°15'S, 153°29'E.

Submarine Flasher (SS-249) sinks Japanese army cargo ship Minryo Maru (which had escaped Robalo's attack the day before) off Cape Santiago, Luzon, 13°43'N, 120°39'E, and tanker Hokuan Maru, 13°44'N, 120°29'E.

Submarine Snook (SS-279) sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Nittoku Maru southwest of Tsushima, Japan, 33°48'N, 128°50'E.

British submarine HMS Tally Ho sinks Japanese submarine UIT 23 (ex-Italian Reginaldo Giuliani) off Penang, Malaya, 04°25'N, 100°09'E.

PBY damages Japanese cargo ship Mitsu Maru and forces her aground east of Sepik, New Guinea. Allied air attacks subsequently destroy Mitsu Maru.

USAAF B-25 aircraft sink Japanese ship Satsuma Maru off Wenchow, 28°00'N, 121°30'E.

Salvage of Eiko Maru (sunk on 30 January) by U.S. Navy divers yields a large number of Japanese charts of the Pacific area and other intelligence material.

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World War II in real time

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