15 March 1944

WEDNESDAY, 15 MARCH 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 259: 185 of 187 B-17s and
145 of 157 B-24s hit the industrial area at Brunswick, Germany and targets of
opportunity; they claim 0-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 and 2 B-24s are a
lost and 31 B-17s and 15 B-24s are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 4 WIA and
30 MIA. Escort is provided by 121 P-38s and 467 Eighth and Ninth Air Force
P-47s; 4 P-38s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 4 pilots MIA; P-47s
claim 39-3-13 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground, 1 P-47 is
lost and 5 damaged, casualties are 1 MIA.
Mission 260: 8 P-47s are dispatched, 2 with 2x1,000 pound (454 kg) bombs,
against an enemy barge in the Zuider Zee, The Netherlands to test the
feasibility of this type of operation; near misses are scored.
Mission 261: 7 of 7 B-17s drop 350 bundles of leaflets on Rennes, Lille,
Reims, Le Mans, Paris and Chartres, France at 2115-2152 hours without loss.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): A directive states that the Ninth
Air Force is released from first priority commitment to assist the Eighth Air
Force. P-51s of the Ninth Air Force, committed to the Allied Expeditionary
Air Force (AEAF), will continue to escort heavy bombers when required by the
Eighth Air Force. Ninth Air Force Advanced HQ assumes the function of target
selection and mission planning for the IX Bomber Command. AEAF HQ has the
authority to indicate percentage of effect to be expended on each type of
target on a long-term basis.
In France, 118 B-26s attack marshalling yards at Aulnoye and Haine-Saint-
Pierre and Chievres Airfield; during the afternoon, 10 B-26s using "Oboe" to
test its accuracy, bomb Coxyde Airfield with poor results; dive-bombing
missions using fighters begin with a 7-plane attack on Saint-Valery-en-Caux
Airfield.
HQ 368th Fighter Group and 395th, 396th and 397th Fighter Squadrons move
from Greenham Common to Chilbolton, England with P-47s.