18 March 1944

SATURDAY, 18 MARCH 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

ICELAND (Iceland Base Command): HQ 342d Composite Group is disbanded in
Iceland.

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 264: Aircraft plants and
airfields in Germany are targetted; enemy fighters attack in force and AA
fire is heavy; the bombers claim 45-10-17 Luftwaffe aircraft; 43 bombers and
13 fighters are lost;
1. 284 of 290 B-17s dispatched bomb the aviation industry at
Oberpfaffenhofen, air depots at Lechfeld and Landsberg, Memmingen Airfield
and targets of opportunity; 8 B-17s are lost and 102 damaged; casualties are
1 KIA, 9 WIA and 80 MIA.
2. 196 of 221 B-17s dispatched bomb Munich, the aviation industry at
Oberpfaffenhofen, Lechfeld air depot and targets of opportunity; 7 B-17s are
lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 80 damaged; casualties are 3 KIA, 4 WIA and
70 MIA.
3. 227 B-24s are dispatched to aviation industry targets at Friedrichshafen/
Lowenthal (77 bomb), Friedrichshafen/Manzell (38 bomb) and Friedrichshafen/
Zeppelin (52 bomb), the city of Friedrichshafen (22 bomb) and 9 hit targets of
opportunity; 28 B-24s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 60 damaged;
casualties are 6 KIA, 9 WIA and 286 MIA
Escort is provided by 113 P-38s, 598 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and
214 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s. Details are:
1. P-38s claim 11-2-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 are lost and 1 damaged; 4
pilots are MIA.
2. P-47s claim 2-1-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 are lost, 1 damaged beyond
repair and 6 damaged; 2 pilots are MIA.
3. P-51s claim 26-2-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 6 are lost, 2 damaged beyond
repair and 3 damaged; 1 pilot is WIA and 6 MIA.
The fighters also claim 3-2-2 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground.
Mission 265: 6 of 6 B-17s drop 300 bundles of leaflets on Cambrai, Lille,
Paris, Amiens, Rouen and Caen, France at 2115-2139 hours without loss.