29 March 1944

WEDNESDAY, 29 MARCH 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 284:
1. 236 B-17s are dispatched to Germany; 193 hit the secondary target
(Brunswick), 20 hit Unterluss, 18 hit Stedorf and 2 hit other targets of
opportunity; the B-17s claim 8-3-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost, 1
damaged beyond repair and 66 damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 5 WIA and 90 MIA.
Escort is provided by 50 P-38s, 242 P-47s and 136 Eighth and Ninth Air Force
P-51s; the fighters claim 44-4-13 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 13-7-14
on the ground; results are:
P-38s: 2 lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged; 2 pilots are KIA and
2 MIA.
P-47s: 1 lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 8 damaged; 2 pilots are WIA.
P-51s: 9 lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; 1 pilot is WIA and 8
MIA.
2. 77 B-24s are dispatched to V-weapon sites at Watten, France; only 30
bomb because of PFF failures; 2 B-24s are damaged beyond repair and 6
damaged; casualties are 18 KIA and 1 WIA. Escort is provided by 37 P-47s; no
claims or losses.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): Units arriving in England from the
US: HQ 48th Fighter Group and 492d, 493d and 494th Fighter Squadrons at
Ibsley with P-47s (first mission is 20 Apr); HQ 442d Troop Carrier Group and
304th Troop Carrier Squadron at Fulbeck with C-47s; 34th Photographic
Reconnaissance Squadron, III Reconnaissance Command, at Chalgrove with F-5s
(first mission is 19 Apr).