The Mighty Eighth Air Force
bomber image

10 April 1945

TUESDAY, 10 APRIL 1945

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown.
Mission 938: 1,315 bombers and 905 fighters are dispatched to attack
airfields known or suspected to be used by jet aircraft; about 60 jets and a
few conventional fighters attack the formations; 19 bombers and 8 fighters
are lost;
the AAF claims 328-4-249 Luftwaffe aircraft:
1. 442 B-17s are sent to hit the Army HQ munitions depot (278) and airfield
(139) at Oranienburg; 11 hit Rechlin Airfield, the secondary; they claim
7-1-8 aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 50 damaged; 1
airman is KIA and 84 MIA. Escorting are 273 of 289 P-51s; they claim 11.5-0-8
aircraft in the air and 56-0-32 on the ground; 4 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
2. 132 of 144 B-17s hit Neuruppin Airfield; 9 others hit the marshalling
yard at Stendal, the secondary; 1 B-17 is lost and 44 damaged. The escort is
112 of 117 P-51s claiming 128-0-94 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost
(pilot MIA).
3. 372 B-17s are sent to hit the Briest Airfield at Brandenburg (138), and
Zerbst (75) and Burg-Bei-Magdeburg (147) Airfields; they claim 10-3-4
aircraft; 8 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 160 damaged; total
losses for forces 2. and 3. are 1 KIA, 7 WIA and 80 MIA. 172 of 175 P-51s
escort; they claim 6-0-2 aircraft in the air and 84-0-43 on the ground; 2
P-51s are lost
(pilots MIA).
4. 357 B-24s hit Rechlin Airfield (159), Larz Airfield at Rechlin (103) and
Parchim Airfield (32); 9 others hit the marshalling yard at Wittenberge, a
target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost; 4 airmen are WIA and 11 MIA. The
escort is 207 of 220 P-51s; they claim 1-0-1 aircraft in the air and 20-0-21
on the ground.
5. 59 of 62 P-47s fly a freelance mission for the bombers; they claim 2-0-2
aircraft in the air and 41-0-66 on the ground.
6. 15 P-51s escort 20 of 21 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over
Germany.
7. 30 P-51s fly a scouting mission; 1 is lost (pilot MIA).
Mission 939: 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany
during the night.
Mission 940: 13 of 14 B-24s bomb the Dessau rail depot by PFF methods
during the night.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 423 A-20s, A-26s, and
B-26s strike oil storage and ordnance depots, rail bridge and viaduct (all
primary targets) and several other targets including a marshalling yard and
an industrial area; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols, rail cutting
operations, and armed reconnaissance, and support the US 13th Armored
Division crossing the Sieg River near Siegburg, the 3d Armored Division
approaching Nordhausen, the 9th Armored Division in the Hain area, the XII
Corps near Coburg, the XX Corps W of Weimar and the Saale River, the 2d and
5th Armored Divisions crossing the Oker River in the Ahnsen and Schladen
areas, and the XVI Corps along the Ruhr River in the Essen area. Unit moves:
HQ 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group and 30th Photographic Reconnaissance
Squadron from Limburg an der Lahn to Eschwege, Germany with F-5s; HQ 367th
Fighter Group and 393d Fighter Squadron from Conflans, France to Eschborn
Airfield, Frankfurt, Germany with P-47s; 388th Fighter Squadron, 365th
Fighter Group, from Aachen to Fritzlar, Germany with P-47s; and 552d and
554th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 386th Bombardment Group (Medium), from
Beaumont-sur-Oise, France to St Trond, Belgium with B-26s.