20 April 1945

FRIDAY, 20 APRIL 1945

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 962: 837 bombers and 890
fighters are dispatched to hit rail targets NNW to SSW of Berlin, Bavaria and
Czechoslovakia; they claim 7-0-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost:
1. 319 B-17s are sent to hit the rail industry at Nauen (82) and
marshalling yards at Wustermark (77), Neuruppin (57) and Oranienburg (82); 1
hits Neuruppin Airfield, a target of opportunity; 15 B-17s are damaged and 1
airman WIA. Escorting are 258 of 271 P-51s; 1 is lost.
2. 289 B-17s are dispatched to attack marshalling yards at Brandenburg
(137), Seddin (66) and Treuenbrietzen (82); 1 B-17 is lost and 10 damaged; 10
airmen are MIA. The escort is 227 of 241 P-51s.
3. 223 B-24s are sent to hit a rail bridge and junction at Zwiesel (56);
marshalling yard and rail junction at Muhldorf (53) and the railroad and rail
junction at Irrenlohe (55) and Klatovy (54); 1 hits the secondary target, the
marshalling yard at Straubing; no losses, damage or casualties. 228 P-47s and
P-51s escort.
4. 100 of 108 P-51s fly a freelance fighter sweep for Forces 2 and 3 above;
they claim 7-0-4 aircraft in the air.
5. 6 B-17s fly a screening mission.
6. 22 of 25 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
7. 11 P-51s escort 11 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany.
During the night of 20/21 Apr, 12 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions to
Norway; 2 B-24s are lost.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS
First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): HQ 50th Fighter Group and the
10th, 81st and 313th Fighter Squadrons move from Ochey Airfield, Toul, France
to Giebelstadt, Germany with P-47s.
Ninth Air Force: In Germany, 564 A-20s, A-26s and B-26s strike oil
storage at Deggendorf and Annaburg, marshalling yards at Memmingen and
Wittenberg, ordnance depots at Nordlingen and Straubing, and other targets
including flak positions; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols, sweeps,
and armed reconnaissance, attack special targets, and cooperate with US
ground forces including the VII Corps W of Dessau, the VIII Corps between
Plauen and Chemnitz, the XII Corps in the Grafenwohr area, the XX Corps
attacking toward the Danube River and Regensburg, and the XIX Corps in the
Magdeburg-Barby area. Unit moves in Germany: HQ 370th Fighter Group and 401st
Fighter Squadron from Zwartberg, Belgium to Gutershoh with P-51s; HQ 373d
Fighter Group and 410th Fighter Squadron from Venlo, the Netherlands to
Lippstadt with P-47s; 39th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Ninth AF
[attached to 9th Tactical Reconnaissance Group (Provisional)], from
Maastricht, the Netherlands to Wiesbaden, Germany with F-5s; 573d and 575th
Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 391st Bombardment Group (Medium), from Amy
Airfield, Roye, France to Assche, Belgium with B-26s.