The Mighty Eighth Air Force
bomber image

 21 February 1945

WEDNESDAY, 21 FEBRUARY 1945

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): Units moving from England
to France with C-47s: 75th Troop Carrier Squadron, 435th Troop Carrier Group,
from Welford Park to Bretigny and 79th Troop Carrier Squadron, 436th Troop
Carrier Group, from Membury to Melun.

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 839: 1,262 bombers and 792 fighters are dispatched to again attack
the tank plant, main railroad station, marshalling yards and locomotive shops
at Nurnberg, Germany using H2X radar; they claim 4-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft on
the ground; 7 fighters are lost:
1. 830 of 867 B-17s hit the marshalling yard; 11 others hit targets of
opportunity; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 298 damaged; 1 airman is KIA
and 6 WIA. Escorting are 373 of 391 P-51s; they claim 2-0-0 aircraft; 2 P-51s
are lost (pilots MIA).
2. 375 of 395 B-24s hit the station and marshalling yard; targets of
opportunity are Speyer (1) and other (2); 63 B-24s are damaged; 1 airman is
KIA and 3 WIA. The escort is 175 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 2-0-0 aircraft;
3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
3. 45 of 46 P-51s make a sweep of the Meiningen-Coburg-Nurnberg area; 1
P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
4. 98 of 101 P-51s escort Ninth AF B-26s; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft.
5. 23 of 31 P-51s fly a scouting mission; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
6. 29 of 30 P-51s escort 10 F-5s and 7 Spitfires on a photo reconnaissance
mission over Germany.
Mission 840: During the night of 21/22 Feb, 25 of 29 B-24s attack the
Duisburg power and gas stations using PFF; 2 B-24s are lost.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS
First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): Units moving from Italy to France
with P-47s: 522d, 523d and 524th Fighter Squadrons, 27th Fighter Group, from
Pontedera to St Dizier; 526th Fighter Squadron, 86th Fighter Group, from Pisa
to Tantonville.
Ninth Air Force: In Germany, the 9th Bombardment Division hits rail a
overpass and bridges, an oil storage depot, marshalling yards, communications
centers, and 13 targets of opportunity; 1,100+ fighter sorties are completed
as the IX, XIX, and XXIX Tactical Air Commands escort the bomber, attack
railroads, airfield, and other selected targets, fly armed reconnaissance
over wide areas including the US First Army area between Duren and Losheim,
and support the VIII, XII, and XX Corps along the Prum River, the West wall,
and in the Saar-Mosel triangle.