3 February 1945

SATURDAY, 3 FEBRUARY 1945

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 817: 1,437 bombers and 948 fighters are dispatched in a major
strike on Berlin by B-17s while B-24s hit the synthetic oil industry at
Magdeburg; they claim 38-1-18 Luftwaffe aircraft; 25 bombers and 8 fighters
are lost:
1. 1,003 B-17s are sent to hit the Tempelhof marshalling yard in Berlin
(937); targets of opportunity are Bad Zwischenahn (1), Bromsche (1), Gatow
(13), Luneburg (2), Sogel (1) and other (1); 23 B-17s are lost, 6 damaged
beyond repair and 339 damaged; 18 airmen are KIA, 11 WIA and 189 MIA. Escort
is provided by 575 of 613 P-51s; they claim 12-1-0 aircraft in the air and
17-0-11 on the ground; 7 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 2 damaged beyond
repair.
2. 434 B-24s are dispatched to hit the Rothensee oil plant at Magdeburg
(116); 246 hit a target of last resort, the marshalling yard at Magdeburg;
targets of opportunity are Wesermunde (17), Mockern (12), Cuxhaven (9),
Yechta Airfield (2) and other (3); 2 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair
and 58 damaged; 19 airmen are MIA. Escorting are 210 of 232 P-51s without
loss.
3. 41 of 44 P-47s fly a sweep over Friedersdorf Airfield; they claim 9-0-6
aircraft in the air; 1 P-47 is lost (pilot MIA).
4. 35 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
5. 24 P-51s escort 9 F-5s and 7 Spitfires on a photo reconnaissance mission
over Germany.
Mission 818: 1 B-17 and 10 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and W
Germany during the night.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, the 9th Bombardment
Division attacks the Berg-Gladbach storage and repair depot, Dahlem
communications center, rail bridges at Ahrweiler and Sinzig, and marshalling
yard at Junkerath; fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division, fly patrols,
and carry out armed reconnaissance over W Germany. In France, the 394th
Fighter Squadron, 367th Fighter Group, moves from Juvincourt to St Dizier
with P-38s.