28 January 1945

SUNDAY, 28 JANUARY 1945

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 809: With the prospect of improved weather over Germany, 1,006
bombers and 249 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards, bridges and
benzol plants at Dortmund; 10 bombers are lost:
1. 225 B-24s are sent to hit oil targets at Kaiserstuhl (115) and Gneisenau
(58); targets of opportunity are Lippstadt (9), Neheim (5) and other (11);
bombing is by Gee-H; 7 B-24s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 97 damaged;
2 airmen are KIA, 7 WIA and 71 MIA. Escorting are 68 of 77 P-51s.
2. 421 B-17s are sent to hit the Gremberg marshalling yard at Cologne (273)
and the Hohenzollern Bridge at Cologne (69); secondary targets are Gutersloh
(31) and Bielefeld (7); 3 others hit a target of opportunity; Gee-H and H2X
radar are used to bomb; 3 B-17s are lost and 172 damaged; 4 airmen are WIA
and 35 MIA. The escort is 69 of 76 P-51s.
3. 360 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Hohenbudberg marshalling yard (169)
and Rheinhausen Bridge at Duisburg (80); 10 hit the secondary, the highway
bridge at Duisburg; targets of opportunity are Friemersheim (13) and other
(2); some targets are hit visually while others are hit using Micro H; 2
B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 195 damaged; 14 airmen are KIA and 20
WIA. 35 of 38 P-51s escort the B-17s.
4. 40 P-51s fly a sweep of the tactical area escorting Ninth AF B-26s.
5. 13 of 18 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
Mission 810: 2 B-17s and 6 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands,
Luxembourg and Germany during the night.
The 328th, 486th and 487th Fighter Squadrons, 352d Fighter Group, move from
Bodney, England to Chievres, Belgium with P-51s (detachments have been
operating from Asch, Belgium since 23 Dec 44).

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 95 9th Bombardment
Division B-26s hit a communications center at Mayen, rail bridges and an
overpass at Eller, Sinzig, Remagen, and Kaiserslautern, targets of
opportunity in W Germany, and fly cover for US First Army forces on the
frontline in the Monschau-Butgenbach area.