1 March 1945

THURSDAY, 1 MARCH 1945

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

AIRBORNE OPERATIONS (IX Troop Carrier Command): During Mar 45, the 62d
Troop Carrier Squadron, 314th Troop Carrier Group, moves from Saltby, England
to Poix, France.

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 857: 1,228 bombers and 488 fighters are dispatched to attack
marshalling yards in C and S Germany; 3 plants suspected of manufacturing Me
262 jet engine parts could not be attack due to clouds; most attacks are made
using H2X radar; the fighters claim 12-0-8 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 P-51s are
lost:
1. 452 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Bruchsal (115),
Reutlingen (69), Neckarsulm (85), Heilbronn (107) and Gottingen (36); 25 hit
Heidelberg, the secondary target; some visual attacks are made; 27 B-17s are
damaged. Escorting are 92 of 100 P-51s; 2 are lost (pilots MIA) and 2 damaged
beyond repair.
2. 253 of 321 B-24s bomb the Ingolstadt marshalling yard; 62 others hit the
secondary target, Augsburg; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair. 181 of 194 P-51s
escort claiming 1-0-0 aircraft in the air; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
3. 420 of 449 B-17s hit the marshalling yard at Ulm; 2 others hit a target
of opportunity; some attacks are visual; 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair
and 3 damaged; 16 airmen are KIA and 2 WIA. The escort is 147 of 152 P-51s;
they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 9-0-7 on the ground; 3 P-51s are
lost (pilots MIA).
4. 6 B-24s fly a screening mission without loss.
5. 31 of 32 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
6. 9 of 10 P-51s escort 8 F-5s on a photo reconnaissance mission over
Germany.
Mission 858: 11 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 340+ B-26s, A-20s and
A-26s attack the ordnance depot at Giessen, communications centers at
Pulheim, Rheinbach, Rommergkirchen, and Stommeln, the rail bridge at Pracht,
a road bridge, and 8 targets of opportunity; fighters escort the bombers, fly
alerts, scheduled patrols, and armed reconnaissance, hit assigned ground
targets and support the US 3d Armored Division at the Erft River bridgehead
near Paffendorf, the 9th Armored Division between Neffelbach and Rotbach
Creeks, the XIX Corps in the Monchen-Gladbach area, the VIII Corps astride
the Prum River, the XII Corps between the Prum and Nims Rivers and along the
Kyll River, and the XX Corps in the Trier area; and in the Netherlands, the
XVI and XIII Corps in the Venlo area and along the Niers River. During Mar
45, HQ IX Fighter Command moves from Verviers, Belgium to Bruhl, Germany.