3 March 1945

SATURDAY, 3 MARCH 1945

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 861: 1,102 bombers and 743 fighters are dispatched to bomb oil
refineries, oil plant equipment works, motor transport factory, tank plant,
and rail bridge in NC and E Germany; they claim 25-2-37 Luftwaffe aircraft;
9 bombers and 8 P-51s are lost:
1. 114 B-17s are sent to hit the oil refinery at Misburg (23); 82 hit the
secondary target, the Hanomag tank factory at Hannover; and 2 hit Lemford, a
target of opportunity; bombing is by H2X radar; 11 B-17s are damaged; 9
airmen are KIA and 5 WIA. Escorting are 44 of 46 P-51s; they claim 0-0-1
aircraft in the air; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
2. 222 B-17s are sent to bomb the oil plant at Ruhland (24) and bomb
visually; 166 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Chemnitz
using H2X; targets of opportunity are Plauen (11) and other (16); 2 B-17s are
damaged beyond repair and 63 damaged. 193 of 214 P-51s escort claiming 3-0-0
aircraft in the air and 10-0-23 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
3. 94 B-24s are dispatched to hit the Nienburg Bridge (41); 48 hit the
secondary target, the marshalling yard at Bielefeld and 1 hits a target of
opportunity; attacks are visual; 3 B-24s are damaged. The escort is 19 of 21
P-51s without loss.
4. All 219 B-24s dispatched hit the Rothensee oil refinery at Magdeburg
visually; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 4 B-24s are lost and 77 damaged; 3
airmen are WIA and 39 MIA. The escort is 129 of 144 P-51s; they claim 0-0-2
aircraft in the air; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
5. The primary targets for 453 B-17s are the Wilke (53) and Brussing (77)
oil plants and the MIAG munitions plant (61) at Brunswick and oil refineries
at Dollbergen (37), Dedenhausen (53) and Nienhagen (56); 38 hit the
secondary, Hildesheim (38); targets of opportunity are the marshalling yard
at Bielefeld (36), Herford (23) and other (2); most attacks are visual; they
claim 1-2-4 aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost and 53 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 41
MIA. Escorting are 169 of 180 P-51s; they claim 0-0-4 aircraft in the air and
9-0-2 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond
repair.
6. 100 of 107 P-51s fly a fighter sweep in the Leipzig-Magdeburg area; they
claim 1-0-3 aircraft in the air; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
7. 30 of 31 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
Mission 862: 18 of 24 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Emden using PFF.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): In Germany, the 9th Bombardment
Division hits Wiesbaden, Giessen, Bergisch Born, and Nahbollenbach ordnance
and storage depots, rail bridges at Remagen and Simmern, a communications
center at Heimersheim, motor transport concentration at Schwelm, the
Rheinbach ammunition dump, Kirn marshalling yard and town, and several
targets of opportunity; fighters fly bomber escort, hit special targets, fly
patrols and armed reconnaissance, and support the US 9th Infantry Division,
3d Armored Division, and VII Corps astride the Erft River W of Euskirchen and
the area near Roggendorf W of the Rhine River, the XIII, XVI, and XIX Corps E
of Sevelen, NE of Krefeld, and W of the Rhine in the Dusseldorf area, and the
VIII, XII, and XX Corps in the area between the Prum and Kyll Rivers and
along the Mosel River in the Trier area.