Subject: WWII-L Digest - 14 Jan 1995 to 15 Jan 1995

From: Automatic digest processor <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 16 Jan 1995 00:00:27 -0500

There are 10 messages totalling 664 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. Help-Japanese type 90 bombsights
  2. INF: USN Chronology 01-15-95
  3. INF: 50 Years Ago - 16-JAN-1945
  4. 50TH: EXPECTATIONS ABOUT LENGTH OF WAR
  5. AWOL Fliers
  6. "Barbarossa"
  7. [INF] USAAF 14 JAN 44
  8. [INF] USAAF 15 JAN 45
  9. [INF] USAAF 16 JAN 45
 10. TRV: B-29 Auxiliary Power

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Date:    Sat, 14 Jan 1995 19:15:39 -1000
From:    John DeVirgilio <[email-masked]>
Subject: Help-Japanese type 90 bombsights

Dear Readers,

Does anybody have any information regarding the Japanese type 90 bombsight.
I do know that the Japanese bought German lens technology from cash
strapped German engineers during the 1920's.  Of the many unique things that
the Japanese acguired from Germany during this period was a  bombsight
designed with internal fluid elements and a look ahead mirror system.
Japanese sources use the name "Boeko" or "Boi-ko" system.  This name
(boeko) is supposedly phonetically similar to the German name of the Optics
maker who sold the Japanese the original bombsight example.   Does anybody
have the name of this German Manufacturer/Researcher?

Aloha,

John De Virgilio

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 15 Jan 1995 04:00:13 PST
From:    "Keller, Theron P." <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: USN Chronology 01-15-95

UNITED STATES NAVY CHRONOLOGY
from:
//byrd.mu.wvnet.edu/pub/history/military/wwii/naval_chronology/chr4(4,5).txt

1945
01/15 Mon. Aircraft from fast carrier task force (Vice Adm. J. S.
           McCain) attack Japanese shipping and aircraft in the
           Formosa and China coast areas.
            United States naval vessel damaged:
             Escort carrier HOGGATT BAY (CVE-75), by accidental
              explosion, Philippine Islands area,
              17 d. 01'N., 119 d. 20'E.
            Japanese naval vessels sunk, by carrier-based aircraft,
             Formosa area:
             Destroyer HATAKAZE,
              22 d. 37'N., 120 d. 15'E.
             Old destroyer TSUGA,
              23 d. 33'N., 119 d. 33'E.
             Transport NO. 14,
              11 d. 37'N., 120 d. 15'E.

Information compiled by U.S. Navy Historians.  For more information,
contact the Naval Historical Center at (202) 433-3940.
Archived by: "Larry W. Jewell" <[email-masked]>
Posted by:
Theron P. Keller
Logicon, Inc.
Dahlgren, VA  22448 USA
[email-masked]

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 15 Jan 1995 04:39:35 -0800
From:    John Davis <[email-masked]>
Subject: INF: 50 Years Ago - 16-JAN-1945

On 16-JAN-1945, the following occurred -

World War II - The Battlefronts
-------------------------------
Western Front - In the British 2nd Army sector, Operation Blackcock is
launched. The goal of the offensive is to eliminate the German salient
between the Meuse and the Rur. The 7th Armoured Division begins the
offensive by driving northeast and seizes Dieteren. In the U.S. 1st Army
sector, the VII Corps makes contact with the VIII Corps of the 3rd Army
near Houffalize. The 2nd Armoured Division occupies part of Houffalize
north of the Ourthe River. The 3rd Armoured Division takes Sommerain,
Cherain and Sterpigny but is unable to capture Brisy. The 75th Division is
making slow progress east of the Salm. The 30th Division clears the rest of
Thirimonth and pushes south toward the junction of the Recht-Born road with
the Malmedy-St Vith road, which the Germans are blocking. The 1st Division
captures Ondenval and the rest of Faymonville. In the 3rd Army sector,
units of the 11th Division take Velleroux and pursue the Germans trhough
Mabompre. The 6th Armoured Division continues pushing northeast toward
Moinet and also captures Michamps.

Eastern Front - The 1st White Russian Front takes Radom in Poland.

Philippines - In the XIV Corps sector, regrouping and widespread patrolling
ensue. In the I corps sector, the the 43rd Division makes very little
progress against Rosario. On Mindoro, the 19th Infantry establishes an
outpost at Bulalacao and finds the area infested with the Japanese.

=============================================================================

Sources: "United States Army in World War II, Chronology 1941-1945" compiled
by Mary H. Williams, Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of
the Army, "2194 Days of War" by Cesare Salmaggi and Alfredo Pallavisimi,
"Facts On File Yearbook 1945, Person's Index Of World Events" edited by R.L.
Lapica.

Copyright 1995 by John B Davis, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Previous articles are archived at ftp.webcom.com in directory /pub/jbd/www
and can be accessed via the WWW by URL: http://www.webcom.com/~jbd/ww2.html.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Davis                Cary, North Carolina                 [email-masked]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 15 Jan 1995 15:48:25 +0100
From:    JOHN AUSLAND <[email-masked]>
Subject: 50TH: EXPECTATIONS ABOUT LENGTH OF WAR

  FOR JOHN DAVIS
  As my letter demonstrate, we were reasonably optimistic after the
defeat of the German winter offensive.  However, we still had one big
worry, getting across the Rhine.  Having made the crossing of the
Channel, I was not looking forward to making an opposed crossing of
that large river.  We learned of the capture of the bridge at Remagen,
therefore, with great joy.
  I do not recall trying to attach a date to it, but I certainly did
not expect to fight through another winter.
  At the same time, as you will see from later excerpts, we still had
considerable combat ahead of us in January.
  Regards, John Ausland/Oslo Norway

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 15 Jan 1995 18:47:39 EST
From:    Henry Sirotin <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: AWOL Fliers

Dear Mary,

Some time ago, there was a TV broadcast (can't remember any details
of network, station, etc,) that detailed the number of crews that
deliberately set down in either Switzerland or, especially, Sweden.             I think the number was in the low hundreds. Does anyone recall the
broadcast? It might have been 60 Minutes, or one of the Discovery
Channel shows.

Henry Sirotin

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 15 Jan 1995 19:18:50 EST
From:    Henry Sirotin <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: "Barbarossa"

A substantial portion of the western Soviet industrial base was
evacuated ahead of the Germans and reestablished in the Urals.
Given the German failure to rationalize their own industry until
1944, and continuing Western Allied pressure, it is quite likely
the Russians would have outsupplied the Germans in the east in                  1943, even with the loss of Moscow and Leningrad. If the Wehrmacht
had achieved Barbarossa's goals (Archangel-Volga line) all it would
have done was to leave the Germans with an untenable length of
defensive barrier, across which the Russians would have been
building hundreds of divisions armed to the teeth with T-34/85s,
JS-1s, 122mm divisional artillery, Katiushas, etc. That is why
the German General Staff wanted to pull back to the Dneiper line
in 1943- at least they had the manpower to try (note: try) and
hold there. The flaw in Barbarossa was the assumption the
Russians would fold; they wouldn't, and, given Nazi ideology                    anything short of the complete occupation of the country- a manifest            impossibility- meant catastrophe for the Germans. The only question that
remains is who gets to Berlin first- Eisenhower or Zhukov.

Henry Sirotin

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 15 Jan 1995 21:13:00 EST
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: [INF] USAAF 14 JAN 44

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
SUNDAY, 14 JANUARY 1945
FTP SITES
  1. ftp.rutgers.edu in directory pub/wwii/usaf
  2. byrd.mu.wvnet.edu (129.71.32.152) in pub/history/military/airforce/
     wwii_chronology

AIRCRAFT MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT:
  A-20, Douglas Havoc
  B-17, Boeing Flying Fortress
  B-24, Consolidated Liberator
  B-25, North American Mitchell
  B-26, Martin Marauder
  B-29, Boeing Superfortress
  F-5, Lockheed Lightning
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  P-40, Curtiss
  P-47, Republic Thunderbolt
  P-51, North American Mustang
  Spitfire, Vickers Supermarine

NOTE: A number in parenthesis after a target name indicates the number of
bombers attacking.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 27 B-24s, supported by 45
P-51s and P-40s, pound Hankow; 8 enemy aircraft are claimed destroyed; 7
B-25s hit targets at and W of Kengtung; 42 P-47s, P-40s, and P-51s attack
airfields at Wuchang and Hankow; 17 Japanese aircraft are claimed destroyed;
21 P-40s and P-51s hit targets of opportunity in the Wanting area; 5 P-51s
blast trucks and buildings at Shanhsien; 8 others attack shipping on the
Yangtze River near Anking.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 28: 82 B-29s out of Chengtu, China
are dispatched to bomb air installations at Kagi, Formosa; 55 hit the
primary target while 1 bombs Heito, Formosa; 22 others hit alternates and
targets of opportunity at several points, among them Taichu Airfield, Formosa
and Hengyang, China; no B-29s are lost.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 12 B-25s hit troops,
stores area, and knock out 3 bridges near Nampawng and Hay-ti; 26 fighter-
bombers support ground forces at Si-U and at Mabein; 60+ fighter-bombers
pound supply areas, troop concentrations, and general targets of opportunity
at or near Hsenwi, Se-u, Kongnyaung, Kutkai, Mongmit, Manai, and Kawnghka.
Transports fly 487 sorties to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 792: 911 bombers and 860 fighters are dispatched to attack oil
refineries and plants in C Germany and highway bridges at Cologne; clear
skies allow all bombers to bomb visually; about 250 Luftwaffe fighters attack
and the AAF claims 158-0-30 aircraft; 7 bombers and 11 fighters are lost:
  1. 370 B-17s are sent to hit oil targets at Derben (186) and Magdeburg
(90); 36 hit Hallendorf, the secondary target; targets of opportunity hit are
the Osnabruck marshalling yard (8) and other (19); they claim 31-9-7
aircraft; 6 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 121 damaged; 4 airmen
are WIA and 149 MIA. Escorting are 295 of 331 P-51s; they claim 89.5-0-14
aircraft in the air and 3-0-5 on the ground; 5 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA)
and 3 damaged beyond repair.
  2. 348 B-24s are dispatched to hit oil targets at Hallendorf (145),
Hemmingstedt (91) and Ehmen (89); 1 hits Wangerooge Island, a target of
opportunity; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 80 damaged; 8 airmen are KIA
and 1 WIA. The escort is 261 of 295 P-51s; they claim 14.5-0-0 aircraft; 1
P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair.
  3. 187 B-17s are sent to hit highway bridges at Cologne, the Deutz Bridge
(71), the Hohenzollern Bridge (67) and the Rodenkirchen Bridge (36); targets
of opportunity are Berg (1) and Cologne (1); 1 B-17 is lost, 3 damaged beyond
repair and 92 damaged; 4 airmen are WIA and 10 MIA. Escort is provided by 40
of 42 P-51s; they claim 9-0-5 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1
pilot is WIA.
  4. 6 of 6 B-17s fly a screening mission without loss.
  5. 116 P-47s and P-51s fly a sweep over N Germany and claim 42-0-6
aircraft; 2 P-47s and 1 P-51 are lost (pilots MIA); 1 P-47 is damaged beyond
repair.
  6. 30 of 32 P-51s fly a scouting missions without loss.
  7. 19 of 22 P-51s escort 12 F-5s and 4 Spitfires on a photo reconnaissance
mission over Germany.
  Mission 793: 2 B-17s and 5 B-24s drop leaflets over SE Belgium and Germany
during the night.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 280+ A-20s and B-26s strike bridges
and communications centers in the base area of the Ardennes salient and in
other areas of W Germany. Fighters escort 9th Bombardment Division and Eighth
AF bombers, fly armed reconnaissance and patrols, attack numerous ground
targets, and support the US First Army in the Vielsalm, Belgium area and the
US Third Army around Diekirch, Luxembourg.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): For the sixth consecutive day
bad weather permits only reconnaissance missions.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, weather again cancels
all combat missions.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 22 B-24s from Saipan Island and 21 from Guam
Island bomb airfields on Moen Island, Truk Atoll; 9 P-38s escort the Saipan
B-24s. 12 B-24s from Guam pound an airfield on Iwo Jima Island; 2 B-24s from
the Mariana Islands fly snooper strikes against Iwo Jima airfields during the
night of 14/15 Jan.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 19: 73 B-29s from the Mariana Islands
are dispatched to bomb the Mitsubishi aircraft plant at Nagoya, Japan; 40 hit
the primary target and 23 hit alternates and targets of opportunity; they
claim 16-7-26 Japanese aircraft; 5 B-29s are lost.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon Island,
Philippine Islands, B-25s pound Aparri Airfield while supporting P-51s
destroy several parked aircraft; A-20s bomb Clark Field destroying numerous
parked aircraft, while B-24s hit troop concentrations at Cabanatuan; B-24s,
B-25s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers over wide areas of Luzon hit tanks, trucks,
and other vehicles near Norzagaray, Masbate, Tartaro, Bulac, Banglos, and San
Felipe; bomb a bridge N of Bocaue; hit airfields at Tuguegarao and Batangas
on Luzon, Malabang on Mindanao Island, and Silay on Negros Island; bomb
the Cotabato supply area on Mindanao; and attack numerous other targets.
B-25s bomb the Goeroea area in the Moluccas Islands. The 408th Bombardment
Squadron (Heavy), 22d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Angaur Island,
Palau Islands to Samar Island, Philippine Islands with B-24s.

SOURCES:
AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force History,
  Headquarters USAF, 1961, ISBN 0-912799-02-1
COMBAT SQUADRONS OF THE AIR FORCE, WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force
  History, Headquarters USAF 1982
THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by the
  Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1973
THE MIGHTY EIGHTH WAR DIARY by Roger A. Freeman, ISBN 1-85409-071-2

Jack McKillop
USAF (Airways and Air Communications Service)
1955-59

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  Jack McKillop         |  Those who have long enjoyed such      |
|  Bellcore              |  privileges as we enjoy forget in      |
|  Piscataway, NJ USA    |  time that men have died to win them.  |
|  [email-masked]  |                       FDR              |
-------------------------------------------------------------------

16/0211Z JAN

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 15 Jan 1995 21:21:00 EST
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: [INF] USAAF 15 JAN 45

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
MONDAY, 15 JANUARY 1945
FTP SITES
  1. ftp.rutgers.edu in directory pub/wwii/usaf
  2. byrd.mu.wvnet.edu (129.71.32.152) in pub/history/military/airforce/
     wwii_chronology

AIRCRAFT MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT:
  A-20, Douglas Havoc
  B-17, Boeing Flying Fortress
  B-24, Consolidated Liberator
  B-25, North American Mitchell
  B-26, Martin Marauder
  C-46, Curtiss Commando
  C-47, Douglas Skytrain
  UC-64, Noorduyn Norseman
  L-5, Stinson Sentinel
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  P-40, Curtiss
  P-47, Republic Thunderbolt
  P-51, North American Mustang

NOTE: A number in parenthesis after a target name indicates the number of
bombers attacking.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 18 B-25s, supported by 20 P-51s and
P-40s, attack Hankow, China.  Others hit the Wan Pa-Hsa, Burma town area and
damage a nearby bridge and in China, attack shipping near Amoy, and hit
targets of opportunity in the Siang-Chiang and Hsiang River Valleys and from
Hong Kong to Foochow. 130+ P-40s and P-51s on armed reconnaissance attack
numerous targets of opportunity throughout S China from the Burma border to
the SE coast.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 12 B-24s bomb a troop
concentration and the supply area at Mong Ngaw; 6 fighter-bombers damage a
bridge at Namhkai; 11 support ground forces along the Irrawaddy River,
bombing Mabein, hitting a cable crossing at Myitson, and attacking a ferry
landing on the Nampaw River, a tributary; troops, supplies, tanks and targets
of opportunity are attacked at several points in N Burma including Mong Tat,
Mong Yok and Mong Pa. Transports fly 527 sorties to forward areas. Lieutenant
Generals Albert C Wedemeyer, Commanding General China Theater, George E
Stratemeyer, Commanding General Eastern Air Command, and Daniel I Sultan,
Commanding General India-Burma Theater, confer at Myitkyina, Burma and agree
that an AAF HQ to command the US Tenth and Fourteenth Air Forces should be
set up in China. The 15th Combat Cargo Squadron, 4th Combat Cargo Group,
moves from Argartala to Chittagong, India with C-46s. The 164th Liaison
Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando Group, moves from Inbaung to Kan, Burma
with UC-64s and L-5s.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 794: 640 bombers and 782 fighters are dispatched to hit
marshalling yards in Germany; they claim 14-0-19 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2
fighters are lost.
  1. 223 B-17s are sent to hit marshalling yards at Ingolstadt (111) and
Freiburg (107); 1 hits the Reudenstadt marshalling yard as a target of
opportunity; H2X radar is used to bomb; 5 B-17s are damaged. Escorting are
183 P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair.
  2. 75 of 120 B-24 hit the secondary target, the Reutlingen marshalling
yard; targets of opportunity are Tubingen (19), Urich (10), the Tubingen
marshalling yard (7), Mahlberg (1) and other (1); all attacks are made
visually; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair. The escort consists of 109 of 117
P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft without loss.
  3. 253 of 297 B-17s hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at
Augsburg using H2X radar; targets of opportunity are Bobingen (29) and other
(5) bombed visually; 16 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is KIA. The escort is
provided by 184 of 204 P-51s; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
  4. 156 of 167 P-51s fly a fighter sweep over Germany; they claim 13-0-19
aircraft without loss.
  5. 62 of 63 P-51s fly a fighter bomber mission against the marshalling yard
at Gensingen without loss.
  6. 6 of 7 P-51s escort a Spitfire on a photo reconnaissance mission over
Germany.
  7 29 of 32 P-51s fly a scouting mission without loss.
  Mission 795: 2 B-17s and 7 B-24s drop leaflet on the Netherlands and
Germany during the night without loss.
  HQ VIII Fighter Command moves from Bushey Hall, England to Charleroi,
Belgium.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS

    First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): HQ 64th Fighter Wing moves from
Ludres to Nancy, France.

    Ninth Air Force: In Germany, 16 B-26s hit the Simmern bridge to help
thwart movement in the Trier area; the XIX Tactical Air Command escorts the
B-26s, flies armed reconnaissance and patrols, and supports the US III and
VIII Corps in the Houffalize, Belgium-Bastogne, Belgium-Wiltz, Luxembourg
areas.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 400+ B-24s and B-17s escorted
by 270+ P-38s and P-51s, bomb marshalling yards and other railroad
communications in NE and SE Vienna, Austria and marshalling yard at Treviso,
Italy.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy, operations resume as the
weather clears; medium bombers concentrate on the Brenner rail line, flying
nearly 150 sorties against bridges at San Michele all'Adige, Rovereto, Ala,
Lavis, Santa Margherita d'Adige, and Motta di Livenza; the XXII Tactical Air
Command attacks communications in the Po Valley and further N, destroying or
damaging several bridges and a very large number of railway cars (most of
them at the Como marshalling yard); during the night of 14/15 Jan, A-20s hit
targets in the Po Valley, including Po River crossings at Borgoforte,
Piacenza, and San Benedetto Po.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 12 B-24s from Saipan Island hit airfields on
Iwo Jima Island; 2 B-24s, operating singly from Guam Island and Saipan,
strike Iwo Jima airfields during the night of 15/16 Jan.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-24s, B-25s,
A-20s, and fighter-bombers attack objectives on Luzon, in the C Philippine
Islands, and on Palawan Island, hitting highways, railroads, airfields and
numerous targets of opportunity including tanks, trucks, and other vehicles.
B-24s also bomb Jesselton Airfields in Borneo. The 318th Troop Carrier
Squadron (Commando), 3d Air Commando Group, moves from Nadzab, New Guinea to
Leyte Island with C-47s.

SOURCES:
AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force History,
  Headquarters USAF, 1961, ISBN 0-912799-02-1
COMBAT SQUADRONS OF THE AIR FORCE, WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force
  History, Headquarters USAF 1982
THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by the
  Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1973
THE MIGHTY EIGHTH WAR DIARY by Roger A. Freeman, ISBN 1-85409-071-2

Jack McKillop
USAF (Airways and Air Communications Service)
1955-59

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  Jack McKillop         |  Those who have long enjoyed such      |
|  Bellcore              |  privileges as we enjoy forget in      |
|  Piscataway, NJ USA    |  time that men have died to win them.  |
|  [email-masked]  |                       FDR              |
-------------------------------------------------------------------

16/0220Z JAN

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 15 Jan 1995 21:29:00 EST
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: [INF] USAAF 16 JAN 45

COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
TUESDAY, 16 JANUARY 1945
FTP SITES
  1. ftp.rutgers.edu in directory pub/wwii/usaf
  2. byrd.mu.wvnet.edu (129.71.32.152) in pub/history/military/airforce/
     wwii_chronology

AIRCRAFT MENTIONED IN THIS REPORT:
  A-20, Douglas Havoc
  A-26, Douglas Invader
  B-17, Boeing Flying Fortress
  B-24, Consolidated Liberator
  B-25, North American Mitchell
  B-26, Martin Marauder
  B-29, Boeing Superfortress
  UC-64, Noorduyn Norseman
  F-5, Lockheed Lightning
  L-1, Stinson Vigilant
  L-4, Piper Cub/Grasshopper
  L-5, Stinson Sentinel
  P-38, Lockheed Lightning
  P-40, Curtiss
  P-47, Republic Thunderbolt
  P-51, North American Mustang
  P-61, Northrop Black Widow

NOTE: A number in parenthesis after a target name indicates the number of
bombers attacking.

CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

  CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 4 B-25s and 8 P-40s destroy
a train N of Hankow and 8 B-25s pound Wanting. 180+ P-51s, P-40s, and P-38s
on armed reconnaissance over vast expanses of China S of the Yangtze River
and from the Burma border to the S China Sea attack numerous targets of
opportunity; the Muse, Burma and Wanting and Changsha, China areas are hit
especially hard.

  INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 12 B-25s attack a troop
concentration and supply dump at Namtoi; 15 P-47s support ground forces near
Yenya-u and S of Shadaw; 22 bomb airfields at Anisakan and Nawnghkio; a troop
concentration, supplies, town areas, vehicles, and other targets are attacked
by 40+ fighter-bombers; the 71st Liaison Squadron, Tenth AF [attached to 1st
Liaison Group (Provisional)] moves from Sahmaw to Katha with UC-64s, L-1s,
L-4s and L-5s. Transports fly 550 sorties to forward areas.

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
  Mission 796: A planned major strike at oil and industrial targets in
Germany is cancelled by weather; 627 bombers and 693 fighters are dispatched
to hit oil targets; 2 B-24s and 1 P-51 are lost; due to heavy fog a large
percentage of the bombers are diverted to various landing fields in the UK
and on the Continent:
  1. 364 B-24s are sent to hit the Rothensee synthetic oil plant at Magdeburg
(61) and the oil plant at Ruhland (67); secondary targets hit are the
marshalling yard at Dresden (138) and a tank factory at Magdeburg (61); 5
others hit a target of opportunity; targets are bombed visually and using H2X
radar; 2 B-24s are lost and 8 damaged beyond repair; 3 airmen are KIA, 20 WIA
and 22 MIA. Escorting are 368 of 392 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 7
damaged beyond repair.
  2. 263 B-17s dispatched hit secondary targets, the marshalling yard at
Dessau (146) and 2 aircraft engine plants at Bitterfeld (96); 4 others hit
targets of opportunity; all attacks are made using H2X radar; 2 B-17s are
damaged beyond repair; 1 airman is KIA and 3 WIA. The escort is 194 of 203
P-51s.
  3. 68 P-47s and P-51s fly a sweep.
  4. 19 of 20 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
  5. 5 of 7 P-51s escort a Spitfire on a photo reconnaissance mission on
Berlin and Misburg.
  Mission 797: 1 B-24 drop leaflets on Belgium during the night.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force): 311 A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s hit road
and rail bridges, communications centers, motor transport repair center, and
other targets in Germany; fighters escort 9th Bombardment Division and Eighth
AF bombers, fly armed reconnaissance and defensive patrols, and support US
First Army elements along the battleline NE of Houffalize, Belgium, and the
III Corps along the battleline SE of Houffalize.

MEDITERRANEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (MTO)

  STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): Bad weather restricts
operations to reconnaissance and reconnaissance escort missions by 30 P-38s.

  TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force): In Italy during the night of 15/16
Jan, A-20s exploit a break in the bad weather and blast motor transport
around Genoa and NE of Milan; during the day bad weather returns, grounding
the medium bombers and limiting fighter-bombers to 16 completed sorties
against communications in the Po Valley and NE Italy; the 23d Photographic
Reconnaissance Squadron, 3d Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), moves from
Malignano to Peretola Airfield, Florence with F-5s.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA)

  AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): 10 B-24s from Guam Island bomb an airfield on
Iwo Jima Island; 12 P-38s from Saipan Island assigned to high cover for the
B-24 strike fail to make contact with the formation due to bad weather; 3 of
the fighters strafe beached vessels. 3 B-24s fly snooper strikes against Iwo
Jima airfields during the night of 16/17 Jan.

  HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): 32 of 44 B-29s of the 313th Bombardment Wing
(Very Heavy) fly a shakedown mission against the airfield on Pagan Island,
Mariana Islands. Units arriving at North Field, Guam Island from the US: HQ
316th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy); HQ 19th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy)
and the 28th, 30th and 93d Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy) with B-29s
(first mission 12 Feb 45).

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In the day's
principal strikes B-24s, A-20s, and fighter-bombers pound Japanese
concentrations, trains, trucks, and targets of opportunity on Luzon Island.
Other B-24s hit airfields in N Borneo and on Halmahera Island. B-25s, A-20s,
and fighter-bombers on small raids, armed reconnaissance, and harassing
strikes hit airfields on Negros Island and airfields, communications targets,
trains, trucks, and other targets of opportunity throughout Luzon. HQ 86th
Fighter Wing moves form Sansapor, New Guinea to Luzon. The 26th Photographic
Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, moves from
Biak Island to Lingayen, Luzon with F-5s. The 70th Fighter Squadron, 18th
Fighter Group, ceases operating from Morotai Island with P-38s and begins a
movement to Luzon. The 547th Night Fighter Squadron, 86th Fighter Wing
(attached to 308th Bombardment Wing) moves from San Jose, Mindoro Island to
Lingayen, Luzon Island with P-38s and P-61s.

SOURCES:
AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force History,
  Headquarters USAF, 1961, ISBN 0-912799-02-1
COMBAT SQUADRONS OF THE AIR FORCE, WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force
  History, Headquarters USAF 1982
THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by the
  Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1973
THE MIGHTY EIGHTH WAR DIARY by Roger A. Freeman, ISBN 1-85409-071-2

Jack McKillop
USAF (Airways and Air Communications Service)
1955-59

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  Jack McKillop         |  Those who have long enjoyed such      |
|  Bellcore              |  privileges as we enjoy forget in      |
|  Piscataway, NJ USA    |  time that men have died to win them.  |
|  [email-masked]  |                       FDR              |
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16/0228Z JAN

------------------------------

Date:    Sun, 15 Jan 1995 21:53:00 EST
From:    mc killop <[email-masked]>
Subject: Re: TRV: B-29 Auxiliary Power

 >          I've been asked to post this by another group. We had a discussion
 >          about the Crosley car (same manufacturer as the radios) and it was
 >          mentioned that the Crosley engine that eventually found its way
 >          into the Crosley car started life as an auxiliary power source for
 >          B-29. The story went that a Crosley engine was in each wing of a B-
 >          29, in case power failed to such things as hydraulic or electrical
 >          systems, this engine would be a backup.
 >
 >          Maybe Jack McKillop or someone else can shed some light on this, or
 >          is it just an urban legend?

This is the first time I have heard this one.

 >          Also, this was answered a few months ago, but has escaped my
 >          memory: There was one B-29 sent to England, to be "seen". What were
 >          the specifics, if available, of this plane, i.e. number, name,
 >          where in England it was deployed, etc.

In early Mar 44, Colonel Frank Cook flew YB-29-BW, serial number
41-36963, to England to give the enemy the impression that the
B-29s were destined to be employed in the ETO rather than the CBI.

 >          Thank you for your patience with my admittedly trivial questions.
 >          Colin Brace     WA1KWA
 >
 >          [email-masked]

-------------------------------------------------------------------
|  Jack McKillop              |  Those who have long enjoyed such |
|  Bellcore                   |  privileges as we enjoy forget in |
|  Piscataway, NJ USA         |  time that men have died to win   |
|  [email-masked]  |  them.                     FDR    |
-------------------------------------------------------------------

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End of WWII-L Digest - 14 Jan 1995 to 15 Jan 1995
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