query: what kind of targets did the allies bomb in germany in 1944

pos: Strategic bombing during World War II the world anti-nuclear activists have made Hiroshima the central symbol of what they are opposing. Strategic bombing during World War II Strategic bombing during World War II was the sustained aerial attack on railways, harbours, cities, workers' housing, and industrial districts in enemy territory during World War II. Strategic bombing is a military strategy which is distinct from both close air support of ground forces and tactical air power. During World War II, it was believed by many military strategists of air power that major victories could be won by attacking industrial and political infrastructure, rather than purely military targets.

pos: 20th-century events attack during the stormy weather, and was on holiday in Germany. Besides this, the Germans were expecting an attack, but at the natural harbor of Calais and not the beaches of Normandy; They did not know about the Allies' artificial harbours, and false leads planted by the Allies suggested Calais as the landing site. By this time, the war was looking ever darker for Germany. On July 20, 1944, a group of conspiring German officers attempted to assassinate Hitler. The bomb they used did injure him, but the second was not used, and a table shielded Hitler in a stroke

pos: RAF Hardwick such as marshalling yards, aircraft factories, oil refineries, chemical plants, and cities in Germany. In addition it bombed gun emplacements, choke points, and bridges near Cherbourg during the Normandy invasion in June 1944. It attacked troop concentrations in northern France during the Saint-Lô breakthrough in July 1944; transported food, gasoline, water, and other supplies to the Allies advancing across France, August - September 1944; dropped supplies to airborne troops in the Netherlands on 18 September 1944; struck enemy transportation and other targets during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 - January 1945; and flew two missions on 24 March

pos: Surrender of Japan 16, 1945. As the project neared its conclusion, American planners began to consider the use of the bomb. In keeping with the Allies' overall strategy of securing final victory in Europe first, it had initially been assumed that the first atomic weapons would be allocated for use against Germany. However, by this time it was increasingly obvious that Germany would be defeated before any bombs would be ready for use. Groves formed a committee that met in April and May 1945 to draw up a list of targets. One of the primary criteria was that the target cities must not

pos: RAF Snetterton Heath on the famous Schweinfurt mission of 14 October 1943. The 96th also attacked shipyards, harbours, railway yards, aerodromes, oil refineries, aircraft factories, and other industrial targets in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The 96th received another DUC for leading the 45th Bomb Wing a great distance through heavy clouds and intense anti-aircraft fire to raid important aircraft component factories in Poland on 9 April 1944. Other significant targets included airfields at Bordeaux and Augsburg; marshalling yards at Kiel, Hamm, Brunswick, and Gdynia; aircraft factories at Chemnitz, Hanover, and Diósgyőr; oil refineries at Merseburg and Brux,

pos: 847th Bombardment Squadron June 1944, and afterward bombed coastal defenses, airfields, bridges, railroads, and V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket launch sites (Operation Crossbow) in the campaign for France. It participated in the saturation bombing of German lines just before Operation Cobra, the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July. The 847th began flying strategic bombing missions to Germany in July, and engaged primarily in bombing strategic targets such as factories, oil refineries and storage areas, marshalling yards, and airfields in Ludwigshafen, Magdeburg, Brunswick, Saarbrücken, and other cities until November 1944. The squadron dropped food to liberated French and to Allied forces in France during

pos: Fighter aircraft fighters were able to escort far into Germany on daylight raids and established control of the skies over Western Europe. By the time of Operation Overlord in June 1944, the Allies had gained near complete air superiority over the Western Front. This cleared the way both for intensified strategic bombing of German cities and industries, and for the tactical bombing of battlefield targets. With the Luftwaffe largely cleared from the skies, Allied fighters increasingly served as attack aircraft. Allied fighters, by gaining air superiority over the European battlefield, played a crucial role in the eventual defeat of the Axis, which

neg: Bert Stiles November. He won pilots wings and was assigned to a B-17 Flying Fortress replacement crew sent to the Eighth Air Force in March 1944. Assigned to the 401st Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group at Bassingbourn, England, he began flying missions with the crew of 2nd Lt. Sam Newton on April 19, 1944, with their first to Kassel, Germany. Thereafter the crew flew an average of two to three missions per week, usually on consecutive days. This pattern continued through May as the 91st attacked both strategic targets in Germany, V-1 launch sites, and targets in France in preparation for Operation

neg: 457th Air Expeditionary Group Its tail code was Triangle-U. The 457th Bomb Group consisted of the following operational squadrons: The 457th Bomb Group flew its first mission on 21 February 1944 during Big Week, taking part in the concentrated attacks of heavy bombers on the German aircraft industry. Until June 1944, the Group engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic targets, such as ball-bearing plants, aircraft factories, and oil refineries in Germany. The Group bombed targets in France during the first week of June 1944 in preparation for the Normandy invasion, and attacked coastal defenses along the Cherbourg peninsula on D-Day. Struck airfields, railroads, fuel

neg: Air warfare of World War II a raid on the American port at Bari, in December 1943. Only 30 out of 100 bombers got through, but one hit an ammunition ship which was secretly carrying a stock of mustard gas for retaliatory use should the Germans initiate the use of gas. Clouds of American mustard gas caused over 2,000 Allied and civilian casualties. In early 1944, the Allies continued to bomb Germany, while carefully attacking targets in France that could interfere with the invasion, planned for June. In late 1943 the AAF suddenly realized the need to revise its basic doctrine: strategic bombing against a technologically

neg: Robert Anthony Maurice Palmer heavily defended targets. At 24 years old, as a squadron leader serving with No. 109 Squadron (RAF), he embarked on what was to be his final mission, for which he received the VC. On 23 December 1944 over Cologne, Germany, Palmer was leading a formation of Lancaster bombers on a daylight raid to bomb Cologne's Gremberg railway marshalling yards. His Lancaster PB371 was designated "Master Bomber" and using "Oboe radio bombing equipment" his orders were to mark the targets for the other heavy bombers to aim for. Palmer was in command of one of 27 Lancasters accompanied by three Mosquitoes

neg: Oil campaign of World War II In June 1944, in response to Air Ministry query on resources, Bomber Command staff estimated it would take 32,000 tons of bombs to destroy 10 oil targets in the Ruhr. Harris agreed to divert spare effort to oil targets. They were deemed to be of such importance that one raid was staged that consisted only of bomb carrying fighters, to rest the bomber crews and surprise the defenders. In late summer 1944 the Allies began using reconnaissance photo information to time bombing with the resumption of production at a facility. Even with the weather limitations: "This was the big breakthrough

neg: 37th Bomb Squadron by May 1943. In June 1943, the squadron conducted bombing attacks leading to the surrender of enemy forces in Pantelleria and Lampedusa. The squadron participated in Operations Husky and Avalanche as the Allies moved into Sicily and Italy. During the Allied drive toward Rome, the squadron was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for an attack on airfields near Rome on 13 January 1944. Its operations in Italy between April and June 1944 earned it the French Croix de Guerre with Palm. In August 1944, the squadron bombed targets to support Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France. The squadron

neg: 858th Bombardment Squadron on 18 April. The squadron flew its first combat mission on 11 May 1944, joining the strategic bombing campaign with attacks primarily on targets in central Germany. During the first week in June, the squadron was diverted from strategic targets to support Operation Overlord by attacking airfields and V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket launch sites. It bombed coastal defenses in Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and continued interdiction attacks until the middle of the month. Squadron organization was transferred without personnel or equipment, to RAF Harrington on 5 August 1944 and assumed personnel, equipment, and the special operations

neg: Jack Mullin developed a high-quality form of magnetic tape sound recording that was unknown elsewhere. The Nazi radio networks used it to broadcast music and propaganda around the clock. From their monitoring of Nazi radio broadcasts during World War II, the Allies knew that German radio studios had some new kind of recorder that could reproduce high-fidelity sound in segments of unheard-of length, up to 15 minutes duration. But for several years, they didn't know what these machines were or how they worked, and it was not until Germany fell to the Allies during 1944-45 that the Americans discovered the new magnetic

neg: Shuttle bombing September 1944 after a three-month period, and not repeated. Shuttle bombing Shuttle bombing is a tactic where bombers fly from their home base to bomb a first target and continue to a different location where they are refuelled and rearmed. The aircraft may then bomb a second target on the return leg to their home base. Some examples of operations which have used this tactic are: While shuttle bombing offered several advantages, allowing distant targets to be hit and complicating the Axis defence arrangements, it posed a number of practical difficulties, not least the awkward relations between the Western Allies

neg: 857th Bombardment Squadron Established in October 1943 as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomb squadron; assigned to II Bomber Command for training. One of the last B-24 squadrons established. After training was deployed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO), being assigned to VIII Bomber Command in England at RAF North Pickenham. Entered combat in May 1944, engaging in long-ranger strategic bombardment of enemy industrial targets in central Germany. Attacked airfields and V-weapon launching sites in France during the first week in June. Bombed coastal defenses in Normandy on 6 June 1944 and attacked bridges, railroads, and other interdiction targets in France until the

neg: RAF North Pickenham and equipment to North Pickenham initially in February 1944 briefly before being transferred to RAF Metfield in March. With the withdrawal of the 492nd Bomb Group from operational missions in August the group was transferred back to North Pickenham . Upon its return, the 491st concentrated its attacks on strategic objectives in Germany, striking communications centers, oil refineries, storage depots, industrial areas, shipyards, and other targets in such places as Berlin, Hamburg, Kassel, Cologne, Gelsenkirchen, Bielefeld, Hanover, and Magdeburg; on one occasion attacked the headquarters of the German General Staff at Zossen, Germany. While on a mission to bomb an

neg: 859th Bombardment Squadron arrived at RAF North Pickenham The air echelon began arriving on 18 April. The squadron flew its first combat mission on 11 May 1944, joining the strategic bombing campaign with attacks primarily on targets in central Germany. During the first week in June, the squadron was diverted from strategic targets to support Operation Overlord by attacking airfields and V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket launch sites. It bombed coastal defenses in Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and continued interdiction attacks until the middle of the month. Except for support of Operation Cobra, the breakout at Saint Lo, the squadron

neg: V-1 flying bomb Unlike the V-2, the V-1 was a cost-effective weapon for the Germans as it forced the Allies to spend heavily on defensive measures and divert bombers from other targets. More than 25 per cent of Combined Bomber Offensive's bombs in July and August 1944 were used against V-weapon sites, often ineffectively. In early December 1944, American General Clayton Bissell wrote a paper that argued strongly in favour of the V-1 when compared with conventional bombers. The following is a table he produced: The statistics of this report, however, have been the subject of some dispute. The V-1 missiles launched from

neg: 846th Bombardment Squadron an attack on Oldenburg, Germany. It then concentrated on striking targets in France to prepare for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. The 846th supported the landings on 6 June 1944, and afterward bombed coastal defenses, airfields, bridges, railroads, and V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket launch sites (Operation Crossbow) in the campaign for France. It participated in the saturation bombing of German lines just before Operation Cobra, the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July. The 846th began flying strategic bombing missions to Germany in July, and engaged primarily in bombing strategic targets such as factories, oil refineries and storage areas,

neg: 845th Bombardment Squadron an attack on Oldenburg, Germany. It then concentrated on striking targets in France to prepare for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. The 845th supported the landings on 6 June 1944, and afterward bombed coastal defenses, airfields, bridges, railroads, and V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket launch sites (Operation Crossbow) in the campaign for France. It participated in the saturation bombing of German lines just before Operation Cobra, the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July. The 845th began flying strategic bombing missions to Germany in July, and engaged primarily in bombing strategic targets such as factories, oil refineries and storage areas,

neg: 2d Operations Group of strategic targets in Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Rumania, and Greece. Participated in the drive toward Rome, January–June 1944; the invasion of Southern France, August 1944, and the campaigns against German forces in northern Italy, June 1944 – May 1945. En route to bomb an aircraft factory at Steyr, Austria on 24 February 1944, the group was greatly outnumbered by enemy interceptors, but it maintained its formation and bombed the target, receiving a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for the performance. On the following day, while on a mission to attack aircraft factories at Regensburg, it met similar opposition

neg: 787th Air Expeditionary Squadron within four months of its activation. Established in mid-1943 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomb group; trained under Second Air Force in Idaho. Completed training in early 1944; deploying to European Theater of Operations (ETO) assigned to VIII Bomber Command in England. Engaged in long-range strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany, March 1944-May 1945 attacking enemy military and industrial targets as part of the United States' air offensive against Nazi Germany. Most personnel demobilized in Europe after the German capitulation in May 1945; a small cadre returned to the United States, being programmed for conversion to

neg: 146th Airlift Wing the Allies launched the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, and hit troops, tanks, roads, fuel depots and other targets in the assault area until the end of the month. The Group moved to the Continent in July 1944 where it struck railroads, hangars, boxcars, warehouses and other objectives to prevent reinforcements from reaching the front at St. Lo, where the Allies broke through on 25 July 1944. The Group bombed such targets as troops in the Falaise-Argentan area in August 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 - January 1945, the Group concentrated on the destruction of

neg: 55th Operations Group cover for missions against aircraft plants during Big Week in February 1944. Lt. Col. Jack Jenkins led the group on 3 March 1944, when they became the first Allied fighters to reach Berlin on an escort mission. On 16 April 1944 the group moved to RAF Wormingford to accommodate the arrival of the 398th Bomb Group. The 55FG converted to North American P-51D Mustangs in July 1944, continuing their primary task of escorting B-17 and B-24 bombers that attacked such targets as industries and marshalling yards in Germany, and airfields and V-weapon sites in France. In July the group attacked

neg: Leopold III of Belgium credit to the active Belgian resistance. The Belgian government-in-exile in London did not like Leopold's demand that the government ministers involved in the 1940 crisis be exonerated. The Allies did not like Leopold's repudiation of the treaties concluded by the Belgian government-in-exile in London. The United States was particularly concerned about the economic treaty it had reached with the government-in-exile that enabled it to obtain Congolese uranium for America's secret atom bomb program, which had been developed for use against Germany (although, as it turned out, Germany surrendered before the first bomb was ready). The Belgian government did not publish

neg: Gustav Rödel JG 27 claimed three bombers. Rödel led I. and III. personally but could not prevent his force losing 14 Bf 109s, three killed and seven wounded. The 3rd US Bomb Division alone lost 41 bombers—possibly to attacks from JG 3 and 11—before the escorts intervened. Rödel claimed another pair of heavy bombers. Seven days later he repeated the feat. On 28 May 1944 the Eighth returned to bomb oil targets in central Germany. 1,341 bombers from several bomb divisions participated. Rödel led JG 27 without filing a claim. During the course of the mission the Bf 109s chanced upon and

neg: RAF Chelveston men would be unable to bail out, each pilot flew his plane back to England and made a successful crash landing. A second Distinguished Unit Citation was awarded to the 305th for withstanding severe opposition to bomb aircraft factories in central Germany on 11 January 1944. The unit participated in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry during Big Week, 20–25 February 1944. In addition to bombardment of strategic targets, the 305th BG often flew tactical interdictory missions and supported infantry units. Prior to the Normandy invasion in June 1944, it helped to neutralize enemy installations

neg: Japanese war crimes how many atomic bombs the Allies had and what the future targets were. McDilda, who knew nothing about the atomic bomb nor the Manhattan Project, "confessed" under torture that the U.S. had 100 atomic bombs and that Tokyo and Kyoto were the next targets. McDilda's false confession may have swayed the Japanese leaders' decision to surrender. Many Allied airmen captured by the Japanese on land or at sea were executed in accordance with official Japanese policy. During the Battle of Midway in June 1942, three American airmen who were shot down and landed at sea were spotted and captured by

neg: 489th Bomb Group 1944, reaching Liverpool on 21 April. The group moved to RAF Halesworth, England in May 1944, where it became part of Eighth Air Force. The group entered combat on 30 May 1944 with an attack on Oldenburg, Germany. It then concentrated on targets striking in France to prepare for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. In an attack against coastal defenses near Wimereux, France on 5 June, the group's lead plane was seriously crippled by enemy fire, its pilot was killed, and the deputy group commander, Lt Col Leon Vance, who was commanding the formation, was severely wounded. Although his

neg: Franz Mattenklott paved the way for the drive into Germany. Unbeknownst to Mattenklott, who apparently did not harbour any kind of anti-Nazi sentiments, some of his officers in the Wehrkreis VI were involved in the military resistance against Hitler. On 20 July 1944, after Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg detonated a bomb in Hitler's headquarters, the Wolf's Lair in East Prussia, the attempt to overthrow the Nazi regime (known as the 20th July plot) came in motion. "Oberstleutnant" Martin Bärtels, a conspirator in Mattenklott's staff, urged his superior to leave his headquarters and go on an inspection tour. However, the plot failed from

neg: Hiroshi Ōshima that the bulk of German forces would not be waiting in Normandy, but mistakenly, at the Pas-de-Calais area. His dispatches also proved to be valuable to those who were involved in the bombing campaign in Europe, as Ōshima provided details on the effect of Allied bombing raids on specific German targets, giving valuable and relatively unbiased bomb damage assessments to the Allies. As the war progressed and Germany began to retreat, Ōshima never wavered in his confidence that Germany would emerge victorious. However, in March 1945 he reported to Tokyo on the "danger of Berlin becoming a battlefield" and revealing

neg: RAF Nuthampstead April 1944 the group moved to RAF Wormingford in Essex to accommodate the arrival of the 398th Bomb Group. The 55FG converted to North American P-51D Mustangs in July 1944, continuing their primary task of escorting Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers that attacked such targets as industries and marshalling yards in Germany, and airfields and V-weapon sites in France. From April 1944 until June 1945 the 398th Bombardment Group (Heavy) used the airfield, arriving from Rapid City AAF South Dakota. The group was under the command of the 1st Combat Bombardment Wing of the 1st Air

neg: 305th Operations Group Schweinfurt. A second Distinguished Unit Citation was awarded to the 305th for withstanding severe opposition to bombing aircraft factories in central Germany on 11 January 1944. The unit participated in the intensive campaign of heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry during "Big Week," 20–25 February 1944. In addition to bombardment of strategic targets, the 305th Bomb Group often flew tactical interdictory missions and supported infantry units. Prior to the Normandy invasion in June 1944, it helped to neutralize enemy installations such as V-weapon sites, airfields, and repair shops. On D-Day, 6 June, the unit bombed enemy strongholds near the

neg: Norden bombsight same target, would drift into each other. These changes did improve accuracy, which suggests that much of the problem is attributable to the bombardier. However, precision attacks still proved difficult or impossible. When Jimmy Doolittle took over command of the 8th Air Force from Ira Eaker in early 1944, precision bombing attempts were dropped. Area bombing, like the RAF efforts, were widely used with 750 and then 1000 bomber raids against large targets. The main targets were railroad marshaling yards (27.4% of the bomb tonnage dropped), airfields (11.6%), oil refineries (9.5%), and military installations (8.8%). To some degree the targets

neg: PZL.37 Łoś in October 1941; after this point, the type was mainly used for training. During April 1944, the 76th escadrille returned to combat, with nine aircraft, but it was withdrawn from the front on 3 May 1944. After Romania joined the Allies, on 1 September 1944, German aircraft destroyed five PZL.37s on the ground during retaliatory attacks against Romanian targets. Additionally, a number of captured planes underwent testing by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Relatively few PZL.37s fell into German hands, believed to be probably only two aircraft; this is partially due to the efforts of Polish factory workers

neg: 704th Fighter Squadron Command via the southern route from Florida through Puerto Rico, Brazil, Senegal, and Morocco to England. The 704th was part of the first United States Army Air Forces group to complete the Transatlantic hop from Brazil to Africa without the installation of additional bomb bay fuel tanks. Engaged in long-range strategic bombardment of enemy targets in Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany, attacking transportation, industrial, Oil Industry and other targets as directed. Also engaged in tactical bombardment of enemy forces in France in support of the Operation Overlord landings in Normandy, and the subsequent breakout at St-Lo in July 1944. Changed

neg: 844th Bombardment Squadron targets striking in France to prepare for Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. The 844th supported the landings on 6 June 1944, and afterward bombed coastal defenses, airfields, bridges, railroads, and V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket launch sites (Operation Crossbow) in the campaign for France. It participated in the saturation bombing of German lines just before Operation Cobra, the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July. The 844th began flying strategic bombing missions to Germany in July, and engaged primarily in bombing strategic targets such as factories, oil refineries and storage areas, marshalling yards, and airfields in Ludwigshafen, Magdeburg, Brunswick, Saarbrücken,

neg: De Havilland Mosquito operational history 5 Group. The expanding PFF Mosquito squadrons visited all of the well-known targets in Germany including Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Essen, Mannheim, Hanover, and Duisberg. They took part in many bombing operations as pathfinders, marking targets with flares for the massed formations of heavy bombers. Once the B.XVI variants with enlarged bomb bays were brought into service in February 1944, they dropped 4,000-lb blast bombs ("cookies") which were used on many raids, making the force a formidable weapon in its own right. During 20/21 February to 27/28 March 1945 inclusive, No. 139 squadron made a series of 36 consecutive night attacks

neg: 603d Bombardment Squadron the air offensive against Nazi Germany, bombing such targets as factories in Berlin, marshalling yards in Saarbrücken, shipping facilities in Kiel, oil refineries in Merseburg and aircraft factories in Münster. In June 1944, prior to Operation Overlord,the Normandy invasion, the squadron temporarily suspended its strategic bombing to attack coastal defenses and enemy troop concentrations on the Cherbourg peninsula. Eighth Air Force took advantage of the diversion from strategic bombing to allow newly arrived units like the 603d to fly attacks against nearby targets to gain combat experience. The first target assigned was a V-1 flying bomb launch site near Sottevast,

neg: 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron campaign with attacks primarily on targets in central Germany. During the first week in June, the squadron was diverted from strategic targets to support Operation Overlord by attacking airfields and V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rocket launch sites. It bombed coastal defenses in Normandy on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and continued interdiction attacks until the middle of the month. On 18 June the squadron moved without personnel or equipment, to RAF Cheddington, where it assumed the night leaflet operations that had been performed by the 422d Bombardment Squadron. Only a cadre of the 858th actually transferred, and the squadron was

neg: Operation Tigerfish forefront. In autumn 1943, the Allies dropped leaflets in northern Germany that homeless people from the Reich would be welcome in the city. The intention was to trigger a movement of refugees to Freiburg. This propaganda campaign remained, however, without consequences. From 3 October 1943 there was the first light bombing. Thus, on 7 October 1943, when aircraft of the U.S. Air Force (USAAF, 1st Bomb Division) bombed rail facilities of the city. On 1 April 1944 the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) flew an attack on Ludwigshafen. Then the aircraft turned off, however, to bomb the planned secondary

neg: 195th Fighter Squadron B-26 Marauders to attack airdromes, bridges and railroads in Occupied France. The squadron patrolled the air over the beachhead when the Allies launched the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, and hit troops, tanks, roads, fuel depots and other targets in the assault area until the end of the month. The 410th moved to the Continent in July 1944 where it struck railroads, hangars, boxcars, warehouses and other objectives to prevent reinforcements from reaching the front at St. Lo, where the Allies broke through on 25 July 1944. The squadron bombed such targets as troops in the Falaise-Argentan area in

neg: 197th Air Refueling Squadron activities, e.g., escorting B-26 Marauders to attack airdromes, bridges and railroads in Occupied France. The squadron patrolled the air over the beachhead when the Allies launched the Normandy invasion on 6 June 1944, and hit troops, tanks, roads, fuel depots and other targets in the assault area until the end of the month. The 412th moved to the Continent in July 1944 where it struck railroads, hangars, boxcars, warehouses and other objectives to prevent reinforcements from reaching the front at St. Lo, where the Allies broke through on 25 July 1944. The squadron bombed such targets as troops in the

neg: 596th Bomb Squadron throughout the Normandy Campaign. In July 1944, the squadron attacked German forces near St Lo, France during the Allied breakout there. In August, the squadron moved from England to Gorges Airfield, an Advanced Landing Ground in France. From there it attacked naval targets at Saint Malo and Brest. Once on the Continent, the squadron made frequent moves forward as the Allied forces advanced during the Northern France Campaign. By September the squadron began flying missions into Germany, attacking depots and defended areas. During the Battle of the Bulge, the squadron struck enemy lines of communications. On 23 December 1944 the

neg: No. 467 Squadron RAAF employed to attack targets around Peenemunde and other targets associated with the V1 and V2 rockets. It also supported the Normandy landings and the subsequent Allied breakout in 1944, and Operation Plunder, as the Allies crossed the Rhine and advanced into Germany the following year. To facilitate attacks deeper into Axis territory, in mid-1943 Bomber Command aircraft undertook several "shuttle service" raids, which involved aircraft departing England, attacking a target in Europe and then landing in North Africa where they would replenish before turning around and attacking another target and then return to England. No. 467 Squadron aircraft were the

neg: Adolf Hitler officer Heinz Brandt moved the briefcase containing the bomb behind a leg of the heavy conference table, which deflected much of the blast. Later, Hitler ordered savage reprisals resulting in the execution of more than 4,900 people. By late 1944, both the Red Army and the Western Allies were advancing into Germany. Recognising the strength and determination of the Red Army, Hitler decided to use his remaining mobile reserves against the American and British troops, which he perceived as far weaker. On 16 December, he launched the Ardennes Offensive to incite disunity among the Western Allies and perhaps convince them

neg: Jägerstab the able-bodied Jews could be used for aircraft production. In early 1944, the Allies focused on the destruction of the Luftwaffe in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. Plans for the Big Week, intended to destroy Germany's capacity to produce fighter aircraft through targeted airstrikes on final assembly factories, were already underway in 1943. Between February 20–25, 1944, approximately 10,000 American and British aircraft, including about 6,000 bombers, attacked strategic targets across Germany. The attacks seriously damaged the German aircraft industry, and production rates fell drastically. In response, Adolf Hitler authorized the creation of the "Jägerstab", which superseded the Reich

neg: Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker to broker an accord of the international nuclear physicist "community" not to build the bomb. Weizsäcker worked later during the war as a professor in Strasbourg. The American capture of his laboratory and papers there in December 1944 revealed to the Western Allies that the Germans had not come close to developing a nuclear weapon. Weizsäcker was allowed to return to the part of Germany administrated by the Western Allies in 1946, and became director of a department for theoretical physics in the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Göttingen. From 1957 to 1969, Weizsäcker was professor of philosophy at

neg: 94th Operations Group France. On 6 June the group bombed enemy positions in the battle area to support the invasion of Normandy. Struck troops and gun batteries to aid the advance of the Allies at Saint-Lô in July and at Brest in August. Covered the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September. Hit marshalling yards, airfields, and strong points near the combat area during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 – January 1945. Bombed transportation, communications, and oil targets in the final push over the Rhine and across Germany. Scheduled for occupational air forces in Germany but plans changed in September 1945.

neg: Rape during the occupation of Germany leadership knew what was happening, but did little to stop it. Some Russian historians disagree, claiming that the Soviet leadership took some action. Historians have written about sexual violence committed by the armies of the Western Allies and the Red Army as these forces fought their way into the Third Reich and during the period of occupation. On the territory of Nazi Germany, it began on 21 October 1944 when troops of the Red Army crossed the bridge over the Angerapp creek (marking the border) and committed the Nemmersdorf massacre before they were beaten back a few hours later. The

neg: 786th Air Expeditionary Squadron 786th Air Expeditionary Squadron The 786th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 466th Bombardment Group. It was inactivated at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona on 17 October 1945. Established in mid-1943 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomb group; trained under Second Air Force in Idaho. Completed training in early 1944; deploying to European Theater of Operations (ETO) assigned to VIII Bomber Command in England. Engaged in long-range strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany, March 1944-May 1945 attacking enemy military and industrial targets as part of the United States'

neg: 785th Bombardment Squadron 785th Bombardment Squadron The 785th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 466th Bombardment Group. It was inactivated at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona on 17 October 1945. Established in mid-1943 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomb group; trained under Second Air Force in Idaho. Completed training in early 1944; deploying to European Theater of Operations (ETO) assigned to VIII Bomber Command in England. Engaged in long-range strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany, March 1944-May 1945 attacking enemy military and industrial targets as part of the United States' air

neg: 784th Bombardment Squadron 784th Bombardment Squadron The 784th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 466th Bombardment Group. It was inactivated at Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona on 17 October 1945. Established in mid-1943 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomb group; trained under Second Air Force in Idaho. Completed training in early 1944; deploying to European Theater of Operations (ETO) assigned to VIII Bomber Command in England. Engaged in long-range strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany, March 1944-May 1945 attacking enemy military and industrial targets as part of the United States' air

neg: 131st Bomb Wing escort, dive-bombing, strafing, and patrol missions in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. At first the group operated primarily as escort for B-17 and B-24 Liberator heavy bombers. The group patrolled the English Channel during the Normandy invasion in June 1944, and while continuing escort operations, supported ground forces in France after the invasion by strafing and bombing locomotives, marshalling yards, bridges, barges, and other targets. In the summer of 1944, the 364th converted from P-38s to P-51 Mustangs and until the end of the war flew many long-range missions including escorting heavy bombers to attack oil refineries, industries, and

neg: 128th Airborne Command and Control Squadron Citation for combat action two months later. On 18 July 1944 the squadron, along with the other elements of the 483d Group, bombed the objective, an airfield and installations at Memmingen, engaging numerous enemy aircraft in the target area despite a lack of cover from its planned fighter escort. It received a second citation for braving fighter assaults and flak to bomb tank factories at Berlin on 24 March 1945. The squadron was occasionally diverted from the strategic attack on Germany. It struck targets in southern France in preparation for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of August 1944. The group also

neg: Celone/San Nicola d'Arpi Airfield squadrons: From Celone the "Swoose Group", as the 463d was called operated chiefly against strategic objectives. Attacked such targets as marshaling yards, oil refineries, and aircraft factories in Italy, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Greece. It received two Distinguished Unit Citations, the first for bombing oil refineries in Ploesti on 18 May 1944: when clouds limited visibility to such an extent that other groups turned back; a second DUC was received for three damaging enemy attacks to bomb tank factories in Berlin on 24 March 1945. The 463d also participated in the invasion of Southern France in August 1944

neg: Southern Rhodesia in World War II be used on the more important fronts closer to Germany. In June 1944 the LRDG was assigned to operate on the western coast of Yugoslavia, with orders to set up observation posts, report the movements of German ships and undertake minor raids. The successes of Josip Broz Tito's Yugoslav partisans in Dalmatia led the Allies to despatch small patrols into Yugoslavia and Albania to contact partisan leaders and arrange co-operation with the Allied air forces. Several Rhodesian patrols from the LRDG were selected to undertake such missions during August and September 1944. Yugoslav partisans subsequently indicated targets for Allied bombing

neg: Griesheim Airport Darmstadt-Griesheim became a key base in late 1944 as part of the "Defense of the Reich" campaign against American Eighth Air Force heavy bombing raids against targets in Germany. No less than two fighter units, Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) and Jagdgeschwader 4 (JG 4), equipped with Focke-Wulf Fw 190A and a few Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighters used for day interceptor missions against the American bomber fleets. A third unit, Nachtjagdgeschwader 11 (NJG 11), flew Fw 190s and Bf 109s as night interceptors against Royal Air Force Bomber Command Lancasters attacking at night. Beginning in mid-to-late 1944, after the Allies landed

neg: European theatre of World War II Germany stayed on the defence, the Allies were hard-pressed to advance rapidly. That changed when Germany mounted a major counteroffensive on December 16, 1944. The Ardennes offensive, also called the Battle of the Bulge, drove back and surrounded some small American units. The Allied forces were eventually successful in driving back Germany, in what turned out to be their last major advance of the war. The battle officially ended on January 27, 1945. The final obstacle to the Allies was the Rhine. It was crossed in March 1945, and the way lay open to the center of Germany. The last

neg: 34th Bomb Squadron Corsican Campaign; and Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France, during the summer of 1944. Moving into southern France, the squadron supported American ground forces moving north through Lyon and eventually joined American forces in eastern France which had participated in the northern France Campaign after the Normandy D-Day landings in June. The 39th participated in the Western Allied invasion of Germany in the spring of 1945, carrying out tactical bombing missions from Lyon Airfield, primarily hitting enemy targets in central and southern Germany until the German capitulation in May. After the end of hostilities, the 34th became part of

neg: Brécourt Brécourt. The Allies captured Brécourt a few days before July 4, 1944, and both Dwight Eisenhower and Winston Churchill subsequently visited the facility. The location for the photo of Eisenhower on the stairs has also been identified as Söttevast. Brécourt Brécourt was a Nazi Germany bunker in Équeurdreville-Hainneville near Cherbourg, in Manche of Normandy, northern France. It was started in 1943 inside an existing underground French Naval oil storage facility. On July 7, 1943, the site was ordered to be completed as a V-2 rocket launch facility. Early in 1944, the facility was converted to a V-1 flying bomb launch

neg: Nerve agent of pilot plants were built and a high-production facility was under construction (but was not finished) by the end of World War II. Estimates for total sarin production by Nazi Germany range from 500 kg to 10 tons. During that time, German intelligence believed that the Allies also knew of these compounds, assuming that because these compounds were not discussed in the Allies' scientific journals information about them was being suppressed. Though sarin, tabun and soman were incorporated into artillery shells, the German government ultimately decided not to use nerve agents against Allied targets. The Allies did not learn of

neg: German occupation of Belgium during World War II fell on civilian areas, killing 936 and injuring 1,340 more. During the preparation for D-Day in the spring of 1944, the Allies launched the Transport Plan, carrying out intensive bombing of railway junctions and transport networks across northern France and Belgium. Many of these targets were in towns near densely populated civilian areas, such as La Louvière and Kortrijk in Belgium, which were bombed in March 1944. The phase of bombing in the lead up to D-Day alone resulted in 1,500 civilian casualties. Bombing of targets in Belgium steadily increased as the Allies advanced westward across France. Allied bombing during

neg: Plan for Completion of Combined Bomber Offensive and instead, railway targets became the highest priority. This was carried out under the Transportation Plan Large-scale bombing of oil targets was permitted after May 12, 1944; oil targets became the highest bombing priority on September 4, 1944; and the bombing of oil targets was the decisive bombardment strategy in the European Theatre of World War II. Plan for Completion of Combined Bomber Offensive The Plan for Completion of "[the]" Combined Bomber Offensive was a strategic bombing recommendation made by HQ USSTAF for the Allies of World War II to target Axis petroleum/oil/lubrication (POL) targets prior to the Normandy Landings.

neg: 492d Special Operations Wing combat on 11 May 1944, operating primarily against industrial targets in central Germany. During the first week in June, the group was diverted from strategic targets to support Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by attacking airfields and V-weapon launching sites in France. On D-Day it bombed coastal defenses in Normandy and attacked bridges, railroads, and other interdiction targets in France until the middle of the month. The group resumed bombardment of strategic targets in Germany and, except for support of the infantry during Operation Cobra ,the Saint-Lô breakthrough on 25 July 1944, and continued these operations until August 1944.

neg: German military administration in occupied France during World War II hated and feared in private, could seem so permanent that, in the public places where daily life went on, it was taken for granted". At the same time France was also marked by disappearances as buildings were renamed, books banned, art was stolen to be taken to Germany and as time went on, people started to vanish. With nearly inhabitants killed and tons of bombs dropped, France was, after Germany, the second most severely bomb-devastated country on the Western Front of World War II. Allied bombings were particularly intense before and during Operation Overlord in 1944. The Allies' Transportation Plan

neg: Leonard Cheshire 25 March. A version of Cheshire's low level marking technique was put to use in a series of devastating raids against Toulouse 5 April 1944, Saint-Cyr-l'École () 10 April 1944, and Juvisy marshalling yards on 18/19 April. With the string of successes in low level marking Cochrane took Cheshire to see Harris to discuss their marking technique, request the use of Mosquito aircraft, and ask that 5 Group be allowed to mark for themselves against targets in Germany. Harris heard what they had to say, and though Cheshire's squadron had a good track record against lightly defended targets in France,

neg: Dutch famine of 1944–45 of the Netherlands During World War II", estimated at least 22,000 deaths. Most of the victims were reported to be elderly men. The famine was alleviated by the liberation of the provinces by the Allies in May 1945. Prior to that, bread baked from flour shipped in from Sweden, and the airlift of food by the Royal Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and the United States Army Air Forces – under an agreement with the Germans that if the Germans did not shoot at the mercy flights, the Allies would not bomb the German positions – helped to

neg: B-17 Flying Fortress units of the United States Army Air Forces Italy. Once the Allies were firmly established on the Italian mainland, the B-17 squadrons moved Italy, joining the Fifteenth Air Force in November 1943 and were upgraded to B-17Gs. They were joined by two more groups (463d, 483d) in the spring of 1944, bringing the total up to six. At their peak there were 669 B-17 crews stationed in the Mediterranean theater. From bases around Foggia, the Fortresses engaged in long-range strategic bombardment of enemy military, transportation and industrial targets in the Balkans, Italy, Austria, France and southern Germany as part of the United States' air offensive against Nazi Germany.

neg: No. 124 Squadron RAF other targets to disrupt the movement of rocket launching supplies by the enemy. Interdictions were flown on an out-and-return basis from Coltishall in sections of four aircraft, again with a 500 lb bomb-load using drop tanks. For interdictions, bombs had an 11-second delay to allow the fourth aircraft to clear the area before the bombs exploded. The squadron also carried out daylight escorts for bombers raiding Germany. On 7 April the squadron moved to RAF Hawkinge and carried out its last operational sortie on 25 April, following the liberation of the Netherlands by the Allies, and on 27 April the

neg: French Resistance of Resistance merged their intelligence networks. Another BCRA appendage was called , a fact-gathering network specialising in military intelligence and police activities. Its importance increased throughout the second half of 1943 and into the spring of 1944. It eventually became the largest BCRA network in the Vichy zone, employing about 2,500 sources, contacts, couriers and analysts. Gallia's work did not stop after the 1944 landings in Normandy and Provence; it provided information to the Allies that allowed for the bombing of the retreating German armies' military targets. Dutch-Paris built an important network in France to help resistants, Jews and allied

neg: Solf Circle Germany as a hostage. When Kiep was arrested, the Vermehrens were summoned to Berlin by the Gestapo to be interrogated in connection with their friend's case. Knowing what would be in store for them, they got in touch with the British Secret Intelligence Service in February, 1944, and were flown to Cairo and thence to England. When the news of the defection broke – courtesy of British propaganda – it became the talk of Berlin. Although the Vermehrens did not bring any documents of any intelligence value or ciphers to the Allies, it was believed that they absconded with the

neg: "Polish death camp" controversy power to try to get the western Allies to stop the German mass murders of Jews, Poles, and other nationalities in German-occupied Poland. Jan Karski's report at a 1943 personal meeting with President Franklin Roosevelt brought no action, and Karski's personal report to Rabbi Stephen Samuel Wise and other American and Jewish leaders brought only incredulity or indifference. Nor did Poland's western Allies react to appeals from the Polish government-in-exile in London, in 1944, to bomb the rail lines leading to the German concentration camps in occupied Poland. On March 15, 2018, a group of Polish rabbis thanked the Polish

neg: Werwolf postwar Germany bore no resemblance to the occupation of Iraq, and made reference to Antony Beevor's "" and the US Army's official history, "The U.S. Army in the Occupation of Germany 1944–1946", where the Werwolf were only mentioned twice in passing. This did not prevent his political opponents from disagreeing with him, using Biddiscombe's book as a source. Werwolf Werwolf (, German for "werewolf") was a Nazi plan, which began development in 1944, to create a resistance force which would operate behind enemy lines as the Allies advanced through Germany. Ultimately, "Werwolf's" propaganda value far outweighed its actual achievements. How

neg: Auschwitz bombing debate to Auschwitz. On July 7, shortly after the U.S. War Department refused requests from Jewish leaders to bomb the railway lines leading to the camps, a force of 452 Fifteenth Air Force bombers flew along and across the five deportation railway lines on their way to bomb Blechhammer oil refineries nearby. Buna-Werke, the I.G. Farben industrial complex located adjacent to the Monowitz forced labor camp (Auschwitz III) located from the Auschwitz I camp was bombed four times, starting at 20 August 1944 until 26 December 1944. On December 26, 1944, the U.S. 455th Bomb Group bombed Monowitz and targets near

neg: Effectiveness of torture for interrogation written and spoken arguments against torture, especially with regards to its unreliability in obtaining "truth" from someone undergoing painful questioning. It was found that subjects would make up stories if it meant the torture would cease. After the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, the Japanese military tortured a captured American P-51 fighter pilot, Marcus McDilda, in order to discover how many atomic bombs the Allies had and what the future targets were. McDilda, who knew nothing about the atomic bomb nor the Manhattan Project, "confessed" under torture that the U.S. had 100

neg: 12th Operations Group to the capitulation of the enemy forces in Tunisia, and in Sicily." In August 1943, the group began operating out of Foggia Airfield, Italy until 22 January 1944. The 12th attacked German targets in support of the American Fifth Army, and in eastern Italy supporting the British Eighth Army, as well as hitting important enemy ports. From November until late January 1944, the 12th bombed aerodromes, docks, marshaling yards, bridges, and other targets in Italy, Yugoslavia, and Albania. The 12th Bomb Group was relieved from combat operations in Italy in early February 1944, and ordered to proceed by British ship

neg: 3d Air Division for the remainder of the war. In September 1944 the 66th Fighter Wing was assigned directly to the division for fighter support. The bomb groups were engaged in strategic bombardment combat operations against Axis targets in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). During the weeks immediately preceding D-Day (6 June 1944), division aircraft bombed tactical targets such as German communications centers and lines of support, and on D-Day hit targets on the Cherbourg Peninsula immediately behind the landing beaches. After V-E Day, the 3d Air Division briefly became part of the United States Air Forces in Europe. As former Eighth

neg: Andrée Borrel sewing, etc., which helped pass the time. Occasionally, through the high bars, they could hear Allied bombers headed for targets within Germany, so on the whole things look good for them even if there was the possibility of dying in an air raid. The war was unmistakably coming closer to an end and they could reasonably expect to be liberated by the Allies before too long. Some time between five and six in the morning on 6 July 1944, not quite two months after their arrival in Karlsruhe, Borrel, Leigh, Olschanezky and Rowden were taken to the reception room, given

neg: North American B-25 Mitchell entered active RAF service on 22 January 1943. At first, it was used to bomb targets in occupied Europe. After the Normandy invasion, the RAF and France used Mitchells in support of the Allies in Europe. Several squadrons moved to forward airbases on the continent. The USAAF did not use the B-25 in combat in the ETO. The B-25B first gained fame as the bomber used in the 18 April 1942 Doolittle Raid, in which 16 B-25Bs led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle attacked mainland Japan, four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The mission gave a much-needed lift

neg: 334th Bombardment Squadron yards at Münster, Germany, the squadron was subjected to concentrated fighter attacks on the approach to the target and intense flak over the objective. Despite these obstacles, the formation's bombs were clustered close to the target. It was awarded a second DUC for withstanding these attacks to bomb its objective. From 20 to 25 February 1944 the squadron participated in the Big Week offensive against the German aircraft manufacturing industry. A few days later, on 4 March, the squadron attacked Berlin despite adverse weather that led other units to either abandon the operation or attack secondary targets. Despite snowstorms and

neg: The Heavy Water War England to warn the Allies about what he believes is an effort to build a German atomic bomb. Episode 2: Tronstad establishes contact with the War Ministry and a plan to destroy the Hydro facilities is drawn up. In Rjukan, new managing director Erik Henriksen is confronted with sabotage of the heavy water facility. Operation Grouse is a disastrous failure. Episode 3: The Americans insist on bombing the heavy water factory, but Tronstad persuades the Allies to send in a team of Norwegians instead. In Germany, Nobel Prize winner Werner Heisenberg promises a breakthrough in the development of a Nazi

neg: 96th Bomb Squadron missions, bombing such targets as marshalling yards, airdromes, troop concentrations, bridges, docks, and shipping. Participated in the defeat of Axis forces in Tunisia, Apr-May 1943; the reduction of Pantelleria and the preparations for the invasion of Sicily, May-Jul 1943; the invasion of Italy, Sep 1943. Transferred to Fifteenth Air Force in December 1943 and engaged in bombing operations primarily in Italy in support of the Allied drive north toward Rome, Jan-Jun 1944; the Invasion of southern France, Aug 1944; and the campaigns against German forces in northern Italy, Jun 1944-May 1945. Engaged primarily in long-range bombardment of strategic targets after

neg: Battleships in World War II that they failed to cause any significant damage to their main targets, the aircraft carriers. The most damage that the Japanese caused was a bomb hit on "South Dakota" which caused many casualties but did little damage to the battleship. At the outbreak of World War II, most battleships had large anti-aircraft batteries. The battleships used the same light AA guns (the Allies used autocannons such as the Bofors 40 mm gun and Oerlikon 20 mm cannon) as those on smaller ships, but in greater number. The later development of proximity fuses and radar vastly increased the effectiveness of these

neg: Blockade of Germany (1939–1945) Regensburg, Schweinfurt, Augsburg, Stuttgart and Steyr. The RAF returned to bomb the same targets by night, and the damage was such that Milch informed Speer that the March 1944 output would be only 30% – 40% of February's total. Albert Speer took over aircraft production and managed to perform miracles: the installations were soon back to something like normal capacity, and overall production - including synthetic oil production - was at an all-time high and still rising. The Luftwaffe had around 40% more aircraft than it possessed a year earlier, the construction of new tanks was sufficient to equip new

neg: Franz von Papen launched in the Mediterranean, but the document did not say just when and where Overlord would be launched, limiting its value. In January 1944, Papen had learned via the "Cicero documents" of a British plan to have the Royal Air Force use airfields in Turkey to bomb the oil fields of Ploiești in Romania, which supplied Germany with most of its oil. Papen told the Turkish foreign minister Hüseyin Numan Menemencioğlu if Turkey allowed the RAF to use Turkish air fields to bomb Ploiești, then the Luftwaffe would use its bases in Bulgaria and Greece to bomb Turkey, threatening that

neg: Final Impact Berlin and the Japanese destroying the Soviet Pacific fleet at Kamchatka, the Soviets destroy Tokyo with an atomic bomb, killing the Emperor. The Axis Powers give in to unconditional surrender, ending the war in June 1944, but the damage has been done. The USSR has pushed into Asia securing gains in Persia, Afghanistan, Korea, Indochina and is probably going to share occupation of Japan with U.S. and Australia; in Europe the USSR has gone around Germany and has taken all of Eastern Europe including Greece, plus Northern Italy and chunks of Vichy France and Austria. The Western Allies are at

neg: 49th Fighter Training Squadron deployed to Corsica in August 1944 to support Allied Forces in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France. The unit continued to fly long range missions to strafe and dive bomb targets in an arc from France to the Balkan Peninsula until the surrender of Germany in May 1945. The squadron was inactivated in Italy in September of that year. The squadron was once more activated in the US on 20 November 1946 at Dow Field, Maine as part of the First Air Force of Air Defense Command (ADC). The squadron was one of the first operational units assigned to

neg: 49th Air Division was transferred to the wing from the 47th Bomb Wing. As part of Fifteenth Air Force the groups of the 49th attacked such targets as oil refineries, marshalling yards, aircraft factories, bridges, and airfields in Italy, Germany, Austria, and Bulgaria. Subordinate units inflicted heavy damage on the oil refineries at Ploiești, participated in the invasion of southern France in August 1944, and supported the final advances of Allied armies in northern Italy in April 1945. The wing was inactivated in Italy on 16 October 1945. Beginning in 1947, the 49th served in the Reserve for two years as a B-29

neg: Big Week Big Week Big Week or Operation Argument was a sequence of raids by the United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF) from 20 to 25 February 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany. The planners intended to lure the "Luftwaffe" into a decisive battle by attacking the German aircraft industry. By defeating the "Luftwaffe", the Allies would achieve air superiority and the invasion of continental Europe could proceed. The daylight bombing campaign was also supported by RAF Bomber Command, operating against the same targets at night. Arthur Harris resisted contributing Bomber Command as it diverted it

neg: James Anderton (RAF officer) in the bombing of the German battleship "Gneisenau". When an instructor at No. 21 Operational Training Unit he participated in the first Thousand-Bomber Raid over Cologne, Germany. In 1944, he was posted to 99 Squadron in Dhubulia, India. There, he participated in the longest formation mission of the war, to bomb targets in Burma—including the Burma Railway. He was awarded the Air Force Cross and was three-times Mentioned in Despatches. James Anderton (RAF officer) Flight Lieutenant James Lawrence Anderton was a company director, motorcycle dealer, pilot and RAF officer. James Anderton founded Anderton Bros Motor Cycles Ltd of Bolton, Lancashire

neg: Harold Brownlow Martin the bombing run and returned. He was awarded a Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his actions. Following Gibson's retirement from operations and the immediate loss in action of his successor, Squadron Leader George Holden, Martin assumed temporary command of No. 617 Squadron. Later, under the command of Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire, Martin participated in various pin-point attacks on targets in France, Italy and Germany, often employing the new Tallboy bomb as seen in Operation Garlic. In February 1944, during an attack on the Anthéor railway Viaduct in the French Riviera, Martin's Lancaster was hit by flak, knocking out the two

neg: 436th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron missions as the Allies drove across France during the summer and fall of 1944. The unit flew area patrols to support the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July and the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September. The unit continued escort and fighter-bomber activities from October to mid-December 1944. It converted to P-51s between 10 September and 1 October, using both types on missions until conversion was completed. Participated in the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944 – January 1945) by escorting bombers to and from targets in the battle area and by strafing transportation targets while on escort duty. From

neg: 434th Fighter Training Squadron on escort or fighter-bomber missions as the Allies drove across France during the summer and fall of 1944. The unit flew area patrols to support the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July and the airborne attack on the Netherlands in September. The unit continued escort and fighter-bomber activities from October to mid-December 1944. It converted to P-51s between 10 September and 1 October, using both types on missions until conversion was completed. Participated in the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944 – January 1945) by escorting bombers to and from targets in the battle area and by strafing transportation targets while

neg: 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron of the 483d Group, bombed the objective, an airfield and installations at Memmingen, engaging numerous enemy aircraft in the target area despite a lack of cover from its planned fighter escort. It received a second citation for braving fighter assaults and flak to bomb tank factories at Berlin on 24 March 1945. The squadron was occasionally diverted from the strategic attack on Germany. It struck targets in southern France in preparation for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of August 1944. The group also supported ground forces in northern Italy during the Allied offensive in April 1945. After V-E Day, the unit

neg: 731st Airlift Squadron 731st Airlift Squadron The 731st Airlift Squadron is part of the 302d Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. It operates Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft providing global airlift. Activated as a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomb squadron; trained under Second Air Force. Completed training in early 1943; deploying to European Theater of Operations (ETO) assigned to VIII Bomber Command of the Eighth Air Force in England. Engaged in long-range strategic bombardment operations over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany, March 1944 – May 1945 attacking enemy military and industrial targets as part of the United States' air offensive against

neg: 765th Bombardment Squadron 765th Bombardment Squadron The 765th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 461st Bombardment Group. It was last stationed at Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South Dakota, and was inactivated on 18 August 1945. Established in mid-1943 as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomb squadron; trained under Second Air Force. Deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) in February 1944, being assigned to Fifteenth Air Force in Southern Italy. Engaged in very long range strategic bombardment missions against enemy strategic targets in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and the Balkans

neg: 744th Bombardment Squadron 744th Bombardment Squadron The 744th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 456th Bombardment Wing. It was last stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California, and was inactivated on 30 September 1975. Established in mid-1943 as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomb squadron; trained under Second Air Force. Deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) in January 1944, being assigned to Fifteenth Air Force in Southern Italy. Engaged in very long range strategic bombardment missions against enemy strategic targets in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and the Balkans until April

neg: 736th Bombardment Squadron 736th Bombardment Squadron The 736th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 454th Bombardment Wing. It was last stationed at Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, and was inactivated on 2 July 1969. Established in mid-1943 as a B-24 Liberator heavy bomb squadron; trained under Second Air Force. Deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) in January 1944, being assigned to Fifteenth Air Force in Southern Italy. Engaged in very long range strategic bombardment missions against enemy strategic targets in Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and the Balkans until April