SATURDAY, 12 AUGUST 1944
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Four B-24s and two F-7As over Paramushiru and Shimushu hit targets which include shipping in Higashi
Banjo Strait and buildings and runway at Suribachi Airfield; enemy fighters give battle;
the B-24s score 3 kills and 13 probables and damaged; six more B-25s fly an uneventful
shipping sweep and take photos over Shimushiru.
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, about 20 fighter-bombers hit Shwekyina,
damage a bridge near Manla, bomb railroad yards at Pinwe, strafe a river boat
near Bhamo, and attack troops in the Myothit area; 24 fighter-bombers support
ground forces in the Taungni-Pinbaw area. The 427th Night Fighter Squadron,
Tenth Air Force, arrives at Pomigliano, Italy with P-61s; the squadron will
fly missions in the MTO for training before arriving in the CBI Theater.
CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): Seven B-25s bomb the railroad yards at Hengyang; Nineteen P-51s and P-40s hit targets of opportunity in this area; Thirty-nine P-40s
attack various targets of opportunity at Chiuchiang, Yungfengshih, Loyang,
Siangtan, and Tengchung.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): B-24s from Saipan hit
shipping, seaplane base, and Susaki Airfield at Chichi Jima.
B-25s pound Pagan while P-47s hit Rota. B-24s from the Marshalls bomb Truk while Makin based B-25s pound Nauru.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: In New Guinea, long-range
reconnaissance is greatly increased thanks to the strategic position of newly
acquired Schouten Islands bases; B-24s pound Babo Airfield while B-25s
and P-39s hit Nabire Airfield; other P-39s attack defenses at Mansinam Island
and shore concentrations along west Geelvink Bay; P-47s support ground operations
in the area of Sansapor by bombing Dore; A-20s and P-47s hit forces and
targets of opportunity in the Sarmi area and along the Metimedan River; A-20s
and P-39s attack troops at Haur, coastal targets in cooperation with PT Boats and fuel dumps at Boram; and the 321st Bombardment
Squadron and 400th Bombardment
Squadron, 90th Bombardment Group (Heavy), move from Nadzab to Biak with B-24s. Destroyed on the ground during a Japanese air raid was P-38J 42-103992.
