March 22, 1945
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology
THURSDAY, 22 MARCH 1945
CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, twenty-four fighter-bombers and a single
B-25 attack railroad traffic and railroad yards in and around Shihkiachwang,
at Chukiatsi, and from Sinsiang to Chenghsien.
HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 45: 76 of 78 B-29s, operating in 2 waves,
blast storage dumps at Rangoon without loss.
INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 16 fighter-bombers support
Chinese ground forces near Hsipaw; 12 B-25s and 41 fighter-bombers hit numerous
targets along and immediately behind the enemy lines; troops, supplies, and
communications are attacked and 2 bridges are knocked out; 547 air supply sorties
are flown to forward areas; the 71st Liaison Squadron, Tenth Air Force [attached to 1st Liaison Group (Provisional)], moves from Katha to Myitkyina with L-1s, L-4s, L-5s and UC-64s.
AAFPOA Seventh Air Force: 13 B-24s from Guam bomb Susaki Airfield. 20 B-24s from Angaur Airfield bomb Cebu. During the night
of 22/23 Mar, 4 B-24s from Guam make individual raids on Susaki Airfield.
VII Fighter Command: 16 Iwo Jima based P-51s bomb and strafe a weather station fuel
storage, and radar installations on Chichi Jima.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA: B-24s and A-20s (along with U.S. Marine Corps
aircraft) hit Cebu City, defenses at several locations on Cebu, and targets
on Inampulugan nearby. On Luzon, B-24s, B-25s, A-20s, and fighters continue
to hit numerous objectives, chiefly Balete
Pass, Tangadon, San
Fernando, and the Batangas areas. On Formosa,
other B-24s hit Tainan Airfield and Okayama Airfield, destroying several hangars, planes,
and gun positions. The 64th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 43d Bombardment Group
(Heavy), moves from Tacloban to Clark
Field with B-24s; the 69th
and 100th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 42d Bombardment Group (Medium), cease
operating from Morotai with B-25s and move to Puerto Princesa; The 75th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 42d Bombardment Group (Medium), moves
from Sansapor to Puerto Princesa with B-25s; and the 868th
Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) moves from Noemfoor to Morotai with B-24s (the squadron uses airborne radar for low-level attacks
at night and for pathfinder operations). Crashed is B-24M "Out of the Night" 44-40901 (MIA) near Alitao on the eastern edge of Mount Banahaw on southern Luzon.
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