Official Description

During the morning 236 B-17’s bomb Toulouse/Francazal and Toulouse/Blagnac A/F’s and oil dumps at Montbartier. 10 B-17’s bomb scattered T/Os. 107 B-24’s bomb Avord and Bourges A/Fs. 176 B-17’s drop supplies to French interior forces. A total of 8 HBs are lost. VIII FC flies 639 sorties in supporting operations. In addition 5 ftr gps carry out strafing activities, claiming numerous ground tgts including 6 airplanes on a landing ground and the A/F at Bourges. 19 enemy ftrs are claimed destroyed in aerial combat. During midday 153 B-24’s bomb 17 power and transformer stations in effort to disrupt flow of electric power to V-weapon stations. 64 B-24’s, hampered by cloud over primary aiming points, bomb

miscellaneous last resort tgts, including A/Fs at Peronne and Nuncq. Ftr spt is provided by 3 gps. All airplanes return safely. In night mission 300 B-17’s and B-24’s bomb 7 railway bridges and 2 A/Fs in Paris area. 69 HBs attack alternate tgts, including A/Fs of Orly, Romilly-sur-Seine, and Etampes/Mondesir. Ftrs fly 346 sorties in escort and tgt area spt. A P-38 gp strafes ground tgts in Angers, Le Mans-Laval area, and a P-47 gp bombs and strafes an alternate landing ground near Evreux/Fauville A/F. HB losses total 7. Ftrs claim 6 airplanes destroyed against no losses. In USSR, Eighth AF HBs and ftrs are flown, at daybreak, from dispersal bases to Poltava and Mirgorod and loaded and fueled with intentions of bombing oil refinery at Drohobycz and proceeding to base in Italy.

Bad weather cancels the mission until the following day. The aircraft return to dispersal bases for the night as precaution against air attacks.