August
15, 1944 27th victory August
15, 1944 27th victory 
Searches concerning this victory :
| progress of the search | 3 | Last update | February 4, 2003 | Evaluation quality of information | 3 |
The mission of the USAAF
COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
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_chronologyTUESDAY, 15 AUGUST 1944
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force) :
Mission 554 :
932 bombers and 443 fighters are dispatched to attack 11 airfields in NW Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium in conjunction with 1,000 Royal Air Force (RAF) heavy bombers and Mosquitos raiding 9 airfields in the Netherlands and Belgium ; 16 bombers and 5 fighters are lost; numbers in parenthesis indicate the number of bombing attacking :
1. 219 B-17s are dispatched to hit German airfields at Cologne/Ostheim (108), Frankfurt/Eschborn (65) and Wiesbaden (38); 3 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim 4-2-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 86 damaged; 7 airmen are KIA, 8 WIA and 81 MIA.
Escort is provided by 112 of 141 P-51s; they claim 10-0-1 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 2 damaged.
2. 350 B-24s are dispatched to German airfields at Wittmundhaafen (91), Zwischenahn (90), Vechta (67), Plantlunne (54) and Hopstein (10); they claim 9-1-2 aircraft; 4 B-24s are lost and 6 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 40 MIA.
Escort is provided by 163 P-38s and P-51s; they claim 4-0-0 aircraft in the air and 7-0-9 on the ground; 2 P-38s and 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA); 3 P-51s are damaged; 1 pilot is WIA.
3. 298 B-17s are dispatched to Dutch airfields at Handorf (109), Venlo (104) and Twente/Enschede (75); 3 others hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 6 damaged; 19 airmen are MIA.
4. In Belgium, 59 of 65 B-24s hit Florennes/Juzaine Airfield and 1 hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost and 3 damaged.
The two missions above are escorted by 118 of 124 P-51s without loss.
33 of 35 P-47s dive-bomb and skip-bomb a repair shop and locomotives in the marshalling yard at Braine-le-Comtes; 1 P-47 is lost and 4 damaged; 4 pilots are MIA. (! ! !)
12 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force) :
The 50th and 53d Troop Carrier Wings, on loan to the Mediterranean Allied Air Force (MAAF), participate in the invasion of S France as part of the Provisional Troop Carrier Air Division.
In France, 330+ A-20s and B-26s with fighter escort bomb Marseille-en-Beauvaisis and Foret de Chantilly ammunition and fuel dumps, rail bridges at Auvers-sur-Oise and L'Isle-Adam, Serqueux marshalling yard, and coastal defense at Saint- Malo ;
fighters fly cover for 5 infantry and armored divisions, and fly extensive armed reconnaissance over N and W France ;
HQ 365th Fighter Group and 388th Fighter Squadron move from Azeville to Lignerolles with P-47s ;
HQ 370th Fighter Group and the 401st, 402d and 485th Fighter Squadrons move from Cardonville to La Vielle with P-38s ;
the 14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command (attached to Third Army), moves from St Germain to La Bazoche with L-5s ;
the 33d Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Chalgrove, England to Le Molay with F-5s ;
the 356th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Group, moves from Cricqueville to Gael with P-51s ;
and the 392d, 393d and 394th Fighter Squadrons, 367th Fighter Group, move from Carentan to Cricqueville with P-38s.
P-47 declared lost on August 15, 1944 (current result of my works) :
Source : MACR
serial number
plane type
squadron
code
reason
mission lost on
pilot
42-26405
P-47D-25-RE
9 USAAF 405 FG
G9 or
2Z or
K4
18.40
5 miles North-West from Flers (61)MACR 8517
42-27912
P-47D-23-RA
12 USAAF 79 FG
X??
Invasion of southern France
Crash Location
5 miles South-West from NiceNo MACR
42-28431
P-47D-26-RE
9 USAAF 373 FG
R3 or
U9 or
V5? II./JG26 ?
ClairefontaineMACR 8572
42-75510
P-47D-11-RE
9 USAAF 373 FG
R3 or
U9 or
V5? II./JG26 ?
near
RambouilletMACR 8573
42-75529
P-47D-11-RE
9 USAAF 373 FG
R3 or
U9 or
V5
? 12.34 ?
Rambouillet
ForestMACR 8571
42-75870
P-47D-16-RE
56 FG
63 FSUN-Y
flak
Crash Location
near
St. TrondCapt . Robert D Campbell Jr.
KIA
MACR 759942-76308
P-47D-15-RE
9 USAAF 373 FG
R3 or
U9 or
V5
BallancourtMACR 8081
This table contain all 7 MACRs dated August 15, 1944.
But Missing Air Crew Report were issued when a crew was missing.
If the American pilot was shot down over allied territories and rescued
he was not considered missing = no MACR.
But his aircraft was really lost. This show that if MACRs are very precious sources,
they are not the exact reflect of effective material losses, in particular from june 1944 until the end of the war.
- - - Special thanks to Marc Doucet for his help - - -
Source : Book "Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt in the European Theater" by Ernest R. McDowellThe 373rd FG had a field day on 15 August when the 411th FS claimed 8 victories and the 412th FS bagged four more.
Source : Peter RandallCapt Robert D Campbell Jr crashed near St. Trond due to flak.
Description of this victory by Heinz Knoke and different information :
Heinz Knoke Informations
Personal comments
Source
Date
Type of claimed plane
Place of the interception
Crash Location
Square TC-2 (Rouen)
(Source Jean - Bernard Frappé's Book "La Luftwaffe face au débarquement allié")Presumed mission
Luftwaffe
"Altogether six missions are flown today."Schedule
Brétigny-sur-Orge's takeoff
Weather report
Knoke's Unit
III./JG1
III./JG1 and II./JG11, twins units often operated together, had probably made on 15 August common missions and fights.Description of the fight
The Bf 109 G-6 5 (#165475) from Uffz. Heinz Marx 8./JG11 was lost near Brétigny-sur-Orge.
The P-47 Serial 42-76308 crashed at Ballancourt... another airfield of JG11 situated 6 miles on South of Brétigny-sur-Orge.
This P-47 is potentially the most "compatible" with Knoke's claimed victory. It is possible that its crash location, very near from III./JG1 and II./JG11' bases made easier this victory ratification.
Without any details from Knoke's testimony, all this remain only pure hypothesis...
