August 17, 1944, 29th victory

F-5 of the 31st Photo Squadron
Lightning
? F-5 or P-38 ?

 Lt. Thomas L. Wood 31st Photo Squadron
KIA 17 August 1944

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The mission of the USAAF

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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_chronology

THURSDAY, 17 AUGUST 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force) :

Three missions are flown :

1. Mission 558: 10 B-24s are dispatched to drop Azon missiles on the Les Foulous, France rail bridge but the mission is abandoned due to deteriorating weather.

2. Mission 559: 1 B-17 drop a BATTY TV bomb on the port area at La Pallice, France.

3. Mission 560: 7 of 7 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.

Fighter-bomber missions flown by the VIII Fighter Command :

1. 397 P-38s and P-47s hit the Paris/Brussels area; they claim 3-0-3 aircraft; 1 P-47 is damaged.

2. 318 P-51s are dispatched to hit communications targets; 7 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 4 are damaged; 1 pilot is WIA.

33 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force) :

In France, 400+ A-20s and B-26s bomb road bridges at Montfort-sur-Risle, Pont-Audemer, Nassandres, Beaumont-le-Roger, Le Bourg, Brionne, and Beaumontel, and a rail bridge at La Ferriere-sur-Risle ;

fighters fly ground force cover over Saint-Malo and Dreux and armed reconnaissance in NW France;

IX Tactical Air Command fighters attack and severely damage Gestapo HQ near Chateauroux.

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P-38 declared lost on August 17, 1944 (current result of my works) :

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Source : MACR

serial number	plane name	squadron	code	reason	mission lost on	pilot
42-6????	F-5	10 PRG 31 PRS	? 8V ?	Shot down in flames	?	Lt. Thomas L.Wood KIA MACR ?
42-23188	P-38J-15-LO	15 USAAF 82 FG	?		?	MACR 7695
42-23205	P-38J-15-LO	15 USAAF 14 FG	?		?	MACR 12392
42-23656	P-38J-25-LO	9 USAAF 367 FG	?		Attack 7th Army forces between Argentan and Falaise	Lt. Richard A Garland or Lt Aden D Parmenter or Lt Wayne E Phillips ? POW or Evaded MACR 8503
42-28398	P-38J-15-LO	15 USAAF 82 FG	?		?	MACR 7676 & 8053
42-28725	P-38J-15-LO	9 USAAF 474 FG	?		?	MACR 8501
42-67746	P-38J-10-LO	15 USAAF 82 FG	?		?	MACR 7671
42-67922	P-38J-10-LO	9 USAAF 367 FG	?		Attack 7th Army forces between Argentan and Falaise	Lt. Richard A Garland or Lt Aden D Parmenter or Lt Wayne E Phillips ? POW or Evaded MACR 8196
42-104410	P-38J-15-LO	9 USAAF 367 FG	?		Attack 7th Army forces between Argentan and Falaise	Lt. Richard A Garland or Lt Aden D Parmenter or Lt Wayne E Phillips ? POW or Evaded MACR 8580

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Source : Peter Randall

367th FG attack 7th Army forces between Argentan and Falaise.
392nd Squadron lose Lts. Richard A Garland and Aden D Parmenter in the morning whilst strafing.
In the afternoon the unit loses Lt. Wayne E Phillips.
No mention of fourth loss. (?)
Group records do not show any KIA for this day so must have been POWs or evaders.

474 FG no information.

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Description of this victory by Heinz Knoke and different information :

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	Heinz Knoke Informations	Personal comments
Source	I flew for the f... page 165
Date	August 17, 1944
Type of claimed plane	Lightning	If Knoke's ligthning was really a recon aircraft the type was F-5 and not P-38.
Place of the interception
Crash Location	"Over the village of Auxonette"	Auxonnettes (near Ponthierry) is 15Kms far from Ballancourt-sur-Essonne.
Presumed mission USAF	"...apparently on reconnaissance..."
Schedule	"At 1000 hours an intruder appear on reconnaissance over the airstrip, at the very moment when some of our aircraft are landing. That bastard is going to set his bomber-comrades on to us! Sure enough, 8 fighters-bombers appear an hour later and strafe the dispersal areas... ...instead of catching them, I get a Lightning which is flying alone..."	Ballancourt-sur-Essonne's take off after 1100.
Weather report
Knoke's Unit	III./JG1
Description of the fight	"Before the dust has time to settle, I am out of my camouflaged shelter and take off in pursuit to intercept the raiders. Instead of catching them, I get a Lightning which is flying alone, apparently on reconnaissance. Over the village of Auxonette I manage to shoot it down."

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