August 18, 1944, 31st victory

P-51 Mustang

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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

FRIDAY, 18 AUGUST 1944

EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (ETO)

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force) :

Three missions are flown (numbers in parenthesis are numbers of bombers attacking) :

Mission 561 :

52 B-24s are dispatched to hit Roye/Amy Airfield, France (42) and 10 hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 37 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 1 WIA and 21 MIA.
Escort is provided by 96 of 99 P-51s without loss.

Mission 562 :

720 bombers and 242 fighters are dispatched against bridges, airfields, fueld dumps and an aircraft engine factory in France and Belgium; 2 bombers and 1 fighter are lost:

1. 269 B-17s are dispatched against bridges at Namur (37), Liege/Benoit (36), Huy (35), Yvoir (35), Liege/Seraing (26), Vise (25) and Maastricht (24); 13 hit Tongres marshalling yard, 12 hit Eindhoven Airfield and 12 hit targets of opportunity; 57 B-17s are damaged and 5 airmen are WIA.
Escort is proivded by 99 of 153 P-38 and P-51s; they claim 46-0-15 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; 1 P-38 is lost (pilot is MIA), 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair and 1 P-38 is damaged.

2. 256 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields at Metz (78) and Nancy/Essey (70) and Woippy (60) and Laneureville (35); 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair; 4 airmen are KIA and 2 WIA.
Escort is provided by 38 of 43 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot is MIA).

3. 195 B-17s are dispatched to hit St Dizier Airfield (116), Pacy-sur-Armancon (39) and Bourran (38); 1 other hits a target of opportunity; 7 B-17s are damaged.
Escort is provided by 93 of 96 P-51s; they claim 2-0-3 aircraft on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA).

Mission 564 :

7 of 7 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Ninth Air Force) :

In France, nearly 100 B-26s and A-20s strike a fuel dump, ammunition dump, rail and road overpass, rail
embankment, and junction beyond the battleline to disorganize retreating German forces; 1,000+ fighters fly cover over ground forces in the Argentan-Paris area, along the Seine River, and armed reconnaissance over N and W France ;
the 31st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 10th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), moves from Chalgrove, England to Rennes with F-5s ;
the 425th Night Fighter Squadron, IX Air Defense Command, moves from Stoneman Park, England to Vannes with P-61s.

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P-51 declared lost on August 18, 1944 (current result of my works) :

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Source : 4th Fighter Group "The Eagles" 334th Fighter Squadron

serial number	plane name	squadron	code	date lost	reason	mission lost on	pilot
44-13314	P-51D-5-NA	4 FG 334 FS	QP-X	Aug. 18, 1944	Fighters	Crash Location near Beauvais	Lt. Arthur C Cwiklinski Evaded MACR 7940
43-24841	P-51B-15-NA	4 FG 334 FS	QP-D	Aug. 18, 1944	Fighters	Crash Location near Beauvais	Lt. C.G. Howard KIA MACR 7943
42-103791	P-51C-10-NT	4 FG 334 FS	QP-N	Aug. 18, 1944	Fighters	Crash Location near Therdonne 2 kms South East from Beauvais	Lt. Dean E Lange POW MACR 7944

Source : 359th Fighter Group 369th Fighter Squadron

serial number	plane name	squadron	code	date lost	reason	mission lost on	pilot
42-106916	P-51B-15-NA "Loretta"	359 FG 369 FS	IV-D	Aug. 18, 1944	flak	Crash Location near St. Dizier	Lt. Don S Melrose ? MIA or KIA ? MACR 8124
43-12186	P-51B-1-NA	359 FG 369 FS	IV-R	Aug. 18, 1944	flak	Crash Location near Sompuis	Lt. Rene L Burtner Jr. Evaded MACR 8126

- - - Special thanks to Martin Kyburz (Swiss Mustangs) for his help - - -

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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 / 166
Date	August 18, 1944
Type of claimed plane	Mustang
Place of the interception
Crash Location	"Over Lisieux"
Presumed mission Luftwaffe	"With my forty aircraft I strafe the ennemy supply columns near Avrenges, in conjunction with the other squadrons which constitute the Wing.	? Avrenges = Avranche ? ? Avrenges = Argentan ?
Schedule		Vailly-sur-Aisne's take off
Weather report
Knoke's Unit	III./JG1
Description of the fight	"Over Lisieux I manage to shoot down a Mustang. Five minutes later a second Mustang goes down before my guns."
Detail 1	"The wing is ordered to move to Vailly, east of Soissons."	Vailly-sur-Aisne (east of Soissons)

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