Posted on 12/13/2013 4:21:39 AM PST by Homer_J_Simpson
Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers
Winston S. Churchill, Closing the Ring
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1943/dec1943/f13dec43.htm
Mustang fighters escort heavy bombers
Monday, December 13, 1943 www.onwar.com
P-51D Mustang with long range fuel tanks for escort duty [photo at link]
Over Germany... The P-51D Mustang fighter is first used on a bomber escort mission in support of the USAAF 8th Air Force raid on Kiel.
http://www.etherit.co.uk/month/thismonth/13.htm
December 13th, 1943 (MONDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: Submarine HMS Statesman commissioned.
FRANCE: The USAAF Eighth Air Force’s VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 155: Five B-17 Flying Fortresses drop 1 million leaflets on Le Mans, Rennes, Tours, Nantes and Chartres at 2138-2155 hours.
During the night of 13/14 December, 25 RAF Bomber Command aircraft drop leaflets over the country.
NETHERLANDS: Nearly 200 USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders attack Schiphol Arfield.
GERMANY: 710 USAAF bombers escorted for the first time by new P-51D Mustang fighters, carry out raids on Bremen and Kiel.
The USAAF Eighth Air Force’s VIII Bomber Command flies Mission 154 attacking the Bremen and Kiel. Four B-17 Flying Fortresses and a B-24 Liberator are lost. This is the first mission where more than 600 bombers are dispatched. Three hundred fifty three aircraft bomb the Krupp works at Kiel, 175 hit the port area at Bremen and 116 attack Bremen; six other aircraft hit targets of opportunity; these missions are escorted by 31 P-38 Lightnings, 322 P-47s and 41 Ninth Air Force P-51B Mustangs. The P-51s set a record for the distance flown by escort fighters over Europe.
During the night of 13/14 December, RAF Bomber Command dispatches Mosquitos to bomb two targets: In Dusseldorf, eight hit the Rheinmetall armaments factory and four bomb the city while one other bombs the Vereinigte Leichmetal metal works in Bonn.
U.S.S.R.: Heeresgruppe Mitte becomes engaged in a series of heavy defensive battles in the area of Witebsk.
ITALY: USAAF Twelfth Air Force P-40 and A-36 Apache fighter-bombers attack defended points in the Miglionico area; quays, roads, railway yard, and gun emplacements at Terracina; and bridges at Pontecorvo and west of Isolella; town areas and bridges at and near Atina and Acquafondsta are also hit.
GREECE: Due to partisan activity around the town of Kalavryta in southern Greece, a unit of the German army “Kampfgruppe Ebersberger”, the 117th Jager Division, surrounds the town this morning. All the inhabitants are herded into the local school. Females and young boys are separated from the men and youths, the latter being marched to a hollow in a nearby hillside. There the soldiers take up positions behind machine-guns. Below, they witness the town being set on fire. Just after 1400 hours, a red flare is fired from the town. This is the signal for the soldiers to start firing on the men and youths who are huddled in the hollow. At 1434 hours, the firing stops and the soldiers march away. Behind them lay the bodies of 696 persons, the entire male population of Kalavryta. There are 13 survivors of the massacre, the town itself is totally destroyed. Only eight houses out of nearly five hundred, are left standing. It is not until late afternoon that the women and young boys are released to face the enormity of the tragedy. Massacres also occur in 24 other villages today.
YUGOSLAVIA: USAAF Twelfth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb an oil depot, harbor, warehouses, and railway yard at Sibenik and Split.
MEDITERRANEAN SEA: During an attack against convoy GUS 24 in the Mediterranean, U-73 was rammed by a destroyer, resulting in the loss of her quadruple machine gun.
U-593 sunk after a 32 hour-chase in the western Mediterranean north of Constantine, in position 37.38N, 05.58E, by depth charges from the US destroyer USS Wainwright and the British escort destroyer HMS Calpe. 51 survivors (No casualties).
INDIA: Twenty Japanese bombers, escorted by 25 fighters, bomb Dinjan Airfield before USAAF Tenth Air Force interceptors make contact however, little damage is done and the U.S. fighters catch the attackers shortly afterward. Twelve Japanese bombers and five fighters are claimed shot down.
CHINA: Twelve USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells, with fighter escort, bomb Li-Chou and Kungan while eight others hit Wuchang Airfield. Sixteen P-40s on armed reconnaissance strafe targets of opportunity from Chang-te to Linli to Li-Chou.
NEW GUINEA: In Northeast New Guinea, USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs hit villages along Bogadjim Road while a small flight of P-39 Airacobras strafe barges along the Huon Peninsula.
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO: Over 100 USAAF Fifth Air Force B-24 Liberators and B-25 Mitchells and several P-40s bomb Gasmata on New Britain Island.
During the night of 13/14 December, Australian Beauforts resume their night harassment attacks against Rabaul.
SOLOMON ISLANDS: On Bougainville Islands, 17 USAAF Thirteenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells bomb Porton, and their fighter escorts strafe the Tenekow bivouac areas during the return flight. Twenty four B-24 Liberators bomb Bonis while six B-25 Mitchells carry out low-level strikes against concentrations on Numa Numa.
D’ENTRECASTEAUX ISLANDS: Task Force DIRECTOR (USN Task Force 76) sails from Goodenough Island for Buna, Papua New Guinea, en route to Arawe, New Britain Island, Bismarck Archipelago.
MARSHALL ISLANDS: Ten USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators, staging through Baker Island from Canton Island in the Phoenix Islands, bomb Wotje Atoll.
CANADA:
Frigate HMCS Saint John commissioned.
Corvette HMCS Louisburg commissioned.
Corvette HMCS Owen Sound arrived Halifax from builder Collingwood, Ontario.
Frigate HMCS Outremont arrived Halifax from builder Quebec City, Province of Quebec.
U.S.A.: Destroyer escorts USS Finch, Kretchmer, Bronstein and Maloy commissioned.
Destroyer escort USS Gentry laid down.
Submarine USS Kraken laid down.
ATLANTIC OCEAN:
U-172 sunk in the mid-Atlantic after a 27 hour fight west of the Canary Islands, in position 26.29N, 29.58W, by depth charges and Fido homing torpedoes from Avenger and Wildcat aircraft (VC-19) of the American escort carrier USS Bogue and by some 200 depth charges from destroyers USS George E Badger, Clemson, Osmond Ingram and DuPont. 13 dead and 46 survivors.
U-391 sunk in the Bay of Biscay north-west of Cape Ortegal, Spain, in position 45.45N, 09.38W, by depth charges from a British Liberator Mk. V, aircraft (Sqn 53/B) based at based at Beaulieu, Hampshire. 51 dead (all hands lost).
"The SS staff of the Neuengamme, Germany, concentration camp celebrates Christmas with their families in what is believed to be 1943 or '44.
The war and the "Final Solution" did not prevent the camp staff from taking time from their duties to share the spirit of the season.
Throughout the war, the SS strove to maintain normal routines for camp guards and their families."
” The P-51D Mustang fighter is first used on a bomber escort mission in support of the USAAF 8th Air Force raid on Kiel.”
Would love to know the German fighter pilot’s reaction to seeing those in action for the first time.
That was one beautiful warbird. The flight crews must have loved finally getting the cover they needed.
Was anyone able to make anything out of de Severksy’s gibberish today? Or was I the only one who thought he’d had a bit more Scotch than usual?
It's ironic that this comes just as the Mustangs, the nemesis of the Luftwaffe, are being deployed. But he doesn't see that coming, of course.
I suspect he was writing to reassure the general public as well as friends and families of 8th Air Force members who received "We regret to inform you" telegrams that the telegram was not due in any part to 8th Air Force doctrine but rather to some devilish new enemy weapon.
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