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http://www.etherit.co.uk/month/thismonth/02.htm

August 2nd, 1944 (WEDNESDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM: The US Eighth Air Force in England flies 2 missions:

- Mission 510: 319 bombers and 158 fighters, in 2 forces, are dispatched to attack oil and supply dumps and bridges in the Paris area (number in parenthesis indicates number of bombers attacking); 2 bombers and 2 fighters are lost.

(1) Targets for 156 B-17s are Paris/Gennevilliers (51), Paris/Dugny (38), Mery-sur-Oise (37), Bernay marshalling yard (12), Courtalain rail junction (7) and targets of opportunity (4); 2 B-17s are lost.

(2) Targets for 163 B-24s are bridges at Neuvy-sur-Loire (36), Nogent-sur-Seine (31), Mantereau (28); 26 hit Sens oil depot; airfields at St Dizier (12) and Creton (3); and Pacy-sur-Armancon (10). The two forces above are escorted by 132 P-51 Mustangs; 2 P-51s are lost.

- Mission 511: 517 bombers and 249 fighters are dispatched in 2 forces to attack CROSSBOW (V-weapon) sites and bridges in France; 3 bombers and 5 fighters are lost.

(1) 77 B-17s hit V-weapon sites, and rail bridges at Jussy (31), Aulnoye (21), Beautor (21) and Crocal de St Quentin (11); 3 B-17s are lost.

(2) 182 B-24s hit V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area, 22 hit Thennes Bridge, 12 hit Peronne Rail Bridge, 11 hit Achiet Airfield and 8 hit targets of opportunity. Escort for the 2 forces above is provided by 236 P-51s; 5 are lost.

- 49 P-38s, 183 P-47 Thunderbolts and 51 P-51s fly fighter-bomber missions against rail and road transport in the Paris-Amiens-Brussels-St Quentin area; 1 P-51 is lost.

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

FRANCE: Patton’s soldiers advance into Brittany, reaching Dinan and Rennes; Hitler orders that they be cut off.
The worlds first ever Jet reconnaissance mission is flown by Oblt.Erich Sommer of 1/Versuchsverband OKL in the Arado 234 V7 T9+MH, WerkNummer 130007. The mission consisted of three runs over the Normandy beach head and surrounding area. The photographs survive the war and can be seen here. (Dave Wadman)

The US VIII Corps, now part of Patton’s 3rd Army, reaches Dinan and Rennes in Brittany. First Army units to their left attack around Tessy toward Mortain and liberate Villedieu, France.

The US Ninth Air Force’s IX Bomber Command halts bombing of bridges, fuel dumps, and similar targets in Brittany except on the request of the 12th Army Group, as the US Third Army wants the use of bridges access to all fuel they may find in their advance across France; around 300 A-20 Havocs and B-26s attack bridges at Mezieres-sur-Seine, Mainvillers, Cinq Mars-la-Pile, Nantes, and Lisle, and ammunition dumps at Caudebec-les-Elbeuf and Le Lude; fighters fly armed reconnaissance in wide areas surrounding Paris and the southwest as far as Laval, escort IX Bomber Command aircraft, and provide cover for armoured columns and close support for ground forces.

GERMANY: An Arado AR-234 jet aircraft completes the first photo-recon sortie of the type over the Western Front. During a single flight he “achieves what had been beyond the entire Luftwaffe reconnaissance force in the West for the previous eight weeks: he had photographed almost the entire Allied lodgement area in Normandy.” (Mike Yared)

U-771 shot down a Norwegian 333 Sqn Mosquito
U-2337 laid down.

U.S.S.R.: Baltic Fleet, Ladoga Lake and Chudskoe Lake Flotillas: MS “T-37” (ex-”Tulen”) - by aviation, in Narva Gulf. (Sergey Anisimov)(69)

ITALY: Germans deport 222 Jews from Verona to Auschwitz.

The US Fifteenth Air Force in Italy dispatches 330+ bombers to hit targets in France and Italy; B-24s attack Genoa, Italy harbour; B-17s hit targets in southern France, including Le Pouzin oil storage, Portes-les-Valences torpedo factory and marshalling yard, Le Pontet oil storage, and Avignon railroad bridges; P-38s and P-51s provide escort.

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA: Frigate SAS Transvaal launched.

TURKEY: Ankara: Turkey cuts off diplomatic and commercial relations with Germany.

MARIANAS ISLANDS: US forces launch a further assault on Guam, capturing the west half of the island.

CAROLINE ISLANDS: US Far East Air Force B-24s bomb the airfield on Yap Island.

PACIFIC OCEAN: A USN submarine attacks a Japanese convoy and sinks an army cargo ship.

CANADA: Frigate HMCS Loch Morlich (ex HMS Loch Morlich) commissioned.
Corvette HMCS Guelph arrived New York after Bermuda workups.

U.S.A.: Destroyer escort USS Haas commissioned.
Destroyer USS Van Valkenburgh commissioned.

Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-188 was commissioned at New Orleans with LTJG A. R. Freedy, USCGR, her first commanding officer. She was assigned to and operated in Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, Maijuno, Eniwetok, Guam, Saipan, etc. On 3 October 1945, the commanding officer was relieved of all responsibilities and accountabilities for the vessel, Coast Guard crew was replaced by an Army crew.

Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-184 was commissioned at New Orleans. Her first commanding officer was LT E.G. Berdaw, USCGR. He was succeeded by LT Juan R. Root, USCGR, who in turn was succeeded by LTJG Henry P. Hancock, USCGR, on 12 September 1945. She was assigned to and operated in the Southwest Pacific area.

Coast Guard-manned Army vessel FS-261 was commissioned at New York with LTJG L. W. Conover, USCGR, as first commanding officer. On 9 September 1944, she departed New York for the Southwest Pacific where she operated during the war.

ATLANTIC OCEAN: Destroyer escort USS Fiske was part of the hunter-killer Task Group 22.6 formed around the escort carrier USS Wake Island and was detached together with the destroyer escort USS Douglas L. Howard to investigate a visual contact about 800 miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland. The surfaced U-804 quickly dived and fired at 1536 three Gnats on the approaching ships. The first missed, but after 3 minutes the second hit the USS Fiske on her starboard side amidships and the third struck her after 4 minutes 30 seconds, breaking her in two. The survivors, among them 50 wounded men abandoned ship and were picked up by destroyer escort USS Farquhar, which took them to Argentia for medical attention and then to Boston.