70 Years Ago Today: Sunday, October 3, 1943 London: Churchill appoints Lord Louis Mountbatten to be the commander of the South East Asia Command. Aegean Sea: German forces invade the British island of Kos. European Theater, Strategic (Pointblank): VIII Air Support Command Missions 76, 77 and 78 – 36 B-26s are dispatched to the Lille/Vendeveille Airfield in France, but weather prevents theim from hitting the target. Another 144 B-26s are sent to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, the Woensdrecht Airfield and the Haamstede Airfield in the Netherlands, while 72 B-26s attack the Beauvais/Tille Airfield in France, losing one aircraft. The 93rd Bomb Group (Heavy) and the 389th Bomb Group (Heavy), each with four squadrons of B-24s, cease operating from Tunisia and return to their bases in England. During the night, 547 RAF aircraft bomb Kassel, losing 24 aircraft and crews. Meanwhile, 10 Mosquitos fly a diversion to Hannover, 12 Oboe Mosquitos attack the Knapsack power-station near Cologne and four Mosquitos conduct Mark II Oboe trials over Aachen. Elsewhere, seven Stirlings lay mines in the Frisians, and seven other aircraft conduct training missions. Mediterranean Theater: 12th Air Force B-26s, B-25s and P-38s bomb railroad, highway, and pontoon bridges, an overpass, and road junction at Capua, Castel Volturno, Piana, Arce, Mignano, and Isernia. P-38s also hit shipping between Corsica and Italy. Elsewhere, fighter-bombers hit motor transport in the battle area as US Fifth Army troops take Benevento. The Germans rush reinforcements forward, in attempt to hurl back the bridgehead across the Biferno at Termoli, and hard fighting ensues. However, during the night, a Brigade of 8th Division still lands in the bridgehead. The Canadian 1st Division reports they are within 15 miles of Vinchiaturo, despite being hampered by terrain. German forces complete their evacuation of Corsica. The 82nd Fighter Group, with three squadrons of P-38s, and the 321st Bomb Group (Medium), with three squadrons of B-25s, both transfer from Tunisia to Italy. Detachments of the 512th, 513th and 514th Bomb Squadrons (Heavy), flying B-24s, move from Tunisia to Libya. China – Burma – India Theater (China): 14th Air Force sends seven P-40s to attack a 250-ft vessel on the Yangtze River near Chiuchiang, while four P-38s bomb the Chiuchiang docks and six B-24s bomb a 100-ft coastal freighter off Tonkon Point on Hainan Island. South Pacific Area: Air Command North Solomons P-39s, from the 13th Air Force, strafe several barges west of Choiseul Island. Southwest Pacific Theater: 5th Air Force B-25s continue to hit barges along the west coast of New Britain Island in the Bismarck Archipelago.
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 13:00:39 +0000
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