Posted on 04/02/2014 4:19:29 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
The News of the Week in Review
Fifteen News Questions 14
Lessons for the Invasion Learned in Italy (by C.L. Sulzberger) 15-16
The Background (cartoon) 16
The Russians Reach the Carpathians (map) 17
Russians Threaten Foe with Double Offensive (by Drew Middleton) 18
Answers to Fifteen News Questions 19
America Shows Her Striking Power in the Western Pacific (map) 20
Pacific Fleets Blow Opens Far Horizons (by Sidney Shalett) 21
Supply Lines Are At Stake in Burma Fighting (map) 22
The Best Selling Books, Here and Elsewhere (from Book Review) 23
* Normally I speed through the Sunday entertainment section on my way to News in Review, but this photo caught my attention. Gleasons appearance in Follow the Girls was called his first significant recognition as an entertainer (Wikipedia).
http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1944/apr44/02apr44.htm#
Japanese isolate Kohima and Imphal
Sunday, April 2, 1944 www.onwar.com
In Burma... Forces of the Japanese 15th Army (Mutaguchi) continue to advance. They have cut the road between Kohima and Imphal. South of Imphal, the British 17th Indian Division has nearly completed the retreat to its new positions.
On the Eastern Front... Soviet forces enter Romania, crossing the Prut River east of Chernovtsy.
In Liberated Italy... The Communist Party declares its support of the Badoglio government.
In El Salvador... An attempted military coup results in the death of approximately 300 people.
http://www.etherit.co.uk/month/thismonth/02.htm
April 2nd, 1944 (SUNDAY)
ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26 Marauders attack railroad bridges at Arezzo, Fano, Ficulle, Magra, north of Orvieto, and south of Poggibonsi, scoring some direct hits, hits on approaches, and several near misses; fighter-bombers hit trucks and the railroad station at Fara in Sabina and east and north of Anzio, attack the Formia tunnel, fly armed reconnaissance over the Atina and Arce areas, bomb a factory and buildings north of Cassino, the town of Pignataro Interamna and numerous bridges, dumps, gun positions and targets of opportunity in or around the battle areas. (Jack McKillop)
YUGOSLAVIA: The Fifteenth Air Force dispatches 29 B-17s and 63 B-24s to attack three targets: 35 B-24s bomb the Bihac marshalling yard, 28 B-24s bomb an air depot at Mostar, and the B-17s bomb a marshalling yard at Brod.
The P-47 escorts shoot down three Bf-109s. (Jack McKillop)
The Soviets enter ROMANIA across the Prat River near Chernovtsy
AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack targets at Steyr: 125 B-17s and 30 B-24s bomb the ball bearing plant and 168 B-24s hit the Daimler-Puch aircraft components factory and the depot at the Steyr Airfield. P-38s and P-47 Thunderbolts fly 150+ sorties in support of the bombers; hundreds of enemy fighters oppose the missions and fierce air battles result in 19 bombers shot down and several missing; the AAF shoots down 33 Luftwaffe aircraft against the loss of one P-38. (Jack McKillop)
FINLAND: A Finnish Air Force Brewster Buffalo of Lentolaivue 24 shoots down a Soviet La-5. (Jason Long)
INDIA: The first operational XX Bomber Command B-29 Superfortress, piloted by Colonel Leonard F Harman, lands at Chakulia. (Jack McKillop)
British troops advance between Kohima and Imphal.
BURMA:12 Tenth Air Force P-40s bomb Kamaing while 6 P-51 Mustangs over the Katha area hit trucks near Bhamo and a storage area at Indaw. Twelve RAF Vengeances attack Japanese troops near Buthidaung. (Jack McKillop)
CHINA: 2 Fourteenth Air Force B-24s on a sea sweep from Hong Kong to Formosa bomb a 215-foot (66 meter) ship (reported sunk) and damage a large motor launch. (Jack McKillop)
BISMARCK ARCHIPELAGO:40+ Thirteenth Air Force fighter-bombers over Rabaul on New Britain Island, hit the south-eastern part of town, the Toboi wharf area, and northern section of town along the Malaguna road; and 7 B-25s hit Raluana Point while 23 pound Lakunai. Fifth Air Force B-25s bomb Rambutyo Island. (Jack McKillop)
CAROLINE ISLANDS: Seventh Air Force B-24s from Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands hit Truk Atoll during the night of 1/2 April. During the day, 31 Thirteenth Air Force B-24s fly a strike against Dublon Island, Truk Atoll, causing considerable damage to the warehouse and dock areas; the bombers claim 30+ fighters downed; 4 B-24s are lost. (Jack McKillop)
Marshall Islands: Seventh Air Force B-25s bomb Jaluit and Maloelap Atolls.
The USN’s Task Unit 57.10.9, composed of destroyer escort USS Sanders (DE-40), tank landing ship USS LST-127 and infantry landing craft LCI-346 and LCI-449 occupies Mejit Island. The small Japanese force that opposes the occupation is wiped out by gunfire support provided by the LCIs. (Jack McKillop)
NETHERLANDS East Indies: Fifth Air Force B-25s bomb Dili and Penfoei on Timor Island. (Jack McKillop)
NEW GUINEA: 120+ Fifth Air Force bombers and fighters continue to hit targets in areas around Wewak, Hansa Bay, Madang, Bogadjim, and other points along the northeastern coastline. (Jack McKillop)
I wonder if there was a link between the execution of the Swiss officer who passed documents to an unnamed foreign government and the ‘accidental’ bombing of Switzerland.
Nice photo of Jackie Gleason. My mom didn’t want me to watch his show back in the 60s. I was just a kid; he smoked and drank when he did his monologue, if I recall.
Sorry mom. I watched anyway. Didn’t get me to smoke, so his bad influence only went one for two.
Otherwise, there were a lot of very nice opinion articles on the progress of the war today. I get the impression that anticipation is building for the Big Invasion. Reading the Times gives a good sense of just how much that was a factor in American life.
It also continues to impress me how much of the news of the Eastern Front is being put daily before the American people. It is not an unknown war at the time.
Page 9: “Communist Dogmas Basically Revised”
“...capitalism is progressive...”
Commies are shameless!
“6 P-51 Mustangs over the Katha area hit trucks near Bhamo and a storage area at Indaw. “
I wonder if there were many P-51/Zero engagements?
I bet if there were the Jap pilots soiled their flight suits when they realized a P-51 was on their tail.
I still am of the opinion the plan to drop an airborne division on Rome was folly. It would have been beyond our close air support and we never could have airlifted forces into Rome faster than the Germans could concentrate divisions there.
It would have been a great way to lose an airborne division.
There were engagements but the P-51 was a latecomer to the Pacific. P-38 was the land based workhorse in that theater.
The seizure of Iwo Jima allowed P51s to escort B29s to the Home Islands. Shortly after Iwo was seized, LeMay switched to night bombing tactics so it didn’t matter so much.
I don’t know if P51s were based on Okinawa. I would imagine so, and they would have raided air strips on Kyushu.
But all that was rather late to the game.
PS:
Further research shows the 35th Fighter Group equipped with P51s was operational on Okinawa from June 28, 1945.
The 506th Fighter Wing, equipped with P51s, began escorting B29s to Japan in April, 1945. They claim that no B29s were ever lost to Japanese fighters on escorted missions.
Very nice history of the 506th can be found here:
http://www.506thfightergroup.org/vlrhistory.asp
Seems that P-51s were based on Okinawa during the war.
But all that was rather late to the game.
Yep. By the time the P-51 came along, the cream and middle of the barrel of Japanese aviation had already been fed to crabs and rats across the South Pacific.
I'm not sure why Air Force brass thought it such a great idea to have P-51s flying long distances over water to attack ground targets in Japan and China when the P-38 had such an outstanding ground attack record in-theater?
If I was in the Pacific, I for sure would have wanted to be in a P-38. There's something about having two engines when flying over hundreds of miles of open water that strikes me as reassuring.
Few B-29's were lost to enemy action. http://www.usaaf.net/digest/t165.htm
Japanese fighters that could reach the B-29's operational altitude were at their limits and vulnerable to American fighters.
Few Japanese antiaircraft guns could get up to the B-29s.
Duh-YAM. History’s repetition converging on 70 years to the _day_. Not surprised if Putin is scheduling the festivities accordingly.
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