August 8, 1945
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology
WEDNESDAY, 8 AUGUST 1945
Twentieth Air Force: 381 B-29s fly three missions, 2 during the day of 8 Aug
and 1 during the night of 8/9 Aug; 7 B-29s are lost. Mission 319: Shortly before 1200 hours, 221 B-29s drop incendiaries on Yawata destroying 1.22 sq mi (3.16 sq km), 21% of the city; 6 others hit alternate
targets; 1 B-29s is shot down by Japanese fighters and 3 are lost to mechanical
reasons. Mission 320: Late in the afternoon, 60 B-29s bomb an aircraft plant
and arsenal complex at Tokyo; 2 others hit alternate targets; 2 B-29s are lost
to flak and 1 to mechanical reasons (these are the last B-29s lost in action
by the Twentieth AF). Mission 321: During the night of 8/9 Aug, 91 B-29s hit
Fukiyama with incendiaries destroying 0.88 sq miles (73.3% of the city); 1 hits
an alternate target. 100+ fighters from Iwo Jima hit airfields, factory buildings,
barracks, and rail installations in the Osaka area.
Fourteenth Air Force: Ten P-51s hit buildings, trucks, rivercraft,
and other targets of opportunity in the Paoching, Hengyang and Chuanhsien
areas.
WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Okinawa-based B-24s, B-25s, A-26s,
P-51s, and P-47s carry out numerous strikes against targets on Kyushu; targets include the Usa and Tsuiki Airfields, communications and transport
targets all over Kyushu, shipping between Kyushu and Korea, and targets of
opportunity in the Ryukyu Islands, on the China coast, and on Formosa. P-47s
escorting Twentieth AF B-29s claim 10 Japanese planes downed. B-24s bomb Shinchiku
Airfield. B-24s on a shipping search hit Lolobata
Airfield on Halmahera
Island. On Luzon, B-24s support ground forces in the Lenatin River Valley and
SSE of Mankayan and P-38s support ground action SSE of Mankayan, in the Kiangan area, and NW of Bagabag. Unit moves: HQ 475th Fighter Group and 431st Fighter Squadron, 432d
Fighter Squadron and 433d Fighter Squadron from Lingayen Airfield to Ie Shima Airfield with P-38s; 528th
Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 380th Bombardment Group (Heavy), from San Jose to Okinawa with B-24s.
USSR: At 11:00pm Trans-Baikal time, Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov informed Japanese ambassador Naotake SatÅ that the Soviet Union had declared war on Japan and that an hour later at midnight on August 9, 1945 the Soviet Union would begin hostilities.
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