February 6, 1944
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

SUNDAY, 6 FEBRUARY 1944

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): 12 P-51s hit warehouses and freight cars at Wuntho, Burma and claim four warehouses destroyed.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 11 P-40s on armed reconnaissance strafe sampans and power launches between Yoyang and Puchi, China. 6 B-25s knock out bridges and damage 3 trains at Anxuan, Tien An, Phong Loc and Dong Hoi, French Indochina.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): B-24s from Tarawa hit Maloelap and Wotje; A-24s and P-40s from Makin attack Mille. P-39s from Tarawa strafe Jaluit.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, Fifth Air Force): B-25s and B-24s pound Bunabun Harbor, Madang, and targets from Bogia to Cape Croisilles; P-39s strafe and sink barges near Nubia; and A-20s hit shipping near Kairiru and Mushu causing considerable damage and destruction. Other bombers hit targets in the Admiralties, concentrating on Momote and carry out light attacks on Talasea village and Cape Dampier gun positions on New Britain Island. Lost are P-39N pilot Gilpatrick (KIA), B-25D "Sticky Kitty" 42-87286 (MIA).

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (SOPAC, Thirteenth Air Force): P-39s and RNZAF Ventura's hit barges in the Green Island area. 32 B-25s escorted by 72 fighters strike Lakunai Airfield dropping 48 tons of bombs and was deemed to be unserviceable. Intercepted by Zeros, aerial bombs were dropped, but gunnery passes against the bombers were deemed half-hearted. Escorting Corsairs claim 13 Zeros including Hamps and a Tojo [sic]. A Hellcat claimed a Zero. Some bombers were damaged by AA.

A second strike shortly afterwards by 47 fighters escorting 19 B-24s bombing Vunakanau Airfield that drop 76 tons of ordnance. This strike was weakly intercepted by a dozen or so Zeros that only fired from long range. Three that pressed their attacks were claimed as probables by P-38s. Some bombers were damaged by AA. One B-24 bombs Tobera Airfield.

USMC: Lost is F4U 55916 pilot 2nd Lt. Robert S. Thompson (MIA) on an escort mission over Rabaul.

IJN: At Rabaul, a total of 57 Zeros are scrambled to intercept the U.S. air raids including 32 Zeros from 253 Kōkūtai (253 Air Group) plus 25 from carrier groups. The Zeros claim 13 shot down with 3 Zeros lost.

References
South Pacific Air War (2024) pages 531 (February 6, 1944)