February 7, 1944
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

MONDAY, 7 FEBRUARY 1944

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): A single B-25 bombs a motor pool at Sumprabum, Burma.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 16 P-40s and 4 P-51s damage railroad bridges at Kienchang and Puchi and strafe warehouses at Teian. In French Indochina, 2 B-25s score 2 direct hits on the powerplant at Thanh Hoa, strafe nearby barracks, and attack the radio station at Vinh.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): B-25s from Tarawa and Abemama hit Wotje and Maloelap and P-40s from Makin hit a storage area at Jaluit.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (SOPAC, Thirteenth Air Force): P-40s join USN fighters in covering a USN dive-bomber strike on Tobera; several gun positions and grounded aircraft are hit and the runway is bombed into unserviceable condition; 11 aircraft are claimed shot down; Vunakanau Airfield is bombed by 17 B-24s, escorted by P-38s and USN fighters.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, Fifth Air Force): Fourteen B-24s bomb Amboina and Lautem. P-39s fly strafing sweeps over New Britain. Single B-25s on reconnaissance bomb Garua Harbor, Cape Dampier on New Britain and Kavieng. Lost near Saidor is L-4 Grasshopper 43-29071 (MIA). Transfers in New Guinea: Headquarters (HQ), 35th Fighter Group from Nadzab to Gusap; 417th Bombardment Group, HQ move from Cape Sudest to Dobodura; 25th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Photographic Reconnaissance Group, from Lae to Nadzab with F-5s; 110th Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter), 71st Reconnaissance Group, from Port Moresby to Gusap with P-39Qs.

RAAF: Lost on a mission against Kavieng is Catalina A24-24 (POW).

References
South Pacific Air War (2024) pages 531 (February 7, 1944)
"The attack on the seventh was almost a repeat of the previous day, with Zeros displaying somewhat more aggressiveness . Corsairs claimed eleven Japanese fighters, including a Hamp and a Tony over Tobera . A B-24 gunner claimed a Zeke over Vunakanau . The Japanese claimed twenty-one out of more than two hundred attackers . The Japanese suffered no outright losses, but several Zeros were hit, including one classified as heavily damaged and one returning with a wounded pilot ."