March 30, 1944
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology
THURSDAY, 30 MARCH 1944
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): Six P-51s hit Anisakan Airfield in Burma.
CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): Two B-24s fly a sea sweep from Kunming around Hainan and across the Gulf of Tonkin to Nam Dinh, French Indochina; en route,
a freighter is strafed; 1 B-24s bombs spinning mills at Nam Sinh, causing considerable
damage.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): B-24s from Kwajalein and Eniwetok
hit Truk before
dawn. B-25s from Kwajalein and Tarawa strike Wotje, Mille, Jaluit and
Maloelap.
USN: Lost attacking Palau is TBF Avenger 25217 (two rescued, one MIA) and SB2C 18454 (MIA).
SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (SOPAC, Thirteenth Air Force): During the night, two B-24s fly a snooper strike against Truk. During the day, eleven B-24s fly a long-range
strike against Moen in Truk;
the B-24s score damaging hits on the airfield and claim 11 fighters shot down;
Lost is B-24D "Fuzzy Wuzzy" 42-40752 (MIA).
In the Rabaul area, ten P-38s hit the southwest part of the town with incendiaries while 24 B-25s pound
nearby Vunapope. On Bougainville fighters and B-25s, operating mainly in pairs,
hit a supply area on the Mupeka River and Japanese-occupied areas at the mouths
of Puriata and Mamaregu Rivers; Fighter-bombers continue to support ground forces
along the Empress Augusta Bay perimeter hitting a bivouac and truck park at Numa Numa, fords across the Hongorai River, and a bridge across the Puriata
River.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, Fifth Air Force): 60+ B-24s, with
support from more than 90 P-38s and P-47s, hit Hollandia in the first big daylight
raid; airfields and fuel dumps are bombed; a large number of enemy aircraft are destroyed or damaged on the ground; escorting fighters claim
about 10 interceptors shot down; B-25s, A-20s, P-47s, P-40s, and P-39s continue
to blast Japanese installations and forces in areas around Wewak, Tadji and Madang. Lost is P-38H 42-66746 (MIA). Moves in New Guinea: HQ 91st Photographic Wing (Reconnaissance) to Nadzab from the US; and 342nd Fighter Squadron, 348th Fighter Group from Finschhafen Airfield to Saidor Airfield with P-47s.
USN: Lost after launch from USS Hornet (CV-12) is TBM-1C Avenger 25217 pilot Lt(jg) Bereolos (MIA) and TBM-1C Avenger 25280 pilot Ensign J. R. Skinner (crew rescued). Also lost is F6F Hellcat 40653 pilot Lt(jg) James W. Syme (MIA) is shot down by a Zero over Peleliu.
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