THURSDAY, 6 APRIL 1944
CARIBBEAN (Sixth Air Force): 3d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), VI Bomber Command,
moves from David Field to Howard Field with B-24s; the squadron
serves as a replacement training unit.
ZONE OF INTERIOR: General of the Army Henry H "Hap" Arnold assumes
command of the Twentieth Air Force at Washington, DC where HQ will remain until
Jul 45. Chief of Staff is Brigadier General Haywood S. Hansell, Jr (currently Deputy Chief of Air Staff), with Colonel Cecil E Combs as his deputy for operations.
BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 6 B-25s damage railroad and rolling
stock at Shwebo. 80+ fighter-bombers and two B-25s hit troops in the Namti area,
support ground forces northeast of Kamaing, damage a bridge near Myitkyina, and hit
troops, oil dumps, and supplies at Mogaung and Manywet.
CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): P-40s from Suichwan pound a barrack
SW of Nanchang, causing heavy damage; a B-25 strike during the night of 6/7
Apr on airfields near Canton is curtailed by bad weather; only one B-25 reaches
the target, dropping fragmentation bombs on revetments.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): B-24s from Kwajalein bomb Wake. B-25s from Eniwetok hit Ponape twice. B-25s from Abemama bomb Jaluit, rearm at Majuro, and hit Maloelap during the return flight.
SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (SOPAC, Thirteenth Air Force): 34 B-24s bomb Dublon. 22 B-25s bomb Lakunai Airfield and revetment
area; 30+ fighter-bombers bomb the vicinity of Toboi Wharf with incendiaries while 20+ others carry out incendiary strike on Vunapope, causing
severe destruction to several buildings; and fighters maintain a sweep over
Rabaul and New Ireland areas.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, Fifth Air Force): P-39s, P-40s
and P-47s continue to pound coastal targets in the Wewak, Aitape, and Madang areas and at numerous other points along the coast. B-25s bomb Koepang.
RAAF: Force landed is Beaufighter A19-156 (crew resuced).
