April 19, 1944
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

WEDNESDAY, 19 APRIL 1944

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 6 B-25s and 8 P-51s attack troops and stores NW of Banmauk; 10 P-38s hit Meiktila Airfield; and 5 P-51s attack troop positions near Mawlu and a bridge at Shweli.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): 3 B-25s damage a bridge at Thanh Moi, French Indochina and score hits on railroad and buildings S of the bridge. 4 P-40s attack the village of Takaw, Burma, causing several fires and sink a ferry-boat in the area.

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Twentieth Air Force): XX Bomber Command is assigned to HQ Twentieth Air Force. 769th and 770th Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy), 462d Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) arrive at Piardoba from the US with B-29s; first mission is 5 June.

PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA, Seventh Air Force): B-24s staging through Eniwetok bomb Truk. B-25s strike Ponape.

SOUTH PACIFIC AREA (SOPAC, Thirteenth Air Force): Twenty-one B-24s bomb Satawan Airfield, hitting the target area with about 50 tons of high explosives. 38 fighter-bombers hit Matupi supply areas while seven bomb Rapopo Airfield. Fighters hit the Numa Numa area.

USN: Avengers from VT-305 take off on a bombing mission against Rabaul, but the primary and secondary targets are obscured by bad weather and the strike is aborted.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA (SWPA, Fifth Air Force): B-24s hit Urarom and Manokwari; B-25s, A-20s, and fighter aircraft strike a wide variety of targets around Hollandia, Aitape, Bogia, Uligan, Bunabun, Madang and Cape Croisilles. B-24s of the Thirteenth Air Task Force bomb Woleai Atoll. Unit moves in New Guinea: Headquarters Squadron, 49th Fighter Group from Gusap to Finschhafen; HQ 317th Troop Carrier Group from Port Moresby to Finschhafen; the detachment of the 82d Reconnaissance Squadron (Fighter), 71st Reconnaissance Group, ceases operating from Finschhafen with returns to base at Saidor with P-39s.

Royal Navy / USN: Task Force 70 (TF 70) Operation Cockpit including HMS Illustrious (87) and USS Saratoga (CV-3) launch a carrier strike the port of at Sabang off Sumatra escorted by battlecruiser HMS Renown, cruisers HMS Ceylon and HMS Gambia and destroyers HMS Quilliam, HMAS Quadrant, HMS Queenborough, USS Cummings (DD-365), USS Dunlap (DD–384) and USS Fanning (DD-385).