September 17, 1944
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

SUNDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 1944

ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Due to bad weather, two B-24s abort a mission to Suribachi. Four B-25s fly an unsuccessful shipping sweep.

BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, eight P-47s bomb Katha, eight hit Momauk and Wanling, and eight others attack Bhamo; six B-25s hit Mangshih while three B-25 bomb Indaw; Sixteen B-24s haul fuel to Liuchow; C-47s fly 200+ sorties delivering personnel and supplies to various points in the CBI.

CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 29 B-24s bomb Changsha; 27 B-25s hit Hwangshapu, Kiyang, and Nanyo; 130+ P-51s and P-40s on armed reconnaissance attack town areas, strongpoints, shipping, railway targets, gun positions, trucks, and other targets of opportunity from NE of Ichang southward through Hunan Province and beyond; areas hit include Changsha, Kiyang, Lingling, Chuanhsien, Siangtan, Hengshan, Kweiyang, and Lingkuantien, plus scattered targets of opportunity elsewhere; the 35th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, Fourteenth AF, moves from Kunming to Chanyi with F-5s (flights are operating from Nanning and Yunnani).

AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): A B-24 from Saipan on a snooper mission bombs Iwo Jima; armed reconnaissance over Marcus is unsuccessful due to bad weather. B-25s pound Nauru.

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Ground echelon of HQ 497th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) and the 869th, 870th and 871st Bombardment Squadrons (Very Heavy), arrive at Isley Field from the US. Their first bombing mission is October 28, 1944.

SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: B-25s bomb Buayoan Airfield on Mindanao. B-24s, B-25s, and P-38s hit Langoan Airfield. B-25s and P-39s, fighting bad weather, attack a variety of targets, including airfields and villages in Ambon-Ceram area. In New Guinea, P-47s and P-40s pound Samate Airfield.

USMC: Lost is F4U 56045 (KIA) on a strike against Rabaul. Ditched is PBJ 35085 pilot 1st Lt. John L Braden Jr. ditched with two crew MIA, four crew rescued by USS Witter (DE-636).

Damien Parer is Killed In Action (KIA) by Japanese machine gun fire on Peleliu.