TUESDAY, 17 OCTOBER 1944
AMERICAN ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Seven B-24s fly cover sorties for a naval
task force.
(CBI) BURMA-INDIA (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 15 P-47s bomb a supply area
near Naba, hit Japanese HQ and a supply area near Mawhun, and blast a supply
base and permanent camp at Myazedi; 8 B-25s bomb Nawnghkio airfield and 3 attack
bridges near Kawlin and Thityabin; an approach to the latter bridge is damaged.
Transports fly almost 300 sorties to various points in the CBI.
CHINA (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 15 B-25s, 12 P-40s, and 10 P-51s pound
a supply depot at Tien Ho Airfield; two B-24s bomb a supply depot at
Victoria Harbor at Hong Kong; 44 P-51s and P-40s on armed reconnaissance attack
rivercraft, troop concentrations, villages, and other targets of opportunity
around Kweiping, Tengyun, Mangshih, Tajungchiang, Wuchou, and Dosing; a runway
at Tanchuk Airfield suffers considerable damage.
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Twentieth Air Force): Ten B-29s, flying out of Chengtu,
bomb Einansho air depot on Formosa; 14 others bomb alternate targets.
PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (POA) AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): Eleven B-24s
from Saipan hit shipping off Haha Jima and the town of Okimura. During
the night of 17/18 Oct, 1 B-24 bombs an airfield on Iwo Jima. B-25s from the
Gilbert hit Nauru.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Fighter-bombers
and B-25s hit airfields, shipping and scattered targets of opportunity in
the Halmahera area. In the Ceram -Ambon -Boeroe
area A-20s, B-25s, and fighter-bombers continue to pound airfields and oil
facilities. In the principal strike of the day almost 60 B-24s hit oil installations,
barracks, and shore targets on Ilang and N Davao
Bay areas of Mindanano .
HQ XIII Bomber Command moves from Wakde to Morotai. HQ 433d Troop Carrier Group moves from Port Moresby to Biak, the air echelon of the 82d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 71st Tactical
Reconnaissance Group begins operating from Borokoe with
F-6s and P-40s (squadron is based on Morotai).
Dutch: Hr. Ms. Zwaardvisch (P322) fired a spread of five torpedoes with one hitting and sinking Itsukushima.
