THURSDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 1945
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): Four B-25s abort a mission against the
Masugawa River in the Kuriles unable to identify the target.
Burma: In NCAC area, 26th Brig of Br 36th Div establishes bridgehead across the Shweli near Myitson and holds it against enemy fire.
RCAF: Force landed due to an engine failure is PBV Canso 11007 after take off from Tofino Airfield on Vancouver Island.
CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 10 P-51s knock out a bridge
at Shihtangchung and blast a bridge approach at Changsha; 9 other fighters
knock out another bridge N of Changsha; 4 fighters hit railroad targets of
opportunity from Linfen to Yutze to Shihkiachwang and bomb Tsinan Airfield.
HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): In India, HQ 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy)
moves from Kharagpur to Hijli Base Area.
INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 72 P-47s support ground forces
in the Myitson area; 37 P-47s and P-38s hit troops, supply areas, ammunition
dumps, and targets of opportunity at Namsaw, Hsunkwe, Loi-Kong, Nawng-un, Hsipaw,
Panghai, and Kongnio, and bomb a village near Pangkawn. Transports fly 581
sorties carrying men and supplies to forward bases and dropping supplies to
frontline areas. The 155th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group,
based at Kalaikunda, India with UC-64s and L-5s, sends a detachment to operate
from various bases in Burma.
AAFPOA (Seventh Air Force): Twenty B-24s from Guam bomb
radar and radio installations and AA defenses on Iwo
Jima in the afternoon. Lost is B-24L 44-41470 (MIA). During the night of 8/9 Feb, ten B-24s fly single-plane
snooper strikes against Iwo Jima airfields.
HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 27: 30 of 31 B-29s from the Mariana bomb Moen Airfield No. 1.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon, B-24s
bomb Mariveles and B-25s sink or damage several
small vessels along the E coast and hit Legaspi Airfield. B-24s bomb Manggar and Sepinggang Airfields. Units moving to San Marcelino: HQ 309th Bombardment Wing from Owi, and the 421st
Night Fighter Squadron, 86th Fighter Wing, from Tacloban, with
P-38s and P-61s.
U.S. Army: In U.S. Sixth Army's XIV Corps area, while 1st Cav Div forces are clearing eastern suburbs of Manila, 37th Div expands and strengthens its bridgehead S of the Pasig, crossing 1st and 2d Bns of 129th Inf into it. On right flank of corps, 40th Div's 185th Inf continues attack toward Snake Hill North; 160th gains most of McSevney Pt and holds positions against series of counterattacks; 108th attacks W from Top of the World toward series of hills about 1,500-2,000 yards distant, numbered 5, 3, 4, and 6, from N to S, and takes Hill 5. I Corps, with capture of Lupao by 35th Inf of 25th Div, finishes clearing central plain. On Villa Verde Trail, 2d Bn of 127th Inf, 32 Div, pauses to consolidate and patrol. In XI Corps area, 38th Div continues 2-pronged attack against Zigzag Pass but is still stubbornly opposed. 149th Inf is running into strong opposition.
In U.S. Eighth Army area, 511th and 188th Regts of 11th A/B Div make slow progress against Nichols Field and gain contact near the southwest corner.
U.S. Navy: Task Force 92 (TF 92) under Rear Admiral John F. McCrea, comprising of three light cruisers and seven destroyers, sorties from Attu, bound for Matsuwa Island.
Submarine Pampanito (SS-383) attacks Japanese convoy in Gulf of Siam, sinking gunboat Eifuku Maru off Cape Camau, French Indochina, 07°05'N, 104°50'E.
Japanese landing ship T.143 is run aground and abandoned southeast of the Pescadores Islands, 23°30'N, 119°40'E.
