SATURDAY, 31 MARCH 1945
CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 30 B-24s, with an escort of
9 P-51s, blast railroad yards at Shihkiachwang; 12 B-25s bomb railroad yards
at Sinyang while 4 hit the Yanglowtung yards; 6 B-25s damage a bridge and hit
gun position at Sienning while six more knock out a bridge near Ninh Binh, French
Indochina and hit storage area at Samah Bay; 26 P-51s attack Ningpo
Airfield, destroying or damaging several airplanes; 6 of the P-51s are lost;
about 125 other fighter-bombers and several B-25s (operating individually)
attack numerous targets in French Indochina and S and E China including bridges,
troops, supplies, and rail, road, and river traffic.
INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): 12 B-25s hit troop dispersal areas
behind enemy lines in C Burma and hit 1 road bridge and 8 P-38s attack supply
dump at Namsang Airfield. The 164th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 1st Air Commando
Group, moves from Ondaw, Burma to Asansol with UC-64s and L-5s.
Seventh Air Force: During the night of 31 Mar/1 Apr, 5 B-24s from Guam, flying
individual harassment strikes, hit Susaki Airfield. VII Fighter
Command: 15 P-51s from Iwo Jima bomb and strafe vessels, air installations,
and targets of opportunity on Chichi Jima; 16 more follow with attacks on vessels
and harbor area. Lost is P-61B Black Widow 42-39455 (MIA).
HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 50: 137 of 152 B-29s strike the Tachiarai
machine works, which is completely destroyed, and Omura Airfield on Kyushu; this is a diversionary strike preceding the invasion of Okinawa which begins at 0830 hours local on 1 Apr; the AAF claims 11-5-3 Japanese
aircraft; 1 B-29s is lost and 15 damaged.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, A-20s
attack an army camp at Saiatan, P-51s sweep from Babuyan Channel to the SW
of the island and B-24s bomb shipping at Kiirun Harbor and Yulin Harbor.
On Luzon, fighters attack targets in the Cagayan Valley and north of Laguna de
Bay, blasting bridges and gun positions over wide stretches. B-25s, A-20s,
and fighter-bombers hit Cebu targets, several of the strikes being flown in
support of ground forces. B-24s again bomb Bongao and hit Oelin and
fighters harass north Borneo airfields.
