MONDAY, 16 APRIL 1945
ALASKA (Eleventh Air Force): B-25s abort a mission
to bomb Hayakegawa because of weather front; six B-24s radar bomb the Kataoka
naval base on Shimushu; another B-24 flies a radar-ferret sortie.
CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): In China, 18 B-24s pound a storage
area at Linfen; three B-24s bomb targets of opportunity in the Bakli Bay and Canton areas; 10 B-25s bomb Yungfengshih, Kweilin, and Shanhsien, knocking
out one bridge and hitting buildings, river shipping, and rail traffic. About
120 fighter-bombers over S and E China hit river, road, and rail traffic,
town areas, troops, and general targets of opportunity at many scattered locations;
the 490th Bombardment Squadron, 341st Bombardment Group,
based at Hanchung sends a detachment to operate from Hsian with B-25s.
INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): In Burma, 22 fighter-bombers pound
troop concentrations in the Ke-hsi Mansam vicinity; 19 others attack road bridges
behind enemy lines, claiming 1 bridge destroyed; air transport operations to
forward areas continue on steady basis.
USN: F6F Hellcats from VF-23 conduct a dive bombing mission over
Kanoya Airfield. Lost is F6F Hellcat 78022 (MIA).
AAFPOA Seventh Air Force: Eighteen Guam based B-24s pound Marcus. 2 P-61s from Saipan bomb and strafe Pagan. VII
Fighter Command: Mission 3: In the first very long range fighter operation from Iwo Jima, P-51s with Twentieth AF B-29 navigational escort, strafe and
bomb targets at Kanoya Airfield; four P-51s are lost; B-25s
continue to furnish navigational escort in all subsequent VII Fighter Command
strikes (through 14 Aug) on Japan from Iwo Jima.
USMC: Lost over Palau is FG-1D Corsair 76471 (MIA).
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Formosa, B-25s
hit Taien Airfield, while B-24s and P-51s bomb Giran Airfield and Matsuyama Airfield and nearby areas. Fighter bombers hit N Luzon Island bivouacs and other targets
and support strikes and sweeps are flown over Cebu, Negros, and Mindanao with B-25s hitting highways on Mindanao and B-24s hit Carabao. P-38s pound Lingkas Tank Farm and
other targets at Tarakan. During the night of 15/16 Apr B-24s bomb
Taihoku, Formosa. The 387th Bombardment Squadron, 312th Bombardment Group moves from Mangaldan to Floridablanca with A-20s. Damaged in a take off accident is P-51D 44-64145 (survived) and P-51D 44-63280 (survived).
