THURSDAY, 3 MAY 1945
CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): Nine B-25s and six fighter-bombers
attack truck convoys in the Hsiang River Valley and near Paoching, Changsha,
and Hengyang, and pound railroad targets of opportunity and bridges in the Taiku,
Singtai, and Linfen areas; 90+ fighter-bombers attack troops, town areas, ammunition
dumps, river shipping and other targets of opportunity over wide areas of S
and E China.
INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): With the fall of Rangoon on this
date (Indian 26 Division elements occupy the city), the war against the Japanese
in Burma is successfully concluded; pockets of resistance remain west of the Irrawaddy
River and between that river and the Mandalay-Pegu, Thailand railway however,
during May AAF operations are reduced drastically due to the lack of suitable
air targets and because of the onset of bad weather preceding the monsoon. The
Tenth AF is withdrawn from combat and moved back to India (see 15 May 45); 1
squadron of P-38s remains in Burma to patrol the roads leading into China. Unit
moves: 88th Fighter Squadron, 80th Fighter Group, from Myitkyina to Moran,
India with P-47s; the detachment of the 156th Liaison Squadron (Commando), 2d
Air Commando Group, operating from Myitche with UC-64s and L-5s, to Magwe, Burma;
the 317th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando), 2d Air Commando Group, based at
Kalaikunda, India with C-47s, sends a detachment to operate from Comilla, India.
AAFPOA: The 163d Liaison Squadron, AAFPOA (attached to Tenth Army), arrives
on Okinawa from Saipan with UC-64s and L-5s.
Seventh Air Force: Ten B-24s from Guam bomb airfields and targets of
opportunity on several islands of Truk. During the night of 3/4 May, 8
B-24s separately strike airfields on Param Airfield, Eten Airfield, and Moen Airfield.
HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Missions 127 to 132: 59
B-29s bomb airfields at Tachiarai, Miyazaki, Miyakonojo, Kokubu and two runways at Kanoya;
5 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim 10 Japanese fighters; 1 B-29
is lost. Mission 133: 88 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and the Inland Sea during
the night of 3/4 May; 3 others mine other waters.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: Saigon is bombed by B-24s, which greatly damage a boatyard and oil storage areas. B-24s and P-51s pound the Ipo area while A-20s and fighters support
ground forces. In Borneo, B-25s continue support of ground forces on Tarakan and, with B-24s, carry out small raids against numerous targets on Borneo
and Celebes, Manggar Airfield is heavily hit by B-24s and P-38s and USN airplanes
hit warehouses in the Brunei Bay area. The 63d Troop Carrier Squadron, 403d
Troop Carrier Group, moves from Biak to Dulag with C-47s. Lost is P-51K 44-12075 (MIA).
RAAF: Crashed are Spitfire A58-528 and C-47 A65-39 (KIA).
IJN: Operation Kikusui V (Kikusui sakusen V): A total of 449 Japanese aircraft (including 160 kamikaze planes) attack the U. S. fleet off Okinawa. The attackers sink two destroyers, damaging an escort aircraft carrier and damage HMS Formidable (67) plus others.
USN: Kamikaze aircraft target U. S. Navy ships on picket duty off Okinawa. Four kamikaze planes hit and sunk USS Little (DD-803). A kamikaze plane hit and sunk LSM(R)-195. Heavily damaged by four planes is USS Aaron Ward (DM-34). A kamikaze grazes LCS(L)-25 knocking off her mast.
