May 17, 1945
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology
THURSDAY, 17 MAY 1945
CHINA THEATER (Fourteenth Air Force): 16 B-25s and about 100 fighters continue
to disrupt communications and supply lines and hinder enemy withdrawal from
numerous locations of S and E China, pounding town areas, troop concentrations,
storage areas, river, road, and rail traffic and general targets of opportunity.
INDIA-BURMA THEATER (Tenth Air Force): The 319th Troop Carrier Squadron (Commando),
1st Air Commando Group, ceases operating from various forward bases in Burma
and returns to base at Asansol, India with C-47s.
AAFPOA (VII Fighter Command): Fighters from Iwo Jima fly 41 effective
strike sorties against Atsugi; pilots claim 10 parked aircraft destroyed.
During the night of 17/18 May, 2 P-47s of the 318th Fighter Group, presently
arriving on Ie Shima (between 13 and 19 May), fly heckling mission over Kyushu, the first such VII Fighter Command mission against Japan.
HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): Mission 176: Between 3:00am and 6:00am local time,
457 of 522 B-29s attack Nagoya urban area in the last great attack on the
city from low level. Specific targets include the south part of Nagoya with Mitsubishi Aircraft Works, Aichi
Aircraft Company's Atsuta palnt and the Atsuta branch of the Nagoya Arsenal,
the Nippon Vehicle Company and other targets. Meanwhile, eleven other B-29s hit targets of opportunity; 3 B-29s are lost.
SOUTHWEST PACIFIC AREA [SWPA, Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: During sweeps over
Formosa, B-25s and P-51s cause widespread damage hitting railroad yards, bridges,
and alcohol plants and B-24s bomb airfields at Nanseiho Airfield and Matsuyama
Airfield. Fighters
fly 130+ sorties against the Ipo Dam area. B-24s bomb Sepinggang and Manggar and Sidate airfield. The 20th Combat Mapping
Squadron, 6th Reconnaissance Group moves from Dulag to Clark
Field with F-7s. Lost are B-24J "Bums Away" 42-110123 (MIA) and B-25J 44-30164 (POW / KIA) and P-51D 44-72054 (survived).
RAF: Lost is Liberator KH-250 (MIA / POW).
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