July 9, 1945
Today in World War II Pacific History
Day by day chronology

MONDAY, 9 JULY 1945

AAF PACIFIC OCEAN AREA (Seventh Air Force): 43 B-24s from Okinawa bomb Omura Airfield on Kyushu (one other bombs the airfield on Kikaiga-shima) and 50+ Okinawa-based B-25s hit Tokuno Airfield. Lost on a training flight is B-24M 42-42184 pilot 1st Lt. William Dean Yockey (MIA, 4 rescued).

HQ AAF (Twentieth Air Force): During the night of 9/10 Jul, 1 mining, 1 bombing and 4 incendiary missions are flown against Japan; 3 B-29s are lost.
Mission 256: 29 B-29s mine Shimonoseki Strait and the waters at Niigata and Nanao; 1 other mines other targets; 1 B-29 is lost.
Mission 257: 123 B-29s attack the Senai urban area destroying 1.22 sq miles 27% of the city area; 1 other B-29 hits an alternate target; 1 B-29 is lost.
Mission 258: 115 B-29s attack the Sakai urban area destroying 1.02 sq miles 44% of the city area; 3 other B-29s hit alternate targets.
Mission 259: 108 B-29s hit the Wakayama urban area destroying 2.1 sq miles 52.5% of the city area.
Mission 260: 129 B-29s attack Gifu urban area destroying 1.93 sq miles 74% of the city area; 1 B-29 is lost.
Mission 261: 61 B-29s attack the Utsube Oil Refinery at Yokkaichi with poor results; 1 hits an alternate target. 102 Iwo Jima based P-51s hit airfields at Itami, Hamamatsu, Aichi, and Washinomiya, claiming 1-0-0 aircraft in the air and 15-5 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost.

Tenth Air Force: The 20th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 8th Reconnaissance Group, moves from Nagaghuli to Dergaon with F-6s.

Fourteenth Air Force: 5 B-25s knock out 2 bridges in the Sinantien area; 14 P-51s and P-38s knock out bridges near Hengyang and Sinshih, damage a bridge near Chihsien, and attack shipping and railroad targets of opportunity around Hankow, Lukou, and Sinshih, China, and Dong Hoi, French Indochina. The detachment of the 1st Combat Cargo Squadron, Fourteenth AF, operating from Liangshan returns to base at Hsinching with C-47s.

WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: On Luzon, P-38s and P-51s fly ground support in the Iguig area of the Cagayan Valley and hit Sabangan. Nearly 50 P-51s from Okinawa are weathered out of a Kyushu sweep. On Formosa, B-24s bomb Okaseki Airfield, Toyohara Airfield, and Takao Airfield and A-26s attack Karenko. On Borneo, B-24s and P-38s supporting Australian forces, hit Japanese forces in areas near Balikpapan, Manggar, and Sepinggang; (Australian and Dutch forces complete the encirclement of Balikpapan Bay); other B-24s hit the Samarinda shipyards; and B-25s in support of operations in the Brunei Bay area bomb a Japanese-occupied area east of Beaufort. Unit moves: Headquarters, 348th Fighter Group and 340th Fighter Squadron from Floridablanca to Ie Shima with P-51s; ground echelon of 25th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Reconnaissance Group, from San Jose, Mindoro Island to Okinawa (air echelon is at Clark Field with F-5s); 310th Fighter Squadron, 58th Fighter Group, from Porac to Okinawa with P-47s; 418th Night Fighter Squadron, V Fighter Command [attached to 308th Bombardment Wing (Heavy)] from San Jose to Okinawa with P-61s.