FRIDAY, 20 JULY 1945
ALEUTIAN ISLANDS (Eleventh Air Force): Eight B-24s fly the heaviest and most successful
mission of the month, bombing hangars and revetments at Matsuwa Airfield. The detachment of the 11th Fighter Squadron, 343d Fighter Group,
operating from Amchitka with P-38s and P-40s since March 44, returns to Adak.
CENTRAL PACIFIC [US Army Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific (USASTAF)] Twentieth
Air Force: The 393d Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy), 509th Composite Group,
begins a series of 12 precision attacks over Japan for the purpose of familiarizing
the crews with the target area and tactics contemplated for the scheduled atomic
bomb missions; the strikes (on 20, 24, 26, and 29 Jul) are mostly against (or
near) cities previously bombed, in the general area of cities chosen for possible
atomic attack, and involve from 2 to 6 aircraft in order to accustom the Japanese
to sight of small formations of B-29s flying at high altitudes. 94 P-51D Mustangs from Iwo Jima are dispatched against targets, mainly airfields, at Kamezaki, Meiji Airfield,
Okazaki, Nagoya, Kagamigahara Airfield, Hamamatsu, and Komaki Airfield; they claim 1-11
Japanese aircraft on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost.
CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: Ten B-25s and six P-51s
hit truck convoys around Hengyang and Wuchang, and storage on an island near
Changsha, China, locomotive shops at Phu Thuong, and power plant and railroad
targets in the Vinh, French Indochina area. 50+ P-51s, P-38s, and P-61s disrupt
enemy movement and general withdrawal in Indochina and S and E China, attacking
river, road, and rail traffic, coastal shipping, supplies, and other targets.
The 115th Liaison Squadron, Fourteenth AF, moves from Nagaghuli to Chengkung,
China with L-1s, L-4s and L-5s.
WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: P-38s attack the town of Langkon,
Borneo. On Celebes Island, B-24s pound Togian Island and P-38s hit targets of
opportunity on the SW. B-25s hit Itu Aba Island, China and west of Palawan for the second consecutive day. On Luzon, A-20s and fighter-bombers
support the ground action in the Kiangan area and in the lower Cagayan Valley while B-25s and fighter-bombers hit Japanese positions in the Marikina and Infanta
areas. B-24s bomb an area S of Fabrica. Unit moves: The detachment
of the 419th Night Fighter Squadron, XIII Fighter Command, operating from Zamboanga with P-61s, returns to base at Puerto Princesa; 498th
Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 345th Bombardment Group (Medium) from Clark
Field to Ie Shima with B-25s. Lost is P-38L "Blood & Guts" 44-25600.
