TUESDAY, 24 JULY 1945
Twentieth Air Force: 7 missions of 625 B-29s are flown against targets in the
Nagoya and Osaka areas; 1 B-29 is lost. Mission 284: 82 B-29s attack the Sumitomo
Light Metals Industries propeller factory at Osaka; most of the machine tools
had been removed but the facility is completely wrecked; 4 others hit alternate
targets; 1 B-29 is lost. Mission 285: 81 B-29s hit the Kawanishi Aircraft Plant
at Takarazuka destroying 77% of the plant; 3 others hit alternate targets. Mission
286: 153 B-29s hit the Osaka Arsenal and Kuwana; the arsenal sustains additional
damage amounting to 10% of the original roof area; 9 others hit alternate targets; Mission 287: 66 B-29s attack the Aichi aircraft plant at Eitoku; the plant sustains
its heaviest damage of the war; 5 others hit alternate targets. Missions 288
and 289: 113 B-29s hit the urban are of the city of Tsu; 2 others hit alternate targets. Mission 290: 77 B-29s attack the Nakajima plant
at Handa destroying the principal assembly buildings; 1 B-29 hit an alternate
target. 91 P-51s from Iwo Jima, hit airfields and other tactical
targets at Hamamatsu, Suruga Bay, and other points in the Nagoya area.
USN: Task
Force 38 (TF-38) under the command of Vice Admiral J. S. McCain carrier aircraft attack Inland Sea shipping in the Kure area and airfields on
northern Kyushu. Lost is F4U Corsair 81319 (KIA, BR).
USMC: Marine aircraft from USS Vella
Gulf (CVE-111) attack positions on Pagan.
CHINA THEATER (AAF, China Theater) Fourteenth Air Force: Eight B-25s and
six P-51s pound truck convoys in the Hengyang area, hit river shipping near Pakonghow,
and damage a bridge and storage area and knock out AA positions at Puchi and
15 P-51s blast the Changsha area, destroying an estimated 28 warehouses and
8 fuel storage buildings. 80+ P-51s, P-38s, and P-47s over French Indochina and S and E China continue to disrupt the Japanese withdrawal, pounding dozens
of targets of opportunity at numerous locations.
WESTERN PACIFIC [Far East Air Force (FEAF)]: 100+ Fifth AF B-24s fly
their first strike from Okinawa, bombing the Chiang Wan Airfield N of Shanghai;
Seventh AF B-25s from Okinawa hit Wusung and Lunghua Airfields in the Shanghai area while A-26s and B-25s attack the Tachang and Tinghai Airfields; and fighter-bombers
hit shipping and targets of opportunity throughout the general area attacked
by the bombers. In Borneo, Thirteenth AF B-25s pound Jesselton Airfield and B-24s hit Oelin Airfield and Tabanio Airfield. Other B-25s hit Itu Aba Island, China.
Fifth AF fighter-bombers support ground forces in the Infanta and Leyban areas
of Luzon. Unit moves: 65th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 43d Bombardment Group
(Heavy), from Clark
Field to Ie Shima with B-24s; detachment of the 419th
Night Fighter Squadron, XIII Fighter Command, operating from Sanga Sanga, to base at Puerto Princesa with P-61s; 421st Night Fighter
Squadron, V Fighter Command, from Clark
Field to Ie Shima with P-61s;
822d and 823d Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 38th Bombardment Group (Heavy),
from Lingayen Airfield to Okinawa with B-24s.
USN: Lost on an anti-shipping sweep
along the west coast of Korea are PB4Y-2 "Gear Down (and Locked)" 59519 (MIA) and PB4Y-2 59747 (MIA).
Australian Army:
The 8th Infantry Battalion attack "Base 5" a series of Japanese bunkers and positions on the southern edge of Buoi Plantation in northern Bougainville. During the action, Private Frank J. Partridge single handedly attacked and neutralized a bunker and later earned the Victoria Cross (VC) for outstanding heroism and fortitude.
