USAAF Fighter LOSSES 4-10-44 Greece ?

[David Pausey]

I have a report on A/f attacks on ELEUSIS,TATOI and KALANAKI in Greece anybody know which units attacked these A/F's ? did they lose two A/C ?

CHEERS
David

[Leendert]

David,

From the USAAF Chronology for 4 Oct 1944:

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 327 B-17s and B-24s, with
fighter escort, bomb the Munich W, Germany marshalling yard. In Italy, around
400 other heavy bombers, attack the rail line in the Trento-Mezzaselva area
covering 50+ miles (80+ km) of the Brenner route, Aviano Airfield, Avisio
viaduct, and railroad and road bridges at Pinzano al Tagliamento, Pordenone,
Latisana, Casarsa della Delizia, Mezzocorona, Ora, and San Dona di Piave. In
Greece, 39 P-51s strafe Tatoi, Kalamaki, and Eleusis Airfields. Other P-51s
escort Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force (MATAF) C-47s and fly
reconnaissance.


These P-51s were from the 332nd FG.



4 October 1944: The 332d Fighter Group took part in three missions, two to escort
C-47 transport aircraft to Sofia, Bulgaria and Bucharest, Rumania, and one to strafe
targets in Tatoi, Kalamaki, and Eleusis, Greece. In Greece, the group reported destroying
9 enemy aircraft on the ground. Captains Erwin B. Lawrence and Kenneth I. Williams,
both of the 99th Fighter Squadron, were reported lost or missing in the Athens area on the mission to Greece. (332d Fighter Group mission reports numbered 86, 87, and 88; Missing
Air Crew Reports 8981 and 8982). For their heroic actions on this date, the following five
members of the 332d Fighter Group each earned the Distinguished Flying Cross: 1st Lt. Samuel L. Curtis (100th Fighter Squadron);
1st Lt. Dempsey Morgan (100th Fighter Squadron);
Capt. Claude B. Govan (301st Fighter Squadron);
1st Lt. Herman A. Lawson (99th Fighter Squadron);
1st Lt. Willard L. Woods (100th Fighter Squadron).
(Fifteenth Air Force General Order 158 dated 10 Jan 1945; Fifteenth Air Force General Order 231 dated 15 Jan 1945; Fifteenth Air Force General Order 255 dated 16 Jan 1945; Fifteenth Air Force General Order 449 dated 31 Jan 1945)



Regards,

Leendert

[David Pausey]

Thank you very much Leendert for the info.
Regards
David