18-12-1944 Flights

[Johnnie]

Seeking information of aircraft/suadrons flying bombing raids on
the 18-12-1944 against targets in the former Yugoslavia.

I have a photo of a German MT convoy being attacked at position
4235N 1925E which seems to suggest modern day Serbia.

Any information on units flying against tartgets on this day would be great.

Johnnie

[Alex Smart]

Hi Johnnie


Here issome info on Monday the 18th December1944.


"MONDAY, 18 DECEMBER 1944

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force):
560+ B-17s and B-24s hit oil refineries at Blechhammer N and S and Odertal,
Germany; Floridsdorf refinery at Vienna, Austria; Moravska-Ostrava,
Czechoslovakia; and Auschwitz, Poland; marshalling yards at Graz and Studenzen,
Austria, and Sopron, Hungary; the Bruck an der Mur, Austria industrial area,
and various scattered targets of opportunity; fighters fly escort and
reconnaissance missions.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS (Twelfth Air Force):
In Italy, weather again curtails operations; the XXII Tactical Air Command
fighters and fighter-bombers hit communications in the E Po River Valley,
scoring particular success against lines in the N part of the Valley in the
Padua region, and support US Fifth Army operations in the battle area S of
Bologna."

This is from the www.milhist.net pages

Hope it helps your search

night

Alex

[Schenck]

The given point is a road north from Podgorica, Montenegro. Regarding the date, units that could have operated in that area are probabbly RAF squadrons No 249 or No 213, together with Co-Belligerent's P-39s. I'll see if I can dig up anything more during weekend.

[Gielle]

At that time, also the Italian Cobelligerent Air Force, as member of the Allied Balcan Air Force, was conducting offensive recon missions over Albania and Montenegro, aimed to interdict rail and road traffic of German troops retreating north.

4, 5 and 51 Stormi operated from airfields located around Foggia with P39 Qs and Spitfires Mk V phased out by USAAF FGs, along with some Italian machines (MC 202s and 205s). There was also a bomber group, equipped with former SAAF Martin Baltimores.

It would be very interesting if someone had some deeper insight in ICAF operations for that day, providing that the attack occurred inside the action radius of Italian aircraft …

[Nick Beale]

The Daily Intelligence/Operations Summaries of Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Forces in the UK National Archives would give you a good lead on this and then you could follow up in the Balkan Air force files (or individual squadron records if RAF units were involved).

The relevant files (from memory) would be in the sequence AIR23/6509 to AIR23/6512 but you can check that on the National Archives website.

[Boris Ciglic]

extract from the Summary of Balkan Air Force operations for period 18 - 23 December:
"On 18th December: Medium bombers attacked motor transport columns between Bioce and Kolasin. Mustangs and Beaufighters operating over the same area destroyed 24 motor transport and damaged a further 41. A force of 65 heavy bombers operated against motor transport on the Bioce - Klopoj road scoring many hits on vehicles and the road."

At that time allied units were heavily engaged in attacking retreating German motorized columns in Montenegro, claiming several hundred destroyed till the end of the month.