World Aviation in 1944 - Part 2

Part 1

15-16 June
Boeing B29 Superfortress aircraft of the 20th United States Army Air Force (USAAF) carry out their first raid against Japan from airfields near Chengtu in China. The raid is a night attack on the iron and steel mills at Yawata, Kyushu.

24-25 June
The Luftwaffe uses the Mistel composite aircraft for the first time. This initial night operation sees five composite aircraft, combining the Messerschmitt Bf109F and Junkers Ju-88A deployed against Allied shipping in the Seine Bay.

25 June
2,400 Allied bombers make a saturation raid on German positions at St Lo in France. The operation occurs in front of the American positions, in an attempt to 'soften up' the enemy prior to an allied breakout.

17 July
United States Army Air Force (USAAF) Lockheed P38 Lightnings use napalm for the first time, during attacks on a fuel depot at Coutances, south-west of St Lo in France.

25 July
The first jet aircraft combat takes place, when a German Messerschmitt Me262 from the experimental unit Ek262 intercepts a Royal Air Force (RAF) Mosquito reconnaissance aircraft from No.544 Squadron over Munich. The British plane managed to survive the encounter.

29 July
A battle damaged Boeing B29 Superfortress of the 20th United States Army Air Force (USAAF) lands at Vladivostok and is immediately seized by the Soviets, followed by another three, seized later in the year. The aircraft are carefully dismantled, examined and serve as pattern aircraft for the construction of the Tupolev Tu4 'Bull' aircraft.

2 August
The 1st Allied Airborne Army is formed under the command of Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton.

4 August
The first 'Aphrodite' mission is undertaken by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF). Radio-controlled Boeing B17 Flying Fortresses, packed with 9,072 kilos (20,000 pounds) of TNT, are launched against German V2 sites under constructionin the Par de Calais in France.

7 August
United States Carrier Division 11 is commissioned. This is the first division intended for night operations and consists of the carriers USS Ranger and USS Saratoga.

8-9 August
Mediterranean Air Forces begin dropping arms and supplies to the Polish Home Army in Warsaw.

14-15 August
Mediterranean Air Forces, with 2,000 aircraft based in Corsica, begin the invasion of southern France This is the start of over 4,000 operational sorties and the transport of more than 9,000 airborne troops. 400 gliders (sailplanes) are used in the landings.

16 August
Messerschmitt Me163 rocket interceptor fighters are used operationally for the first time, to make attacks on Boeing B17 Flying Fortresses of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) .

28 August
The 78th Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) claims the destruction of the first Messerschmitt Me262 to be shot down in combat.

1 September
Germany begins the launch of V1 rockets against targets in Europe.

5-6 September
An unsuccessful German attempt to assassinate Stalin, Operation Zeppelin, begins. A task force flies from near Riga in Latvia to a point near Moscow where the Arado Ar232B transport aircraft they were using crash lands. The assassins drive off by motorcycle but are soon caught by Soviet security authorities.

8 September
Two German V2 ballistic rockets land in Paris and, later in the day, the first V2 launched against England lands at Chiswick in West London. Two people are killed and several injured.

17-26 September
In an attempt to secure bridges over the Maas, Waal and Lek, Allied paratroopers land at Arnhem, Eindhoven and Nijmegen. The operation is only a partial success as the British 1st Airborne Division is defeated at Arnhem. 2,200 survivors are evacuated but 7,000 are left dead or prisoners.

10 October
A Messerschmitt Me262 is shot down by the 32nd Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF).

23 October
The Battle of Leyte Gulf begins and the Japanese introduce Kamikaze suicide attacks, which sink the light carrier USS St Lo.

25 October
The Battle of Leyte Gulf ends, marking the end of the Japanese fleet as an effective fighting force. Japan lost 3 battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, 10 cruisers and 11 destroyers during the battle and the Americans lost 3 aircraft carriers, 3 destroyers and a submarine.

27 October
The 9th Fighter Squadron of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) operates from Tacloban airstrip, in first American air operations from the Philippines since 1942.

1 November
A United States Army Air Force (USAAF) F13 reconnaissance variant of the Boeing B29 Superfortress aircraft becomes the first American aircraft to fly over Tokyo since the Doolittle raid of 1942.

3 November
The Japanese 'Fu-Go Weapon' (balloon bomb) offensive against the USA begins.

24 November
88 Boeing B29 Superfortresses of the 21st United States Army Air Force (USAAF) Bomber Command make the first major bombing attack on Tokyo from the Mariana Islands.

December
The first Soviet turbo-jet TR1 (VDR3) completes its official bench running tests.

7 December
USS Chourre is commissioned as the first United States Navy (USN) aviation repair ship.

7 December
The Convention on International Civil Aviation is signed in Chicago.

17 December
The 509th Composite Group of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) is formed in Utah, to carry out United States atom bomb operations.

17 December
Major Richard Ira Bong, the United States Army Air Force's most successful fighter pilot of the Second World War, scores his 40th and final victory.

18 December
The first vertical launch of the German Bachem Ba349 Natter takes place. The aircraft is intended for operational use as a manned, vertically-launched rocket-powered interceptor, but this first flight is un-manned.

21 December
General Henry H. Arnold becomes General of the Army. He was the first American air officer to hold this five star rank, which had only been created by legislation signed on 15 December by the United States President Roosevelt.

Part 1