Air Operations, Bismarcks
V Fighter Command P-39s attack targets of opportunity throughout New Britain.
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]Air Operations, CBI
BURMA- 490th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s attack bridges at Budalin and Songon, and a Japanese Army defensive area at Badana. 1 B-25 and 16 10th Air Force A-36s and P-51s attack a Japanese Army bivouac at Mogaung. 1 B-25 attacks a Japanese Army bivouac at Kumnyen. 4 P-51s attack rail cars near Myitkyina.
- 25 ATC C-46s on temporary assignment with the EAC Troop Carrier Command mount the first emergency aerial resupply mission on behalf of British 14th Army ground forces surrounded and beseigned in the Arakan region. Escort is provided by RAF 3rd Tactical Air Force fighters. Such missions will be mounted through the rest of the month.
| ]Air Operations, Europe
RAF BOMBER COMMANDEvening Ops:
- 12 Lancasters of No 617 Squadron, led by its new commanding officer Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire, attack the Gnome & Rhone aero-engineering factory at Limoges, France. This is a very important raid. No 617 Squadron had been experiencing difficulty in finding a useful role after the Dams Raid nearly 9 months earlier. Low-level precision raids on targets in Germany had been too costly. High-level precision bombing on small targets in France and Belgium had been unsatisfactory, despite marking by Oboe-equipped Mosquitos. For this attack, Cheshire is given official permission to attempt low-level marking of this target, which has many French civilian houses near by. The factory is undefended, except for 2 machine-guns, and Cheshire makes 3 low-level runs in bright moonlight to warn the French factory workers to escape. On his 4th run, he drops a load of 30lb incendiaries from between 50 and 100ft. Each of 11 other Lancasters then drop a 12,000lb bomb with great accuracy. 10 bombs hit the factory and the remaining one falls in the river nearby. The factory is severely damaged and production almost completely ceases. There are few if any casualties among the French people.
- No Lancasters are lost.
- 11 Mosquitos are sent to Brunswick and 8 to Elberfeld, there are 2 Serrate patrols, 39 aircraft are on Resistance operations and there are 19 OTU sorties.
- There are no losses.
| ]Air Operations, Marshalls
VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Maloelap and Mille atolls.
[ | ]Air Operations, New Guinea
- Nearly 50 V Bomber Command B-25s and A-20s attack targets in and around Alexishafen and Madang.
- During the night, V Bomber Command B-25s attack Toeal.
| ]Eastern Front
Troops of the 3rd Ukraine Front take Nikopol and wipe out a German bridgehead over the Dniepr, but most of the German defenders have managed to retreat. The area around Nikopol is important in the production of manganese.
The Germans trapoed in the Korsun Pocket refuse the surrender ultimatum and make unavailing efforts to link up with relief columns under von Manstein. The Luftwaffe drops supplies to the encircled troops.
SOUTHERN SECTORHeavy fighting rages around the Korsun pocket as the Soviets probe for weaknesses in the line.
[ | ]Burma
Marshal Hisaichi Terauchi, the Japanese Supreme Commander in Burma, foreseeing the Allied offensive, prepares to attack in force against the Indian province of Assam.
[ | ]Italy
In the Anzio sector the German attacks on the Carroceto and Aprilia salients continue, opposed by the British 1st Div. In the southern sector of the 'Gustav' line the bridgehead established by units of the British X Corps north of the Garigliano River reaches its maximum depth with the 46th Div dug in on a huge area northeast of Castelforte. The US II Corps begins a powerful new attack to reach highway No. 6, the Via Casilina.
[ | ]Images from February 8, 1944
Italian Refugees near Acquafondata, Italy, 8 February 1944 |
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A 14-Year Old Girl is Receiving Medical Attention near St. Elia, Italy, 8 February 1944 |
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Italian Refugees Being Evacuated in Acquafondata, Italy, 8 February 1944 |
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Re-Installation of a Camouflage Net over a French Artillery Weapon in Italy, 8 February 1944 |
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B-24D-15-CF Liberator Named 'Dorothy' |
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French Anti-Aircraft Crew in Cerro Grosso, Italy, 8 February 1944 |
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US Soldiers Practicing Morse Code in Caserta, Italy, 8 February 1944 |
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M4 Tank Stuck in the Mud |
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