Air Operations, CBI

• 15 490th Medium Bomb Squadron B-25s and 10th Air Force P-51s attack bridges and rail lines.

• 11 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Tourane and the airfield there.

Air Operations, Europe

600 bombers raid Helsinki between 6:00p.m. and 6:00a.m., starting fires visible for 400 km. 3 planes are lost in the raid.

• In the day's only air action in all of Europe for US air forces, XII Air Support Command P-47s attack ships near Velaluka.

Air Operations, Marshalls

41st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack targets in the Jaluit and Wotje atolls. 15th Fighter Group P-40 fighter-bombers attack targets in the Mille Atoll.

Air Operations, New Guinea

Of 7 V Bomber Command B-25s squadrons and 3 B-24 squadrons sent to attack the Lorengau airfield on Manus and the Momote airfield on Los Negros in the Admiralty Islands, only 2 B-24 squadrons are able to reach the targets through bad weather. B-24s attack Wewak while B-25s and V Fighter Command P-39s attack targets around Alexishafen and Madang. A-20s attack Angorum.

Air Operations, Pacific

200 Allied planes attack Rabaul destroying munitions dumps.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-91 is detected by the British frigate HMS Gore's asdic on February 25. She attacks and the U-boat goes deep. Two creeping attacks are made by Gore and the British frigate HMS Affleck early on the 26th. Two more attacks are made by the British ships as the weather deteriorates, but the noise of the submarine's tanks being blown. The U-boat is then sighted and after brief gun action, surrenders.

U-91

British Guiana, Home Front

The source of the Orinoco River is discovered by the crew of a USAAF plane in a mountainous gorge near the Brazilian-Venezuelan border.

Eastern Front

In the north the Leningrad Front and 2nd Baltic Front occupy Porkhov, east of Dno. The railway line between Dno, west of Staraya Russa, and Novosokolniki, west of Velikiye Luki, is completely cleared of Germans.

Prokhov falls to the 54th Army.

Italy

Gen Richard Heidrich takes over command of the Cassino sector, defended by the 1st Parachute Div. The task of garrisoning the town of Monte Cassino is given to the 3rd Parachute Regt under Col Sebastian L. Heilman.

Mediterranean

The US tank landing ship LST-349 sinks after running aground of the south coast of Italy. LCT-36 sinks after grounding off Naples.

Occupied France

The Resistance attack SOMUA armor plate works at Lyons. Over 30 plastic explosive charges fail to explode.

Pacific

The US submarine Gato (SS-212) attacks a Japanese convy en route from Palau to Hollandia and sinks the passenger-cargo ship No.3 Daigen Maru (5256t) about 140 miles northwest of Hollandia. Narita Maru rescues over 700 of the 1200 troops being transported in No.3 Daigen Maru.

Southwest Pacific

The Americans prepare to launch Operation BREWER, the invasion of the Admiralty Islands. A task force of destroyers under the command of Rear-Adm William M. Fechteler will land the invasion force, whose nucleus is the US 1st Cav Div under Gen Innis Swift, in the area of Momote airfield. The pre-invasion aerial bombardment, carried out by the US 5th Air Force, has to be scaled down on account of bad weather conditions.

Images from February 26, 1944

Allied Leaders

Mack NO 7-1/2-Ton 6x6 Truck