Air Operations, CBI

• 15 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s attack targets in the Kangaung area.
• 4 P-40s attack targets of opportunity between Kamaing and Nanyaseik.
• 459th Fighter Squadron P-38s down 3 Ki-43 'Oscar' fighters over the airfield at Kangaung at 1600 hours.

• 4 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack Chahsien and, with 4 14th Air Force P-40s, attack motor vehicle concentrations near Hsiangcheng.
• 8 P-40s attack tanks and motor vehicles between Loyang and Yenshih, and from Yehnsien to Paofeng.
• 8 P-40s attack Japanese Army troops near Luchou.

• 4 14th Air Force P-40s attack targets of opportunity at Lang Son.

• 35 10th Air Force A-31s attack the Bishenpur area.

• 4 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s sow mines in the Gulf of Siam near Sattahib.

Air Operations, Europe

The 8th Air Force dispatches 1,500 planes to Berlin. 9th Air Force Marauders and P-38s attack the Mézières-Charleville railway yards. 15th Air Force and RAF bombers attack the Bucharest railway yards by day and night leaving the target area in flames.

• 93 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos of Nos. 3 and 8 Groups are sent to bomb the airfield at Nantes. Accurate bombing hits the runways and hangars.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.
• 56 Halifaxes of No. 6 Group and 8 Pathfinder Mosquitos attempt to bomb a coastal gun position at St Valery near Dieppe. They just miss the target, but no planes are lost.
• 58 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group attack an ammo dump at Salbris. The bombing is accurate and causes a lot of damage, but 7 Lancasters are lost.
• 53 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group bomb the airfield at Tours and cause much damage.
• 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito are lost.
• 55 Lancasters of No. 1 Group bomb the airfield and ammo dump at Rennes. The force is not able to locate and mark the target accurately. Most of the bombs fall on a nearby village.
• There are no losses.
• 28 Mosquitos are sent to Leverkusen, 4 to Châteaudon, 42 aircraft lay mines in the Frisians and the Gironde River, 39 aircraft are on Resistance operations, and there are 5 RCM sorties and 12 Intruder patrols.
• 2 Halifaxes are lost dropping supplies on Resistance operations.

Wrecked Hangars and Facilities

Flattened Ammunition Dump

• 39 of 67 3rd Bomb Division B-17s dispatched locate the target, the marshalling yards at Liege, through heavy cloud cover. Unfortunately, all bombs miss the target.

• 283 1st Bomb Division B-17s and 231 3rd Bomb Division attack the city of Berlin with more thant 1,250 tons of bombs.
• 39 B-17s attack varous targets of opportunity.
• 147 2nd Bomb Division B-24s attack Munster.
• 165 2nd Bomb Division B-24s attack Osnabruck.
• 8 B-17s, 265 are damaged, 1 B-24 ditches and all but 2 crewmen are lost
• 754 USAAF fighters escort and support the heavy bomber missions to Germany.
• 4 fighters and 3 pliots are lost

• The 9th Air Force opens a bombing campaign by bombers and fighter-bombers against rail bridges serving the OVERLORD invasion area, especially those spanning the Meuse and Seine Rivers. Throughout the day, 9th Air Force fighter-bombers attack airfields and bridges within 130 miles of the invasion beaches in Normandy.
• Among other damag, 8 P-47s armed with two 1,000-pound bombs apiece completely destroy a bridge at Vernon following a low-level bombing run.

• XII TAC A-20s attack a dump.
• XII TAC fighter-bombers attack targets on Elba Island, and road and rail targets, several harbors, and other targets throughout central Italy.

• 15th Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack marshalling yards at Bucharest.
• 14th and 31st Fighter Group escort pilots down 9 Axis fighters over and around Bucharest between 1100 and 1210 hours.

• 15th Air Force B-17s attack a rail bridge in Belgrade.

Air Operations, Marianas

6 US Navy PB4Ys photograph Guam, after which 10 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-24 escorts bomb 2 airfields and a town. The aircraft all fly on to the Momote airfield on Los Negros.

Air Operations, New Guinea

• 5th and 307th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s, escorted by 49th Fighter Group P-40s, attack Biak Island.
• V Bomber Command B-24s attack coastal targets between Hollandia and the Wakde Islands, the Maffin Bay area, and Urarom.
• Many B-25s, A-20s, and V Fighter Command fighter-bombers attack numerous targets of opportunity between Hansa Bay and Wewak.
• 380th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s based in Australia attack the airfield at Urarom and reconnoiter Geelvink Bay.
• 49th Fighter Group P-40s down a D4Y 'Judy' dive bomber and 7 Japanese fighters over Biak Island between 1150 and 1210 hours.

Battle of the Atlantic

U-548 sinks the Canadian frigate Valleyfield 50 miles south of Cape Race, Newfoundland with the loss of 125 of her crew. 38 survivors are picked up by the Canadian corvette Giffard.

Burma

The Chinese and Americans block all the ways out of Ritpong, halting an attempt by the Japanese to withdraw during the night.

Eastern Front

At Sevastopol, the XLIX Mountain Corps is almost spent. The Soviet 51st Army attacks V Corps on the Sapun Heights and breaks into the Inkerman Valley.

With the XLIX Mountain Corps on the verge of collapse, the 51st Army unleashes its attack against the V Corps. After overwhelming arty fire the 51st floods forward, crushing the positions of the V Corps on the Sapun Heights. By mid-afternoon the German line has collapsed and Soviet troops break into the Inkerman Valley. The road to Sevastopol lies wide open.

India

14th Army counterattacks around Imphal lose force in the face of ferocious Japanese resistance.

New Britain

Units of the US 40th Div occupy Cape Hopkins Airfield without meeting any resistance.

New Guinea

The 163rd RCT is relieved from the Aitape operation to prepare for the attack on Wakde Island.

Pacific

• The US submarines Bonefish (SS-312) and Flasher (SS-249) damage the Japanese army cargo ship Aobasan Maru in the Sulu Sea off Zamboanga.
• The US submarine Bluefish (SS-312) sinks the German oiler Rossbach (5894t), bound for Balikpapan, south of Murotosaki, Japan.

Images from May 7, 1944

Attack on Gael Airfield, St Malo

A USAAF A-20 Havoc