Air Operations, Carolines
- Carrier aircraft from Task Group 58.2 and 58.3 attack various targets in the Palau Islands.
- Carrier aircraft from Task Group 58.1 attack and photograph Fais Island, Ngulu Island, and the Sorol, Ulithi, and Yap atolls.
- FEAF B-24s attack the Woleai Atoll.
- VII Bomber Command B-24s attack the Truk Atoll.
- A VF-1 F6F downs a B5N 'Kate' torpedo bomber at sea at 1220 hours.
- Carrier-based F6Fs down 6 Japanese fighters over the Palau Islands between 1515 and 1615 hours.
| 
]Air Operations, CBI
BURMA- 24 10th Air Force P-51s and P-40s attack targets around Kamaing, Myitkyina, and Mogaung.
- 24 308th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Yoyang.
- 51 14th Air Force P-51s and P-40s attack troops and transportation targets at or near Chaling, Changsha, Hengyang, Siangsiang, Siangyin, and Sinshih.
- 11 fighter- bombers support Chinese Army ground forces on the Salween River front.
- 5th CACW Fighter Group P-40s and a 23rd Fighter Group P-40 down 6 Japanese fighters near Yochow at 1545 hours.
| ]Air Operations, East Indies
- British Navy warships bombard the Sabang naval base off northern Sumatra, and British Navy carrier aircraft attack airbases in the Sabang area.
- During the night, 63rd Heavy Bomb Squadron SB-24s attack targets on Ceram and Halmahera.
| ]Air Operations, Europe
The 8th and 9th Air Forces drop 4,000 tons of bombs on the German defenses in a small area near St Lô.
RAF BOMBER COMMANDDaylight Ops:
- 94 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos of No. 5 Group attack an airfield and signals depot at St Cyr. The bombing is accurate, but 1 Lancaster is lost.
- 81 Lancasters, 11 Mosquitos and 1 Mustang of Nos. 5 and 8 Groups attack 2 launching sites and the Watten storage site. All targets are bombed successfully.
- There are no losses.
- 412 Lancasters and 138 Halifaxes continue the attack on Stuttgart on the second of the 3 raids.
- 8 Lancasters and 4 Halifaxes are lost.
- 135 aircraft including 114 Halifaxes, 11 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 4 and 8 Groups attack the Krupp oil refinery at Wanne-Eickel. Only a few bombs his a corner of the refinery and production is not affected. Other bombs hit the south-eastern part of Eickel, destroying 14 houses and killing 29 civilians, 4 foreign workers and 3 prisoners of war and causing production at the Hannibal coal mine to cease.
- There are no aircraft losses.
- 36 Lancasters and 15 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 8 Groups bomb 3 launch sites and succeed in destroying the launching ramp at the Bois des Jardin site.
- There are no losses.
- 21 Mosquitos are sent to Berlin, 15 to Mannheim and 6 to Somain, 4 Halifaxes lay mines off Brest, 5 Halifaxes are on Resistance ops, and there are 37 Mosquito patrols and 28 RCM sorties.
- 1 Mosquito of No. 100 Group is lost.
FRANCE:
- Operation COBRA begins when, between 0938 and 0957 hours, eight 9th Air Force fighter groups, attacking at three-minute intervals in groups and squadron columns, bomb and strafe an area 250 yards wide by 7,000 yards long just to the south of the St.-Lo-Periers road. When all 9th Air Force fighters complete their attacks, 1,503 8th Air Force B-17s and B-24s flying at right angles to the front lines, drop 3,300 tons of bombs in an area 1 mile wide nad 5 miles long. Then, between 1100 and 1118 hours, immediately following the departure of the heavy bombers, seven 9th Air Force fighter groups sweep the eastern and western extremities of the target area. Meanwhile, the US 1st Army ground offensive begins at 1100 hours. Between 1132 and 1223 hous, as the last ot the second wave of fighter-bombers depart, 580 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s from eleven groups saturate the target area with 260-pound fragmentation and 500-pound high-explosive bombs. In all, more than 4,000 tons of bombs are dropped from low level in an area occupied by just one German Army division. However, bombs dropped early by 42 B-26s from one group kill 102 and wound 380 US soldiers.
- 2 fighters are lost with their pilots
FRANCE:
- 8th Air Force heavy bombers support Operation COBRA by attacking German troop concentrations around Montreuil. The German troops are rendered immobile and the ground assault is a success.
- 5 heavy and 1 medium bomber are lost
- 77 VIII Fighter Command P-47 fighter-bombers led by 1 droopsnoot P-38 attack a fuel dump at Fournival/Bois de Mont.
FRANCE:
- Between 1135 and 2104 hours, 9th Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers, operating at group strength, aggressively patrol the COBRA battle area--as far as Amiens, Ghent, and Laval--attacking all manner of on-call targets and targets of opportunity.
- During the afternoon, four IX Bomber Command bomber groups attack bridges spanning the Loire and Seine Rivers.
ITALY:
- 12th Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack numerous bridges in northwestern Italy.
- XII TAC A-20s attack rail lines and a storage dump.
- XII TAC fighter-bombers attack lines of communication through the Po River valley.
- During the night, XII A-20s attack roads and motor vehicles.
- 33 82nd Fighter Group P-38 fighter-bombers and 34 31st Fighter Group P-51 escort fighters taking part in the latest FRANTIC mission attack the Mielec Airdrome, 120 miles west of Lwow, where they destroy 12 Axis fighters on the ground and down 3 in the air. While returning to bases in the Soviet Union, the P-51ss destroy and German Army truck convoy and down 27 of 44 Ju-87 dive-bombers encountered along the way.
AUSTRIA:
- 420 15th Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack an armored vehicle factory at Linz, the marshalling yard at Villach, and targets of opportunity elsewhere in Austria.
- Escort pilots of the 1st, 52nd, and 325th Fighter Groups down 13 Axis fighters over Austria between 1055 and 1220.
- 21 bombers and escort fighters are downed by as many as 200 Axis fighters
| ]Air Operations, Marianas
318th Fighter Group P-47s attack Pagan and support US Marine Corps ground forces on Tinian.
[ | ]Air Operations, New Guinea
5th Air Force bombers, fighter-bombers, and fighters attack Japanese Army troop concentrations and other targets in the Wewak area.
[ | ]Battle of the Atlantic
- The US small seaplane tender Matagorda (AVP-22( rescues all 67 survivors of the US freighter William Gaston (7177t), sunk on July 22 by U-861 about 150 miles southeast of Florianapolis, Brazil.
- The US freighter Robin Goodfellow (6887t) is torpedoed and sunk by U-862 while en route from Cape Town, South Africa to New York. All hands, 41 crewmen and 27 Armed Guard sailors, perish. [
| ]Carolines
Over the next 4 days 2 carrier groups from TF 58 attack Palau while a third sends its planes against Yap, Ulithi, Ngulu, Tais and Sorol. Mitscher is in command. The carrier planes sink the Japanese minelayer Sokuten near the Palau Islands.
[ | ]Diplomatic Relations
Talks begin in Washington between British and United States representatives on arrangements for the control of oil production and trade in the postwar world.
[ | ]
Eastern Front
Troops of the 2nd Baltic Front cut the road between Dvinsk and Riga, in Latvia. The 1st Ukraine Front surrounds Lvov, while 4 Russian armored columns converge on Brest-Litovsk.
NORTHERN USSRThe Soviet Narva Operational Group assaults III SS Panzer Corps around Narva as the 2nd Shock Army launches a support attack, which forces the Germans out of the town toward the so-called Tannenberg Line. The forces of the 2nd Baltic Front are nearing Daugvapils.
POLANDThe 1st Belorussian Front is tightening its grip on Brest-Litovsk, although the Germans are mounting counterattacks. The Soviet 2nd Tank Army is now on the Vistula near Deblin, followed by the Polish 1st Army.[MORE]
[ | ]Germany, Home Front
Goebbels is appointed Reich Plenipotentiary for Total War and new decrees are issued cancelling vacations for women involved in war work.
[ | ]Indian Ocean
In Operation CRIMSON Adm Sir James Somerville's British Eastern Fleet attacks the Japanese naval base at Sabang, Sumatra. First planes from the carriers Victorious and Illustrious are sent against the airfield, the 4 battleships along with cruisers and destroyers move in closer to shell the harbor and oil installations causing severe damage.
[ | ]Italy
The British XIII Corps continues to advance in the direction of Florence.
[ | ]Marianas
At least 7 attacks by the Japanese prevent the Americans from joining their beachheads on Guam. Some 3,500 Japanese soldiers are killed during the furious fighting, which is at its fiercest before the northern beachhead. Other attacks are driven off among the marshes of the Orote peninsula. Units from the southern landing force are also fighting on the Orote Peninsula.
After repulsing Japanese counterattacks during the early hours, 2nd and 4th Marines advance carefully to the south on Tinian. They occupy 2 of the island's 4 airfields.
[ | ]New Guinea
A vigorous counterattack enables the troops of the US 127th Inf to open a gap for the surrounded units of the 112th Cavalry to return to the American lines.
[ | ]Western Front
After an effective air bombardment Operation COBRA begins aiming at an advance by the American troops toward Coutances, southwest of St Lô. The main attack just west of St Lô is made by Gen Lawton Collins' VII Corps with VIII Corps on their right and XIII Corps to the left. There is a massive preparation, especially from the air. Carpet bombing is employed for the first time. More than 3,000 planes are involved including 1,500 heavy bombers from 8th Air Force. The aircraft drop 5,000 tons of bombs, plus napalm. Some of the bombers aim short and cause many casualties including US 1st Army Group Commander Lt-Gen Lesley J. McNair up to observe the operation. Despite this both VII and VIII Corps make good progress. The British attacks around Caen have contributed to draw away the German tank forces and reserves. South of Caen the Canadian troops are attacking along the road to Falaise but are meeting heavy resistance. A 3 km advance is made despite the strong resistance.
[ | ]Images from July 25, 1944
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