Air Operations, CBI

• 7 10th Air Force B-25s attack Hsenwi.
• 30 P-47s attack several occupied towns and ammunition dumps and the town area at Myothit.
• 13 P-47s attack the Katha area.
• 7 P-47s attack a rail bridge at Nansiaung.
• 7 P-47s attack a bivouac at Pinwe.

• More than 40 14th Air Force P-51s and P-40s attack river traffic, communications targets, troops, and buildings in east-central China.
• 10 7th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s transport fuel from India to China.

Air Operations, East Indies

• FEAF B-24s attack Menado.
• B-25s attack oil stores at Boela.

Air Operations, Europe

• 341 aircraft including 222 Lancasters, 84 Halifaxes and 35 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 8 Group bomb in the Calais area again. The target areas are covered by cloud, but the Master Bomber brings in the planes below the cloud to bomb visually. The attacks on the German positions are accurate.
• 1 Lancaster is lost.
• 96 Halifaxes, 71 Lancasters, and 8 Mosquitos of Nos. 6 and 8 Groups attack the Ruhroel AG synthetic oil plant in the Welheim suburb of Bottrop. The target is almost entirely cloud-covered and most of the bombing is aimed at Oboe skymarkers, although a few aircraft are able to bomb through small breaks in the cloud. Explosions and black smoke are seen.
• There are no losses.
• 171 aircraft of Nos. 6 and 8 Groups attempt to bomb the Sterkrade oil plant. In the aircraft total are 143 Halifaxes, 21 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos. Only 83 aircraft bomb the main target, through thick cloud. 53 aircraft bomb alternative targets, most of them aiming at the approximate position of Duisburg.
• There are no losses.

• 73 Halifaxes are on fuel-carrying flights, 5 Hudsons are on Resistance operations, and there are 6 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.

• 271 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos. 1 and 5 Groups are sent to Kaiserslautern, the only major raid on this city during the war.
• 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito are lost.

• 46 Mosquitos are sent to Kassel, 6 to Aschaffenbyrg and 6 to Heilbronn, and there are 27 Mosquito patrols and 12 RCM sorties.
• There are no losses.
• German planes try but fail to destroy the Nijmegen bridges.

• 163 8th Air Force B-24s transport fuel to an Allied base in France.

• 421 1st Bomb Division B-17s attack the city of Cologne.
• 248 2nd Bomb Division B-24s attack a motor-vehicle factory at Kassel.
• 214 3rd Bomb Division B-17s attack an oil-industry targets at Ludwigshafen.
• 49 heavy bombers attack various targets of opportunity.
Heavy, aggressive Luftwaffe fighter opposition resultes in the loss of 28 heavy bombers, including 26 of the 37 B-24s in the 445th Heavy Bomb Group formation, the result of not having joined with any larger formation
• Escort for the heavy bombers is provided by 640 VIII Fighter Command fighters. The escort pilots down 31 Luftwaffe fighters during the bombing mission.
• 2 fighters are lost

• 9th Air Force fighter pilots down 5 Luftwaffe fighters over German between 0940 and 1655 hours.

• XII Fighter Command fighter-bombers are able to mount a limited number of missions against troop concentrations, defensive emplacements, and rail and road targets.

Air Operations, New Guinea

V Fighter Command P-40s attack the airfield at Waren, Kokas, Waren, and shipping off the Vogelkop Peninsula.

Eastern Front

The 13 armies of the Leningrad Front and the 3 Baltic Fronts force the German Army Group North back into the defensive perimeter around Riga, which is powerfully fortified. German resistance on the Estonian mainland is largely over. The Germans still retain a narrow corridor back into East Prussia. The Soviets land on Vormsi Island just west of Haapsula.

In Hungary there has been heavy fighting around Cluj for several days because of German counterattacks. These battles continue. The Russian 57th and 46th Armies prepare to advance on Belgrade from Bulgaria and Rumania.

Units of the 8th Army land on Vormsii Island and quickly overrun the island. The 13th Air Army provides support.

The Germans launch renewed attacks against the Polish forces in the Zoliborz district and Kampinos Forest. The Poles attempt to push south of the forest and break out.

Italy

In the IV Corps area, TF 92 makes substantial progress up the Serchio valley and takes responsibility for the zone of the 24th Guards Brigade, which is to assist in the drive up Highway 6620. A South African 6th Armored Division column, moving along Highway 64, reaches Collina.

In the II Corps area, the 34th Division continues to advance slowly on the left flank of the corps against strong opposition. The 91st Division begins an assault on Monte Oggioli and makes slow progress with the assistance of supporting weapons and aircraft. The 85th Division reaches the crest of Torre Poggioli and clears Sambuco. The 88th Division takes a hill dominating Highway 937 on the left, Castel del Rio in the center, and Monte Battaglia, the key feature on the road to Imola, on the right. The 2nd Battalion, 350th Infantry, establishes itself on Monte Battaglia and soon undergoes the first of a series of determined enemy counterattacks.

In the British XIII Corps area, the 1st Division seizes Monte Toncone, jeopardizing the enemy on Monte Gamberaldi. The Indian 8th Division begins a flanking maneuver against Monte di Castelnuovo. The 1st Guards Brigade returns to the 6th Armored Division from the X Corps front.

In the V Corps area, the Indian 4th Division is virtually halted by Germans on the ridges on the left flank of the corps. The 46th Division expands its bridgehead slightly and holds the gains against counterattacks. The 56th Division, finding further progress toward Savignano barred by the enemy on Castelvecchio ridge, patrols while awaiting reinforcements.

The Canadian I Corps issues instructions for future action of its troops upon relief, scheduled to begin on the 29th, by the Polish II Corps. It is subsequently decided to employ the Polish II Corps in another sector and keep the Canadian I Corps in the coastal zone. Forward elements of the corps are approaching the Fiumicino. San Mauro di Romagna and La Torre are cleared of Germans.

Pacific

• The Japanses coast defense vessel No. 10 is sunk by a topedo from US submarine Plaice (SS-390) in the East China Sea.
• The US submarine Apogon (SS-308) sinks the Japanese cargo ship Hachirogata Maru (1999t) in the Sea of Okhotsk off Shimushir Island.
• The US sumarines Flasher (SS-249) and Lapon (SS-260) attack a Japanese convoy in the South China Sea west of Luzon. Flasher sinks the army transport Ural Maru (6374t) and damages the merchant tanker Tachibana Maru. Lapon sinks the merchant tanker Hokki Maru (5599t).

Palau Islands

On Peleliu the 321st Inf, supported by the 7th Marines, attacks the enemy pocket on Mount Umurbrogol. The fire from the defenders, experienced veterans of the 14th Japanese Inf Div, which distinguished itself in Manchuria, opens wide gaps in the attackers' ranks. Units of the 5th Marines mop up on Mount Amiangal, while others reach the north point of the island, where they come under fire from enemy artillery in the islets of Ngesebus nad Kongauru.

On Angaur the US 322nd Inf begins the methodical liquidation of the Japanese in the Lake Salome area.

Sweden

Swedish ports are closed to German shipping.

United States, Home Front

Aimee Semple McPherson ('Sister Aimee'), charismatic and controversial evangelist, dies at the age of 53.

Western Front

The US XX Corps, 3rd Army, begins to attack the outer defenses of Metz. Much of 3rd Army's efforts will be devoted, perhaps wastefully, to this sector for some time to come.

Field-Marshal Montgomery presses Gen Harry Crerar, Commander of the Canadian 1st Army, to free the Scheldt estuary as quickly as possible.

Images from September 27, 1944

Humber Armored Cars

Sherman Tanks of 26th Armored Brigade

Gen Montgomery’s Command Tank

Northrup P-61 Black Widow

P-47 'Frenchie'

Peleliu Is Secured

Airfield Repair At St. Trond, Belgium

Polish Soldier Surrenders