Air Operations, Bonin Islands
21 11th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Chichi Jima.
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]Air Operations, CBI
BURMA- 8 10th Air Force B-25s attack bridges at 2 locations.
- 28 10th Air Force P-47s attack troops and supplies at 4 locations.
- 14th Air Force fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity in eastern Burma.
- In the first use of Azon remotely guided bombs in the theater, 3 specially equipped B-24s of the 7th Heavy Bomb Group’s 493d Heavy Bomb Squadron destroy a bridge at Pyinmana in 1 one-bomb pass apiece.
- 6 341st Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack the Kengtung area.
- 2 B-25s and 8 14th Air Force P-40s attack the Ishan area.
- 29 P-40s and P-51s attack the Puchi area.
- 17 P-40s attack the Tienho and White Cloud airfields at Canton, and the airfield at Whampoa.
- Fighter-bombers attack targets of opportunity in the Kweiyi area.
- P-51s of the 118th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and the 23rd Fighter Group’s 74th Fighter Squadron down 10 Ki-43 'Oscar' and Ki-44 'Tojo' fighters over the Tienho airfield at Canton between 0910 and 1000 hours.
- 51st Fighter Group fighter-bombers attack Vinh Yen.
| ]Air Operations, East Indies
FEAF aircraft mount small strikes against targets on Borneo, Celebes, and the Lesser Sunda Islands. 35th Fighter Group P-47s down 3 Ki-21 'Sally' bombers over the Djailolo airfield at 1730 hours.
[ | ]Air Operations, Europe
The 8th Air Force bombs rail targets at Coblenz, Bonn and Kaiserslautern. The RAF makes night raids on München-Gladbach and Bonn.
RAF BOMBER COMMANDDaylight Ops:
- 200 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 8 Groups attack the railway yards at Rheydt.
- 1 Lancaster is lost and 1 Mosquito crashes behind the Allied lines in Holland.
- 328 aircraft including 227 Halifaxes, 66 Lancasters and 35 Mosquitos are sent to bomb Opladen. 9 of the Mosquitos bomb 3½ hours before the main raid. The aiming point for the attack is the marshalling yards, but results are not known.
- 2 Lancasters are lost.
- 7 Mosquitos are on Oboe trials to Bonn, Eisenach, Frankfurt and Kassel (probably calibrating new Oboe stations in France and Belgium), 7 Mosquitos on 'siren tours' of Hamburg, Hannover, Münster and Osnabrück, and there are 37 Mosquito patrols and 32 RCM sorties.
- There are no losses.
GERMANY:
- Despite freezing fog in England that grounds many 8th Air Force heavy bombers, 201 1st Bomb Division B-17s, 172 2nd Bomb Division B-24s, and 202 3rd Bomb Division B-17s attack numerous rail targets in western Germany.
- 2 heavy bombers and 5 of 193 VIII Fighter Command escorts are lost.
- 163 VIII Fighter Command fighters mount a sweeping operation over western Germany.
ETO:
- 9th Bomb Division bombers attack communications centers, bridges, and targets of opportunity in western Germany and eastern Belgium.
- 9th Air kForce fighters and fighter-bombers support US Army ground forces in the Bulge battle area.
- 8th and 9th Air Force fighter pilots down 73 Luftwaffe aircraft over western Germany and eastern Belgium between 0003 and 2115 hours.
- 12th Air Force medium bombers attack lines of communications in and around Brenner Pass and two supply dumps near Bologna.
- XXII TAC P-47s help stem German Army counterattacks on the US 5th Army front and attack lines of communications in the Po River valley.12th Air Force C-47s drop supplies to Italian partisans in northern Italy.
- During the night, XXII TAC A-20s attack motor vehicles and light sources in the Po River valley and Brenner Pass area.
- 15th Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack marshalling yards at Bruck, Graz, Klagenfurt, Villach, and Wiener-Neustadt; an oil refinery near Vienna; a rail junction at Feldbach; and an ordnance depot at Linz.
- 29 15th Air Force P-51s strafe rail targets between Vienna and Linz.
- 44 15th Air Force P-38s bomb bridges.
- 15th Air Force B-24s attack lines of communication in Brenner Pass and rail bridges in northern Italy.
- 15th Air Force B-24s attack marshalling yards at Maribor.
- 494th Heavy Bomb Group B-24s attack Clark Field on Luzon.
- FEAF B-24s attack airfields at Matina on Mindanao, San Jose on Panay, and talisay on Negros.
- A 418th Night Fighter Squadron P-61 crew downs a Ki-61 'Tony' fighter near Ambulong Island at 2040 hours.
- During the night, 345th Medium Bomb Group B-25s attack shipping off San Fernando, Luzon.
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US 12th AIR FORCE
ITALY:
AUSTRIA:
| ]Air Operations, Japan
39 of 72 73rd Very Heavy Bomb Wing B-29s dispatched from the Marianas attack 2 aircraft factories in Tokyo. 13 of the B-29s attack alternates and targets of opportunity. In the heaviest air battles to date over Japan, more than 250 Japanese fighters attack the B-29s, but only 1 B-29 is lost to enemy action. 2 other B-29s are lost to mechanical failures.
[ | ]Air Operations, Pacific
US B-29s launch their 5th attack on Tokyo.
[ | ]Air Operations, Philippines
| ]Air Operations, Volcano Islands
US Navy warships and 48 VII Bomber Command B-24s bombard Iwo Jima. Also, 318th Fighter Group P-38s strafe the island. A 318th Fighter Group P-38 downs a Ki-45 'Nick' fighter near Iwo Jima at 1015 hours.
[ | ]Battle of the Atlantic
U-877 had been deployed on weather-reporting duty south of Ireland in connection with the German Army's Ardennes offensive. She is discovered by the Canadian corvette St Thomas. A Squid bomb is fired to keep the U-boat submerged while the asdic team obtained proper classification. Some thought to contact was fish but the ship's commander was persuaded otherwise and another Squid bomb is fired at it. It exploded directly over U-877's stern. The U-boat was forced to surface and was abandoned.
| Class | Type IXC/40 |
| CO | Kapitänleutnant Eberhard Findeisen |
| Location | Atlantic, NW of the Azores |
| Cause | Squid |
| Casualties | None |
| Survivors | 55 |
| ]CBI
BURMAIn the NCAC area, the US 124th Cavalry, upon completing its march to Momauk, begins reorganization for combat.
In the British 14th Army area, the XV Corps commander recommends that operations against Akyab be advanced to 3 January.
[ | ]Eastern Front
The final stage of the battle for Budapest begins. The city is now completely encircled.
HUNGARYThe Soviets capture Gran, encircling German and Hungarian units in the grandly titled 'Fortress Budapest'. The garrison comprises the Hungarian I Corps; 10th Infantry Div, 12th Infantry Div, 1st Armored Div (parts of), Hussar Div (parts of), Group Billnitzer (remnants of 4 assault gun battalions), 1st Parachute Battalion, Budapest Watch Battalion, 5 Royal Gendarmerie battalions, Budapest air defense units, 3 engineer battalions, the Budapest University Assault Battalion, the Royal Life Guard Battalion, an Arrow Cross unit (1,500 troops) and the Budapest police. German units comprise XI SS Mountain kCorps, 8th SS Cavalry Div, 22nd SS Cavalry Div, 13th Panzer Div, Feldherrnhalle Div, 271st Infantry Div, Flak Regiment 12, 4th SS Police Regiment and 4 infantry battalions. Altogether this force is 188,000 strong. An impressive number, but many are of dubious combat quality, especially the Hungarian units.
[ | ]Italy
15th ARMY GROUPUS 5th Army
The first echelon of the 10th Mountain Division arrives.
In the IV Corps area, the Germans force a further withdrawal of the 92nd Division, but elements of the Indian 8th Division pass through the 92nd and make patrol contact with the enemy.
[ | ]Iwo Jima
American aircraft and ships bombard the island, which is one of the next invasion targets. Two Japanese transports, Nos. 7 and 132, are sunk in the bombardment.
[]Pacific
The Japanese cargo ship Daicho Maru (1135t) is sunk by an accidental bomb explosion at Batavia, Java.
[ | ]Philippines
MINDOROJapanese aircraft begin a series of bombardments which go on until the end of December against the American positions on the island and their supply convoys.
LEYTEUS 8th Army
In the X Corps area, F and G Companies of the 34th Infantry, 24th Division, sail from Gigantangan Island to Taglawigan, on the northwest coast of the Leyte Peninsula, and land without opposition, taking Taglawigan. They then proceed by sea and overland to Daha, which is also secured. G Company moves southward by sea to the San Isidro area and goes ashore. The 1st Battalion, meanwhile, ordered to take San Isidro, moves overland from Calumbian to the heights overlooking the town.
In the XXIV Corps area, the 3rd Battalion of the 305th Infantry, 77th Division, takes the heights 600 yards ahead as it continues westward along the Palompon road against tenacious resistance. Thw 2nd Battalion is to move forward by water. The 1st Battalion, 305th Infantry, remains in the Palompon area, patrolling and awaiting the rest of the regiment.
[ | ]Western Front
The German 2nd Pzr Div is driven out of Celles some 3 miles southeast of Dinant by the attacks of British XXX Corps. This div has pushed so far forward and is so isolated that it is bound to suffer severely in the Allied counterstroke. Meanwhile the pressure of the US 1st and 3rd Armies on the flanks of the German salient in the Ardennes is increasing. A secure corridor out of Bastogne is cleared as trucks and ambulances speed in to assist the trapped Americans.[WE]
[ | ]Images from December 27, 1944
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