British Military Aviation in 1944 - Part 2

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19 March
Following Japanese Army attacks aimed at isolating British troops at Imphal and Tiddim, the Douglas Dakotas of No.194 Squadron RAF and twenty Curtiss C-46 Commando transport aircraft of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) airlifted a complete division to Imphal - a feat accomplished in 748 sorties.

Subsequently, during the siege of Imphal Allied transport units, reinforced by units despatched from the Mediterranean, successfully kept the garrison supplied until the siege was lifted on 22 June.

19 March
Allied air forces begin a comprehensive air interdiction campaign against enemy lines of communication in Central Italy (Operation Strangle). However, the continuity of the attack was hampered by bad weather; moreover, there was no concurrent assault by Allied ground forces. As a consequence, the logistical requirements of the German forces in Italy could still be met even though the campaign reduced the ability to transport supplies. Operation Strangle ended on 11 May 1944.

21 March
17 de Havilland Mosquitoes of Nos. 21, 464 and 487 Squadrons, with one camera-equipped aircraft of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Film Production Unit, attacked the Gestapo Headquarters in the Shellhaus building in Copenhagen. The six-story building was wrecked but, tragically, one aircraft crashed into a nearby school, causing heavy casualties.

24-25 March
Royal Air Force (RAF) prisoners in Stalag Luft III Prisoner of War Camp at Sagan in Poland stage a mass breakout. Using a tunnel codenamed Harry, 76 prisoners escaped before the camp guards detected what is going on. 15 of the Prisoners of War were recaptured and returned to the camp, but the escape so incensed Hitler and Himmler that 50 others were handed to the Gestapo following their recapture and were subsequently shot in cold blood. Those murdered included the leader of the escape, Squadron Leader Roger Bushell. 8 PoWs were detained by the Gestapo and sentenced to death but were not shot. 3 prisoners succeeded in evading the massive German manhunt and escaping to neutral territory. This exploit later served as the inspiration for the film The Great Escape.

Post-war, RAF war crimes investigators traced and brought to trial 18 former members of the Gestapo responsible for the murders and two others committed suicide rather than face trial. 14 of the 18 accused were found guilty and hanged, 2 were sentenced to life imprisonment and two received sentences of 10 years.

24-25 March
In the last major raid of the 'Battle of Berlin', 811 aircraft of RAF Bomber Command attack the German capital. However, an extremely powerful north wind affected the manner in which the attack was conducted. This wind carried the attacking force south, scattering the bomber stream and the target markers dropped by the pathfinders. As a result no fewer than 126 towns and villages outside Berlin were bombed in error.

Nevertheless, during the attack the south-western suburbs of the city were heavily damaged. Attack aircraft on the return leg of the mission were forced to fly over some of the most heavily defended areas of Germany and casualties were heavy with 72 aircraft lost. Although comparatively small numbers of de Havilland Mosquitoes from No.8 Group's Light Night Striking Force would mount frequent raids on the German capital throughout 1944, Berlin would not be attacked again by the main force until the night of 14-15 April 1945.

30 March
A posthumous Victoria Cross is awarded to Pilot Officer C.J. Barton for his actions during the mission to bomb Nuremberg. Barton's aircraft was a Handley Page Halifax (LK797 'E') of No.587 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command.

30-31 March
RAF Bomber Command suffers its heaviest losses during a single raid. On the night in question, 795 aircraft (572 Avro Lancasters, 214 Handley Page Halifaxes and 9 de Havilland Mosquitoes) were despatched to attack the city of Nuremburg. Although the raid fell within the date of the normal moon stand-down period, it was initially planned on the basis of an early meteorological forecast of high-level cloud cover. However, this forecast was incorrect and the bomber stream had to struggle to and from the target in bright moonlight. Moreover, all deception attempts failed to confuse the Luftwaffe nightfighter control network as to the identity of the target. As a consequence, the attackers were faced with intense nightfigher opposition.

95 aircraft (64 Lancasters and 31 Halifaxes) were lost, a casualty rate of 11.9%. Moreover, the raid was a failure, with some 120 aircraft attacked Schweinfurt, 50 miles north-west of Nuremburg, in error due to incorrectly forecast winds and those that reached the target inflicted little damage on the city. A total of 545 British, Commonwealth and Allied airmen were killed during the course of the raid.

5 April
Japanese troops besieged the garrison of Kohima in Burma - some 2,500 men - in a triangular area some 700 yards by 900 yards by 1,700 yards. During the two-month siege, all supplies for the defenders were air-dropped by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Force (USAAF).

14 April
Allied strategic bombing forces in the North-west European theatre are placed under the control of the Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, for operations in support of the invasion of Europe (Operation Overlord).

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