r • • I

-
-1",'r-" ." • •
.=.~';.;~Jo~:;fl·l: .
.. . .' ..
.

,
" .

•
,

••
I 1 MAY 1945

• .,.. ' ••• t

.......
. : ':.:":;:~
..-
"-
 XXI BOMBER COMMt.N::'

HIGHLIGHTS FOR APRIL

,."."" .." c"...~'" "..{JUJT"~

.t A'''',
ite4l1"""~ nt. lUi"'-ffU:J
,
IrQ""""""
lit "'~"I<
<:H~"'IC"l ", • ."
J1~ ;'»"'J JJ i, ;)"N!"G~(I
,
"1,"'4./"'''' A/< a.A ....
J "',.",.
nJ TQ.~~ I()~~ J~M'''{;)

' " ,5"11.50 ;'''''''~A·tI AI"fld 0 ''''~TAtllfrKJN';:' THII ""W'" ~}c P.A" ~
",11. Ill, 'II, itt IA Z •• ~T. za.::". t<J1/,,,,( J 1>1''/,. •
,CT}I W"';, 'f£.~ A$.fll J:" '.).v,) :J~" ....~",,('P
'ilrACHI
'A Al'f"
if:," t~(il"t "'''''1f

- 4"" ......

r'C/fI,,""'.
JO """,
:,
s U. rASf;)

A'ill'f'ilrT

~.),..,) ~'n£lIsr"
, "•
:.,':1:'1",,,,,

."'AK"/Ir..,..', './Mr
,-,.,/ "Pil"
.. ~it •./.~ •• ";< .u/UrutM"

rOILI'U('II/!,."",IIIi)I/>A.4<oO'>
}'IS "~'.

/
I .,es _ 5 'J.S"""tlC:,..JAIIL£5

"",><-!}/J'" £'1(illvt: p<.,,,, I' /(,1."",,$,,-' u"""NIIIIc,,"

'S '1'111{
f '•.
I " "';l"T.:JHS
" '2 ,:. /l1(J'U JA,oIJl(iC [ ISOil 1<1.v.5 3. A :J(; ",nt's
I
Ii"MAM" "5/1 tJ"'~II'" ARrA
se ""'"
.JV .. Tl: .. } . U,., L~;)

MIN'N<1 M'SS4J,VS :."',U""" Af("Jo~Ll'UfJo'r

I,~•.1. ~ JZ ",'"ut .l A""
zsc; T<>"'~ IU.. LJl5~D ::J,rC~J f';'. ""J01A'UlJ
£/I':E'~LN,' 1l,.)(J£T.)

3286 IlO,\\IlING SORTIES

FIGH~E.R SEA
90
PH070

39 5
:. !.ATl.,[p'
STRIKE.
SO~P'lf_S 58 .~IS510·l
50P,":"IE:S
~:"':'')QT
M S!lC""S
SE.,'l:l':1"
~"S'" ':H~S

*: 42 -I. OF APRIL EFFORT WAS DIRECTED AGAINST

AIRF!ElDS IN KYUSHU AND SHIKOKU

*: lOB rlOURS FLOWN PER ASSIGNED AIRCRAfT

*: 82 HOIJRS FLOWN PER ASSIGNED CREW

*: 6.8 :"ONG RANGE SORTIES PER AIRCRAFT ASSIGNED

*
i.6 -k OF AIRBORNE AIRCRAFT LOST

*: 93 -I_ OF AIRBORNE Ale BOMBED ALL TARGETS

*' 16.382 TQ:\IS RELEASED ON ALL TARGETS

33 RD SCU
 ... _-
XXI lJOI~ER CONM.\ND

M0 N T B LC~ ACT 1 V 1 T Y REP 0 R T

P,ooI STllENGTE OF 'rHE COl~lD

PAll!rll trsE OF AI:aCRAJ'T AND Cm::\TS

• PdT III

P":.'RT IV

P~V

PART VI
MAINTElW1'CE AS iT

..SOLTS
COST or MISSIONS
.At~·....CTS ti'SE

EFF!CTIVEUESS OF AIRCRAJ"II ON MISSionS

DE .H.UCBAFT

pm VII APPENDIX

•
Prepared i3y
33 rd Statistical Control Unit
 PJ.mI 1 - STUNGTR CD' T".cil: emil-LillI)

1. Movement of units

• All units Assigned or attachod to iieal.quartore XXI !lomber

Co•..rOla.!l.d and the Brd, 313th and 314.th iJombardoent tTings have now arriv-
ed in the Theater. with the exception of the 6a:Oth JOBb Squadron sche-
duled to reach Tinian in June and the 509th Cooposito Group in July,
and the 627th M.d G90th Chenlcnl. Co;;rooniee schoduled to roaah Guam in
Mq And June. All flight echelons of the 58th \:Ii!lG arc now in the
theater or B::lrOutO. ';Jut the tlovenont of f:,Tound personnol ulll not "us
eocploted until June. Ground perso~l of t .... o boob and tvo Bonice
groupe and t111l6 Hoadquarters of the }15th ViOlg arc nolr in placo, with
l:lOTltD8nt of personnel scheduled for coopletion 1)y 30 June. llbe 347th
Ssntee Group h now at Iva Jloe.. "'1th tba J48th So.n1oa Group .achD-
duled to arrive ai:lout 18 May.

2. Personnel Strenph

.1; the end of the oonth the litreugth of the Cor::JI.'lllnd in the
theater vaa 6915 officers and 35407 enlisted cent or a total of 43322
oompared to an ultioate strength of about 65,000. .

3. Aircraft a."1d Crev Strangth

M of 1 MaT. the Comoa.nd had 616 aircro.tt ar.d 770 crevs,

coapared to 482 aircr~ft and 619 crews es of I April and a projected
.treDgth of 10....4 very heavy aircraft and 1070 creve on 1 ll'evaDbor.
It 8hoUld be notad that this projectod atrello">th, which ia based on "
latast availao'e flow dP.te. actually indicatea a .~lar number of
cr0V8 than air.;raft. This is considerably different fron the two creve
per a.. igne~ a::rcraft ratio requostad. This ratio for 1 May was onl}'
1.2 to 1. .ac'tuel a.ircraft o.nd crOll strongth for 1 \<I.q vsa about lOP
1.'. thnn tbet anticipated froD in!orsatlon received at 1 April.

1 Mny cre~ .tre~h expresBod 1n tereB of potential Borties

(baaed on a 35 misSion ~our and fl Z;; 1055 rc,.t_&ae tba Ilt'!.:d;y "7o:l:.a:"_
Ual Sorties and Cro"yt Rotation.' dnted 5 Ma;r 1945) waS 13.792 compared
to 12.724 for the prdvious Donth. However, this waa an average of 19.5
potential aortiee per crow coonander co:npared to 21.3 for 1 April.
Potential Bortie invento~1ea still gcvo indica.tion of dropping 'barply
upon the begln!'l.1ng of rotation. The 73:od ll1Ub at 1 Nay 8howed a dill-
proportionately large percantaga of its crews 'lith 16-21 credit Bortles.
fh. 3l3th l/lng sl.:.ovcl! an even Ir..r6Qr percente.ge of ita orevs in the
10-15 credit sortie class. In part due to their short time in the
theater, the 314th Wing ea yet has sbo'lm no lavel1t'.b' out in it_ .or~1.e

•
ezper1ence. Leveling, of course, is necessary to prevent large out-
flow- 1n short period. with coneequent lnvantory decrease.. abdou.lf
the pres ant un.eTen nov of rep1acamenh tUl!;other with crew shortage.
and aaz1cum effort conditions Q&ke difficult the use of ~h discretion
1b .electiD6 vhich crews vill fly particular mi.,ions. It 1s clear,
bovner that; the. present rate ot operations cennot be Ill&.intained for
.. 10116 tgrm period unless the ratio of crm/s to e.illero.tt ill raised and
the erc,.." cr"Cit sorUe e~ri9ncc;; 103'.-(>100. to JlI'6T8n\ cUBp:aportionat£.-w
q lU'6Il wt.!lawta of c.O\I8 for rotation.

-2. .
 nK'_II. USE OF 5:29 AIRCRAFT AND CP.E.WS

1. I:ours2o::n :E."r B-29 Ait'Craft an::.. Crews

Hours flown per ~ircraft UIri cr~w deorea~cd ~lip'hLly in
frca the March recorO.,t. As ahO"lfn in the tablc! at th'J bot.tom
of the page} ~J~.~ hours nere
100 , - ~HO~U~RS~P::Ea~Ce!'lU.li~ ~ flown per assignbJ. c.lrcrr i't
t durilli the .:.lonth cocparvi. tl')
1l.4.9 haUl's l:urlng March. The
88. plump-d figure 1m3 110. D:-
~1·0 80.0 clU".41ng «.ircraft au::! i.ime of
so the 58th Bomb ~ir~} which ~R8
not scheduled for operations
hut fieri" it:J oun aircraft the
last fe" oay:; 01 tl':r.e zwnth,
60 the April fil:.ure \'16.E ..t..08.5.
10% of ~l.p:rll flying time was
utlli:Kd fo1' training purposes
compared to 9% in ~.arch, 21%
in Fao:'uarj «nd I7/. in Jan-
U3J'y.
A cC:i'lpnrison of
i11ngs 5ho(l~ tLo J1.4th Wing
ulth 115.2 hours per aircraft,
the 731'11 ting ,dth U',..l azr
the Jl.>th with 100.1. 't'he
la.." l.l' utiliz;btlon rate of thG

•
31::th \Iing is confiroed by 11
lower Eorth rate (8{Je below) .
Thin \lUS cuur,atl in part b' the
fact thnt the 313th Wing hact un average of 641= of itl:! aircrdt out~ of .
ccmllssion during the I:lontoh CO::l.pared b ~Oj; for t.he 73:r<: .ilug urrl 38%
for the 3li.tb Ring. llJ.i;:: tm5 largely !'o01fle~ted in greater t.i.!:l.e out
for engine chc.ngc & maim£.!1Ilnce eni fer insl-ection. Th... 31Jth pulled
248 engioos ciurir..g t.h~ :D.ol:i.th ClXlpared to a:. for the 7J:.'"d fang ani
93 fo'" "hf:l 3l4th fling. '!'he cHsproporti(.Jr.o.tc ntmilic.r of pu.1h for
tho 3lJth'~iirig·TIa.;:; lfif'gely"d,Ui.'l to fJu:.JpeetCO,: !'blol'f-byt;q. "":
- • 0-

ElIIim Chntlge;, li: Malnternnce

P.....
Battle ~
Other Maintenance
Inspection

•
TOL'AL
NOV 28.J1
lliC 37.1.3
JAIi -4.(:·50
PD 47.!JJ
YAII 86.27
JPII ".71
 2. sorties Per Aircraft ani Crew

SORTIES PEil Ale SORTIES PER CREri

8r::--....:....::.::....-;;~c..::.....--, 6,...-.:..:.:..:.:....:.-=7:.,r.:=----,
5
6
4

4 J

IlARCH APRIL ?tAReH APRIL

utilization of aircraft and cr~TlS expressed in terms of sorties

also showed 0. slight deCrea;3€. The Commam avenged 6.8 sorties per (lS--

I e1gned aircraf't in April compe.Tl.'<! t.o 7.0 in March, ani 5.3 sortios per

assigned cre" both months. The 73rd Wing achieved a record. high of 7.9

sorties p>l" aircraft s.J:ld 5.7 sorties pEr cre... compared to the Uarcb highs

of 7.4 and 5.5.

J. Other Uses of Aircraft

90 B-29 aircraft were airborne on lII~nther strike missitms dur-

inc April cOlDpared to 89 in March am n tOval of 405 to datE;. 91% were

errective compared to 94% for the previous month. Mechanical failure

was the sole renson for failure to complete these missions.

78 B-29 ani F-IJ aircraft were airborne during the month OD

e photo reoonnniasance and :tadnr scope missionq compared to 100 sorties for

March. This decrease was caused by less radar scope missions. 78~ of

the rccoonaisaance flights ani 100% of the radar scope fligh('8 WeT€! at-
fect.1'n ae: cc:.pnred to 7J~ and 92% in March. With the arrival of the

1st Photo Reconnaiasnnce Sq at the ero of April, i t was expectEd that the
m.ber of pIloto 8Ort1eS would be increased for the next Cew 1Il0ntha.

Other uses of aircraft for April showed 39 B-29 aircraft es-

cortiIIJ ttpter plarx:s for mvige.tional rom rescue aid, alii five sea

n
-4-

o.
 WI III,
--
w.lllI'EtiAWE AS IT AFTlr.'I'S USC OF AIRC!V\FI

, The continuation of the high utilization of aircro.ft dUE'l~

April, pnvious~ discussed, is itself evidence of J:Wintemnco effici-
eocy. In addition, the a1rcra.ft abort rata did not imronse but rema1D-
ed lfQbetontial1y unchanged {See port IV}. Still another factor liaS that
thia utilization wes maintained despite nn increase in the aircraft
duage rate to 17.1% of t'.1rcraft bcmbing compa..red to 8.9%, for March.
Am further, tho percE:int of airborne ah'C>:"L.ft which aborted for mechaD-
ieel reasons continued its stoEl.d;y decline. As shown in the chart belOW',
this per...:entage wns now otll.1 4.6%. a decrease of 14.4% since the begin-
nir.g of I38.jor operations to the Japanese mnlnJanL
The percent of nasignbd aircraft non-oporntional Q"aiting ports
roached record low of 1.3'; in April ccmparod to 4.2% in March and 4.5J
tl
%W;R~l=tc~CJrJ1'1l1} in Fobruary. Despite this, how-
20 ever, an anlysis of stock levels
(sea wSix Months Projection of
Combat Effort and Loglsticnl Re-
quirements," dated 15 April) re-
15 veals that operations may be
seriously hind~red in the near
future unless required stock
10 levols are iomediately estnblish-
...-0 t.o tnke cor£; of tho increased
combat effort.
The supply of angines,
5 how,Jver, Inll be sufficient to
ClOt. t our inc1"€nscd operatioml

•
tempo at. 1cnot through the Donth
o of S~ptcll1oor, 1945. The engine
J[)V IJE.r: J f. N FeD idAR APR re:q uirroatlnts have boe n followed
Qonthly and this proj action of
engine pulls is based upon the
past expericncl of this Coomand. n~e sbipl!lonts or those engines are
set up to pro'/';..d"l a tlC.X"'....m\ID bvel of 60 d.a.ys OpnrBS on bani am a mini-
mlD of llpproximat&ly 45 da.ys spares on lmn:L As of 30 April the average
hours on pulled cntines was 256, c...l:lpnru.. t, ~I \.Xl-'t:ct.e:cl lif!> of 300-320 brs.

R-PSO SPARh E.Jr.lNE REQUIREMEllI'S Mill SH!FtffiNt SCHEDULES

wq ~ JULY AUG SEPT OCT ~
Spo.r& Engines
Oil Iblld* 1508 1247 1555 1662 1937 1785
Est1ll&tcd ~no
Pulls 917 99, 1093 1225 1452 1376 8463
Engines Scheduled
for Delivel7** 6S6 ~ 1200 1500 1300 5956
KIwlac Sh1paent
ReqIl1re. . nts- 750 lU>9 1452 1408 1376 1431 1404 8990
-94 ~lJl ~92 -199

•
plus or Minus -252 -76
* Eetilllated spare Scrvic&:1b1e .t.nginc.· on Hand as of 1st of each month.
** Actual Sbipaa6DtS cCllllllitt,cd to this cO!lllllCm.
*** ftequirE:lD.onts based on lAO nying hours per average assignad aircraft
OD hnoo per month.

Al'lOther factor which ghr~5 every cvidl"lflC<:; of crHically hime:;--

1,. the coabat effort of the CCIlIlIlllro Wl:.S t.ho gro\ling IllO.1ntenarce backlog
at the Guam Air Ik:pot. During tht:} month t.his backlog gr€W frOID .il B-n
aircraft to 18 6-29 a.i..~crc.ft. ~'j..nce tho t:OlllmIlOO began operations 1:.11:t.
OCtober, the output of thE: depot r.as only been 18 B-29 aircrnft, nul :3
or those 1fUre roturrx:d to the Uoit....'<i Stntes ani J wer.... salvaged. At
the eld ot t.he month, the tlvernge.l-29 aircrclt on han:! at. tho r.:o:;..ot hn:
been thery for 11 dc.y~.

• -5-
 pm IV. IlI7ECT1VENESS OF liIlCRAFT ON M1551016

1. Percent of A1rborDa Aircraft Bombigg

9".2
==_-,
100 r _ _::.$...:llOIlB:;::;::;;IIIl=-.:Pc::R1IlARI 100 ,_...!:..=:::.;:::..:~

82.8 8).2
80 80

60 60

40

•
o ~:Ylf-:T::o;:+r~~+'JfLj
1) 73 J1J J14
MARCH APRIL ilARCH APRIL
The percent of airborne aircraft bombing primary aM UST

tarpt. was approx1m&tel,. the 88JDe for the Commard fur April as March.
84.6% boal.bed the primary in April compared to 84.5% in Karch, am
93.1% bcabed &lI7 tari\:et in both :nonths. The 13rd Wing had the b1&hos't.

percentages ani the 313th Wing the lowost, as shown in the above

grapba.

2. eauae' tor IIo~EttectiveDess

Cauael tor abort.s were also substaDtially the ~ 1n AprU

. . in March. 7.fY1. of airborne aircraft were non-E:ffective cOlDpared

too 6.~ for MaJ.'ch .txt 12.5% for February. ilarch am April abort.
bNak dwu u toUon:
March A2tl!
. . . .D1ca1 FUlur.. - EIciae ).0$ ).1$

. .cbaD1oal raUurea - other 1.611 1.611

rault'7 ar IMdtlq1aW 1Ia1Dt.eIll:ace
I.-peoUon to' Groure Crews 1.2$ 1.0$
"'IDnael Fail"... of Air Crews 0.7$ 0.611

U. . . .n &lid Other .'kAi 9...0!

Total 6.9% 7.0$
 1. D9,truction cf .1Q..'''.E~!:f a
During the mon~h the c.: .:. ~
da7l1ght Q.ttllck~ ngainst lnU.i ..... ~~~a.l.:: .. pc-r~nnned four ni"t.t and seven
ta k 1 t Vl..l·utl.! .,,OJ J .. t '" tar t thr
a t C 8 o.ga fIB urbnn (l'rec.s t'tu f1 . - ..1.......· g£: 3, t10 rt ght
tUODJ tho:.: CCGIIUBi conducted 63" ~: ,-,.: t mini~ missions. !n :-.dd-
or A2$ of thE' total sortte (jffo~Y
t1&lds in Kyushu ani tihikoku 1 0
/:u;", l...:".a,;,ks, toUline 1~9~ s....rties
.... 1nth ll.goihBt vo.rlc'.b Illr-
was the firat moDth in the biS~;up~r:aof tactical operations. This
proportion of the CCtlbat effort Y °di c Commard in which SUf'b a lnree
to tho aup~ort of tactical opt.ro.~ns.verted i'r(lll straugic ~bl~

As dE:ltaUed on tha "Hlghli ..... t n

th1~r&port., over 20 ~ G" S page at the btiglrm1ng of
DeatruetiOIl. to Intivi~ c miles of urOOn areAS were burned out.
prlorlt~.. targets YlnS sa follOfls:

6. Mltsubishi C,nglne Plant, Nagoya _ 6,2% d8ma€ed for a

total of 91~% to do.to.
b. Itorlyuma ~h£!Dical Plnnt - 73% of roof nt'e;}& d81t.:.~l.
c. Hodacaya l,,;hl::lmical IndUHtry - 59% damaget:i.
d. Shizuokn ~ircrnft Engioo PJant - 49% damaged.
e. Rlknjimtl. :.fusllshino Alc Flar..t - 44% damuged for a tutal
of 48% to date.
f. Tachilulri. Aircraft Co. ·--.. . 3ii· dc..mngcd •..
g. Hakajima Kouumi .I01.rcruft. t: o . _ 10% damaged.
h. Tachiarni Unchine Works - ]00% dl!1llD.ged.

. The deetruction llccaDplished by the 57 aircraft rrh"'.t.h }-8.!'t-

_.
iClp&tcd in night mining operations is :"lore properly evaluat~ri ~II
liKht or the mining ussions which folluwc.."C1. during the eo.rJy "'l"_"'t of
IIa.y when the CC£!OQ.l'.d dirt:ctcd 195 aircraft to mining operat,t....rs. ':'he
results of thi.!l lnrger affort in lotay £':"e DOt within tb6 scope ':)1' t.u!.s

The 1m sorties, or 42 per Cf-~t of the Canmn.nc{ls P"'I"'Tt,

wh1eb were directed 11"'. support of thl 1....ctica.1 oF-eru'tions det.('~.. bed
abo'n carmot be asf,iossec!. in terms Cocp"_CL'Jle to thE; detitrlXtion accom-
plished ill the Dight am day attack:: C,):..t :'.00d noove.

An analysis by A-2 of thin Coo:nun::l. of the onem;y sccie or

effort I!neQ the beginning of B-29 stril':es on Kyushu airfields reveals (1)
thut the Jupc.nese havf.t been unable te pl:educe II large, well coord1qa-
ted att.ock upon OJdMtro. since 16 J'prilj (2) that the: enc~ 1s now able
to tl,. n daily eortie avernge of l€l:Js than 10% of the nircra.l't com-
mittad to the Okimwll oper:ltion bocL'.\ls.:l of d:.:structiun of air 1nstalla-

_.
t1oDS; (J) that tho enetlY Cl'.n no loneer risk. nssembliDi aircrnft in
Sout.h Kyuahu except to refuel and att.:1ckj end (4) that thu eraw cun
oall' Ill!lke short re.mce plans am diapo.tch srooll fOl'lllllti<lns becouac h6
ona DOt be eertain today .hut sta.g1:'lg fields will be service.abl", to-

2. W1. Acc\1l"CY
According to e. recent stu:,y by the Dpcratons A.mtlys18 ('. +-ion
of Ud.. C~adt ~bine .ceurncJ' figures nrc ll.veU.l'.ble for 1) ~t.a t-:..
nltitu:le do.ylight missions ageinst precisicn tnrgtlts aM 2) the o..".:·ugbt
o.t.~ ap.inst drfie-1d w.rg~ta.

Frc..c an l'.nal~6i6 of 8 lOcdiw altitU::c missil)ns(15)OOO f.~·), i t

waa t~ t.bD.t o.n eatilantcd J.(.'% of tbl. bd~~s releas6d full r.tt.,il! lC)l,i1 of
tile A.'., ov&r t1dCQ the bombing acc·.C"';;,cy of nine previous high ~t1t.ude
1lil11ons (29,000 feet). In ndd.it.~.Ol! thu purccntagf. ot r.1rbo:-m ! irct" _.....,
boabtDg ttle: primnry ta.!'gct MS :mbtr. ~ :.....t.ly 1ncrco:;od so that l.CCl.a'lley in
t.eme at lQIlba nirbcrno 10 mort:) th;::.n t:.hraE> ti.muR thc.t for tho high nltitu::l.e
aillsloDl. '!hese figurt>B iulvo !Jt,eo obtr.1uE:d froIil thl. nunbor of bursts id-
8~1t1_ lD bomb plots llM increased. by 11 corrocti:-o factor based on the
~ l. t.ho.\ t.A.. maber or oc.b bw'1St." ,i.dont:i.i'icd ic ..l.OI;~ thnn t.hr~r,A whit!h
cotuall;y bit the particular or6n:
ID the atreeks on tho Kyuehu drficlds, the. bolD1;I pllttcrn wt!.& de-
__________~.~!_'~_~:!_~to~ao~v~.~.:~~_~~~tl ~~c~~~~.:u:e~~:~~~:..~~~:unc~;~~.~~~~
 wi tbiD 1000 fl'Jet ..of un A. l' • ~~~- no t nppU hl
. .s made of ~uch .tJr:1etion1u ~{JlDJ, plot to cu o. CONlequently, an nnnlysll
actual lIPI from. the ill'sirn...Vl :.tP!. It wtl.S ll.5certo.ln the detiation 0';' the
the IlMUI.D range c't"ror ras "'JO •'". !Ourrl. that for 38 ft,-·,t<"n,
,,. "1ongn "'lil
an:rn.t dlstb.ncc. IIshort" or ITler: I''''''' .. e the absolute -c..~ . ",
- ,... -... ,
~rr")r (the
The abso1ut.e·
c (,(; :ton Lr7'~.r .l....~"l 373
d fl t' .aOIll the assi
feet. ~
toe d UPI) wa..l l~, >S n::'3t.

At the present ·time ~lC

11abl~ ct.lllpP.riscn of bombi;;& .:re on- Q~ai1.<l.bl.e dc't..:l does not p""r:l1t &D1' re-
thnt the reCE:DUy DdOftL-c stllooc.ro. D~IlI~~ the TI'1ng~. It is hoped, hO'll'ovor,
c~bons in t.!le nl;U" futuro. otting procedure. will allow eu::h

.3. Bomb erxl ruel Dnte

Due 1b.rgel~~ to higher bunbing C'ltitud

tanclil, the a.verage OC1l10 lred for the C . n:i 65 am slightly lODger dll-
pourds f'rUr:1 tho March roce.rd of 12 295 (~. in A~rll deere&.6ed to 11,522
the 3l3tb WIllg 12,088 pounds, cn::1 the 31.4tr.l:,,,i
3rd
"tt'lg
nVl;rngt:d 12,880 pourds,
pounds for dbtc.rv::e diffcrentlcl) c.verc."'oo ·12" 0~4(w ,th, r.n adjustaent ol JOOO
1) 057 12 IV\L ni 11 LL .., /'. arch fl{;wes had been
, , ,7VV n ,1,JQ5, rOl'lf>ectivt.>ly. Hence lobe. 3l.!.th IVi hod
too incrtKL6<: its Q.ver~ce lor..d dl;;Spi ttl th'-'l fnctors of higt:.l:Ir o.~1tude~: ~~~r
d18taDeQ. For 8tho6 Kyuahu strikes alone ' th·· .... 7'rd
~
·'1 ..• 8819 poUDd.
"ll6. r."I.:ro,B:.:u
ccmpc.red to 10, J for the 313tt. 0.00 8,325 (not cdj'IEtcd) for the J14th.

The Corr.oerd c.Vi:lr::'.gL-d 901 gD..!h.llz NtlJrnod per nircl':!.ft during April
ctJlllpnrecl tu 959 in Morch d(::,spite tho f::.ct th-.:.t weather probnb11it1es florCtd
aircrc.tt tl.. carry & 1000 go.llt·n re~ct"Vc (~n s(;vc.rD..! msslcns. AJ:lrU liguret
were 782 cnUcns tor the 7]rd wIng, 955 for thE )13th fling o.m 1004 for the
.314th n~ cOllpnrcd tti Uc..rch ;;,v~rllgIlEl ...r 914, 996 and 10)2.

4. lm?'!.Jl!s£ Aireraf't Dostr yc.d

202 Jllpo.JKlse n1.rerll.rt WE1rc detltro~Jt:d. coo 104 prcbnbly dti8trc,yed

in AprU.. tb.. h1lhut ti&ure!l to d.a.te. A toto.l of 484 urcr:.:.f't bun been
QEratrll1'8d and 305 probably destroyed us of 30 April. [)[mage asses5r.!.eDi:;
IDf'OI'attl.n WB8 nc.t yet n'fftilnbl~ til llXl1.catf: the n\.llbcl" vf Brem)" 1l1~n.tt
deaUQ1ed on the: crowd dw1r:w the nirtluld strikes.,

The porcont of eMllll WcraJ.'t lI.t~ckilli ,!hieh JJCr<:s dtistre.yed or

probnblT destrc)'Od rEocahod ita hlUhtlst lovel in i.pril, thtJ 73rd Wing em
)l,'ltll 1Ii111 each oloicing 14~ and thu J14th \ling 8.as cumporod t, 2.6l'. 1.as
ud. 11.1$ 1D Utu'cb. Tlw DlElOOr of owID,y Ilireruft a.tt:.eks ptll' 8--29 OftI' the
tarpt 1'08t1 alighUr in April tA· 0.8 frla tJm 0.2 low of March, but tbl•
... ,Ull below the 2.1 figure tor rebrUll7 nm tht:t 1.6 record c.f Jan\l!ol'7.
'ftll) Ck.oIlbat Ilbox score It expressed as the nmber (".f el'J[lllQ' aiJ'cJ"tL!t
deatroTBd per ~29 u1rcrdt lost to c.nelIlY C.Ctioll shc.wod the beat t1gur'e .
11_ Je:lrWJZ'7, tb~ rc.t1o swnding :lot 4.6 to 1 cc.mpurcd te. 0.7 in r&arch, 4.1-
in Februll.ry tutI 6.1 in Jnnwry.
 YYh'r ut MISSIPNS.
--------.,r-~'l. WCrIli't ,E ern Lo.S4Ii •• I

A1rcrcJ't and ..crew 10G8 rat.~s l~rcQscd in April ani tor the
tu.t ua-, caoro craws were lost during a month thc.n airer&ft. The air-
cratt lo.s Ttlte was 17.J%- of U.E. cOUlpared to 14.l% l.aet JDonth an::\. an
AA1 planD1ng fnctor ot 16%. Tho C~" loss rate "as 19.)% of U.E. CIS-
pared to 11.~ last month am an AAF pl..anntng fnctor of 15):. The ~ub­
stamiaJ. increase in crew losses was due in large: pnrt to rcelnssiflea_
tion and. reoreanization at lm1v1due.l crw ClOlQOOrs, hospltalblltlotl,
aDi transfers to stntr positions.
~e~8~ on a 8~tie baail:l, 1.6% of nirborne §j.ircratt 1JOt9 ~Q:lft
_.-pored to l'.~ 1m !lArch ).2j\,~ F.hr~...zrI 5.5l:'tn"Jii\!hcry." Th.-~?h
1085 rate was 1.4% in .Il.prh CClmp41't.'C! t.o 1.O,J In Marchi 2.5$ In :et»1Zl.l"y
cni "2.~ ·In Jc.nutlry. The prbbnbillt)i' 6r-'dcpletlon of cr£'\7 lnvet:torbs
with' the beCinn1ug.~of ro~ticiD. has already been discussed. With e. tr....
t~s more losses of crews ·to.rcorgcni~ntion, rc¢lassi!ic&tioD .
etc., it 16 c..pparent that thEi prest:nt ruto of effort ~cn oot bo ulnta1rr
eci for the long tel'll urxier AAF attrition plannirlg factors. The mere
tact of thes.:.: irr:reascd losses to such reasons, of COt1rs." wtl.S iteelf
cvid81lC8 of the tenderry to be expect-ad frOtl tho high utilization or
combat crews caused. by the low crew to 'i:-crnft retio.
Enemy action r.aa the chi!:!f cause for :.:.lrcruf't losses during
AprU. Ali sh;"'n in Appetxiix: A, urban areu strikes r~sul.ted in the larg-
••t losses to our aircraft. A breakdown of causes for i l l 10ti8e6 dmrc
the month follows:
CAUSES FllR !l=29 Ale LOSS.:.:3
Enemy Action JO
Mcchnn1cl.l.1 ?
Accident 5
War ;1enry 3
UnX.IlO1Jn M
Total 59

_l1rcr&ft
FlaJc
Flu and alrerutt
Aoo1dent It: lIech
Own Gulls
Othbr • UakllDWl1

':J,. ,J.l£-Bea 'lu:cue

ucd from eircrc...rt rlQ'fm at seu
The po::roeot.. of orew C1c.mbers ~a:~normu.117 high J,iJlrcb Cigure .of
de01"e&Md. duriac April to )5~ frozn f ~ t c.irerr..ft \16re.. lost ovor ~ti
7'5%. Slnce aD ll¥:rtlllScd percont 0 o~ to return substuntlilly e~l
the ra.tio ot erav 1ll.ember3 ~~e~'n from mlGsionB during~p~v:.
t.ara:et,
oreaaed. 516 ere" 1'lltmlbtJrs failed 0 t Svll ani 57 IT.. ru known
801M ot tbe.~ 158 wera known to be ~;:,,~n:i7n to be ditch..d \lero i~e8~:a_
cl1tchecl. Eleven of the crow me.&1l \..t;TP. rescued during Apr ,
bat 0. tot.a.l. or S5 crfilW I:WIIb&rs in ..
I.uc u.- panchutinc.

-9-
 - .

C(lMP.-AISOli OJ Nt~SION STaTISTICS ?OR APRIL ACCORDING TO TYPJ: or MISSIon

'l'n>e of :"
Mission. '_

BIGlI'l 0ItUll ........

". lfumber of
lUsslons

3
llumber
Airborne

692
:tfumber
;QQt:>J.!.in.K

641
Bombing Altitude

8250 to 9050
il.ircratt
Lost

20
~ of Airborne
Aircraft_Lost

2.~
-
Dropped

4070
Average Number
Enomy .i..ttacks Fe
&.29 Bor.I'olng

0.3
D.l.1LIGll'l PBlOlllft ut.am 7 838 759 7975 t. 20500 13 1.~ 3342 1.7
1IlCH1' PitOUTl ~ 4 366 333 6450 t. 7940 8 2.2j!\ 2510 0.1
1'"lGB71 5600 to 6980 ~
JIUUQ 5 57 45 but 1 ra.ld 26.].00
0 257 0
'UC"lIe..t.:. BUfi'OI:r (IUJ) 63 1390 1267 13500 to 18125 12 O.n~ 6051 .7

TO"'' 82 3343 3045 53 1.59~ 1623 0 .8

-.10-

\:,;~)
 •

'IX ilj"W-
BtMoaJ(f OJ' ~ JlA.DS J'ROM WISSIOJllS TO J.AP.A::J.
TO

Ale BOlllbinc Primary Targe' to Ale Airborne-

-21%
HOV DEC
-~8~ -1l4%
JAJI FED
50%
!WI

~
APR
-
8!i~
-16~
DMZ

Ale Bombing All Targats to A/e Airborne- 19% 82% 82~ 81~ 93~ 93% 91~
;"/C ~l.ct1Y8 to Ale Airborne 19% 83~ 82~ 81~ 93~ 93~ 91~
Ale UO~t1octlTe for ~l Canasa to A/e Airborne 21~ lr,S 18~ 1~ ~ 71~ 9%
;,.fc 1ioDo-ltNocthil tor Mochnnieal Reason. tl? 4:/0 airborne 19.0% 14.1~ 12.3~ 1.4~ 4.1% 4.6% 6,Jll
I./e Lo.t or JatU. Damaged to A/e Over Target·· 8.6% 32.~ 39.1% 26.0% 10.3~ 18.9% 18.0l>
Ale Lo.t to Ale Airborne 1.~ 4."; 5.1% 3.3~ 1.~ 1.6',: 2.1~

Bow. nOVll. per Ale on Hand 58th V1nc 19.8 6.4 10.2
(Adju.ted to • ~ ba.ia) 73rd \ltIll; 31.8 54.0 60.1 10.1 115.2 111.0 80.5
31ath \11~ 23. 0 49.0 54.0 105.0 100.1 82.8
31 th Wing
nI :Oomber Co-.nd 37.8 53.6 5G.1 ~f·2 121.4
f.iW"
115.2
105.7 ~
·3 8 .9
C..bat Sortles per Ale On Hand
(.A4Jullbd to (l 3O-dq baa!") "58th lling
73rd ~f1ng 3.25 4.34 3.88 3.85 ~.20 7.85 ~.38
31~th 'ling 1. 17
~
. '.21 6.,,? .87
31 th \ling
~
:~ ~
XXI ~omber CoIllZll&.nd 3. 25 4:92 2.90 3.35 6.
77 .81 H!
•• £Ie lKlll.b1nc prlaar7 td,., and all tarph are compue4 to alrbcrM A/C. uclud...1n« hOlllnc and 41vonlonat}" A/c. lIu::>erduabo_. etc •.
1fblch vere DOt upected to boab.
•• AlO .... inc laI'pU on Japanese bOltS hlazau 1& taken u ,he near._' ...-ur. aTallaUe r4 J.#J Oftf' ,i:arcet •
-11-