Highlights of Day by Day Air Operations
13 August 1944

The deadly squeeze on entrapped German forces was nearing a complete strangle. The biggest transport kill of the entire month, the 400 to 500 burned or blown-up enemy vehicles referred to earlier, occurred on this date. When P-51 pilots of the 363d Group reported that they had flown to the edge of Paris without encountering flak, the fall of the capital, which occurred a week later, was foreshadowed.

All of the day's bag in aerial combat fell to the 363d Group which scored 12-2-1 for the loss of a single plane. Flying assault cover, 8 of these Mustangs scored 4-1-1 for 1 in an early morning fight with 12 Me-109's and FW-190's. On an evening mission, 8 pilots of the same squadron, the 382d, sighted approximately 25 Me-109's and FW-190's strafing our troops. They destroyed 8, an average of 1 each. Another was probably destroyed and the rest were driven off.

Combat sorties amounted to 718 and reconnaissance sorties to 38. Ten planes were lost, only one to enemy aircraft.