Highlights of Day to Day Operations
Recapitulation

During August, aircraft of XIX TAC flew a total of 12,292 fighter-bomber sorties. In all, 114 aircraft were lost, but many of the pilots bailed out safely over friendly territory, or found their way back through enemy lines. Our pilots claimed 163 enemy aircraft destroyed in aerial combat and 66 on the ground. Complete claims follow:

Figures give only a partial picture of the results obtained during this crowded month of operations, since smoke, dust, and the fleeting nature of fighter-bomber attack frequently make assessment impossible. After many attacks which pilots simply dismissed as "NRO" (no results observed), ground troops reported "guns silenced" or "results excellent," and were seen to move forward.

Pilots' claims against ground targets include destruction or damaging of the following:

4,058 466 598 246 2,956 155 18 8

motor vehicles tanks and other armored vehicles horse drawn vehicles locomotives railroad cars barges and other river craft merchant vessels naval vessels

Stationary targets attacked by bombing or strafing, or both, include the following:

22 39 11 13 3 17 7 44 58 12

gun positions marshalling yards ammunition dumps fuel and supply dumps radar installations airfields headquarters troop concentrations and bivouac areas barracks and other enemy buildings rail lines

Reconnaissance aircraft flew a total of 599 missions during August, of which 522 were successful. Missions flown consisted of the following:

Tactical reconnaissance Photo reconnaissance (day) Photo reconnaissance (night) Total

329 258 12 599