October 30th, 1944 (MONDAY)
UNITED KINGDOM:
The two greatest US fighter groups commanding officers end their combat days on this date.
Col. Hubert Zemke, former CO of the 56th FG, USAAF, and current CO of the 479th FG, USAAF, a 17.75 victory aces, is lost on his final scheduled combat sorite. He bails out over enemy territory and is captured when his P-51 is ripped apart in a thundercloud.
Col. Donald Blakeslee, CO of the 4th FG, USAAF, flies the last of more than 350 combat sorties, 900 flying hours (half again as much as any US fighter pilot), and is forcibly transferred to a desk job with the VIII Fighter Command's 65th Fighter Wing. The exact number of combat hours is not certain. He recorded only the times over the coast in and out, which totalled considerably less than the full flight period for each mission. (Skip Guidry)
Corvette HMS Hedingham Castle commissioned.
ASW trawler HMS Royal Marine commissioned.
WESTERN EUROPE: USAAF Ninth Air Force B-26 Marauders are recalled from a mission (mainly against bridges) because of bad weather; fighters fly patrols and armed reconnaissance over northeastern France and in western Germany around Aachen and the Rhine River; and the XIX Tactical Air Command escorts B-26 Marauders and heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force.
NORTH SEA: U-427 took part in operation Specht and guarded a German minefield off Stavanger (Norway).
NETHERLANDS: In the Canadian First Army's II Corps area, the Canadian 2d Division completes their drive across southern Beveland, reaching the east end of the Walcheren causeway. The Canadian 3d Division is nearing the end of the action to reduce the Britisheskens Pocket. In the British I Corps area, the U.S. 415th Infantry Regiment, spearheading for the 104th Infantry Division, reaches the Mark River and attempts to take a bridge near Standdaarbuiten, but the Germans blow it up.
In the British Second Army area, VIII Corps area, the Germans makes a final effort to advance in the Peel Marshes but are brought to a halt. .
Two USAAF Eighth Air Force bombers a target of opportunity at Enschede.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 102 Lancasters and eight Mosquitos are dispatched to bomb gun batteries on Walcheren Island; 96 bomb the target with the loss of one Mosquito. This is the last Bomber Command raid in support of the Walcheren campaign and the opening of the River Scheldt.
During the night of 30/31 October, USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 694: two B-17 Flying Fortresses and seven B-24 Liberators drop leaflets over the country.
FRANCE: In the U.S. Third Army's XX Corps area, the 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division completes the capture of Maizières-lès-Metz, thus opening route to Metz from the north.
In the U.S. Seventh Army's VI Corps area, elements of 45th Infantry Division seize St Benoit, on the Rambervillers-Raon-l’Etape road. The 3d Infantry Division now holds a broad salient west of St Die and the Meurthe River from the vicinity of Nompatelize on the north to Traintrux on the south. In the 36th Infantry Division zone, the 442d Infantry Regiment (Nisei) at last makes contact with and relieves the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment.
GERMANY: The USAAF Eighth Air Force flies Mission 693 with 1,279 bombers and 978 fighters flying a major mission against German oil production facilities; two bombers and five fighters are lost: 209 aircraft hit the marshalling yard (M/Y) at Hamm; 189 bomb the M/Y at Munster; 92 attack the Ebano oil refinery and 67 bomb the Rhenania oil refinery, both in Hamburg; 34 hit the port area at Cuxhaven; 22 bomb the port area at Wessermunde; 13 attack the industrial area at Osnabruck; and 16 hit targets of opportunity.
The USAAF Eighth Air Force also flies Mission 693A: two of five B-17 Flying Fortresses make an APHRODITE attack on Heligoland Island with escort provided by seven P-47 Thunderbolts. In a second raid, 26 B-17s, escorted by eight P-47, fly a cover mission to Heligoland bombing the U-boat base.
During the day, RAF Bomber Command sends 102 Lancasters to bomb the synthetic oil refinery at Wesseling; all 102 bomb the target. No results are seen because of the cloud but the bombing is believed to be accurate.
During the night of 30/31 October, RAF Bomber Command dispatches 905 aircraft,
438 Halifaxes, 435 Lancasters and 32 Mosquitos, to bomb Cologne; 870 bomb the city without loss. This is an Oboe-marked raid through cloud, and Bomber Command estimates that only "scattered and light" damage is caused in the western parts of the city. But the local report shows that enormous damage is caused in the suburbs of Braunsfeld, Lindenthal, Klettenberg and Sülz, which are "thoroughly ploughed up" by the huge tonnage of high explosive dropped (3,431 tons of high explosive and 610 tons of incendiaries are dropped). A vast amount of property, mostly civilian housing, is destroyed but railways and public utilities are also hit. There is little industry in the area which is bombed. Meanwhile, 58 Mosquitos bomb Berlin with the loss of one aircraft, five bomb the city and marshalling yard at Aschaffenburg, and three each bomb the marshalling yard at Heilbronn and the city of Oberhausen.
U-3031 laid down.
AUSTRIA: During the night of 30/31 October, three USAAF Fifteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators bomb a marshalling yard at Klagenfurt.
POLAND: The last transport of Jews from Theresienstadt, a ghetto in Czechoslovakia, run by the SS, arrives at Auschwitz in the suburbs of the city of Oswiecim. Today and tomorrow, 1,689 of them are sent to the gas chambers. This is the last use of the gas chambers at this camp. (Apparatus)
HUNGARY: The Soviet Army begins an offensive aimed at the capital, Budapest.
ITALY: In the U.S. Fifth Army area, the Germans begin series of counterattacks toward Palazzo that last for several days, but Combat Command B of the South African 6th Armoured Division holds firm. In the IV Corps area, Regimental Combat Team 6 of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force seizes the Lama hill mass, north of Barga. During October, the corps has conducted a training program for inexperienced 1st Division, Brazilian Expeditionary Force, and the U.S. 92d Infantry Division (Colored) as the units arrived.
In the British Eighth Army's Polish II Corps area, the Germans withdraw from the Caminata region. In the V Corps area, the 10th Division takes Meldola, from which the Germans have withdrawn, but runs into strong opposition as it pushes on toward the Rabbi River. The 4th Division tries in vain to get patrols across the Ronco River on the north flank of the corps.
Weather again grounds USAAF Twelfth Air Force medium bombers and limits XXII Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers and fighters to 51 sorties against scattered targets in the Po Valley.
CHINA: Thirteen USAAF Fourteenth Air Force B-24 Liberators lay mines in Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong and sink a Japanese ship off Hong Kong..
BURMA: Ten USAAF Tenth Air Force B-25 Mitchells knock out bridges at Namhkai, Wuntho, Thegyaung, and Nankan and damage others at Okkyin and Zawchaung; 50+ P-47 Thunderbolts knock out the Hpao Nam River bridge and strafe targets of opportunity at several locations; hit several bridges throughout the northern Burma rail corridor, damaging or knocking out each target; support ground forces at Naba Station and Pinwe; and hit troop concentrations at Mansi and Manyut.
FRENCH INDOCHINA: USAAF Fourteenth Air Force P-40s bomb installations around Phu Lang Thuong and hit junks at sea.
JAPAN: Three USAAF Eleventh Air Force B-24 Liberators fly armed reconnaissance over Matsuwa and Onnekotan Islands in the Kurile Islands.
VOLCANO ISLANDS: During the night of 30/31 October, one USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 flies a snooper mission and bombs Iwo Jima.
COMMONWEALTH OF THE PHILIPPINES: In the U.S. Sixth Army's X Corps area on Leyte, the 3d Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, starts toward Carigara along the road from Jaro but is halted almost at once by Japanese. In the XXIV Corps area, 2d and 3d Battalions, 383d Infantry Regiment, 96th Infantry Division, attack San Vicente from the Guinarona River and find the barrio and the hill of the same name undefended. The 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, completes the capture of Dagami in the morning and spends rest of day mopping up.
US Naval TF 38 begins to withdraw from the Philippines to
Ulithi and two carriers are heavily damaged by Kamikaze attacks.
The two ships of Task Group 38.4 struck by kamikazes are the aircraft carrier
USS Franklin (CV-13) and the light aircraft carrier USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24).
Both retire to Ulithi and then to the U.S. for repairs. The withdrawal of Task
Group 38.4 to Ulithi and the escort aircraft carriers of Task Group 77.4 to
Manus Island, leaves the defence of the Leyte beachhead in the hands of several
USAAF P-38 groups and a P-61 squadron and Carrier Air Group Seven (CVG-7) in USS
Hancock (CV-19), Light Carrier Air Group Twenty Nine (CVLG-29) in USS Cabot
(CVL-28) and Night Carrier Air Group Forty One [CVLG(N)-41] in USS Independence
(CVL-22).
USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators bomb Bacolod Airfield on Negros Island, while on Mindanao Island, B-25 Mitchells and fighter-bombers hit San Roque Airfield and barges at Zamboanga.
Army Air Forces Southwest Pacific Area issues an instruction for air support of the Mindoro operation by Lieutenant General George C. Kenney's USAAF Far East Air Forces, comprising the USAAF Fifth and Thirteenth Air Forces. Fifth Air Force is to be the "assault air force" but the Thirteenth Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, carrier- based planes of the USN Third and Seventh Fleets, and land-based planes of the Seventh Fleet are also to assist as are B-29 Superfortresses of the USAAF Twentieth Air Force.
BORNEO: In British North Borneo, USAAF Far East Air Forces P-38 Lightnings hit Sandakan Airfield and sink two Japanese merchant tankers off Sandakan.
EAST INDIES: USAAF Far East Air Forces B-24 Liberators bomb the wharf area at Makassar on the southwestern tip of Celebes Island while P-40s, over the northeastern peninsula, hit various targets of opportunity. P-38 Lightnings hit Piroe on Ceram Island and B-25 Mitchells sink a Japanese ship off Lomblon Island.
NEW GUINEA: Utarom (Kaimana) Aerodrome in Dutch New Guinea is again bombed by USAAF Fifth Air Force A-20 Havocs and B-25 Mitchells.
NAURU ISLAND: USAAF Seventh Air Force B-25 Mitchells from Makin Island strike Nauru. Nauru Island is a 21 square kilometer (8 square mile) island in the South Pacific Ocean, located about halfway between the Gilbert and Solomon Islands. The island is rich in phosphate deposits and was occupied by the Japanese on 25 August 1942.
CAROLINE ISLANDS: Eight USAAF Seventh Air Force B-24 Liberators on armed reconnaissance missions from Guam bomb Yap Island.
Eight B-29 Superfortresses of the USAAF Twentieth Air Force's XXI Bomber Command in the Mariana Islands bomb submarine pens on Dublon Island, Truk Atoll; nine others bomb 2 miles (3.2 km) beyond the target.
PACIFIC OCEAN: US Naval Task Group 38.4 begins to withdraw from the Philippines to Ulithi Atoll, Caroline Islands, and two aircraft carriers are heavily damaged by Kamakaze attacks. The two ships of Task Group 38.4 struck by kamikazes are USS Franklin (CV-13) and USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24) which are hit in the Philippine Sea about 110 nautical miles (204 kilometers) east-southeast of Tacloban, Leyte, Philippine Islands. Both retire to Ulithi and then to the U.S. for repairs. The withdrawal of Task Group 38.4 to Ulithi and the escort aircraft carriers of Task Group 77.4 to Manus Island, Admiralty Islands, leaves the defense of the Leyte beachhead in the hands of several USAAF P-38 Lightning groups and a P-61 Black Widow squadron and Carrier Air Group Seven (CVG-7) in USS Hancock (CV-19), Light Carrier Air Group Twenty Nine (CVLG-29) in USS Cabot (CVL-28) and Night Carrier Air Group Forty One [CVLG(N)-41] in USS Independence (CVL-22).
U.S.A.: Destroyers USS Floyd B Parks and Herbert J Thomas laid down.