One Hundred Years of Flight USAF Chronology ... - The Air University

1943
aircraft plants at Regensburg on the deepest U.S. air raid into Germany
to date. Although the bombers dropped 724 tons of bombs,
many did not hit their targets, and 60 of the Flying Fortresses were lost,
mostly to enemy fighters. The high loss rate shook the confidence of
Eighth Air Force leaders in the ability of heavy bombers to protect
themselves on daylight raids. Eighth Air Force bombers did not return
to raid a target in Germany until September 6.
September 12: In a daring glider operation, Capt. Otto Skorzeny, a German
commando, landed troops at Gran Sasso in central Italy to free Italian
dictator Benito Mussolini from captivity. The Germans flew Mussolini
in an Fi–156 airplane to German-occupied northern Italy, where he set
up a puppet state.
September 13: The 52d Troop Carrier Wing used more than 80 troop transports
to drop more than 1,200 paratroopers of the 82d Airborne Division
on the Salerno beachhead in Italy, without losing a single man or airplane,
in one of the most successful Allied airborne operations of the war.
September 22–23: For the first time, Eighth Air Force B–17s took part in a
Royal Air Force raid on Germany at night. At the time, the Eighth was
considering switching from daylight to night bombing because of
heavy loss rates.
September 27: For the first time, P–47s flew all the way with B–17s in a raid
on Emden, Germany. The escorting P–47s were able to fly over 600
miles by carrying additional fuel tanks.
The P–47 Thunderbolt became a very effective air-to-ground attack aircraft in
World War II, but it also rendered valuable service as a bomber escort.
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