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WWII On This Day: February 24

What happened on February 24 during World War II? This date brings together 1 event from 1944, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1944
A 446th Bomb Group B-24 over the Gothaer Waggonfabrik at Gotha on 24 February 1944 during Big Week's second major Eighth Air Force effort.
A 446th Bomb Group B-24 over the Gothaer Waggonfabrik at Gotha on 24 February 1944 during Big Week's second major Eighth Air Force effort. U.S. Army Air Forces photo 342-FH-3A21390-50679AC / National Archives · Public domain in the United States Source
Big Week and Air Superiority

Gotha and Schweinfurt: the second great Eighth Air Force effort

With weather improved on 24 February, the Eighth sent more than eight hundred heavy bombers toward Gotha, Schweinfurt, Rostock and other industrial targets. Twenty fighter groups supported the force at different stages of the route. At Gotha, B-24s attacked the Gothaer Waggonfabrik; at Schweinfurt the ball-bearing industry was struck again. The important change from the previous autumn was that the bomber stream did not have to cross the same deep German airspace without escort. German fighters could still inflict losses, but every attempt to mass against the bombers now risked…

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