Air War WW2 Portal 
8th Air Force Europe in May 1945
TUESDAY, 1 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 973: 396 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies in the Hague (237) and Rotterdam (155), the Netherlands; a total of 777.1 tons of food are dropped.
Mission 974: During the night of 1/2 May, 4 of 5 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany.
WEDNESDAY, 2 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 975: 401 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies in the Netherlands at Schipol (250) and Alkmaar (20) Airfields, Vogelenzang (40), Hilversum (20), Utrecht (59) and targets of opportunity (4); 4 B-17s are damaged by 20mm fire which ceases as soon as a green flare is fired; a total of 767.1 tons of food are dropped.
Mission 976: 8 B-17s, escorted by 9 P-51s, drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during daylight hours.
THURSDAY, 3 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 977: 399 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies in the Netherlands at Schipol (251) and Alkmaar (20) Airfields, Vogelenzang (42), Hilversum (21), Utrecht (58) and a target of opportunity (3) in the Netherlands; a total of 739.1 tons of food are dropped.
Mission 978: 14 B-17s, escorted by 43 of 47 P-51s, drop leaflets in Germany during the day.
FRIDAY, 4 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 978: 1 B-17s and 8 B-24s are dispatched on a leaflet mission during the night of 4/5 May; 7 aircraft drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany.
SATURDAY, 5 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 980: 403 B-17s are dispatched to drop food at Schipol Airfield (261), Vogelenzang (40), Utrecht (60), N of Hilversum (16), Alkmaar (21) and other targets (4) in the Netherlands; a total of 744.5 tons of food are dropped.
SUNDAY, 6 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 3 missions are flown.
Mission 981: 383 B-17s are dispatched to drop food at Schipol (249) and Alkmaar (18) Airfields, E of Vogelenzang (37), W of Utrecht (59), and N of Hilversum (18), the Netherlands; a total of 693.3 tons of food are dropped.
Mission 982: 15 B-17s, escorted by 8 of 26 P-51s, drop leaflets in France and Germany during the day.
Mission 983: 10 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Channel Islands during the night of 6/7 May.
MONDAY, 7 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 984: 231 B-17s are dispatched to drop food supplies at Schiphol (154) and Alkmaar (10) Airfields, Vogelenzang (25), W of Utrecht (28) and N of Hilversum (12), the Netherlands; a total of 426 tons of food are dropped.
Mission 985: 15 B-17s, with 30 of 32 P-51s escorting, drop leaflets in Germany during the day.
TUESDAY, 8 MAY 1945
VE-Day
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Mission 986: 12 B-17s drop leaflets in Germany during the day.
WEDNESDAY, 9 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): HQ 453d Bombardment Group (Heavy) and the 732d, 733d, 734th and 735th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) begin a redeployment from Old Buckenham, England to the US; it is only group departing by ship. During late May, the 407th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 92d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Podington, England to Istres France with B-17s.
THURSDAY, 10 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Effective this date, Lieutenant
General James H Doolittle, Commanding General, is relieved of duty in the ETO
and assigned to HQ AAF in Washington, DC; he is relieved by Major General
William E Kepner.
SUNDAY, 13 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): The 327th Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 92d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Podington England to Port
Lyautey, French Morocco with B-17s and, as part of Project Green, begins
servicing aircraft of units which are transporting redeployed personnel from
Europe to N Africa.
FRIDAY, 18 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): The 862d Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 493d Bombardment Group (Heavy), moves from Wormingford to Debach,
England with B-17s.
SATURDAY, 19 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): HQ 93d Bombardment Group (Heavy)
begins a movement from Hardwick, England to the US.
SUNDAY, 20 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): The 859th Bombardment Squadron
(Heavy), 492d Bombardment Group (Heavy) [attached to 2641st Special Group
(Provisional)], moves from Rosignano to Gioia del Colle, Italy with B-24s and
C-47s.
MONDAY, 21 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): HQ 482d Bombardment Group
(Heavy) begins a movement from Alconbury, England to the US.
SATURDAY, 26 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): HQ 398th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
and 600th, 601st, 602d and 603d Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) begin a
movement from Nuthampstead, England to the US with B-17s.
MONDAY, 28 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Unit moves from England to the US:
HQ 445th Bombardment Group (Heavy) from Tibenham; the 564th, 565th, 566th and
567th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 389th Bombardment Group (Heavy), from
Hethel with B-24s.
WEDNESDAY, 30 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): Units beginning a movement from
England to the US: HQ 389th Bombardment Group (Heavy) from Hethel; 700th,
701st, 702d and 703d Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 445th Bombardment Group
(Heavy), from Tibenham with B-24s.
THURSDAY, 31 MAY 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force): HQ 303d Bombardment Group (Heavy)
and 358th, 359th, 360th and 427th Bombardment Squadrons move from Molesworth,
England to Casablanca, French Morocco and begin flying troops from Europe to
N Africa for return to the US with B-17s.
Source:
COMBAT CHRONOLOGY OF THE US ARMY AIR FORCES
Jack McKillop
USAF (Airways and Air Communications Service)
1955-59
used sources by McKillop:
AIR FORCE COMBAT UNITS OF WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force History,
Headquarters USAF, 1961, ISBN 0-912799-02-1
COMBAT SQUADRONS OF THE AIR FORCE, WORLD WAR II, Office of Air Force
History, Headquarters USAF 1982
THE ARMY AIR FORCES IN WORLD WAR II: COMBAT CHRONOLOGY, 1941-1945 by the
Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF, 1973
THE MIGHTY EIGHTH WAR DIARY by Roger A. Freeman, ISBN 1-85409-071-2
