1300 Hours, 26 November 1942, Dacca, India – The one thing bad weather did was give the planning staffs plenty of time to plan and when the weather cleared, they could pull their plans off the shelf and put them into action. During the late morning and early afternoon of 26 November, the weather had cleared up enough for the RAF to launch a series of ambitious raids against the forward Japanese airfields at Magwe and Myitkyina. For the most part, RAF and IAF squadrons were flying missions in support the troops dug in around Akyab and against Japanese road-based supply movements along with maritime patrols along the coast. However, the recent attacks against Allied shipping near Akyab and Chittagong necessitated a response.
The airfields at Magwe and Myitkyina did not house units on a regular basis but the Japanese frequently rotated fighters to them. The missions would also give new Allied units experience as part of strike packages attacking large fixed targets. The attack against Myitkyina went to 12 Vengeance dive bombers from No. 82 Squadron, eight Hudsons from No. 62 Squadron, and eight Beaufighters from No. 27 Squadron escorted by eight RAAF Buffaloes from No. 25 Squadron. For the attack against Magwe, Brand was sending 16 Battles from No. 7 Squadron of the IAF and 16 Blenheims from No. 34 and No. 113 Squadrons escorted by eight of the Australian Buffaloes. By 1400 hours the attacking units were on their way to their targets.
In addition to the raids against Magwe and Myitkyina, 24 Wellingtons from No. 215 and No. 99 Squadrons and 12 B-24s from the 9th and 11th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) of the USAAF were prepared for a night attack against Rangoon’s docks.
The airfields at Magwe and Myitkyina did not house units on a regular basis but the Japanese frequently rotated fighters to them. The missions would also give new Allied units experience as part of strike packages attacking large fixed targets. The attack against Myitkyina went to 12 Vengeance dive bombers from No. 82 Squadron, eight Hudsons from No. 62 Squadron, and eight Beaufighters from No. 27 Squadron escorted by eight RAAF Buffaloes from No. 25 Squadron. For the attack against Magwe, Brand was sending 16 Battles from No. 7 Squadron of the IAF and 16 Blenheims from No. 34 and No. 113 Squadrons escorted by eight of the Australian Buffaloes. By 1400 hours the attacking units were on their way to their targets.
In addition to the raids against Magwe and Myitkyina, 24 Wellingtons from No. 215 and No. 99 Squadrons and 12 B-24s from the 9th and 11th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy) of the USAAF were prepared for a night attack against Rangoon’s docks.