FERME-D'URVILLE
96 Lancasters of 5 Group and 4 Pathfinder Mosquitoes to attack the important German signals station which had escaped serious damage in bombing 2 nights earlier. 3 of the Oboe Mosquitoes placed their markers perfectly and the Lancasters wiped out the station. No aircraft lost.
COASTAL BATTERIES
127 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 1, 3 and 8 Groups continued the deception raids on coastal batteries at Calais and Wimereux. The bombing was accurate; no aircraft lost.
Minor Operations: 20 Mosquitoes to Ludwigshafen and 5 to Argentan, 4 R.C.M. sorties, 6 Serrate and 3 Intruder patrols, 57 aircraft minelaying from the River Scheldt to Dunkirk. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 330 sorties with no aircraft losses.
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COASTAL BATTERIES
259 aircraft - 125 Lancasters, 118 Halifaxes, 16 Mosquitoes - of 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups to bomb 4 gun positions; 3 of these were deception targets in the Pas de Calais but the fourth battery, at Maisy, was in Normandy between what would soon be known as Omaha and Utah Beaches, where American troops would land in less than 36 hours' time. Unfortunately, Maisy was covered by cloud and could only be marked by Oboe sky-markers, but it was then bombed by 52 Lancasters of 5 Group. 2 of the 3 gun positions in the Pas de Calais were also affected by bad weather and could only be bombed through cloud but the position at Calais itself was clear and was accurately marked by the Mosquitoes and well bombed by Halifaxes and Lancasters of 6 Group.
No aircraft lost on these operations.
Minor Operations: 20 Mosquitoes to Cologne and 6 to Argentan, 4 R.C.M. sorties, 6 Serrate patrols, 4 Halifaxes and 3 Lancasters minelaying from the Scheldt to Dunkirk, 17 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 319 sorties with no aircraft losses.
Operational Statistics, 31 March/1 April to
