He flew with a Fairey Battle (type I, serial L5368, code WT-).
December
The night of 16/17 December will be remembered as the first area attack carried out by Bomber Command. The raid on Mannheim, code-named Operation Abigail Rachel, was authorised in retaliation for recent heavy bombing of English cities (particularly Coventry) and a force of 200 aircraft was prepared. In the end, 134 aircraft were sent - still the largest number to a single target. The attack was opened by 8 Wellingtons using incendiaries which, it was hoped, would start a fire and aid identification of the target. Figures vary, but no more than 102 aircraft actually bombed Mannheim, and the majority of bombs fell away from the city centre as the fire-raising Wellingtons had missed the centre of the city. The casualties for the night totalled 34 dead with 81 injured.
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