He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type II, serial LW282, code VR-Y).
27 December 1943 (Eighth Air Force): VIII Bomber Command Mission 165: 7 B-17's drop 1.392 million leaflets on Paris, Lille, Evreux, Rouen and Caen, France at 1735-1812 hours; no losses. VIII Bomber Command Mission 166: 1 B-17 is dispatched to Quadrath (??) but drops two 2,000 pound (907 kg) bombs and a Photoflash bomb on an unknown target.
28 December 1943 (Eighth Air Force): The 20th Fighter Group (P-38) becomes operational, making a total of 11 operational fighter groups in the Eighth Air Force. The VIII Fighter Command has flown over 17,500 sorties and destroyed more than 200 aircraft. The VIII Bomber Command is charged with forming and training a special organization (the Radio Counter Measure Unit) to use radio countermeasures against enemy defenses; 24 specially equipped B-17's are to operate in support of both night and day raids. VIII Bomber Command Mission 167: A B-17 drops two 2,000 pound (907 kg) bombs and a Photoflash bomb on Dusseldorf, Germany in an Oboe test. VIII Bomber Command Mission 168: 6 B-17's drop 2.84 million leaflets on Hannover, Osnabruck, Hildsheim, Germany; Zwolle, The Netherlands; and Amiens, France at 1950-2027 hours. No losses.
30 December 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): VIII Bomber Command Mission 169: The port area and oil refinery at Ludwigshafen, Germany are hit at 1156-1300 hours. 502 of 530 B-17's 145 of 168 B-24's, and 11 of 12 PFF aircraft attack the target; they claim 12-4-9 Luftwaffe aircraft; 14 B-17's and 9 B-24's are lost, 4 B-17's and 1 B-24 are damaged beyond repair and 106 B-17's and 11 B-24's are damaged; casualties are 11 KIA, 19 WIA and 200 MIA.
The mission is escorted by 79 P-38's, 463 P-47's and 41 Ninth Air Force P-51's; they claim 8-3-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 11 P-47's and 2 P-51's are lost, 1 P-47 is damaged beyond repair and 5 P-47's are damaged; casualties are 12 MIA.
VIII Bomber Command Mission 170: 5 B-17's drop 1 million leaflets on Antwerp, Ghent, Lens, Belgium and Cambrai, France at 2319-2340 hours; no losses.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In France, about 100 B-26's bomb Saint-Omer Airfield and V-weapon sites on the French N coast. About 100 others abort missions because of bad weather.
31 December 1943
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): VIII Bomber Command Mission 171: Various targets in France are hit; 19 B-17's and 6 B-24's are lost.
1. 200 of 236 B-17's and 57 of 60 B-24's hit the Bordeaux-Merignac, Cognac-Chateaubernard and Landes Bussac Airfields at 1211-1315 hours; they claim 17-13-27 Luftwaffe aircraft; 18 B-17's and 5 B-24's are lost, 8 B-17's and 2 B-24's are damaged beyond repair and 103 B-17's and 5 B-24's are damaged; casualties are 9 KIA, 36 WIA and 231 MIA.
2. 57 B-17's are dispatched to hit a blockade running ship at Gironde but cannot find the target; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; casualties are 2 KIA and 5 WIA.
3. 87 of 94 B-24's hit the St Jean D'Angely Airfield at 1211-1235 hours; they claim 9-1-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-24 is lost, 3 are damaged beyond repair and 5 damaged; casualties are 10 MIA. 4. 120 of 125 B-17's hit the industrial areas at Paris-Ivry and Bois-Colombes at 1207-1227 hours; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 49 damaged; casualties are 2 WIA and 10 MIA.
These missions are escorted by 74 P-38's, 441 P-47's and 33 Ninth Air Force P-51's; they claim 9-1-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-38, 2 P-47's are 1 P-51 are lost; 1 P-38 and 6 P-47's are damaged beyond repair and 1 P-38 is damaged; casualties are 3 WIA and 2 MIA. The total bomb tonnage dropped by the Eighth Air Force in Dec 43, 13,142 tons (14,486 tonnes), for the first time exceeds that dropped by the RAF Bomber Command.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): Around 200 B-26's bomb V-weapon sites in the French coastal area.
712 aircraft - 457 Lancasters, 252 Halifaxes, 3 Mosquitos - returned to Berlin. A long approach route from the south, passing south of the Ruhr and then within 20 miles of Leipzig, together with Mosquito diversions at Düsseldorf, Leipzig and Magdeburg, caused the German controller great difficulties and there were few fighters over Berlin. Bad weather on the outward route also kept down the number of German fighters finding the bomber stream. 20 aircraft - 11 Lancasters, 9 Halifaxes - were lost, 2.8 per cent of the force. Berlin was again cloud-covered. The Bomber Command report claiming a concentrated attack on skymarkers is not confirmed by the local report. The heaviest bombing was in the southern and south-eastern districts but many bombs also fell to the east of the city.
8 Mosquitos to Magdeburg, 6 to Düsseldorf, 5 to Leipzig, 4 to Bristillerie - a suspected V-weapon site near Cherbourg - and 3 to Leverkusen, 6 RCM sorties, 2 Beaufighters on Serrate patrols, 5 Stirlings minelaying in the Frisians and off French ports, 4 OTU sorties. No losses.
10 Lancasters of 617 Squadron and 6 Pathfinder Mosquitos attempted to destroy a V1 site which had been missed on an earlier raid, but the markers were 200 yards from the target and, with the Lancasters' bombs well grouped around these, the site was again undamaged. No aircraft lost.
10 Mosquitos to Cologne, 8 to Duisburg and 3 to Bochum, 6 RCM sorties, 26 aircraft minelaying off Texel and French ports, 28 OTU sorties. No losses.
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