He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial NA581, code KW-U).
7 February 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): 36th and 406th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), 1st Bombardment Division attached to 482d Bombardment Group (Heavy), transfer from Alconbury to Watton (36th continues operating from Alconbury) with B-24s; the squadrons fly CARPETBAGGER missions.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): HQ 315th Troop Carrier Group transfers from Welford to Stanhoe, England.
8 February 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 214: 53 of 54 B-24s hit the V-weapon site at Siracourt, France while 57 of 73 B-24s hit the V-weapon site at Watten, France; 41 B-24s are damaged and 10 airmen are WIA; escort is 89 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s. 88 of 236 B-17s hit the marshalling yards at Frankfurt, Germany using blind-bombing techniques; 107 other B-17s hit targets of opportunity; they claim 1-3-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 13 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 108 damaged; casualties are 11 KIA, 4 WIA and 130 MIA; escort is provided by 77 P-38s, 435 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 41 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claim 16-1-8 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-38s, 3 P-47s and 4 P-51s are lost, 1 P-47 is damaged beyond repair and 4 P-47s are damaged; casualties are 9 MIA.
Mission 215: 6 of 6 B-17s drop 360 bundles of leaflets in a CARPETBAGGER operation over Caen, Rouen, Paris, Rennes and Amiens, France at 2106-2136 hours without loss.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): HQ Ninth Air Force extends IX Bomber Command's choice of targets considerably, although first priority for Operation POINTBLANK missions [the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) of US and RAF air forces against the Luftwaffe and German aircraft industry] and next priority for Operation CROSSBOW (code name for operations against German V-weapon sites) targets is maintained.
In a morning raid, nearly 200 B-26s attack V-weapon sites and targets of opportunity in NW France.
In an afternoon raid, 100+ B-26s bomb V-weapon sites and military instsllations in the same general area, most of the B-26s attacking Breck-sur-Mer. This is the IX Bomber Command's first 2-mission day. 494th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 344th Bombardment Group (Medium), arrives at Stansted, England from the US with B-26s; first mission is 29 Feb.
19 Mosquitos to Frankfurt, 8 to Elberfeld, 5 to Krefeld, 2 to Aachen and 1 to Mannheim, 4 Serrate patrols. No losses.
12 Lancasters of No 617 Squadron, led by its new commanding officer Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire, attacked the Gnome & Rhone aero-engine factory at Limoges in France. This was a very important raid. No 617 Squadron had been experiencing difficulty in finding a useful role after the Dams Raid nearly 9 months earlier. Low-level precision raids on targets in Germany had been too costly. High-level precision bombing on small targets in France and Belgium had been unsatisfactory, despite marking by Oboe-equipped Mosquitos. For this attack, Cheshire was given official permission to attempt low-level marking of this target, which had many French civilian houses near by. The factory was undefended, except for 2 machine-guns, and Cheshire made 3 low-level runs in bright moonlight to warn the French factory workers to escape. On his 4th run, he dropped a load of 30lb incendiaries from between 50 and 100ft. Each of 11 other Lancasters then dropped a 12,000lb bomb with great accuracy; 10 bombs hit the factory and the remaining one fell in the river alongside. The factory was severely damaged and production almost completely ceased. There were few if any casualties among the French people. No Lancasters were lost.
Despite the success of the low-level marking, it was never adopted by the Pathfinders, but was used on raids by No 617 Squadron and No 5 Group.
11 Mosquitos to Brunswick and 8 to Elberfeld, 2 Serrate patrols, 39 aircraft on Resistance operations, 19 OTU sorties. No losses.
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