He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type II, serial JP202, code VR-T).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 308 Part 1: 772 bombers and 697 fighters are dispatched in 3 forces to bomb Germany; they claim 17-1-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 bombers and 2 fighters are lost:
1. 271 of 277 B-17s hit the Kassel area, Eschwege Airfield, Limburg and a target of opportunity; 5 B-17s are lost and 119 damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 5 WIA and 47 MIA.
2. 243 of 246 B-17s hit Lippstadt and Werl Airfields and a target of opportunity; 21 B-17s are damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 8 WIA and 55 MIA.
3. 230 of 249 B-24s bomb Paderborn and Gutersloh Airfields, Soest, Koblenz, Buren and targets of opportunity; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 10 are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 3 WIA and 8 MIA.
Escort is provided by 127 P-38s, 439 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 131 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claim 16-1-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost and 4 P-47s and 5 P-51s are damaged; 2 pilots are MIA.
Mission 308 Part 2: 27 of 27 B-24s bomb V-weapon sites at Watten, France; 1 B-24 is lost; escort is provided by 47 Ninth Air Force P-47s without loss.
HQ 56th Fighter Group and 61st and 63d Fighter Squadrons move from Halesworth to Boxted, England with P-47s.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): After several weeks of instruction, a IX Air Forces Services Command training exercise (Operation BOOMERANG) in waterproofing and landing motor vehicles gets under way.
This exercise, in preparation for a cross-channel movement lasts several weeks and involves 55 units, over 650 vehicles, and more than 2,500 men.
350+ B-26s and A-20s bomb marshalling yards, city areas, and targets of opportunity at Gunzburg, Ulm, Neu Ulm, Donauworth, and Schelklingen, Germany; and fighters fly over 1,200 sorties against a variety of targets in NW Europe.
273 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups to Rouen. No aircraft lost. Bomber Command claimed a concentrated attack on the railway yards, with much destruction.
202 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of No 5 Group with 3 Oboe Mosquitos of No 8 Group to railway targets at Juvisy. 1 Lancaster lost. The attack appeared to be completely successful.
181 aircraft - 112 Halifaxes, 61 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitos of Nos 6 and 8 Groups to railway yards at Noisy-Le-Sec. The Mosquitos also operated against Tergnier. 4 Halifaxes lost. The local report describes results which were typical of these railway-target raids. The marshalling yards, the engine-sheds and the railway workshops suffered great damage. Approximately 200 delayed-action bombs continued to explode in the week after the raid. A through line was established several days later but the marshalling yards were not completely repaired until 6 years after the war. In addition to this railway damage, however, the bombing area was measured as 6km long and 3km wide. 750 houses were destroyed and more than 2,000 damaged. 464 French people were killed and 370 injured.
171 aircraft - 139 Halifaxes, 24 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitos of Nos 3, 4 and 8 Groups - to Tergnier. 6 Halifaxes lost. 50 railway lines were blocked but most of the bombing fell on housing areas south-west of the railway yards.
Minelaying Operation: 168 aircraft - 88 Halifaxes, 44 Stirlings, 36 Lancasters - to Swinemünde, Kiel Bay and to the Danish coast. 2 Stirlings and 1 Halifax lost.
Mosquitos - 24 to Berlin, 2 to Osnabrück and 2 to Le Mans, 9 RCM sorties, 32 Serrate patrols, 46 OTU sorties. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 1,125 sorties, 14 aircraft (1.2 per cent) lost. The total number of sorties on this night was a new Bomber Command record.
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