He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial LV943, code HD-G).
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 342: In the morning, 922 bombers and 764 fighters are dispatched to bomb targets in Germany; 9 bombers and 4 fighters are lost; 1 Luftwaffe aircraft is claimed shot down:
1. 600 B-17s are dispatched on a PFF attack on Berlin; 514 bomb the primary and 39 hit targets of opportunity; 8 B-17s are lost, 2 are damaged beyond repair and 265 damaged; 8 airmen are KIA, 14 WIA and 83 MIA.
2. Of 322 B-24s dispatched, 147 bomb Munster and 165 bomb Osnabruck; 1 B-24 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 22 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 2 WIA and 6 MIA.
Escort is provided by 153 P-38s, 317 P-47s and 284 P-51s; 2 P-38s, 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost, 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair and 5 P-38s, 3 P-47s and 1 P-51 damaged; 3 pilots are MIA.
In the afternoon, 29 of 67 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Liege, Belgium without loss; escort is provided by 24 P-47s and 51 P-51s without loss.
Mission 343: 3 of 4 B-17s drop 1.6 million leaflets on 16 towns in C France without loss.
14 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions without loss.
On 6 days during this period, Bomber Command Oboe Mosquitos flew as 'formation leaders' in Second Tactical Air Force attacks on small targets in Northern France. There were no losses from the 12 Bomber Command sorties flown.
149 aircraft - 77 Halifaxes, 64 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitos - of Nos 4 and 8 Groups attacked railway installations in the Gassicourt suburb of Mantes La Jolie, to the west of Paris. 2 Lancasters and 1 Halifax lost. Bomber Command's records state that 'stores depots and locomotive sheds' were severely damaged but the local report shows that some of the bombing fell outside the railway objective. The western part of the town - including 'old Mantes', the suburb of Gassicourt and the hamlet of Dennemont - were all bombed.
64 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of No 5 Group attacked an ammunition dump at Sable Sur Sarthe which was destroyed by 'enormous explosions'. No aircraft lost.
52 Lancasters of No 1 Group attacked an ammunition dump at Aubigne accurately and the entire target was destroyed. 1 aircraft lost. The only Lancaster shot down on this raid, from No 576 Squadron, contained a senior officer who was flying as second pilot. This was Air Commodore R Ivelaw-Chapman, who was commanding a 'base' (usually 3 airfields) in No 1 Group. Ivelaw-Chapman had only just taken up this position after a staff job in which he had had access to details of the coming invasion. There was great anxiety in England that, if he became a prisoner of war, the Germans might hand him over to the Gestapo for questioning. He was taken prisoner but the Germans never realized his importance and he was treated in the normal manner.
28 Mosquitos to Ludwigshafen, 5 to Leverkusen and 2 to Châteaudun, 9 RCM sorties, 9 Serrate and 5 Intruder patrols, 8 Halifaxes and 6 Stirlings minelaying off Biscay ports. 33 aircraft on Resistance operations, 6 OTU sorties. 1 Mosquito lost from the Leverkusen raid.
Total effort for the night: 380 sorties, 5 aircraft (1.3 per cent) lost.
93 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos of 3 and 8 Groups to bomb the airfield at Nantes. 1 Lancaster lost. Accurate bombing hit runways and hangars.
56 Halifaxes of No 6 Group and 8 Pathfinder Mosquitos attempted to bomb a coastal gun position at St Valery near Dieppe but just missed the target. No aircraft lost.
58 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of No 5 Group attacked an ammunition dump at Salbris. The bombing was accurate and much damage was caused but 7 Lancasters were lost.
53 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of No 5 Group bombed the airfield at Tours and caused much damage. 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito lost.
55 Lancasters of No 1 Group bombed the airfield and an ammunition dump at Rennes. The force was not able to locate and mark the target adequately and most of the bombs fell on a nearby village. No aircraft lost.
28 Mosquitos to Leverkusen and 4 to Châteaudun, 5 RCM sorties, 12 Intruder patrols, 42 aircraft minelaying in the Frisians and in the River Gironde, 39 aircraft on Resistance operations. 2 Halifaxes lost dropping supplies to the Resistance.
Total effort for the night: 471 sorties, 12 aircraft (2.5 per cent) lost.
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