He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial LW674, code PT-E).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 405: Weather prevents operations against priority targets in Germany so the bombers attack targets in France; 1,055 bombers and 914 fighter sorties are flown; over 400 bombers abort or fail to bomb due to clouds and absence or malfunction of Pathfinders; 3 bombers and 8 fighters are lost:
1. 471 B-17s are dispatched to airfields at Beaumont-le-Roger (38 bomb), Bernay/St Martin (50 bomb) and Dinard/Pluertuit (37 bomb), and Toucquet-Paris- Plage (27 bomb), Merlimont Plage (34 bomb), Pontaubault Bridge (50 bomb) and Berck (36 bomb); 33 others hit Conches Airfield and 4 hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 11 damaged; 20 airmen are MIA.
2. 584 B-24s are dispatched to airfields at Cormeilles-en-Vexin (34 bomb), Beauvais/Nivelliers (27 bomb), Beaumont-sur-Oise (36 bomb) and Creil (19 bomb) and Vicomte-sur-Rance (19 bomb), Montford Bridge (18 bomb) and Blois/St Denis (41 bomb); 12 others hit Beauvais/Tille Airfield, 7 hit Poix Airfield, 32 hit Montauban marshalling yard and 52 hit targets of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost and 14 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 3 WIA and 4 MIA.
87 P-47s and 144 P-51s provide escort for the bombers without loss.
Other fighter missions are:
1. 143 P-38s patrol the beachhead and claim 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft without loss.
2. 77 P-38s, 195 P-47s and 268 P-51s fly fighter-bomber missions against communications targets in NW France; the P-38s claim 3-2-5 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 0-0-1 on the ground; 3 P-38s, 1 P-47 and 4 P-51s are lost; 7 of the 8 pilots are MIA.
Mission 406: During the night, 5 B-17s drop leaflets on France and the Low Countries without loss.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In France, 129 B-26s and A-20s bomb rail and road bridges and intersections, rail lines, oil tanks, artillery and town areas, in morning operations; bad weather prevents afternoon operations; 10 fighter groups fly escort and strafe and bomb bridges, railroads, gun emplacements, rail and road traffic and marshalling yards in support of ground troops.
432 aircraft - 323 Lancasters, 90 Halifaxes, 19 Mosquitos - attacked railway targets at Achères, Dreux, Orléans and Versailles. All targets were believed to have been hit but few further details are available. 15 Lancasters and 3 Halifaxes lost.
32 Mosquitos to Berlin, 13 RCM sorties, 7 Serrate and 18 Intruder patrols, 30 aircraft minelaying off France on the flanks of the invasion area. 2 Mosquitos lost from the Berlin raid.
Total effort for the night: 532 sorties, 20 aircraft (3.8 per cent) lost.
329 aircraft - 225 Lancasters, 86 Halifaxes, 18 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 3, 4 and 8 Groups attacked railway targets at Évreux, Massey Palaiseau, Nantes and Tours. All of the raids appeared to be successful. 3 Lancasters and 1 Halifax - 1 aircraft from each raid - were lost.
33 Mosquitos to Berlin, 30 Serrate patrols, 13 Halifaxes minelaying on the flanks of the invasion coast. 2 Mosquitos lost from the Berlin raid.
Total effort for the night: 405 sorties, 6 aircraft (1.5 per cent) lost.
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