He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial MZ502, code PT-U).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 376: 1,341 bombers and 697 fighters are dispatched to hit oil targets in Germany; 32 bombers and 9 fighters are lost; they claim 64-30-31 Luftwaffe aircraft:
1. 610 B-17s are dispatched against an oil targets at Ruhland/Schwarz-Heide (38 bomb) and aircraft factory at Dessau (12 bomb); secondary targets are aviation factories at Zwickau (15 bomb) and Leipzig (28 bomb); 14 bomber hit Bohlen, 15 hit Meissen, 19 hit Brandis/Polenz Wusten-Sachsen Airfield, 12 hit Frankfurt marshalling yard, 32 hit Ubigau, 20 hit Dessau, 4 hit Frankfurt, 5 hit Camburg and 22 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 20-21-18 Luftwaffe aircraft; 17 B-17s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 107 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 15 WIA and 155 MIA.
2. 255 B-17s are dispatched to an oil dump at Konigsburg/Magdeburg (105 bomb) and oil industry at Magdeburg/Rothensee (55 bomb); 17 hit Dessau and 6 bomb the marshalling yard at Gera; they claim 16-8-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost and 64 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 90 MIA.
3. 106 B-24s are dispatched to Lutzkendorf/Halle (66 bomb); 10 hit Wetzlar and 6 hit a target of opportunity; 3 B-24s are lost and 16 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 3 MIA.
4. 311 B-24s are dispatched to oil targets at Merseburg/Leuna (63 bomb) and Zeitz-Troglitz (187 bomb); 10 hit Limburg, 8 hit Memmingen, 9 hit Saalfeld and 10 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 1-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 B-24s are lost and 23 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 1 WIA and 26 MIA.
5. 58 of 59 B-17s hit Cologne/Eifeltor marshalling yard without loss; glide bombs are used but the weapon proves unsuccessful.
Escort is provided by 182 P-38s, 208 P-47s and 307 P-51s; no P-38s are lost; P-47s claim 2-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 0-0-1 on the ground with the loss of 4 P-47s (pilots are MIA), 2 damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; P-51s claim 25-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft with the loss of 5 (pilots are MIA), 1 damaged beyond repair and 8 damaged.
527 Ninth Air Force fighters also fly escort and claim 33-0-10 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 5-0-7 on the ground for the loss of 5 fighters.
Mission 377: 5 of 5 B-17s drop leaflets in Belgium and Norway.
22 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions; 1 is lost.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): 600+ B-26s and A-20s bomb marshalling and naval yards, railway bridges and V-weapon sites in France and Belgium; 8 aircraft are lost.
P-47s dive-bomb several targets in the same general area.
331 aircraft - 267 Halifaxes, 56 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitos - to attack the military camp at Bourg Léopold in Belgium. 9 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost, 3.0 per cent of the force. 1 Oboe-aimed target indicator fell right on the target and the bombing which followed caused severe damage to the camp.
162 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups to attack the Rothe Erde railway yards at Aachen. 12 Lancasters lost, 7.0 per cent of the force. The railway lines at the yards, which were not seriously hit in the raid of 2 nights earlier, were now severely damaged and all through traffic was halted. A large proportion of delayed-action bombs were dropped. The local people were impressed that the whole raid only lasted 12 minutes.
100 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of No 5 Group to attack a railway junction and workshops at Nantes. The first 50 Lancasters bombed so accurately that the Master Bomber ordered the remainder of the force to retain their bombs. 1 Lancaster lost.
78 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of No 8 Group attacked the airfield at Rennes in good visibility. The marking was good and the bombing was very accurate. Much damage to the airfield installations was caused and there was a large explosion, probably in the bomb dump.
272 aircraft - 208 Lancasters, 49 Halifaxes, 15 Mosquitos - carried out raids on 5 coastal-battery positions on the French coast. All of the targets were bombed satisfactorily. 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito lost.
23 Mosquitos to Berlin and 6 to Düsseldorf, 7 RCM sorties, 28 Serrate and 10 Intruder patrols, 60 aircraft minelaying from Le Havre to the River Gironde, 10 aircraft on Resistance operations, 7 OTU sorties. 3 Mosquitos - 2 Intruders and 1 Serrate - lost.
Total effort for the night: 1,111 sorties in 17 separate operations, 28 aircraft (2.5 per cent) lost.
118 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of 3 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards and junction at Angers. 1 Lancaster lost. The Bomber Command report describes this as 'a good, concentrated attack' with the tracks and rolling stock very seriously damaged. A brief report from Angers, however, shows that much of the bombing must have fallen outside the target.
181 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitos bombed 3 coastal gun positions. 1 Lancaster lost.
31 Mosquitos to Ludwigshafen and 6 to a railway junction at Laval, 3 RCM sorties, 6 Intruder patrols, 10 Halifaxes and 6 Stirlings minelaying off Dutch, Belgian and French coasts, 24 aircraft on Resistance operations, 14 OTU sorties. 2 OTU Wellingtons shot down in error by anti-aircraft guns on the Dorset coast.
Total effort for the night: 427 sorties, 4 aircraft (0.9 per cent) lost.
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