He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial MZ659, code DY-T).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Bad weather prevents bomber operations; P-38s attempt to cover shipping in the English Channel; 7th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) dispatches 5 aircraft but they all turn back due to weather; and 2 B-17s fly weather flights over the UK and the Atlantic Ocean.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): HQ 70th Fighter Wing moves from Ibsley, England to Criqueville, France; and 112th Liaison Squadron, Ninth Air Force (attached principally to Headquarters Command, ETO) arrives at Kingston Deverill, England from the US with L-5s.
483 aircraft - 286 Lancasters, 169 Halifaxes, 28 Mosquitos - attacked railways at Alençon, Fougères, Mayenne, Pontabault and Rennes to prevent German reinforcements from the south reaching Normandy. All of the raids appear to have been successful. 4 aircraft were lost, 2 Lancasters from the Pontabault raid and 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito from the Rennes raid.
The first 12,000lb Tallboy bombs developed by Barnes Wallis were used on this night by No 617 Squadron in a raid on a railway tunnel near Saumur, 125 miles south of the battle area. The raid was prepared in great haste because a German Panzer unit was expected to move by train through the tunnel. The target area was illuminated with flares by 4 Lancasters of No 83 Squadron and marked at low level by 3 Mosquitos. 25 Lancasters of No 617 Squadron then dropped their Tallboys with great accuracy. The huge bombs exploded under the ground to create miniature 'earthquakes'; one actually pierced the roof of the tunnel and brought down a huge quantity of rock and soil. The tunnel was blocked for a considerable period and the Panzer unit was badly delayed. No aircraft were lost from this raid.
17 Serrate and 19 Intruder patrols, 34 aircraft minelaying from the Scheldt to Lorient. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 585 sorties, 4 aircraft (0.7 per cent) lost.
401 aircraft - 206 Lancasters, 175 Halifaxes, 20 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups bombed airfields at Flers, Le Mans, Laval and Rennes, all situated south of the Normandy battle area. Bomber Command documents do not give any reason for these raids; it is possible that the intention was to prevent these airfields being used for German reinforcements being brought in by air because the railways were blocked. All the attacks were successful. 2 Halifaxes were lost on the Laval raid.
108 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of No 5 Group, with 5 Pathfinder Mosquitos, attempted to bomb a railway junction at Étampes, south of Paris. 6 Lancasters lost. The marking was accurate but late and the bombing spread from the railway junction into the town.
36 Mosquitos to Berlin, 13 RCM sorties, 2 Serrate patrols, 24 Halifaxes and 4 Stirlings minelaying off Brest. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 597 sorties, 8 aircraft (1.3 per cent) lost.
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