He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type VII, serial NP692, code QO-K).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 650: 1,192 bombers and 678 fighters are dispatched to hit industrial and transportation targets in W Germany and use PFF methods for all targets; 28 bombers and 2 fighters are lost:
1. 421 of 462 B-17s hit a secondary target (Cologne) and 10 others hit Blatzheim; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 165 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA; 7 WIA and 1 MIA.
Escort is provided by 221 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 5-0-0 aircraft in the air; 3 P-47s are damaged.
2. 415 B-17s are dispatched to hit Ludwigshafen/Opau oil refinery (214) and Mainz (171); 4 others hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 142 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 9 WIA and 19 MIA.
Escort is provided by 212 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft in the air; 1 P-47 is damaged.
3. 315 B-24s are dispatched to hit Kassel/Henschel aircraft plant (248); 35 also hit Gottingen; they claim 5-3-0 aircraft; 26 B-24s are lost, 6 damaged beyond repair and 41 damaged; 20 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 245 MIA.
Escort is provided by 207 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 25-0-6 aircraft in the air and 5-0-1 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA), 1 P-51 damaged beyond repair, and 2 P-38s and 2 P-47s damaged.
Mission 651: 8 of 10 B-17s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.
163 B-24s on a TRUCKIN' mission carry fuel to France.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): Fighters fly armed reconnaissance, cover US First and Third Army forces in W Germany and E France and later fly night patrols in Belgium, Luxembourg, and W German areas.
In France, nearly 300 B-26s and A-20s abort missions due to weather; 8 manage to bomb a target at Foret de Parroy.
In Belgium, the 401st Fighter Squadron, 370th Fighter Group, moves from Roye/Amy, France to Florennes/Juxaine with P-38s.
In France, the 586th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 394th Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from Tour-en-Bassin to Bricy with B-26s; the 644th Bombardment Squadron (Light), 410th Bombardment Group (Light), moves from Gosfield, England to Coulommiers with A-20s.
226 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and No 5 Groups to Karlsruhe. 2 Lancasters lost. Bomber Command claimed a concentrated attack, with a large area of the city devastated.
50 Mosquitos to Frankfurt and 6 to Hamburg, 26 RCM sorties. Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.
341 aircraft - 222 Lancasters, 84 Halifaxes, 35 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 3, 4 and 8 Groups attacked positions in the Calais area. The target areas were covered by cloud but the Master Bomber brought the force below this to bomb visually. The attacks on the various German positions were accurate and only 1 Lancaster was lost.
175 aircraft - 96 Halifaxes, 71 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitos - of 6 and No 8 Group attacked the Ruhroel AG synthetic-oil plant in the Welheim suburb of Bottrop. The target was almost entirely cloud-covered and most of the bombing was aimed at Oboe skymarkers, although a few aircraft were able to bomb through small breaks in the cloud. Explosions and black smoke were seen. No aircraft lost.
171 aircraft - 143 Halifaxes, 21 Lancasters, 7 Mosquitos - of 6 and No 8 Group attempted to bomb the Sterkrade oil plant. Only 83 aircraft bombed the main target, through thick cloud; 53 aircraft bombed alternative targets, most of them aiming at the approximate position of Duisburg. No aircraft lost.
6 RCM sorties, 5 Hudsons on Resistance operations, 73 Halifaxes petrol-carrying flights. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the day: 771 sorties, 1 aircraft (0.1 per cent) lost.
217 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and No 5 Groups in the only major raid carried out by Bomber Command during the war on Kaiserslautern. 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito lost.
46 Mosquitos to Kassel, 6 to Aschaffenburg and 6 to Heilbronn, 12 RCM sorties, 27 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.
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