He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type I, serial NG447, code GI-U).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force):: 3 missions are flown.
Mission 938: 1,315 bombers and 905 fighters are dispatched to attack airfields known or suspected to be used by jet aircraft; about 60 jets and a few conventional fighters attack the formations; 19 bombers and 8 fighters are lost; the AAF claims 328-4-249 Luftwaffe aircraft:
1. 442 B-17s are sent to hit the Army HQ munitions depot (278) and airfield (139) at Oranienburg; 11 hit Rechlin Airfield, the secondary; they claim 7-1-8 aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 50 damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 84 MIA.
Escorting are 273 of 289 P-51s; they claim 11.
5-0-8 aircraft in the air and 56-0-32 on the ground; 4 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
2. 132 of 144 B-17s hit Neuruppin Airfield; 9 others hit the marshalling yard at Stendal, the secondary; 1 B-17 is lost and 44 damaged.
The escort is 112 of 117 P-51s claiming 128-0-94 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
3. 372 B-17s are sent to hit the Briest Airfield at Brandenburg (138), and Zerbst (75) and Burg-Bei-Magdeburg (147) Airfields; they claim 10-3-4 aircraft; 8 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 160 damaged; total losses for forces 2. and 3. are 1 KIA, 7 WIA and 80 MIA.
172 of 175 P-51s escort; they claim 6-0-2 aircraft in the air and 84-0-43 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
4. 357 B-24s hit Rechlin Airfield (159), Larz Airfield at Rechlin (103) and Parchim Airfield (32); 9 others hit the marshalling yard at Wittenberge, a target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost; 4 airmen are WIA and 11 MIA.
The escort is 207 of 220 P-51s; they claim 1-0-1 aircraft in the air and 20-0-21 on the ground.
5. 59 of 62 P-47s fly a freelance mission for the bombers; they claim 2-0-2 aircraft in the air and 41-0-66 on the ground.
6. 15 P-51s escort 20 of 21 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany.
7. 30 P-51s fly a scouting mission; 1 is lost (pilot MIA).
Mission 939: 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.
Mission 940: 13 of 14 B-24s bomb the Dessau rail depot by PFF methods during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 423 A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s strike oil storage and ordnance depots, rail bridge and viaduct (all primary targets) and several other targets including a marshalling yard and an industrial area; fighters escort the bombers, fly patrols, rail cutting operations, and armed reconnaissance, and support the US 13th Armored Division crossing the Sieg River near Siegburg, the 3d Armored Division approaching Nordhausen, the 9th Armored Division in the Hain area, the XII Corps near Coburg, the XX Corps W of Weimar and the Saale River, the 2d and 5th Armored Divisions crossing the Oker River in the Ahnsen and Schladen areas, and the XVI Corps along the Ruhr River in the Essen area.
Unit moves: HQ 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group and 30th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron from Limburg an der Lahn to Eschwege, Germany with F-5s; HQ 367th Fighter Group and 393d Fighter Squadron from Conflans, France to Eschborn Airfield, Frankfurt, Germany with P-47s; 388th Fighter Squadron, 365th Fighter Group, from Aachen to Fritzlar, Germany with P-47s; and 552d and 554th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 386th Bombardment Group (Medium), from Beaumont-sur-Oise, France to St Trond, Belgium with B-26s.
591 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups to Kiel. 3 Lancasters lost. This was an accurate raid, made in good visibility on two aiming points in the harbour area. Photographic reconnaissance showed that the Deutsche Werke U-boat yard was severely damaged, the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer was hit and capsized, the Admiral Hipper and the Emden were badly damaged. The local diary says that all 3 shipyards in the port were hit and that the nearby residential areas were severely damaged.
22 Halifaxes in a diversionary raid to Stade, 44 Mosquitos to Berlin, 37 to Plauen and 24 to Hamburg, 45 RCM sorties, 37 Mosquito patrols, 70 Lancasters and 28 Halifaxes minelaying in Kiel Bay and the Little Belt. 1 Halifax from the diversion raid crashed in France.
Total effort for the night: 906 sorties, 4 aircraft (0.4 per cent) lost.
230 aircraft - 134 Lancasters, 90 Halifaxes, 6 Mosquitos - attacked the Engelsdorf and Mockau railway yards at Leipzig. The weather was clear and the bombing was accurate. 1 Halifax and 1 Lancaster lost.
Plauen: 307 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups. No aircraft lost. The bombing fell around the railway yards in the northern half of the town. The railways were hit and 365 acres, 51 per cent, of the town's built-up area were also destroyed.
76 Lancasters and 19 Mosquitos of 5 and 8 Groups attacked the Wahren railway yards, Leipzig. The eastern half of the yards was destroyed. 7 Lancasters lost.
77 Mosquitos to Berlin, 21 to Chemnitz and 7 to Bayreuth, 53 RCM sorties, 26 Mosquito patrols. 1 Mosquito from the Berlin raid and 1 RCM Halifax were lost.
Total effort for the night: 594 sorties, 9 aircraft (1.5 per cent) lost.
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