He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type III, serial EE124, code BH-M).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 438: During the morning 967 bombers are dispatched to hit targets in Germany and France: 5 bombers are lost:
1. Of 340 B-17s, 213 hit oil industry targets in Bremen, 53 hit an aircraft factory at Westermunde and 40 attack Bremen; 1 B-17 is lost and 105 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA and 9 MIA.
Escort is provided by 6 fighter groups (185 P-38s and 85 P-47s); 1 group strafes an airfield and rail transport in the Munster and Hamm areas and claims 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; no losses.
2. 407 B-24s are dispatched to France; 78 hit Conches Airfield, 45 hit Chateaudun Airfield, 45 hit Orleans/Bricy Airfield, 34 hit Toussus/Le Noble, 31 hit a fighter strip, 12 hit Pont Audmer, 11 hit Toussus/Paris and 9 hit Dreux Airfield; 2 B-24s are lost and 81 damaged; 20 airmen are MIA.
Escort is provided by 45 P-38s and 36 P-47s; 1 P-38 is lost (pilot is MIA); the fighters later fly strafing missions.
3. 86 B-17s and 60 B-24s are dispatched to hit 12 CROSSBOW (V-weapon) sites in the Pas de Calais area but are prevented by overcast from bombing the sites, but 11 B-17s fly S and release bombs near the industrial area of Rouen; 1 B-17 is lost to AA fire; 13 B-17s and 1 B-24 are damaged; 9 airmen are MIA.
Escort is provided by 35 of 36 P-47s without loss.
4. Of 74 B-17s dispatched to the Saumur bridge, 38 hit the primary and 36 hit Tours/La Riche Airfield without loss; escort is provided by 121 of 135 P-51s who claim 4-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground.
Mission 439: During the afternoon 62 B-17s and 167 B-24s are dispatched to targets in France; 2 B-24s are lost; escort for the mission is provided by 71 P-47s and 50 P-51s without loss; 25 other P-51s fly a sweep of the Angers/Le Mans area and claim 25-0-6 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground:
1. Of 62 B-17s, 32 hit V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area, 12 hit Holque electrical stations and 12 hit Saint-Pol-sur-Mer marshalling yards; 17 B-17s are damaged.
2. Of 167 B-24s, 67 hit V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area, 14 hit the Abbeville power station, 12 hit Pont-a-Vendin and 12 hit the Tingry electrical station; 2 B-24s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 44 damaged; 20 airmen are MIA.
Mission 440: 5 of 5 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): 430+ B-26s and A-20s attack targets in France, including 4 gun positions, 3 V-weapon sites, 3 fuel dumps, 2 marshalling yards, and a railroad bridge; 200+ transports fly supplies to the Continent; 11 fighter groups provide escort, attack fuel dumps, rail targets and bridges W of Paris and S of the Loire, and fly armed reconnaissance S of the Cherbourg Peninsula and SW of Paris; and 313th Fighter Squadron, 50th Fighter Group, moves from Lymington, England to Carentan with P-47s.
412 aircraft - 226 Lancasters, 164 Halifaxes, 22 Mosquitos - of Nos 3, 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked 4 flying-bomb sites, which were all hit. 5 Lancasters lost.
203 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of No 1 and 5 Groups attacked railway yards at Limoges and Saintes. Both targets were bombed with great accuracy. 2 Lancasters of No 1 Group were lost from the Saintes raid.
32 Mosquitos to Bremen and 10 to a railway junction at Doves near Amiens, 14 RCM sorties, 27 Mosquito patrols, 12 aircraft minelaying off French ports. 1 Stirling lost from the minelaying force.
Total effort for the night: 714 sorties, 8 aircraft (1.1 per cent) lost.
321 aircraft - 200 Halifaxes, 106 Lancasters, 15 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked 3 flying bomb sites in clear weather conditions. All targets were accurately bombed; no aircraft lost.
16 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos of No 617 Squadron bombed the Wizernes site and scored several hits with their Tallboy bombs. 1 Lancaster was shot down by flak, the first loss by the squadron for exactly 2 months.
739 aircraft - 535 Lancasters, 165 Halifaxes, 39 Mosquitos - from all groups attacked 7 flying bomb sites, causing fresh damage at most of the targets. (The flying-bomb sites were now becoming so cratered by RAF, 8th Air Force and 2nd Tactical Air Force bombing that results for individual raids were becoming difficult to determine.) 22 Lancasters were lost from these raids; it was a clear, moonlit night and most of the bomber casualties were caused by German night fighters, often operating with the help of searchlights. It is not known why all of the casualties were Lancasters.
27 Mosquitos to Berlin, 7 RCM sorties, 34 Mosquito patrols, 13 aircraft minelaying off French ports and in the Kattegat. 1 Mosquito lost from the Berlin raid.
Total effort for the night: 820 sorties, 23 aircraft (2.8 per cent) lost.
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