He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type III, serial LM576, code LS-D).
19 June 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Morning and afternoon missions are made against targets in France.
Mission 423: In the morning, 464 B-17s are dispatched against airfields in the Bordeaux area: 92 hit Cormes Ecluse, 84 hit Bordeaux/Merignac, 39 hit Cazaux, 34 hit Landes-de-Bussac, 12 hit Cabanac and 3 hit targets of opportunity; 7 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 11 damaged; 3 airmen are WIA and 59 MIA; escort is provided by 88 P-38s and 261 P-51s; 4 P-38s and 6 P-51s are lost (all pilots MIA).
Mission 424: In both morning and afternoon missions, 216 of 391 B-17s and 294 of 312 B-24s hit 35 V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area; 1 B-24 is lost, 1 B-24 damaged beyond repair and 65 B-17s and 22 B-24s damaged; 2 airmen are WIA and 10 MIA.
Escort is provided by 196 P-38s, 122 P-47s and 48 P-51s; 1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair; 1 P-38 group, after completing escort duty, dive-bombs and strafes transportation targets in NE France, destroying a locomotive and 3 barges.
858th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), VIII Air Force Composite Command, moves from North Pickenham to Cheddington, England with B-24s (the squadron begins flying leaflet missions).
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In France, the airfield at Cardonville, the first US field in France, becomes operational; around 200 fighters carry out uneventful armed reconnaissance and patrols in the morning, and dive-bomb 6 NOBALL (V-weapon) targets in the afternoon; and HQ 84th Fighter Wing moves from Beaulieu, England to Houesville.
125th Liaison Squadron, Ninth Air Force (attached to HQ Command, ETO), moves from Cheltenham to Chedworth, England with L-5s (first mission is in Aug).
20 June 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 425: In the morning 1,548 bombers are dispatched to attack 14 strategic targets in N Germany and V-weapon sites in France; 49 bombers are lost:
1. 126 of 146 B-24s bomb V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area; 1 B-24 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 83 damaged; 4 airmen are KIA, 8 WIA and 24 MIA.
Escort is provided by 44 P-47s; they claim 3-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-47 is lost (pilot is MIA).
2. Of 341 B-17s dispatched, 137 hit Fallersleben, 95 hit Magdeburg/ Rothensee and 52 hit Konigsberg; they claim 2-0-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 6 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 116 damaged; 11 airmen are WIA and 60 MIA.
Of 191 B-24s, 169 hit Hannover/Misburg and 3 hit a target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 89 damaged; 4 airmen are KIA, 6 WIA and 9 MIA.
Escort is provided by 98 P-38s, 86 P-47s and 38 P-51s and 81 Ninth Air Force P-51s; they claim 10-1-10 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 8-0-3 on the ground; 1 P-38, 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost (2 pilots MIA).
3. Of 512 B-17s dispatched, 107 hit Hamburg/Eurotank oil refinery, 60 hit Harburg/Ebano oil refinery, 54 hit Hamburg/Schliemanns oil refinery, 53 hit Harburg/Rhenania oil refinery, 53 hit Hamburg/Deut.Petr.AG, 50 hit Hamburg/ Rhenania-Ossag oil refinery, 26 hit Hamburg/Schindler oil refinery, 12 hit Brunsbuttel canal lock and 2 hit targets of opportunity; 7 B-17s are lost and 349 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 13 WIA and 63 MIA.
Escort is provided by 96 P-38s and 48 P-47s without claims or loss.
4. Of 358 B-24s, 245 hit Politz, 71 bomb Ostermoor and 12 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 10-3-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 34 B-24s are lost and 205 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 6 WIA and 343 MIA.
Escort is provided by 50 P-38s and 221 P-51s; they claim 28-1-9 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 5-0-9 on the ground; 3 P-38s are lost.
Mission 426: In the afternoon, 33 of 37 B-17s and 196 of 380 B-24s attack 10 V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area; 1 B-24 is lost and 96 damaged.
Escort is provided by 72 P-47s and 40 P-51s without loss.
Mission 427: 5 of 5 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.
25 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions in France.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In France, about 370 B-26s and A-20s bomb 9 V-weapon sites and a coastal defense battery at Houlgate; 1,000+ fighters operating over frontline areas, the Cherbourg Peninsula, and S to Dreux, bomb and strafe rail lines, marshalling yards, bridges, troop concentrations and other targets; HQ 368th Fighter Group and 395th and 396th Fighter Squadrons move from Chilboton, England to Cardonville with P-47s; and 390th Fighter Squadron, 366th Fighter Group, moves from Thruxton, England to Pierre du Mont with P-47s.
112th Liaison Squadron, Ninth Air Force (attached to HQ Command, ETO), moves from Kingston Deverill to Hurst Park, England with L-5s.
21 June 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 428: 1,234 bombers and 1,170 fighters are dispatched to hit targets in Germany; 45 bombers and 4 fighters are lost:
1. 145 of 163 B-17s begin shuttle bombing missions (Operation FRANTIC) between the UK and bases in the USSR; 72 P-38s, 38 P-47s and 57 P-51s escort the B-17s to the target (synthetic oil plant at Ruhland, Germany); 123 B-17s bomb the primary target, 21 bomb Elsteriverda and a lone B-17 bombs Riesa due to a bomb rack malfunction; after the attack, the supporting P-51s are relieved 50 miles (80 km) SE of Poznan, Poland by 65 other P-51s which are to accompany the B-17s to the USSR; 50 miles (80 km) SE of Brest Litovsk 20 to 30 Luftwaffe fighters attack the force; in the resulting battle 1 P-51 and 6 German fighters are destroyed; 1 B-17 is lost (to unknown causes) on the flight; 144 B-17s land in the USSR, 73 at Poltava, and the rest at Mirgorod; the 64 remaining P-51s land at Piryatin; 1 airman is KIA, 5 WIA and 10 MIA.
During the night of 21/22 Jun the 73 B-17s which earlier landed at Poltava are attacked for 2 hours by an estimated 75 German bombers led by aircraft dropping flares; 47 B-17s are destroyed and most of the remainder severely damaged; heavy damage is also suffered by stores of fuel and ammunition.
This AAF shuttle run is made in conjunction with a large-scale effort against targets in the Berlin area as follows:
2. 456 of 496 B-17s attack Berlin; 12 other hit targets of opportunity; they claim 16-20-19 Luftwaffe aircraft; 16 B-17s are lost and 216 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 10 WIA and 148 MIA; escort is provided by 99 P-38s, 95 P-47s and 73 P-51s; they claim 4-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 fighter is lost.
3. Of 368 B-24s dispatched, 69 hit Genshagen, 52 hit Marienfelde, 47 hit Berlin, 40, hit Potsdam, 28 hit Niederschonweide, 23 hit Genshagen, 16 hit Rangsdorf, 10 hit Trebbin, 8 hit Selvig, 8 hit Stendal, 7 hit targets of opportunity in the Berlin area and 1 hits Bederekesa; they claim 13-3-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 19 B-24s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 150 damaged; 21 airmen are KIA, 20 WIA and 182 MIA; escort is provided by 148 P-38s, 147 P-47s and 116 P-51s; they claim 13-0-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 P-38 damaged beyond repair.
4. Of 207 B-17s, 103 hit Berlin, 80 hit Basdorf and 5 hit targets of opportunity; 9 B-17s are lost; escort is provided by 108 P-38s, 81 P-47s and 91 P-51s; 1 P-38, 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost (all pilot MIA) and 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair.
Mission 429: In the late afternoon, 31 B-24s bomb CROSSBOW (V-weapon) supply sites at Oisemont/Neuville and Saint-Martin-L'Hortier and 39 bomb a rocket site at Siracourt, France.
AA fire shoots down 1 B-24; escort is provided by 99 P-47s, meeting no enemy aircraft, but 1 group strafes railroad and canal targets.
Mission 430: 5 of 5 B-17s drop leaflets in France.
21 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions in France during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): 250+ B-26s and A-20s bomb 13 V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais area of France.
700+ fighters escort Eighth Air Force bombers over Germany, bomb bridges S and W of Paris, and strafe rail and road traffic and communications centers N and W of Paris.
322 aircraft - 165 Halifaxes, 142 Lancasters, 15 Mosquitos - 3, 6 and 8 Groups attacked 3 flying bomb sites. Because of cloud, 2 of the raids were abandoned after only 17 aircraft had bombed; the third target, at St Martin l'Hortier, was bombed through 10/10ths cloud. No aircraft lost.
3 Mosquitos of No 100 Group flew Ranger patrols and claimed an Me110 shot down. No Mosquitos lost.
133 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos to attack the synthetic-oil plant at Wesseling; all the aircraft in this force were from No 5 Group except for 5 Lancasters provided by No 1 Group. The weather forecast for the target area (and for the attack on Scholven/Buer which took place at the same time) predicted clear conditions but the bombing force encountered 10/10ths low cloud. The planned No 5 Group low-level marking method could not be used and the reserve method, in which the Lancasters bombed on H2S, was used instead. German night fighters made contact with the bomber force and 37 Lancasters were lost, Nos 44, 49 and 619 Squadrons each losing 6 aircraft. The casualty rate represented 27.8 per cent of the Lancaster force. Post-raid reconnaissance showed that only slight damage was caused to the oil plant but a secret German report quoted in the British Official History records a 40 per cent production loss at Wesseling after this raid. It is possible that the loss was only of short duration.
123 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 5 and 8 Groups (124 aircraft from No 5 Group) to attack the synthetic-oil plant at Scholven/Buer. 8 Lancasters lost. This target was also cloud-covered and the No 5 Group marking method could not be used, the Pathfinder aircraft present providing Oboe-based skymarking instead. Again there is a contradiction in reports on the effect of the bombing. Post-raid photographs appeared to show no new damage but the German secret reports indicate a 20 per cent production loss.
32 Mosquitos to Berlin, 41 Mosquito patrols, 13 Stirlings minelaying off Guernsey, St Malo and St Nazaire, 10 Halifaxes on Resistance operations. 1 Mosquito of No 100 Group lost.
Total effort for the night: 361 sorties, 46 aircraft (12.7 per cent) lost.
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