He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type III, serial PB114, code GT-N).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 503: 1,228 bombers and 755 fighters are dispatched to hit oil targets in Germany and airfields in France; 17 bombers and 7 fighters are lost:
1. Of 657 B-17s, 569 hit the Merseburg/Leuna synthetic oil plant, 13 hit Gottingen, 11 hit Hildesheim marshalling yard, and 10 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 15-8-3 Luftwaffe aircraft; 15 B-17s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 349 are damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 17 WIA and 138 MIA.
Escort is provided by 429 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 21-2-3 Luftwaffe aircraft (including a jet aircraft) in the air and 3-0-2 on the ground; 7 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 1 P-47 and 6 P-51s are damaged.
2. Of 473 B-24s, 442 hit Bremen/Oslebshausen oil refinery, 2 hit targets of opportunity and 1 hit Cuxhaven; 2 B-24s are lost and 96 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 15 MIA.
Escort is provided by 106 of 109 P-51s.
3. Of 98 B-24s, 38 hit Juvincourt Airfield and 26 hit Laon/Couvron Airfield in France; 2 B-24s are damaged beyond repair; 5 airmen are KIA and 7 WIA.
Escort is provided by 142 of 150 P-51s.
Mission 504: 6 of 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.
44 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions; 12 abort.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In France, bad weather cancels all IX Bomber Command missions; fighters fly armed reconnaissance in the Rouen, Amiens, Beaumont-en-Beine, Tours, Vendome, and Le Mans areas, furnish assault area cover, carry out armed reconnaissance of enemy installations and movement in the battle area, and provide cover in support of the US First Army.
494 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3, 5 and 8 Groups in the last raid of the current series on Stuttgart. German fighters intercepted the bomber stream while over France on the outward flight; there was a bright moon and 39 Lancasters were shot down, 19 per cent of the force.
307 aircraft - 187 Halifaxes, 106 Lancasters, 14 Mosquitos from Nos 1, 6 and 8 Groups - to Hamburg. German fighters again appeared, this time on the homeward flight, and 18 Halifaxes and 4 Lancasters were lost, 12 per cent of the force. The Halifax casualties were 9.6 per cent; No 431 (Canadian) Squadron, flying from Croft airfield in Co. Durham, lost 5 of its 17 aircraft on the raid. This was the first heavy raid on Hamburg since the Battle of Hamburg just a year earlier. The bombing on this raid was not well concentrated. The Germans estimated that only 120 aircraft bombed in the city area, with no recognisable aiming point, though western and harbour areas received the most bombs.
119 aircraft of Nos 1, 4 and 8 Groups attacked the flying bomb stores area at Forêt De Nieppe again. No aircraft lost.
Support and 95 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep over the North Sea, 13 Mosquitos to Frankfurt, 41 RCM sorties, 50 Mosquito patrols, 5 Halifaxes minelaying in the River Elbe. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 1,126 sorties, 61 aircraft (5.4 per cent) lost.
76 aircraft - 50 Halifaxes, 16 Stirlings, 10 Mosquitos - of Nos 3, 4 and 8 Groups attacked the stores dump at Forêt De Nieppe without loss.
30 Mosquitos to Frankfurt (though some bombs fell in Mainz 20 miles away, killing 8 people), 9 to St Trond and 4 to Coulommiers (these last 2 targets were German night-fighter airfields), 13 RCM sorties, 6 Mosquito patrols, 9 OTU sorties. No aircraft lost.
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