He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type I, serial LM293, code PM-).
Bremen: 288 aircraft - 216 Lancasters, 65 Halifaxes, 7 Mosquitos. 1 Lancaster lost. Visibility over the target was clear and the Pathfinders provided perfect marking throughout the raid. Bremen's own records show this to have been the most destructive raid of the war, although only 274 aircraft attacked, dropping just over 1,100 tons of bombs. The whole of the centre and the north-western parts of Bremen, including the port area, were devastated.
234 aircraft - 210 Halifaxes, 14 Mosquitos, 10 Lancasters - mainly from No 4 Group, to attack the synthetic oil plant at Stekrade. 1 Halifax and 1 Lancaster lost. Bomber Command documents state that the raid was successful and that the plant was seriously damaged.
144 aircraft - 122 Halifaxes, 18 Lancasters, 4 Mosquitos of Nos 6 and 8 Groups attacked Connantre (between Paris and Reims). No aircraft lost. The target here was a railway station and yards 70 miles east of Paris. The Pathfinder marking was accurate and much damage was caused. This raid marked the end of the long series of attacks on the French and Belgian railway systems.
108 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups attacked and caused severe damage to the oil depot and storage tanks at Ertvelde Rieme to the north of Ghent. No aircraft lost.
Support and 139 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep to the Normandy area, 21 Mosquitos to Berlin and 19 to five other targets, 33 RCM sorties, 62 Mosquito patrols, 11 Halifaxes minelaying off Biscay ports, 5 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Mosquito lost on a raid to Harburg.
Total effort for the night: 1,069 sorties, 4 aircraft (0.4 per cent) lost.
52 Lancasters of No 5 Group attempted to bomb two groups of oil-storage tanks at La Pallice but the targets were difficult to identify and the effects of the bombing could not be seen. No aircraft lost.
1 Wellington of No 100 Group carried out a 'signals watch' flight.
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