He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type III, serial PB567, code AR-V).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 696: 324 bombers and 321 fighters are dispatched to attack 2 synthetic oil plants near Gelsenkirchen and a bridge at Rudesheim, Germany; 1 P-51 is lost:
1. 142 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Norstern oil plant at Gelsenkirchen (113); 23 hit the secondary, the Hamm marshalling yard; 1 hits a target of opportunity; 24 B-17s are damaged; 1 airman is KIA.
Escort is provided by 140 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
2. 143 of 144 B-24s hit the Buer oil plant at Gelsenkirchen; 25 B-24s are damaged.
Escort is provided by 109 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair.
3. 38 B-17s are dispatched to hit a railroad bridge at Rudesheim (13); 24 hit the secondary, a marshalling yard at Koblenz; 7 B-17s are damaged.
Escort is provided by 37 of 38 P-51s.
Mission 697: 3 B-17s and 5 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): Weather prevents bomber operations; fighters fly patrols, sweeps, armed reconnaissance over Belgium, E France, and large areas of W Germany and attack bridges, railroads, and various other targets.
Cologne: 493 aircraft - 331 Lancasters, 144 Halifaxes, 18 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 3, 4 and 8 Groups. 15 further Mosquitos carried out a feint attack just before the main raid. 2 Lancasters lost. This was another Oboe-marked attack through thick cloud. Most of the bombing fell in the southern districts, with Bayental and Zollstock, according to the local report, being the hardest hit, although damage was not as severe as in other recent raids.
49 Mosquitos to Hamburg, 4 to Saarbrücken and 2 to Schweinfurt, 36 RCM sorties, 59 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.
226 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos of No 5 Group, with 14 Mosquitos of No 8 Group attempted to attack the Meerbeck oil plant at Homberg. The marking was scattered and only 159 of the Lancaster crews attempted to bomb. 1 Lancaster lost.
2 RCM sorties, 1 Hudson on a Resistance operation.
Oberhausen: 288 aircraft - 202 Halifaxes, 74 Lancasters, 12 Mosquitos - of 6 and 8 Groups. 3 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost. The target area was cloud-covered and the bombing was not concentrated.
49 Mosquitos to Berlin, 12 to Cologne and 4 each to Karlsruhe and Mülheim, 28 RCM sorties, 46 Mosquito patrols, 25 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
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