He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type I, serial PD269, code WP-Q).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 695: 3 B-17s and 5 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): Weather forbids bomber operations and limits fighters; the XII and XIX Tactical Air Commands fly patrols, sweeps, and armed reconnaissance over E France and W Germany; the XII Tactical Air Command also supports US Seventh Army elements in the Metz, France area.
In Belgium, the 161st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Sandwieler, Luxembourg to Le Culot with F-6 and P-51s.
Cologne: 905 aircraft - 438 Halifaxes, 435 Lancasters, 32 Mosquitos. No aircraft lost. This was an Oboe-marked raid through cloud, and Bomber Command estimated that only 'scattered and light' damage was caused in the western parts of the city. But the local report shows that enormous damage was caused in the suburbs of Braunsfeld, Lindenthal, Klettenberg and Sülz, which were 'regelrecht umgepflügt' - 'thoroughly ploughed up' - by the huge tonnage of high explosive dropped (3,431 tons of high explosive and 610 tons of incendiaries were dropped). A vast amount of property, mostly civilian housing, was destroyed but railways and public utilities were also hit. There was little industry in the area which was bombed.
62 Mosquitos to Berlin and 3 each to Heilbronn and Oberhausen, 42 RCM sorties, 57 Mosquito patrols. 2 Mosquitos were lost - 1 from the Berlin raid and 1 Intruder.
Total effort for the night: 1,072 sorties, 2 aircraft (0.2 per cent) lost.
101 Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out a good G-H attack on the oil plant at Bottrop. 1 Lancaster lost.
1 Wellington carried out a signals patrol and 1 Hudson flew a Resistance operation.
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.
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