He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type I, serial W4119, code VN-Q).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 734: 455 bombers and 604 fighters make GH attacks on marshalling yards and fighter bomber attacks; they claim 34-3-7 Luftwaffe aircraft; 11 bombers and 4 fighters are lost:
1. 135 of 143 B-24s hit the Bingen marshalling yard; 1 others hit a target of opportunity; they claim 2-1-1 aircraft; 11 B-24s are lost and 4 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA and 102 MIA.
Escorting are 97 of 104 P-51s; they claim 4-1-2 aircraft without loss.
2. 152 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Lutzel marshalling yard at Koblenz (9) and the Oberlahnstein marshalling yard (125); 6 others hit targets of opportunity; no losses.
Escorting are 158 of 169 P-51s; they claim 6-0-0 aircraft without loss.
3. 160 B-17s are dispatched to Koblenz but abort the mission due to heavy clouds.
Escorting are 153 of 156 P-51s; they claim 7-0-0 aircraft without loss.
4. 133 P-47s and P-51s fly fighter sweeps over the Cologne, Kassel, Meiningen, Mannheim and Frankfurt area; they claim 15-1-4 aircraft; 3 P-47s and 1 P-51 are lost (pilots MIA) and 2 P-51s are damaged beyond repair.
5. 28 of 30 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
Mission 735: 7 B-17s and 6 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 210 A-20s, A-26s, and B-26s bomb areas of Saarlautern, Ensdorf, and Fraulautern; fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division, fly armed reconnaissance over W Germany (targets hit include a marshalling yard and bridges), and support the US 1st Infantry Division at Luchem, 104th Infantry Division at Inden, and 8th Infantry Division in the Brandenberger Forest-Tiefenbach Creek area.
71 Mosquitos to Karlsruhe, 6 to Hallendorf and 4 to Duisburg, 24 RCM sorties, 22 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.
93 Lancasters of No 3 Group attacked the Hansa benzol plant at Dortmund through thick cloud; the bombing was believed to be accurate. No aircraft lost.
1 Hudson flew a Resistance operation.
Hagen: 504 aircraft - 394 Halifaxes, 87 Lancasters, 23 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 1 Halifax and 1 Lancaster crashed in France. The town of Hagen was not too heavily bombed before this raid. The effect upon industrial production was serious. Many firms are recorded as having lost up to 3 months' production. In addition, it was found by the Allies after the war that a factory making U-boat accumulator batteries - of which large numbers were needed by the new types of U-boats - was completely destroyed in this raid.
66 Mosquitos to Giessen, 44 RCM sorties, 62 Mosquito patrols, 10 Stirlings on Resistance operations. 1 Stirling on Resistance work and 1 Intruder Mosquito lost.
Total effort for the night: 686 sorties. 4 aircraft (0.6 per cent) lost.
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