He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type X, serial KB767, code VR-U).
AIRBORNE OPERATIONS
(IX Troop Carrier Command): In France, HQ 440th Troop Carrier Group moves from Le Mans to Orleans; the 302d Troop Carrier Squadron, 441st Troop Carrier Group, moves from St Marceau to Dreux with C-47s.
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): HQ Eighth AF is ordered to increase the size of the 406th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), VIII Fighter Command, the night leaflet squadron, as the liberation of Europe and the conquest of Germany accelerate.
2 missions are flown.
Mission 698: 1,174 bombers and 968 fighters in 5 forces are dispatched to hit synthetic oil installations in C Germany and rail targets at Bielefeld, Germany; an estimated 500 Luftwaffe fighters meet the bombers at Merseburg and the AAF claims 163-40-52 Luftwaffe aircraft; 40 bombers and 16 fighters are lost:
1. 460 B-17s are dispatched to the Leuna oil installation at Merseburg (383) using PFF; targets of opportunity are Halle (23), Wolfenbuttel (13) and other (17); they claim 6-2-2 aircraft; 12 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 339 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 13 WIA and 101 MIA.
The Ninth AF provides 31 of 34 P-38s and 433 of 483 P-51s as escort; they claim 46-3-10 aircraft in the air and 25-0-0 on the ground; 8 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
2. 223 B-17s are dispatched to the Leuna oil installation at Merseburg (210) using PFF; 5 others hit targets of opportunity; they claim 30-33-25 aircraft; 26 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 152 damaged; 11 airmen are WIA and 260 MIA.
Escort is provided by 209 of 245 P-51s; they claim 56-2-15 aircraft; 6 P-51s are lost (5 pilots MIA).
3. 208 B-24s are dispatched to hit Bielefeld; 172 hit the primary, a bridge, 10 hit the secondary, the marshalling yard, and 9 hit the town; all attacks are with GH and visual; 17 B-24s are damaged.
Escort is provided by 143 of 146 P-47s; 2 P-47s are lost.
4. 131 of 146 B-24s hit the Rauxel oil installations at Castrop using GH; 1 B-24 is lost and 23 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 2 WIA and 10 MIA.
Escort is provided by 37 of 40 P-47s without loss.
5. 137 B-17s are dispatched to hit an oil installation at Sterkrade (107); 20 others hit the secondary, the Rheine marshalling yard; 1 B-17s is lost and 52 damaged; 9 airmen are MIA.
Escort is provided by 20 of 20 P-47s without loss.
Mission 699: 3 B-17s and 5 B-24s drop leaflets during the night over the Netherlands and Germany.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 147 bombers of the 9th Bombardment Division, with fighter escort, attack rail bridges at Mayen, Euskirchen, Bullay, Konz-Karthaus, and Trier.
Fighters attack bridges, fly armed reconnaissance and night patrol, and provide support for ground forces in frontline areas.
In France, the 162d Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group, moves from Dijon to Azelot with F-6s and P-51s.
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.
184 Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out a G-H attack on the oil plant at Homberg. Large fires and a thick column of smoke were seen. 5 Lancasters lost.
2 Wellingtons flew RCM sorties without loss.
992 aircraft - 561 Lancasters, 400 Halifaxes, 31 Mosquitos - dispatched to Düsseldorf. 11 Halifaxes and 8 Lancasters were lost, 4 of the losses being crashes behind Allied lines in France and Belgium. This heavy attack fell mainly on the northern half of Düsseldorf. More than 5,000 houses were destroyed or badly damaged. 7 industrial premises were destroyed and 18 were seriously damaged, including some important steel firms. This was the last major Bomber Command raid of the war on Düsseldorf.
42 Mosquitos to Osnabrück and 9 to Hallendorf (only 1 aircraft reached this target), 37 RCM sorties, 51 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 1,131 sorties, 19 aircraft (1.7 per cent) lost.
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