He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type I, serial NF939, code GI-D).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force):: 2 missions are flown.
Mission 785: 1,073 bombers and 700 fighters attack communications centers, rail targets, bridges and an oil storage depot in W Germany using PFF methods; 3 bombers and 1 fighter are lost.
1. 265 B-17s are dispatched but hit secondary targets, the marshalling yard at Hamm (109), Paderborn (74) and Bielefeld (74); 2 hit a target of opportunity; all attacks made using H2X radar; 5 B-17s are damaged.
Escorting are 197 of 204 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
2. 351 B-17s are dispatched to hit communications centers at Blankenheim (39), Kall (39), Bitburg (110) and Euskirchen (75); 35 hit the Lutzel Bridge at Cologne; all attacks made using Gee-H and H2X; 3 B-17s are damaged; 2 airmen are WIA.
Escort is provided by 159 of 160 P-51s.
3. 147 B-17s are dispatched to hit the bridge at Hohenzollern (14) and the highway bridge at Rodenkirchen (22); 80 hit the secondary target, the Kalk marshalling yard at Cologne; targets of opportunity are Limburg (11), Koblenz (11) and other (1); all attacks are made using Micro H and H2X; 2 B-17s are lost and 10 damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 19 MIA.
The escort is 91 of 95 P-51s.
4. 304 B-24s are dispatched to hit the marshalling yards at Landau (54), Zweibrucken (64) and Rastatt (99), the rail and communications center at Achern (31) and the railway at Kaiserslautern (26); all attacks made using Gee-H; targets of opportunity hit visually are Durrmenz (8) and Karlsuhe (1); 1 B-24 is lost and 10 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 9 MIA.
Escorting are 94 of 102 P-51s.
5. 6 of 6 B-17s fly a screening mission.
6. 88 P-47s and P-51s fly a fighter sweep without loss.
7. 12 of 12 P-51s escort 2 F-5s and 2 Mosquitoes on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany.
8. 33 of 33 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
Mission 786: 2 B-17s and 5 B-24s drop leaflets during the night in SE Belgium and France.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): XXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional) fighters escort VIII Bomber Command bombers.
All other commands and the 9th Bombardment Division cancel operations as the weather is bad.
Hanau: 482 aircraft - 314 Halifaxes, 154 Lancasters, 14 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 4 Halifaxes and 2 Lancasters lost. The attack was aimed at that part of Hanau in which an important junction in the German railway system was situated. The local report says that many bombs did fall in this area but also states that a large proportion of the bombing was scattered in the south - into the centre of Hanau - and to the north - into an area of countryside and villages.
Neuss: 147 Lancasters of Nos 1 and No 3 Groups. 1 Lancaster crashed in Belgium. As in Hanau, some of the bombing fell into the railway area but most was scattered over surrounding districts. 1,749 houses, 19 industrial premises and 20 public buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged.
20 Mosquitos to Kassel (a 'spoof' raid) and 6 to Castrop-Rauxel, 52 RCM sorties, 32 Mosquito patrols, 49 Lancasters minelaying off Baltic ports. 2 RCM Halifaxes and 2 Lancaster minelayers lost.
Total effort for the night: 788 sorties, 11 aircraft (1.4 per cent) lost.645 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8 Groups to Munich. 11 Lancasters lost and 4 more crashed in France. Bomber Command claimed a successful area raid, with the central and some industrial areas being severely damaged. This was the last major raid on Munich.
54 Mosquitos to Hannover, 18 to Nuremberg and 12 to Hanau, 39 RCM sorties, 45 Mosquito patrols. 2 Mosquitos lost - 1 from the Hannover raid and a No 100 Group aircraft.
The last Bomber Command Wellington operation was flown on this night by Flying Officer BH Stevens and his crew of No 192 Squadron. The Wellington was on an RCM flight over the North Sea 'to investigate enemy beam signals connected with the launching of flying bombs and believed to emanate from marker buoys'. Bad weather over the North Sea caused the flight to be curtailed but the Wellington landed safely, the last of more than 47,000 sorties carried out by this type of aircraft in Bomber Command.
Total effort for the night: 822 sorties, 17 aircraft (2.1 per cent) lost.
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