He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type I, serial PD336, code WP-P).
AIRBORNE OPERATIONS
(IX Troop Carrier Command): The 76th and 78th Troop Carrier Squadrons, 435th Troop Carrier Group, move from Welford Park, England to Bretigny, France with C-47s.
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force):: Mission 835: 1,135 bombers and 560 fighters are dispatched to hit oil, industrial and rail targets in Germany; they claim 3-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-24 and 7 P-51s are lost:
1. 196 B-17s are sent to hit the marshalling yard at Osnabruck (155); 24 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Munster; 10 hit Haselunne, a target of opportunity; Micro-H and H2X are used; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 21 damaged; 1 airman is WIA.
Escorting are 38 of 42 P-51s.
2. 291 B-24s are dispatched to hit military vehicle plants at Meschede (97) and Jungenthal (86) and the marshalling yard at Siegen (94) using Gee-H; 1 B-24 is lost and 8 damaged; 9 airmen are MIA.
122 P-47s and P-51s escort.
3. 422 B-17s are sent to hit benzol plants at Bochum (99) and Gelsenkirchen (36), oil refineries at Dortmund (74) and Alm (37) using Micro H and H2X; 162 hit the secondary target, the Munster marshalling yard (162) visually; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 59 damaged; 1 airman is KIA.
91 of 96 P-51s escort; 1 is lost (pilot MIA).
4. 131 of 144 B-17s hit the marshalling yard at Rheine with Micro H without loss.
48 P-51s escort.
5. 68 of 82 B-17s hit the rail bridge at Wesel using Micro H; 25 B-17s are damaged.
32 of 37 P-51s escort.
6. 163 of 179 P-51s fly a fighter sweep against rail and road targets in the Hannover-Magdeburg-Brunswick area claiming 2-0-0 aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; 5 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
7. 27 of 28 P-51s fly a scouting misson; 1 is lost (pilot MIA).
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In Germany, B-26s, A-26s, and A-20s, strike the Mechernich prime mover depot, rail bridges at Pracht, Niederscheld, and Neuwied-Irlich, the Wiesbaden ordnance depot, and 4 targets of opportunity; fighters escort the bombers, attack railroads and bridges, fly armed reconnaissance and alerts, and cooperate with the VIII, XII, and XX Corps E of the Our River, between the Westwall and the Prum River, and in the Saar-Mosel triangle.
The 167th Liaison Squadron, Ninth Air Force (attached to the Sixth Army Group), is activated at Vittel, France with L-4s and L-5s.
32 Mosquitos to Mannheim, 6 each to Berlin and Bremen and 3 on 'siren tours' of various towns in Central Germany, 34 RCM sorties, 18 Mosquito patrols, 21 Lancasters and 4 Halifaxes minelaying in the German Bight. 2 Lancasters were lost from the minelaying force.
Wesel: 168 Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out a good attack with the best concentration of bombs being in the railway area. 1 Lancaster lost.
1 Halifax flew an RCM sortie.
254 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos of No 5 Group dispatched to Böhlen. 1 Mosquito lost. This raid was not successful, probably because the aircraft of the Master Bomber, Wing Commander EA Benjamin, was shot down by flak over the target. Post-raid reconnaissance showed that damage to the target was 'superficial'; there was no evidence to show where the main bombing fell.
82 Mosquitos to Erfurt and 24 in small numbers to 6 other targets, 9 RCM sorties, 29 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.
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