He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type I, serial NG396, code KM-G).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force):: 3 missions are flown.
Mission 869: 946 bombers and 322 fighters are dispatched to hit oil and communication targets using PFF; 1 P-51 is lost:
1. 246 B-24s are sent to hit the marshalling yard at Soest (144) and the Schildesche water viaduct at Bielefeld (80); Gee-H and H2X radar are used for bombing; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 3 damaged; 10 airmen are KIA.
Escorting are 77 P-47s and P-51s.
2. 344 B-17s are dispatched to bomb the Horderverein (24) and Harpenerweg (62) oil refineries at Dortmund; secondary targets hit are the marshalling yards at Paderborn (11), Siegen (113) and Giessen (87); Gee-H and H2X radar are used; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 20 damaged; 1 airman is KIA.
The escort is 74 of 85 P-51s.
3. 340 B-17s are sent to hit the Emscherlippe benzol plant at Datteln (173) and the Rauxel benzol plant at Castrop (77); secondary targets hit are the marshalling yards at Siegen (43) and Giessen (28); 1 other hits a target of opportunity; Micro H and H2X radar are used; 56 B-17s are damaged.
75 of 76 P-51s escort the bombers.
4. 6 B-17s and 6 B-24s fly a screening mission.
5. 4 B-17s fly a scouting mission.
6. 37 of 38 P-51s fly a sweep of the Dummer Lake-Kassel-Koblenz area.
7. 23 P-51s escort 5 F-5s and a Spitfire on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
8. 24 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
Mission 870: 11 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany and the Netherlands.
Mission 871: 19 of 20 B-24s bomb Dortmund during the night using PFF; 1 B-24 is lost.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): Weather cancels combat operations except for the XXIX Tactical Air Commands support of the US XVI Corps along the Rhine River in the Wesel area.
The 39th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 10th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), moves from St Amand to Jarny, France with F-5s (flights are operating from Gosselies and Le Culot, Belgium).
191 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of No 5 Group attacked the port of Sassnitz on the island of Rügen, in the Baltic. Considerable damage was caused to the northern part of the town and 3 ships were sunk in the harbour. 1 Lancaster lost.
87 Lancasters of No 3 Group and 51 Mosquitos of No 8 Group continued the attack on Wesel with two separate raids. No aircraft lost.
42 Mosquitos to Berlin, 2 RCM sorties, 5 Mosquito patrols, 15 Lancasters minelaying off Sassnitz.
526 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups raided Dessau. 18 Lancasters lost, 3.4 per cent of the force. This was another devastating raid on a new target in Eastern Germany with the usual town centre, residential, industrial and railway areas all being hit.
256 Halifaxes and 25 Lancasters of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups attempted to attack the Deutsche Erdoel refinery at Hemmingstedt, near Heide, with little success. 4 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost.
234 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of No 5 Group carried out an accurate attack on the oil refinery at Harburg. 14 Lancasters lost. No 189 Squadron, from Fulbeck, lost 4 of its 16 Lancasters on the raid. One local report states that a rubber factory was seriously damaged as well as the oil targets.
80 Mosquitos to Berlin, 10 to Frankfurt, 9 to Münster and 5 to Hannover, 56 RCM sorties, 43 Mosquito patrols, 15 Halifaxes and 5 Lancasters minelaying off Eckemforde and Flensburg. 4 aircraft were lost - 2 Halifaxes and 1 Fortress of No 100 Group and 1 Mosquito from the Berlin raid.
Total effort for the night: 1,276 sorties, 41 aircraft (3.2 per cent) lost.
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