He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial R9484, code MP-G).
Essen
254 aircraft - 167 Wellingtons, 43 Hampdens, 18 Stirlings, 10 Manchesters, 8 Halifaxes, 8 Lancasters. 14 aircraft - 7 Wellingtons, 5 Hampdens, 1 Halifax, 1 Manchester - lost.
Crews were given a forecast of clear weather over Essen but cloud was met instead. The bombing force became scattered and suffered heavily from the Ruhr Flak defences. Bombing was poor. Essen reports 12 houses destroyed, no serious industrial damage, 7 people killed and 30 injured. Total bombs in Essen were approximately 6 aircraft loads from the 172 aircraft claiming to have bombed there.
Bomber Command's first 8,000lb bomb was dropped during this raid by the 76 Squadron Halifax of Pilot Officer M. Renaut, whose aircraft was badly damaged by Flak. It is not known where Renaut's bomb fell.
Minor Operations: 40 'freshmen' crews to Le Havre, 3 Blenheim Intruders to Holland, 3 aircraft minelaying off Heligoland, 5 leaflet flights to France. 1 Manchester on the Le Havre raid and 1 Hampden minelayer lost.
Total effort for the night: 305 sorties, 16 aircraft (5.2 per cent) lost.
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