He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type II, serial BB195, code MP-B).
Düsseldorf
630 aircraft - 308 Wellingtons, 113 Lancasters, 70 Halifaxes, 61 Stirlings, 54 Hampdens, 24 Whitleys. This was another raid in which Bomber Command's training units provided aircraft, though it was not an attempt to reach the 1,000-aircraft figure. It was the first occasion when more than 100 Lancasters took part in a raid. 484 aircraft claimed successful bombing although their photographs showed that part of the force bombed open country. More than 900 tons of bombs were dropped.
453 buildings in Düsseldorf and Neuss, the suburb town over the Rhine, were destroyed and more than 15,000 damaged (12,192 only lightly). 954 fires were started, of which 67 were classed as large. 279 people were killed - 245 in Düsseldorf and 34 in Neuss; 1,018 people were injured and 12,053 were bombed out. (The British Official History, p. 487, gives 379 deaths but this is believed to be an error.)
The casualties of the bomber force were again heavy. 29 aircraft - 16 Wellingtons, 5 Hampdens, 4 Halifaxes, 2 Lancasters, 2 Whitleys - were lost; this was 4.6 per cent of those dispatched. 92 (OTU) Group lost 11 of its 105 aircraft on the raid, a casualty rate of 10.5 per cent.
6 Blenheim Intruder sorties were flown; 1 Blenheim lost.
6 Bostons to Flushing docks; 2 aircraft lost. 5 Mosquitos to widely separated German targets; 1 Mosquito lost.
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