He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial LK867, code MP-P).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 353: 886 bombers and 735 fighters are dispatched to hit oil production facilities in Germany and Czechoslovakia; there is strong Luftwaffe fighter reaction and 46 bombers and 7 fighters are lost:
1. 326 B-17s are dispatched to Mersenburg (224 bomb) and Lutzkendorf (87 bomb); 1 hits Hedrongen and 1 bombs Bullstadt; 2 B-17s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 189 damaged; 4 airmen are KIA, 6 WIA and 20 MIA.
2. 295 B-17s are dispatched to Brux, Czechoslovakia (140 bomb) and Zwickau (74 bomb); 11 hit Chemnitz, 14 hit Gera marshalling yard, 15 hit Hof and 4 hit targets of opportunity; 41 B-17s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 162 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 8 WIA and 377 MIA.
3. 265 B-24s are dispatched to Zeitz (116 bomb) and Bohlen (99 bomb); 14 hit Mersenburg, 1 hits Ostend Airfield, Belgium and 12 hit targets of opportunity; 3 B-24s are lost, 5 damaged beyond repair and 61 damaged; 7 airmen are WIA and 33 MIA.
Escort is provided by 153 P-38s, 201 P-47s and 381 P-51s; P-38s claim 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft, P-47s claim 26-0-8 and P-51s claim 33-0-3 in the air and 5-0-2 on the ground; 4 P-47s and 3 P-51s are lost and 4 P-47s and 9 P-51s are damaged; 7 pilots are MIA.
Mission 354: 5 of 5 B-17s drop 1.74 million leaflets on Denmark; 1 aircraft is damaged; 2 airmen are KIA and 3 WIA.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): IX Troop Carrier Command carries out Operation EAGLE, a full-scale exercise of the tactics and techniques of paradrop, glider tow, parapack in resupply, air landing of supplies and medical evacuation as a dress rehearsal for the airborne invasion of Normandy.
450+ B-26s attack coastal defenses, airfields, bridges, railroads and railroad guns, and V-weapon sites in France and Belgium; thick haze impedes visibility and causes many aborts.
On 6 days during this period, Bomber Command Oboe Mosquitos flew as 'formation leaders' in Second Tactical Air Force attacks on small targets in Northern France. There were no losses from the 12 Bomber Command sorties flown.
190 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of No 5 Group, with 3 Mosquitos of No 8 Group, were dispatched to attack a large military camp at Bourg Léopold in Belgium. Haze hampered the marking of the target and the Master Bomber ordered the raid to be abandoned, for fear of hitting the nearby civilian housing, after 94 Lancasters had bombed. 5 Lancasters lost.
Boulogne: 135 aircraft - 80 Halifaxes, 47 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitos - of 6 and 8 Groups. 2 Halifaxes lost.
Some bombs fell in the railway yards but the main weight of the raid missed the target and fell on nearby civilian housing. 128 civilians were killed.
126 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups to Hasselt in norrth-eastern Belgium. The target was marked and 39 aircraft bombed, but all missed the railway yards because of thick haze and the Master Bomber ordered the bombing to stop. 5 Lancasters lost.
105 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of Nos 3 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards at Louvain near Rennes but the main weight of the bombing hit the railway workshops and nearby storage buildings. 4 Lancasters lost.
53 Halifaxes of No 4 Group and 6 Pathfinder Mosquitos attacked railway yards at Trouville, south of Le Havre. The bombing was accurate and a large explosion was seen. No aircraft lost.
53 Halifaxes of No 4 Group and 6 Pathfinder Mosquitos attacked a gun position at Colline Beaumont near Le Touquet. The target proved difficult to mark and no results were established. No aircraft lost.
8 RCM sorties, 6 Serrate patrols, 12 aircraft minelaying off French ports, 3 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 725 sorties, 16 aircraft (2.2 per cent) lost.
Louvain: 120 aircraft - 96 Halifaxes, 20 Lancasters, 4 Mosquitos - of 6 and 8 Groups. 3 Halifaxes and 2 Lancasters lost. The bombing was more accurate than on the previous night and considerable damage was caused in the railways yards.
Hasselt: 111 aircraft - 100 Halifaxes, 7 Lancasters, 4 Mosquitos - of Nos 4 and 8 Groups. 6 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost. Most of the attack fell in open fields and only a few bombs hit the railway yards.
22 Mosquitos of No 8 Group attempted to block the Kiel Canal by laying mines from low level. Intelligence sources had said that the flak defences on part of the canal had been removed. 20 Mosquitos laid their mines in this stretch; 1 aircraft lost.
12 Mosquitos to Brunsbüttel (as a diversion for the Kiel Canal mining operation) and 8 to Châteaudun, 10 RCM sorties, 12 Serrate and 9 Intruder patrols, 43 aircraft minelaying off the French coast and in the Frisians. 8 OTU sorties. 1 Intruder Mosquito lost.
Total effort for the night: 355 sorties, 14 aircraft (3.9 per cent) lost.
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