He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial MZ408, code C8-L).
16 November 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 715: 1,243 bombers and 282 fighters, along with Ninth AF and Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft, are dispatched to attack tactical targets E of Aachen, Germany in support of the US First and Ninth Armies' offensive; 1 fighter is lost:
1. 486 of 495 B-17s hit transportation targets in the Duren area; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair and 8 damaged; 1 airman is WIA.
Escort is 151 of 159 P-51s; 1 is damaged beyond repair.
2. 490 of 501 B-17s and 228 of 243 B-24s hit transportation targets in the Eschweiler area; 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 8 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 6 MIA.
Escort is 98 of 107 P-51s; 1 is lost (pilot MIA) and 3 damaged beyond repair.
4 of 4 B-17s fly a screening force mission.
16 of 16 P-51s fly a scouting force mission.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 80 9th Bombardment Division bombers hit defended areas and strongpoints at Echtz, Luchem, and Eschweiler; IX Tactical Air Command fighter-bombers dive-bomb gun positions and other targets in the Stolberg and Hurtgen areas and XIX Tactical Air Command supports the US XX Corps in the Merzig, Trier, and Saarbrucken area; the XXIX Tactical Air Command attacks targets in 12 W German towns; the US First and Ninth Armies begin an eastward thrust (Operation QUEEN) into hit by the IX and XXIX Tactical Air Commands.
17 November 1944
(Ninth Air Force): 30 bombers of the 9th Bombardment Division hit Haguenau, France; weather prevents 100+ bombers from attacking targets; fighters escort bombers, fly patrol and armed reconnaissance over a wide area of W Germany, and support the US 104th and 4th Infantry Divisions and 2d Armored Division, E of Aachen and near Hurtgen, Germany.
18 November 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 716: 402 fighters (47 P-47s and 355 P-51s) are dispatched to strafe oil storage depots in the Hanau and Ulm areas, airfields at Leipheim and Lechfeld, and miscellaneous ground targets in Germany; 374 actually attack; about 70 Luftwaffe fighters are encountered and the AAF claims 26-2-6 in the air and 69-0-41 on the ground; 2 P-47s and 5 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 2 P-51s are damaged beyond repair.
Mission 717: 4 B-24s and 6 B-17s drop leaflets in Belgium, the Netherlands and France during the night.
HQ 92d Combat Bombardment Wing (Heavy) moves from Sudbury to Bury St Edmunds, England.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): 340+ bombers of the 9th Bombardment Division strike barracks areas, rail bridges, rail facilities, strongpoints, and defended positions at 13 locations in Germany; fighters escort the bombers, fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance over W Germany, and support ground forces E of Aachen, Germany and in the Sarreguemines, France area.
In France, the 355th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Group, based at Orconte with P-47s, begins operating from St Dizier.
36 Mosquitos to Berlin, 6 each to Gotha and Wanne-Eickel, 5 to Karlsruhe and 4 to Scholven/Buer, 29 RCM sorties, 30 Mosquito patrols. 1 Mosquito lost from the Berlin raid.
Bomber Command was asked to bomb 3 towns near the German lines which were about to be attacked by the American First and Ninth Armies in the area between Aachen and the Rhine. 1,188 Bomber Command aircraft attacked Düren, Jülich and Heinsburg in order to cut communications behind the German lines. Düren was attacked by 485 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 5 and 8 Groups, Jülich by 413 Halifaxes, 78 Lancasters and 17 Mosquitos of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups and Heinsberg by 182 Lancasters of No 3 Group. 3 Lancasters were lost on the Düren raid and 1 Lancaster on the Heinsberg raid. 1,239 American heavy bombers also made raids on targets in the same area, without suffering any losses. More than 9,400 tons of high-explosive bombs were dropped by the combined bomber forces. The American advance was not a success. Wet ground prevented the use of tanks and the American artillery units were short of ammunition because of supply difficulties. The infantry advance was slow and costly.
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