He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial NZ360, code KN-A).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force):: 2 missions are flown.
Mission 783: 816 bombers and 622 fighters are dispatched to hit rail and communications targets in W Germany; all but a few attacks are made using Gee-H and H2X; they claim 14-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; 1 B-17 and 2 P-51s are lost:
1. 258 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Worms (62) and Kaiserslautern (34); 64 hit a secondary target, the marshalling yard at Ludwigshafen; targets of opportunity are Annweiler (31), the marshalling yard at Kusel (22) and other (29); some targets are bombed visually; 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 55 damaged; 5 airmen are KIA and 2 WIA.
Escorting are 109 of 121 P-51s; they claim 14-0-1 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 2 damaged beyond repair (1 pilot KIA).
2. 422 B-17s are sent to hit the Cologne South rail bridge (71) and Cologne North highway bridge (35) and the communications center at Kempernich (72); secondary targets are the Kalk marshalling yard at Cologne (183) and the highway bridge across the Rhine River at Bonn (38); 3 others hit a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 17 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 10 MIA.
Escort is provided by 219 of 229 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 2 damaged beyond repair (1 pilot KIA).
3. 31 of 130 B-24s hit the highway bridge across the Rhine River at Bonn; 95 hit the secondary target, the Mosel marshalling yard at Koblenz; 1 hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 17 damaged.
The escort is 172 of 181 P-51s.
4. 6 of 6 B-17s fly a screening mission.
5. 36 of 60 P-47s attack the marshalling yard at Siegen.
6. 23 of 23 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
7. 8 of 8 P-51s escort 4 F-5s on a photo reconnaissance mission over W Germany.
Mission 784: 6 B-17s drop leaflets over Belgium and the Netherlands during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): 26 bombers of the 9th Bombardment Division strike Prum, Germany.
Bad weather prevents all fighter operations.
Hannover: 664 aircraft - 340 Halifaxes, 310 Lancasters, 14 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 23 Halifaxes and 8 Lancasters lost, 4.7 per cent of the force. This was the first large raid on Hannover since October 1943.
131 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos of No 5 Group attacked Houffalize, a bottleneck in the German supply system in the Ardennes. The target was bombed with great accuracy. 2 Lancasters lost.
69 Mosquitos to Berlin, 8 to Neuss and 6 to Castrop-Rauxel, 58 RCM sorties, 55 Mosquito patrols. 4 Mosquitos lost, 2 from the Berlin raid and 2 from No 100 Group.
Total effort for the night: 1,000 sorties, 37 aircraft (3.7 per cent) lost.
1 Hudson flew a Resistance operation.
Hanau: 482 aircraft - 314 Halifaxes, 154 Lancasters, 14 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 4 Halifaxes and 2 Lancasters lost. The attack was aimed at that part of Hanau in which an important junction in the German railway system was situated. The local report says that many bombs did fall in this area but also states that a large proportion of the bombing was scattered in the south - into the centre of Hanau - and to the north - into an area of countryside and villages.
Neuss: 147 Lancasters of Nos 1 and No 3 Groups. 1 Lancaster crashed in Belgium. As in Hanau, some of the bombing fell into the railway area but most was scattered over surrounding districts. 1,749 houses, 19 industrial premises and 20 public buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged.
20 Mosquitos to Kassel (a 'spoof' raid) and 6 to Castrop-Rauxel, 52 RCM sorties, 32 Mosquito patrols, 49 Lancasters minelaying off Baltic ports. 2 RCM Halifaxes and 2 Lancaster minelayers lost.
Total effort for the night: 788 sorties, 11 aircraft (1.4 per cent) lost.This record can also be found on the maps of WW2 History Europe with Google coordinates. You can find the maps by clicking on this link on this location.
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