He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type III , serial PB588 , code OF-E).
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force):: 2 missions are flown.
Mission 845: 1,114 bombers and 592 fighters are dispatched to hit oil refineries and rail targets using H2X radar; they claim 1-0-3 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; 2 bombers and 11 fighters are lost:
1. 362 B-17s are sent to hit the Albrecht (278) and Harburg (70) oil refineries at Hamburg; 6 others hit a target of opportunity; 26 B-17s are damaged; 2 airmen are WIA.
181 of 195 P-51s escort; 4 are lost (pilots MIA).
2. 280 B-24s are dispatched to hit the Misburg oil refinery (104) and the marshalling yard at Lehrte (61); 76 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Bielefeld; targets of opportunity are Hannover (11), Lingen (2) and other (5); 1 B-24 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 16 damaged; 4 airmen are KIA, 3 WIA and 12 MIA.
Escorting are 166 of 179 P-51s; 5 are lost (pilots MIA).
3. 383 B-17s are sent to hit the Deschimag U-boat yards at Bremen (200) and the Bremen W rail bridge (134); targets of opportunity are Minden (12), Osnabruck (8), Quackenbruck (5) and Brinkum (1); 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 162 damaged; 7 airmen are WIA and 9 MIA.
The escort is 93 of 98 P-51s; they claim 1-0-3 aircraft on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
4. 70 of 76 B-17s hit the Wesel rail bridge using Micro H; 22 B-17s are damaged.
29 P-51s escort without loss.
5. 12 of 13 B-17s fly a screening mission.
6. 43 of 46 P-51s fly a freelance mission for the bombers without loss.
7. 28 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
8. 17 P-51s escort 19 F-5s and 4 Spitfires on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany.
Mission 846: 12 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In Germany, nearly 500 B-26s, A-20s and A-26s hit 5 communications centers, 2 marshalling yards, 3 rail bridges, 6 town areas, and a target of opportunity as part of interdiction operations against troops during the Rhineland campaign; fighters support the 8th and 104th Infantry Divisions in the Duren area, the XIII and XIX Corps at the Roer River bridgehead area, and the VIII, XII, and XX Corps E of and along the Prum River and in the Saarlautern area.
367 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 6 and 8 Groups and a Film Unit Lancaster carried out the first, and only, area-bombing raid of the war on Pforzheim. 10 Lancasters were lost and 2 more crashed in France. The marking and bombing, from only 8,000 ft, were particularly accurate and damage of a most severe nature was inflicted on Pforzheim. 1,825 tons of bombs were it dropped in 22 minutes. The post-war British Bombing Survey Unit estimated that 83 per cent of the town's built-up area was destroyed, probably the greatest proportion in one raid during the war.
Bomber Command's last Victoria Cross of the war was won on this night. The Master Bomber was Captain Edwin Swales, DFC, a South African serving with No 582 Squadron. His Lancaster was twice attacked over the target by a German fighter. Captain Swales could not hear the evasion directions given by his gunners because he was broadcasting his own instructions to the Main Force. 2 engines and the rear turret of the Lancaster were put out of action. Captain Swales continued to control the bombing until the end of the raid and must take some credit for the accuracy of the attack. He set out on the return flight but encountered turbulent cloud and ordered his crew to bale out. This they all did successfully but Captain Swales had no opportunity to leave the aircraft and was killed when it crashed. He is buried at the Leopold War Cemetery at Limburg in Belgium.
73 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos carried out an accurate attack on a possible U-boat base at Horten on the Oslo Fjord. 1 Lancaster was lost.
70 Mosquitos to Berlin, 6 to Worms and 4 each to Darmstadt, Essen and Frankfurt, 54 RCM sorties, 25 Mosquito patrols, 22 Lancasters minelaying in Norwegian waters, 13 aircraft on Resistance operations. 4 aircraft lost - 2 RCM Halifaxes, 1 Resistance operation Stirling and 1 Mosquito from the Berlin raid.
Total effort for the night: 666 sorties, 17 aircraft (2.6 per cent) lost.
Kamen: 340 aircraft - 290 Halifaxes, 26 Lancasters, 24 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 1 Halifax lost. The target was a synthetic-oil plant which was actually in Bergkamen, just north of Kamen. The target area was covered by cloud and the raid was based on Oboe and H2S markers.
166 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of No 5 Group were ordered to abandon a raid on the Dortmund-Ems Canal without bombing because of cloud which covered the target area. All aircraft landed safely.
74 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep over Northern France to draw German fighters into the air, 63 Mosquitos to Berlin, 18 to Neuss and 3 on 'siren tours' of Dessau, Erfurt and Halle, 37 RCM sorties, 23 Mosquito patrols, 35 Lancasters minelaying in the Kattegat and off Norwegian ports. 5 RCM aircraft - 4 Halifaxes and 1 Fortress - lost; these aircraft were operating in association with the diversionary sweep of training aircraft and were probably victims of German fighters drawn up by that sweep. The 4 lost Halifaxes were all from No 462 (Australian) Squadron, based at Foulsham; they had been sent ahead of the diversionary force to drop Window, bombs and incendiaries in a 'spoof' raid on the Ruhr.
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