The 138 Sqdn left from Blida at 1944-07-12 at 20:50. Loc or duty SOE

On Wednesday 12 July 1944, a member of the 138 Sqdn, Flight Lieutenant H A Walker, took off from Blida in the Algeria. His mission is mentioned elsewhere on WW2 History Europe. You can find the other details of this mission by searching here. Training and cargo flights are not separately mentioned as a mission. The plane left at 20:50.

He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type V, serial LL251, code NF-N).

Campaign report of the USAAF:

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS

(Eighth Air Force): Mission 468: 131 B-24s, escorted by by 144 Royal Air Force (RAF) Spitfires, are dispatched to bomb 10 CROSSBOW (V-weapon) sites in the Rouen area but abort because of a thick blanket of low cloud over the target area; no losses.

Mission 469: 1,271 bombers and 803 fighters are dispatched to bomb Munich, Germany; 1,124 bombers bomb the city of Munich, 16 hit Enstingen and 10 hit targets of opportunity; 24 bombers are lost, 4 are damaged beyond repair and 297 are damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 7 WIA and 216 MIA.

Escort is provided by 717 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-38 is damaged beyond repair (pilot is WIA).

Mission 470: During the night, 6 of 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS

(Ninth Air Force): In France, 300+ A-20s and B-26s fly morning and afternoon missions against fuel dumps at Foret d'Andaine and Foret d'Ecouves, military concentrations at Foret de Cinglais, rail bridges at Merey, Cinq Mars-la-Pile, Saumur, Nantes, and Nogent-le-Roi, and other rail and road targets; fighters furnish escort, cover the battle area, and fly armed reconnaissance over wide areas, attacking rail lines S and W of Rambouillet, bridges and fuel dump in the Nantes vicinity, trains and military transport at Vitry-le-Francois, and grounded aircraft S of Chateaubriant, bridges at Craon, Le Mans, Pontorson, Mayenne, S of Rennes, N of Angers, and Tours, rail traffic S of Fougeres, and infantry and artillery positions near Periers.

Campaign report of the RAF:

11/12 July 1944

8 Mosquitos to Homberg oil plant, 3 Serrate patrols, 21 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.

12 July 1944

222 aircraft - 168 Halifaxes, 46 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups bombed a storage dump at Thiverny but the target was cloud-covered and no results were seen. 18 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of No 8 Group used Oboe to bomb the Rollez launching site. No aircraft lost.

153 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups to attack the important railway yards at Vaires on the outskirts of Paris; the target area was covered by cloud and the Master Bomber ordered the attack to be abandoned after 2 Mosquitos had marked and 12 Lancasters had bombed. No aircraft lost.

12/13 July 1944

378 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 5 and 8 Groups attacked railway targets at Culmont, Revigny and Tours. Culmont and Tours were accurately bombed but cloud interfered with the all-No 1 Group raid at Revigny and only half of the force bombed. 10 Lancasters were lost on the Revigny raid and 2 on the Culmont raid.

230 aircraft - 196 Halifaxes, 17 Lancasters, 17 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked 4 flying bomb launch sites. All targets were hit, the raid on the Bremont les Hautes site being particularly accurate. No aircraft were lost.

168 aircraft of all Main Force groups and Nos 92 and 93 (OTU) Groups on a diversionary sweep over the North Sea, 8 Mosquitos to Homberg, 32 RCM sorties, 32 Mosquito patrols, 12 Halifaxes minelaying off Heligoland, 14 OTU sorties. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 881 sorties, 12 aircraft (1.4 per cent) lost.

With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!

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