The 466 Sqdn left from Leconfield at 1944-05-27 at 14:30. Loc or duty Training
He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial LV824, code HD-).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
26 May 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 372: 4 of 4 B-17s drop leaflets in The Netherlands without loss.
P-38s participate in 2 sweep over The Netherlands for familiarization purposes without loss; 1 sweep consists of 30 aircraft, the second consists of 28 aircraft.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In France, nearly 400 B-26s and A-20s attack airfields at Beaumont-sur-Oise and Chartres and bridges at Vernon and Poissy; 108 P-47 and P-51 fighter-bombers hit a bridge at Oissel and airfields at Creil, Cormeilles-en-Vesin and Evreux/Fauville; P-47s and P-38s dive-bomb targets in NW Europe.
425th Night Fighter Squadron, Ninth Air Force, arrives at Chormy Down, England from the US with P-61s; first mission is in Jul 44.
27 May 1944
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 373: 1,126 bombers and 710 fighters are dispatched against rail targets in France and Germany and gun batteries in France; 24 bombers and 7 fighters are lost; the fighters claim 35.
5-1-5 aircraft in the air and 9-0-2 on the ground:
1. 344 B-17s are dispatched to marshalling yards at Ludwigshafen (150 bomb) and Mannheim (125 bomb); 18 hit Lachen/Apeyerdorf, 19 hit the Mannheim area and 6 hit targets of opportunity; 12 B-17s are lost and 98 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 5 WIA and 114 MIA.
2. 269 B-17s are dispatched to marshalling yards at Karlsruhe (98 bomb) and Strasbourg, France (49 bomb) and aviation factory at Strasbourg/Meinau, France (53 bomb); 7 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 89 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 3 WIA and 70 MIA.
3. 69 of 86 B-24s bomb aviation factory at Woippy, France; 3 others hit targets of opportunity; 1 airman is WIA.
4. 369 B-24s are dispatched to marshalling yards at Saarbrucken (145 bomb), Neunkirchen (66 bomb) and Kons/Karthus (72 bomb); 3 others hit targets of opportunity; 5 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 18 damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 4 WIA and 50 MIA.
5. 36 of 40 B-17s bomb Fecamp gun battery, France without loss.
6. 18 of 18 B-24s bomb St Valery, France without loss.
Escort is provided by 170 P-38s, 238 P-47s and 302 P-51s; 1 P-38 is lost (pilot is MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair; P-47s claim 1-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 2-0-0 on the ground without loss; P-51s claim 34.
5-1-4 aircraft in the air and 7-0-2 on the ground with the loss of 6 P-51s (pilots are MIA), another is damaged beyond repair and 8 damaged.
425 Ninth Air Force aircraft also support the mission; they claim 4-0-0 with the lost of 1.
Mission 374: 24 of 24 P-47s hit a barge convoy between Willenstadt and Meerije, The Netherlands; 1 P-47 is damaged and 2 barges destroyed.
Mission 375: 3 of 4 B-17s drop leaflets in Belgium and France without loss.
788th and 850th Bombardment Squadrons (Heavy), VIII Air Force Composite Command attached to 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional), move from Rackheath and Cheddington respectively to Harrington, England with B-24s; the 788th flies CARPETBAGGER missions over Europe and the 850th will commence these missions on 31 May.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): About 590 B-26s attack railroad, bridges, and marshalling yards in France.
P-47s bomb targets in NW Europe.
Campaign report of the RAF:
26/27 May 1944
30 Mosquitos to Ludwigshafen, 11 to railway yards at Aachen and 8 to Lison, 7 Serrate patrols, 42 aircraft minelaying off Dutch, Belgian and French coasts. 2 Mosquitos were lost from the Ludwigshafen raid.
27/28 May 1944
331 aircraft - 267 Halifaxes, 56 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitos - to attack the military camp at Bourg Léopold in Belgium. 9 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost, 3.0 per cent of the force. 1 Oboe-aimed target indicator fell right on the target and the bombing which followed caused severe damage to the camp.
162 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups to attack the Rothe Erde railway yards at Aachen. 12 Lancasters lost, 7.0 per cent of the force. The railway lines at the yards, which were not seriously hit in the raid of 2 nights earlier, were now severely damaged and all through traffic was halted. A large proportion of delayed-action bombs were dropped. The local people were impressed that the whole raid only lasted 12 minutes.
100 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of No 5 Group to attack a railway junction and workshops at Nantes. The first 50 Lancasters bombed so accurately that the Master Bomber ordered the remainder of the force to retain their bombs. 1 Lancaster lost.
78 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of No 8 Group attacked the airfield at Rennes in good visibility. The marking was good and the bombing was very accurate. Much damage to the airfield installations was caused and there was a large explosion, probably in the bomb dump.
272 aircraft - 208 Lancasters, 49 Halifaxes, 15 Mosquitos - carried out raids on 5 coastal-battery positions on the French coast. All of the targets were bombed satisfactorily. 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito lost.
23 Mosquitos to Berlin and 6 to Düsseldorf, 7 RCM sorties, 28 Serrate and 10 Intruder patrols, 60 aircraft minelaying from Le Havre to the River Gironde, 10 aircraft on Resistance operations, 7 OTU sorties. 3 Mosquitos - 2 Intruders and 1 Serrate - lost.
Total effort for the night: 1,111 sorties in 17 separate operations, 28 aircraft (2.5 per cent) lost.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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