The 161 Sqdn left from Tempsford at 1944-05-30 at an unknown time. Loc or duty ?
He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type V, serial LL300, code MA-Z).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
Loading of assault forces for Operation OVERLORD (invasion of Normandy) begins.
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 380: 928 bombers and 672 fighters in 6 forces are dispatched to hit aircraft industry targets in Germany and marshalling yards in France and Belgium; they claim 65-8-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 12 bombers and 9 fighters are lost:
1. 268 B-17s are dispatched to attack aviation industry targets at Dessau (83 bomb), Halberstadt (107 bomb) and Oschersleben (51 bomb); 5 other hit targets of opportunity; they claim 8-5-1 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 B-17s are lost and 81 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA and 86 MIA.
2. 369 B-24s are dispatched to hit aviation depots at Oldenburg (135 bomb), Rotenburg (147 bomb) and Zwischenahn (71 bomb); 1 other hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 36 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 2 WIA and 9 MIA.
3. 46 of 91 B-24s hit Munster/Handorf Airfield and 36 others hit Diepholz Airfield; 2 B-24s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 36 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 6 WIA and 9 MIA.
4. 122 of 126 B-17s hit French marshalling yards; 62 hit Reims and 60 hit Troyes; 24 B-17s are damaged.
5. 39 of 40 B-17s hit Brussels/Schaerbeck marshalling yard, Belgium; 12 B-17s are damaged.
6. 76 of 84 B-17s hit V-weapon sites in the Pas de Calais, France; 12 B-17s are damaged; 3 airmen are KIA, 2 WIA and 10 MIA.
Escort is provided by 186 P-38s, 184 P-47s and 302 P-51s; 3 P-38s are damaged; P-47s claim 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft with 1 loss (pilot is MIA); P-51s claim 48-3-2 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 7-0-3 on the ground with the loss of 8 P-51s (pilots are MIA), 2 damaged beyond repair and 4 damaged; 637 Ninth Air Force fighters support the mission; they claim 8-0-2 aircraft in the air and 0-0-4 on the ground for the loss of 3.
100 P-47s are dispatched to bomb 4 rail bridges in NW France; 37 hit Longueil bridge, 26 hit Beaumont-sur-Oise bridge, 23 hit Canly-le-Jouque bridge and 12 hit the Creil bridge; 1 P-47 is lost (pilot is MIA).
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In France, 320+ B-26s attack airfields at Denain/Prouvy and Mantes/Limay, and highway bridges at Meulan and Rouen.
Nearly 400 P-47s dive-bomb targets in NW Europe.
Campaign report of the RAF:
29/30 May 1944
31 Mosquitos to Hannover, 11 to Xanten ammunition dump and 4 to a coastal battery at Mardyck, 6 Halifaxes minelaying off Ijmuiden, Dunkirk and Brest. No aircraft lost.
30/31 May 1944
50 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of 3 and 8 Groups attacked a coastal gun position at Boulogne without loss.
30 Mosquitos to Leverkusen, 12 Stirlings minelaying off the Dutch and French coasts, 11 Stirlings on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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