The 466 Sqdn left from Driffield at 1944-09-08 at 11:29. Loc or duty Coquereaux
He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial MZ368, code HD-X).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
ETO: The first V-2 fired in combat explodes in a Paris suburb; the second strikes a London suburb a few hours later.
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 611: 1,070 bombers and 349 fighters are dispatched to hit industrial targets in the Mainz and Ludwigshafen, Germany area; attacks were visual at the primary targets; 10 bombers are lost:
1. 348 of 384 B-17s attack the Ludwigshafen/Opau oil refinery; 5 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 185 damaged; 11 airmen are KIA, 15 WIA and 45 MIA.
Escort is provided by 88 of 95 P-51s without loss.
2. 247 of 300 B-24s hit Karlsruhe marshalling yard; 1 hits a secondary target at Ludwigshafen; 4 B-24s are lost and 92 damaged; 7 airmen are KIA, 9 WIA and 29 MIA. Escort is provided by 82 of 93 P-51s; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair.
3. 386 B-17s are dispatched to hit an armored vehicle factory at Gustavsburg (167) and oil depot at Kassel (166); 23 others hit targets of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 132 damaged; 3 airmen are WIA and 9 MIA.
Escort is provided by 144 of 161 P-51s without loss.
Mission 615: 7 of 8 B-17s drop leaflets in the Low Countries, France and Germany during the night.
VIII Fighter Command fighter missions:
1. 160 P-38s strafe and bomb rail transportation E of the Rhine River; they claim 7-0-1 aircraft on the ground.
2. 194 P-47s and P-51s strafe targets in the Heidelberg-Darmstadt-Wurzburg and Frankfurt/Main-Koblenz areas; 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost and 9 P-47s and 4 P-51s are damaged; 1 pilot is WIA and 2 MIA.
A C-47 flies a CARPETBAGGER mission in France.
110 B-24s fly TRUCKIN' mission to Orleans/Bricy Airfield, France.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In France, weather prevents bomber missions; fighters fly cover for troops in the Brest area and for the US 2d, 5th, 8th, and 29th Infantry Divisions, and the XX Corps area, escort troop movements and fly defensive patrols; several hundred C-47s fly supply and evacuation missions; HQ IX Air Defense Command moves from Rennes to Versailles; HQ 366th Fighter Group and the 390th Fighter Squadron move from Dreux/Vermouillet to Laon/Couvron with P-47s; HQ 367th Fighter Group moves from Peray to Clastres; HQ 439th Troop Carrier Group and the 91st, 92d, 93d and 94th Troop Carrier Squadrons move from Upottery, England to Juvincourt with C-47s; HQ 441st Troop Carrier Group and the 99th, 100th, 301st and 302d Troop Carrier Squadrons move from Merryfield, England to Villeneuve/Vetrus with C-47s.
Campaign report of the RAF:
8 September 1944
333 aircraft - 304 Lancasters, 25 Mosquitos, 4 Stirlings - of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups attempted to bomb German positions at Le Havre but the weather was bad, with a low cloud base, and only 109 aircraft bombed, with indifferent results. 2 Lancasters lost. The 4 Stirlings on this raid, all from No 149 Squadron based at Methwold, were the last Bomber Command Stirlings to carry out a bombing operation. It is believed that Stirling LK396, piloted by Flying Officer JJ McKee, an Australian, was the last Stirling to bomb the target.
2 Hudsons carried out Resistance operations without loss.
8/9 September 1944
45 Mosquitos to Nuremberg, 6 to Emden and 3 to Steenwijk, 13 RCM sorties, 13 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Stirling on a Resistance flight was lost.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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