The 426 Sqdn left from Linton on Ouse at 1944-09-30 at 10:16. Loc or duty Sterkrade
He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type VII, serial LW197, code OW-S).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
AIRBORNE OPERATIONS
(IX Troop Carrier Command): In France, HQ 440th Troop Carrier Group and the 98th Troop Carrier Squadron move from Reims to Le Mans with C-47s; the 93d Troop Carrier Squadron, 439th Troop Carrier Group, moves from Juvincourt to Lonray with C-47s.
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 655: 834 bombers and 629 fighters are dispatched to make PFF attacks on marshalling yards and airfields in W Germany; 8 bombers are lost:
1. 257 of 266 B-17s hit Bielefeld marshalling yard; 4 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 24 damaged; 3 airmen are WIA and 28 MIA.
Escort is provided by 240 P-47s and P-51s without loss.
2. 255 B-24s are dispatched to hit the marshalling yard at Hamm (206); targets of opportunity are Munster (12) and other (1); 1 B-24 is lost and 32 damaged; 10 airmen are MIA.
Escort is provided by 170 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s without loss.
3. 313 B-17s are dispatched to hit the marshalling yard at Munster (35) and Munster/Handorf Airfield (14); targets of opportunity are Munster (239) and other (1); 3 B-17s are lost and 85 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 2 WIA and 36 MIA.
Escort is provided by 177 P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair.
86 of 97 P-51s fly a sweep over NW Germany; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair.
116 B-24s fly a TRUCKIN' mission carrying fuel to France.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): 14 B-26s bomb the Arnhem, the Netherlands road bridge with poor results; fighters fly sweeps over Belgium, E France, and W Germany and attack rail targets.
In Belgium, HQ 48th Fighter Group and the 492d and 494th Fighter Squadrons move from Cambrai/Niergnies, France to St Trond with P-47s.
In France, HQ 344th Bombardment Group (Medium) and the 494th, 495th, 496th and 497th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) move from Stansted, England to Cormeilles-en-Vexin with B-26s.
Campaign report of the RAF:
29/30 September 1944
40 Mosquitos to Karlsruhe, 25 RCM sorties, 42 Mosquito patrols, 15 Lancasters minelaying in the Kattegat and off Heligoland. No aircraft lost.
30 September 1944
139 aircraft - 108 Halifaxes, 21 Lancasters, 10 Mosquitos - of 4 and 8 Groups attempted to attack the oil plant at Sterkrade but the target was cloud-covered. Only 24 aircraft attacked the main target; other aircraft bombed the general town area of Sterkrade. 1 Halifax lost.
136 aircraft - 101 Halifaxes, 25 Lancasters, 10 Mosquitos - of 6 and 8 Groups encountered similar conditions at Bottrop. Only 1 aircraft attempted to bomb the oil plant; the remainder of the force bombed the estimated positions of various Ruhr cities. No aircraft lost.
3 RCM sorties, 2 Ranger patrols (flown from a forward airfield in France), 6 Hudsons on Resistance operations, 74 Halifaxes on petrol-carrying flights. The two Ranger aircraft, from No 515 Squadron, were lost; they both force-landed in Switzerland.
30 September/1 October 1944
46 Mosquitos to Hamburg, 6 each to Aschaffenburg and Heilbronn and 5 to Sterkrade, 1 RCM sortie, 20 Mosquito patrols, 14 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Mosquito of No 100 Group lost.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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