The 425 Sqdn left from Tholthorpe at 1944-10-14 at 6:05. Loc or duty Duisburg
He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial MZ674, code KW-).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 676: 211 bombers and 258 fighters make GH attacks on 2 targets in Germany: 1 fighter is lost:
1. 90 of 94 B-17s hit a marshalling yard at Saarbrucken; 8 B-17s are damaged.
Escort is provided by 105 of 107 P-51s; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair.
2. 117 of 117 B-24s hit Kaiserslautern; 8 B-24s are damaged.
Escort is provided by 148 of 151 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
Mission 677: 1,040 bombers and 491 fighters are dispatched to make PFF attacks on Cologne, Germany; 5 bombers are lost:
1. 434 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Gereon marshalling yard (326); 1 hits a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 93 damaged; 3 airmen are WIA and 20 MIA.
Escort is provided by 141 of 153 P-51s; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair.
2. 318 B-24s are dispatched to hit the Gremberg (127) and Eifelter (121) marshalling yards; 9 others hit Euskirchen; 3 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 137 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 2 WIA and 20 MIA.
Escort is provided by 177 of 184 P-47s and P-51s without loss.
3. 314 of 379 B-17s hit the secondary target, the Gereon marshalling yard; 1 other hits a target of opportunity; 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 123 damaged; 1 airman is KIA and 3 WIA.
Escort is provided by 151 of 154 P-47s and P-51s without loss.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): Bad weather grounds the A-20s and B-26s; fighters escort a leaflet mission, fly sweeps and rail cutting operations, armed reconnaissance over E France and W Germany, and support the US Third Army.
Campaign report of the RAF:
14 October 1944
Duisburg. This raid was part of a special operation which has received little mention in the history books. On 13 October, Sir Arthur Harris received the directive for Operation Hurricane: 'In order to demonstrate to the enemy in Germany generally the overwhelming superiority of the Allied Air Forces in this theatre ... the intention is to apply within the shortest practical period the maximum effort of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command and the VIIIth United States Bomber Command against objectives in the densely populated Ruhr.' Bomber Command had probably been forewarned of the directive because it was able to mount the first part of the operation soon after first light on 14 October. No heavy bombers had flown on operations for 48 hours and 1,013 aircraft - 519 Lancasters, 474 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitos - were dispatched to Duisburg with RAF fighters providing an escort. 957 bombers dropped 3,574 tons of high explosive and 820 tons of incendiaries on Duisburg. 14 aircraft were lost - 13 Lancasters and 1 Halifax; it is probable that the Lancasters provided the early waves of the raid and drew the attention of the German flak before the flak positions were overwhelmed by the bombing.
For their part in Operation Hurricane, the American Eighth Air Force dispatched 1,251 heavy bombers escorted by 749 fighters. More than 1,000 of the American heavies bombed targets in the Cologne area. American casualties were 5 heavy bombers and 1 fighter. No Luftwaffe aircraft were seen.
2 Bomber Command RCM sorties and 2 Resistance operations were also flown on this day.
14/15 October 1944
Bomber Command continued Operation Hurricane by dispatching 1,005 aircraft - 498 Lancasters, 468 Halifaxes, 39 Mosquitos - to attack Duisburg again in 2 forces 2 hours apart. 941 aircraft dropped 4,040 tons of high explosive and 500 tons of incendiaries during the night. 5 Lancasters and 2 Halifaxes were lost.
Nearly 9,000 tons of bombs had thus fallen on Duisburg in less than 48 hours. Local reports are difficult to obtain. The Duisburg Stadtarchiv does not have the important Endbericht - the final report. Small comments are available: 'Heavy casualties must be expected.' 'Very serious property damage. A large number of people buried.' 'Thyssen Mines III and IV: About 8 days loss of production.' 'Duisburg-Hamborn: All mines and coke ovens lay silent.'
Not only could Bomber Command dispatch more than 2,000 sorties to Duisburg in less than 24 hours, but there was still effort to spare for No 5 Group to attack Brunswick with 233 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos. The various diversions and fighter support operations laid on by Bomber Command were so successful that only 1 Lancaster was lost from this raid. Bomber Command had attempted to destroy Brunswick 4 times so far in 1944 and No 5 Group finally achieved that aim on this night, using their own marking methods. It was Brunswick's worst raid of the war and the old centre was completely destroyed. A local report says 'the whole town, even the smaller districts, was particularly hard hit'. It was estimated by the local officials that 1,000 bombers had carried out the raid.
141 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep to Heligoland, 20 Mosquitos to Hamburg, 16 to Berlin, 8 to Mannheim and 2 to Düsseldorf, 132 aircraft of 100 Group on RCM, Serrate and Intruder flights (no sub-totals are available), 8 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Halifax was lost on the diversionary sweep - it was seen to dive into the sea in flames - and 1 Mosquito was lost from the Berlin raid.
Total effort for the night: 1,572 sorties, 10 aircraft (0.6 per cent) lost.
Total effort for the 24 hours: 2,589 sorties, 24 aircraft (0.9 per cent) lost. Total tonnage of bombs dropped in 24 hours: approximately 10,050 tons. These record totals would never be exceeded in the war.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
This record can also be found on the maps of Back to Normandy with Google coordinates. You can find the maps by clicking on this link on this location.
There are several possibilities to investigate the flight records on Back to Normandy. All the flights are plotted on maps, sorted "day by day", "by squadron", "by type aircraft", "by year or month", "by location" and much more! Don't miss this!!!
If you have any information that you want to share, please add your comment at the bottom of this record. Or send your information to [email protected]. This information will be added to the record.
Your photos and your information are very welcome! The young do care and with your help we keep up the good work.