The 617 Sqdn left from Woodhall Spa at 1944-01-20 at 19:30. Loc or duty Training
He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type III, serial ED918, code AJ-F).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 186: during the evening, 4 of 5 B-17's drop 960,000 leaflets on Lille, Brest, Caen and Chartres, France without loss.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): HQ 437th Troop Carrier Group and 83d, 84th, 85th Troop Carrier Squadrons arrive at Balderton, England from the US with C-47's.
US STRATEGIC AIR FORCES IN EUROPE
(USSAFE): General Carl Spaatz, as Commanding General USSAFE, formally assumes administrative responsibility for all USAAF units in the UK. His HQ is located at Bushy Park, formerly Eighth Air Force HQ.
Campaign report of the RAF:
20/21 January 1944
769 aircraft - 495 Lancasters, 264 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitos - to Berlin. 35 aircraft - 22 Halifaxes, 13 Lancasters - lost, 4.6 per cent of the force. No 102 Squadron, from Pocklington, lost 5 of its 16 Halifaxes on this raid, 2 more crashed in England and the squadron would lose 4 more aircraft in the next night's raid. The bomber approach route took a wide swing to the north but, once again, the German controller managed to feed his fighters into the bomber stream early and the fighters scored steadily until the force was well on the way home. The diversions were not large enough to deceive the Germans. The Berlin area was, as so often, completely cloud-covered and what happened to the bombing is a mystery. The Pathfinder skymarking appeared to go according to plan and crews who were scanning the ground with their H2S sets believed that the attack fell on eastern districts of Berlin. No major navigational problems were experienced. No photographic reconnaissance was possible until after a further 4 raids on Berlin were carried out but the various sources from which the Berlin reports are normally drawn all show a complete blank for this night.
12 Mosquitos to Düsseldorf. 4 to Kiel and 3 to Hannover, 6 RCM sorties, 5 Serrate patrols, 29 aircraft minelaying in the Frisians and off French ports, 20 OTU sorties. No losses.
Total effort for the night: 848 sorties, 35 aircraft (4.1 per cent) lost.With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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