The 630 Sqdn left from East Kirkby at 1944-08-18 at 12:08. Loc or duty I'Isle-Adam
He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type III, serial PB244, code LE-N).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Three missions are flown (numbers in parenthesis are numbers of bombers attacking): Mission 561: 52 B-24s are dispatched to hit Roye/Amy Airfield, France (42) and 10 hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 37 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 1 WIA and 21 MIA.
Escort is provided by 96 of 99 P-51s without loss.
Mission 562: 720 bombers and 242 fighters are dispatched against bridges, airfields, fueld dumps and an aircraft engine factory in France and Belgium; 2 bombers and 1 fighter are lost:
1. 269 B-17s are dispatched against bridges at Namur (37), Liege/Benoit (36), Huy (35), Yvoir (35), Liege/Seraing (26), Vise (25) and Maastricht (24); 13 hit Tongres marshalling yard, 12 hit Eindhoven Airfield and 12 hit targets of opportunity; 57 B-17s are damaged and 5 airmen are WIA.
Escort is proivded by 99 of 153 P-38 and P-51s; they claim 46-0-15 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; 1 P-38 is lost (pilot is MIA), 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair and 1 P-38 is damaged.
2. 256 B-24s are dispatched to hit airfields at Metz (78) and Nancy/Essey (70) and Woippy (60) and Laneureville (35); 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair; 4 airmen are KIA and 2 WIA.
Escort is provided by 38 of 43 P-51s; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot is MIA).
3. 195 B-17s are dispatched to hit St Dizier Airfield (116), Pacy-sur- Armancon (39) and Bourran (38); 1 other hits a target of opportunity; 7 B-17s are damaged.
Escort is provided by 93 of 96 P-51s; they claim 2-0-3 aircraft on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA).
Mission 564: 7 of 7 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In France, nearly 100 B-26s and A-20s strike a fuel dump, ammunition dump, rail and road overpass, rail embankment, and junction beyond the battleline to disorganize retreating German forces; 1,000+ fighters fly cover over ground forces in the Argentan- Paris area, along the Seine River, and armed reconnaissance over N and W France; the 31st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 10th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance), moves from Chalgrove, England to Rennes with F-5s; and the 425th Night Fighter Squadron, IX Air Defense Command, moves from Stoneman Park, England to Vannes with P-61s.
Campaign report of the RAF:
17/18 August 1944
55 OTU Wellingtons and 14 RCM aircraft carried out a sweep over the North Sea without loss. This type of operation was now being flown on some nights when no major raid was being carried out, in order to draw up the German fighters and cause them to waste fuel. These sweeps were, therefore, part diversionary to confuse the German controllers but also part of the campaign against German oil supplies.
37 Mosquitos to Mannheim and 3 each to Dortmund, Kamen and Sterkrade, 15 RCM sorties, 14 Mosquito patrols, 12 Halifaxes minelaying off Biscay coasts, 4 aircraft on Resistance operations, 2 OTU leaflet sorties. No aircraft lost.
18 August 1944
158 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitos of No 5 Group attacked a German supply depot at L'Isle-Adam near Paris. 2 Lancasters lost.
64 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos to oil-storage depots at Bordeaux and Ertvelde Rieme, near Ghent, 16 Halifaxes and 16 Lancasters to 7 small flying-bomb sites, 23 Lancasters to La Pallice U-boat pens. 2 Lancasters lost on the flying-bomb site raid.
18/19 August 1944
Bremen: 288 aircraft - 216 Lancasters, 65 Halifaxes, 7 Mosquitos. 1 Lancaster lost. Visibility over the target was clear and the Pathfinders provided perfect marking throughout the raid. Bremen's own records show this to have been the most destructive raid of the war, although only 274 aircraft attacked, dropping just over 1,100 tons of bombs. The whole of the centre and the north-western parts of Bremen, including the port area, were devastated.
234 aircraft - 210 Halifaxes, 14 Mosquitos, 10 Lancasters - mainly from No 4 Group, to attack the synthetic oil plant at Stekrade. 1 Halifax and 1 Lancaster lost. Bomber Command documents state that the raid was successful and that the plant was seriously damaged.
144 aircraft - 122 Halifaxes, 18 Lancasters, 4 Mosquitos of Nos 6 and 8 Groups attacked Connantre (between Paris and Reims). No aircraft lost. The target here was a railway station and yards 70 miles east of Paris. The Pathfinder marking was accurate and much damage was caused. This raid marked the end of the long series of attacks on the French and Belgian railway systems.
108 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups attacked and caused severe damage to the oil depot and storage tanks at Ertvelde Rieme to the north of Ghent. No aircraft lost.
Support and 139 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep to the Normandy area, 21 Mosquitos to Berlin and 19 to five other targets, 33 RCM sorties, 62 Mosquito patrols, 11 Halifaxes minelaying off Biscay ports, 5 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Mosquito lost on a raid to Harburg.
Total effort for the night: 1,069 sorties, 4 aircraft (0.4 per cent) lost.
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.