The 514 Sqdn left from Waterbeach at 1944-11-21 at 12:28. Loc or duty Homberg
He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type I, serial PD265, code JI-G).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
(Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 720: 1,291 bombers and 954 fighters are dispatched to make PFF attacks using H2X on oil targets in Germany; they claim 73-7-25 Luftwaffe aircraft; 25 bombers and 15 fighters are lost:
1. 421 B-17s are sent to hit the Leuna synthetic oil plant at Merseburg (200); targets of opportunity are Meppen (24), Friedburg (21), Hersfeld (12) and Hunfeld (12) marshalling yards, flak gun batteries at Merseburg (12), Leeuwarden Airfield (11), Apolda (10) the Autobahn at Hersfeld (10), Quakenbruck (10), and other (69); the AAF claims 1-0-1 aircraft; 14 B-17s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 205 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 16 WIA and 129 MIA.
Escort is 268 of 310 P-51s; they claim 63-7-20 aircraft in the air and 3-0-2 on the ground; 9 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
2. 402 B-17s are sent to Sterkrade, Lendorf and Hamburg but hit the secondary, the Osnarbruck marshalling yard (166) and last resort targets, i.e., Giessen marshalling yard (77), Wetzlar (62), Lingen (24), Koblenz marshalling yard (23), Bielefeld marshalling yard (9), and targets of opportunity (35); 7 B-17s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 142 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 6 WIA and 65 MIA.
Escort is 382 of 420 P-51s; 4 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
3. 366 B-24s are sent to hit the Dpag (178) and Rhenania (171) oil plants at Hamburg; 4 B-24s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 220 damaged; 19 airmen are KIA, 8 WIA and 89 MIA.
Escort is 177 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 5-0-2 aircraft in the air and 2-0-1 on the ground; 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost (pilots MIA).
4. 12 of 12 B-17s fly a screening mission.
5. 31 of 33 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
Mission 721: 7 B-17s and 5 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): The 95th Bombardment Squadron (Medium), 17th Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from Poretta, Corsica to Dijon, France with B-26s.
Ninth Air Force: In Germany, the 9th Bombardment Division hits rail bridges and defended areas at several points including Bergstein, Echtz, Sinzig, Neuwied, and Derichsweiler; fighters escort the B-26s and also Eighth AF B-17s (to Merseburg), fly area cover, sweeps, and dive-bombing missions in W Germany, and support the US 1st, 8th, and 104th Infantry Divisions in the Hurtgen area and the XII and XX Corps between Merzig and Sarreguemines, France.
The 378th Fighter Squadron, 362d Fighter Group, moves from Prosnes to Rouvres, France with P-47s.
Campaign report of the RAF:
20/21 November 1944
43 Lancasters of No 8 Group made an unusual Pathfinder solo raid on Koblenz without loss. The purpose of the raid was not recorded. It is possible that either the large road and rail bridges over the Rhine and Mosel or the local railway yards were the targets. Only high-explosive bombs were carried. Koblenz was completely covered by cloud and all bombing was by H2S from 15,000 ft. The local report states that some bombs fell in the town, blocking several roads and railways and scoring hits on a road and a rail bridge, although these remained usable.
63 Mosquitos to Hannover, 14 each to Homberg and Castrop-Rauxel oil plants and 9 to Eisenach, 17 RCM sorties, 17 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.
21 November 1944
160 Lancasters of No 3 Group to attack the Homberg oil refinery. 3 Lancasters lost. The bombing was scattered at first but then became very concentrated, culminating, according to the Bomber Command report, in 'a vast sheet of yellow flame followed by black smoke rising to a great height'. This was a very satisfactory raid after several previous attempts by Bomber Command to destroy this oil refinery.
2 Wellingtons on RCM sorties.
21/22 November 1944
This was a night of mainly good visibility in which Bomber Command operations were directed strictly according to priorities given in recent directives.
Aschaffenburg: 274 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups. 2 Lancasters lost. The object of this raid was to destroy the local railway yards and lines. The local report says that 50 bombs fell in the railway area, causing much damage to the marshalling yards and railway workshops but the: main through lines were not cut. Many other bombs fell in the centre and north of the town. About 500 houses were destroyed and 1,500 seriously damaged. Many old buildings were hit, including the local castle, the Johannisburg, which was hit by 5 high-explosive bombs and had a 4,000lb 'blockbuster' burst near by; the roof and upper storeys of the castle were burnt out.
Castrop-Rauxel: 273 aircraft - 176 Halifaxes, 79 Lancasters, 18 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 6 and 8 Groups. 4 Halifaxes lost. The target was the oil refinery. The local report says that 216 high-explosive bombs, 78 duds and many incendiaries hit the oil plant and caused such a large fire that the fire-fighters could do little more than allow it to burn itself out. It is believe that the refinery produced no more oil after this raid. Bombs fell in many other places, including some important industrial and coal-mining premises.
Sterkrade: 270 aircraft - 232 Halifaxes, 20 Mosquitos, 18 Lancasters - of 4 and 8 Groups. 2 Halifaxes lost. The target was again the synthetic-oil refinery. Bomber Command's report says that the plant was not damaged, though some labour barracks near by were hit.
Mittelland Canal: 138 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos of No 5 Group. 2 Lancasters lost. The canal banks were successfully breached near Gravenhorst. Later photographs showed that water drained off over a 30 mile stretch and that 59 barges were stranded on one short section alone.
Dortmund-Ems Canal: 123 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of No 5 Group. No aircraft lost. The canal near Ladbergen was attacked, some of the Lancasters coming down to 4,000ft to get beneath the cloud. A breach was made in the only branch of the aqueduct here which had been repaired since the last raid and the water once again drained out of the canal.
29 Mosquitos to Stuttgart, 26 to Hannover, 19 to Worms and 4 to Wesel, 38 RCM sorties, 80 Mosquito patrols, 24 Halifaxes and 18 Lancasters minelaying off Oslo, 9 aircraft on Resistance operations. 4 aircraft were lost - 2 Mosquitos and 1 Halifax of No 100 Group and 1 Lancaster from the minelaying force.
Total effort for the night: 1,345 sorties, 14 aircraft (1.0 per cent) lost.
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