The 23 Sqdn left from Little Snoring at 1944-07-24 at 9:12. Loc or duty BS
He flew with a de Havilland Mosquito (type VI, serial HR236, code YP-).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 492: Heavy bombers are scheduled to participate in a US First Army offensive (Operation COBRA) to penetrate the German defenses W of Saint-Lo and secure Coutances; 1,586 bombers and 671 fighters are dispatched but bad weather causes the ground forces to delay the attack until next day, and cloud conditions cause 1,102 bombers to abort.
Targets hit are:
1. Of 909 B-17s, 343 hit the Periers/St Lo area and 35 hit the Granville railroad junction; 1 B-17 is lost and 70 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 1 1 WIA and 1 MIA.
2. 109 of 677 B-24s bomb targets of opportunity including road intersections and rail lines; 2 B-24s are lost and 74 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 1 WIA and 20 MIA.
Escort for the bombers is provided by 478 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 1-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 1-0-1 on the ground; 3 P-38s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 1 P-47 is damaged beyond repair and 1 P-47 is damaged.
143 of 169 P-51s fly a sweep over Lechfeld and Leipheim Airfields in Germany; they claim 3-0-0 aircraft in the air and 12-0-16 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA), 1 damaged beyond repair and 6 damaged.
Mission 493: 7 of 7 B-17s drop leaflets in France during the night.
6 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In France, 11 groups of bombers scheduled to participate in Operation COBRA have missions cancelled due to weather; 5 groups of B-26s hit rail bridges and 5 groups of B-26s and A-20s strike 3 fuel and ammunition dumps; fighters fly escort to the bombers, fly area cover, bomb installations in the Laval-Nantes-Le Mans-Chartres areas, and hit bridges and supply dumps in support of the US First Army; and HQ 370th Fighter Group arrives at Cardonville from Andover, England.
In England, HQ 394th Bombardment Group (Medium) and 584th and 585th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium) move from Boreham to Holmsley with B-26s.
Campaign report of the RAF:
23/24 July 1944
Kiel: This was the first major raid on a German city for two months. 629 aircraft - 519 Lancasters, 100 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitos - were dispatched. The elaborate deception and RCM operations combined with the surprise return to a German target completely confused the German fighter force and only 4 aircraft - all Lancasters - were lost, a rate of 0.6 per cent. The city suffered heavily in this first RAF raid since April 1943 and its heaviest RAF raid of the war. The bombing force appeared suddenly from behind a Mandrel jamming screen and the local radio warning system only reported it as being a force of minelaying aircraft. 612 aircraft then bombed in a raid lasting only 25 minutes. All parts of Kiel were hit but the bombing was particularly heavy in the port areas and all of the important U-boat yards and naval facilities were hit. The presence of around 500 delayed-action bombs or unexploded duds caused severe problems for the rescue and repair services. There was no water for 3 days; trains and buses did not run for 8 days and there was no gas for cooking for 3 weeks.
119 aircraft - 100 Halifaxes, 14 Lancasters, 5 Mosquitos - of Nos 6 and 8 Groups attacked an oil refinery and storage depot at Donges, near the mouth of the River Loire. This was the start of a new campaign against oil targets in the occupied Countries. The bombing took place in good visibility. The target was severely damaged and a tanker was hit and capsized. No aircraft lost.
116 aircraft - 102 Halifaxes, 12 Mosquitos, 2 Lancasters - of Nos 4 and 8 Groups attacked 2 flying bomb sites with accurate bombing. 1 Halifax lost from the raid on the Les Hauts Buissons site.
Support and 180 aircraft of training units on diversionary sweep over the North Sea, 27 Mosquitos to Berlin and 5 to Düren, 39 RCM sorties, 45 Mosquito patrols, 6 Lancasters minelaying off Kiel and 2 Stirlings off Brest, 12 aircraft on Resistance operations, 8 OTU sorties. 1 Lancaster lost while minelaying near Kiel.
Total effort for the night: 1,188 sorties, 5 aircraft (0.4 per cent) lost.
24 July 1944
28 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of 3 and 8 Groups bombed flying bomb sites at Acquet and Prouville without loss.
3 Mosquitos flew Ranger patrols to Northern Germany and attacked trains but 1 Mosquito was lost.
24/25 July 1944
461 Lancasters and 153 Halifaxes to Stuttgart. 17 Lancasters and 4 Halifaxes lost, 4.6 per cent of the force. This was the first of 3 heavy raids on Stuttgart in 5 nights and the only report available is a composite one for the 3 raids. The 3 raids caused the most serious damage of the war in the central districts of Stuttgart which, being situated in a series of narrow valleys, had eluded Bomber Command for several years. They were now devastated and most of Stuttgart's public and cultural buildings were destroyed. The second of the 3 raids, on the night of 25/26 July, was the most successful.
104 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos of 5 and 8 Groups attacked the oil depot at Donges again and, according to reports, the target was 'devastated'. 3 Lancasters lost.
112 aircraft - l00 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitos, 2 Lancasters - of Nos 6 and 8 Groups attacked a flying-bomb site at Ferfay but the Master Bomber allowed only 73 aircraft to bomb. 1 Halifax lost.
Support and 107 aircraft from training units on diversionary sweep, 27 Mosquitos to Berlin, 8 to Frankfurt and 5 to Aachen, 36 RCM sorties, 46 Mosquito patrols, 4 Halifaxes minelaying off Brest and Lorient, 12 aircraft on Resistance operations, 4 OTU sorties. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 1,088 sorties, 25 aircraft (2.3 per cent) lost.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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