The 608 Sqdn left from Downham Market at 1944-11-04 at 23:46. Loc or duty ?
He flew with a de Havilland Mosquito (type XXV, serial KB426, code -).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
AIRBORNE OPERATIONS
(IX Troop Carrier Command): In France, HQ 439th Troop Carrier Group and the 93d Troop Carrier Squadron move from Lonray to Chateaudun with C-47s; the 95th, 96th and 97th Troop Carrier Squadrons, 440th Troop Carrier Group, move from Le Mans to Orleans with C-47s; the 99th Troop Carrier Squadron, 441st Troop Carrier Group, moves from St Marceau to Dreux with C-47s.
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): 2 missions are flown.
Mission 700: 1,160 bombers and 890 fighters are dispatched in 6 forces to make PFF attacks on the oil industry in W Germany; 5 bombers and 2 fighters are lost:
1. 228 B-17s are dispatched to hit the oil plant at Neunkirchen (151); secondary targets hit are the marshalling yards at Saarbrucken (35) and Neunkirchen (13); 5 B-17s are damaged.
Escort is provided by 76 of 77 P-47s and 50 Ninth AF P-51s without loss.
2. 210 of 222 B-24s hit the Misburg oil plant at Hannover; 3 B-24s are lost and 93 damaged; 28 airmen are MIA.
Escort is provided by 371 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
3. 257 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Harburg oil plant at Hamburg (238); targets of opportunity are the aviation industry at Nordholz (9) and other (2); 9 B-17s are damaged.
Escort is provided by 124 of 139 P-51s; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair.
4. 186 of 193 B-17s hit the Rhenania oil plant at Hamburg; 2 others hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost and 61 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 18 MIA.
Escort is provided by 110 P-51s without loss.
5. 91 of 119 B-17s hit the Welhun oil plant at Bottrop; 26 others hit the secondary, the marshalling yard at Hamm; 24 B-17s are damaged.
Escort is provided by 37 of 40 P-51s; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost.
6. 133 of 141 B-24s hit Gelsenkirchen/Nordstern without loss.
Escort is provided by 50 of 54 P-47s.
Mission 701: 3 B-17s and 6 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 218 B-26s and A-20s hit the Trier ordnance depot, Baumholder, and Eschweiler gun positions; fighters escort the 9th Bombardment Division, attack railroads, bridges, and other targets, and support the US XIX Corps in the Aachen area.
In France, the 556th, 557th, 558th and 559th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 387th Bombardment Group (Medium), move from Chateaudun to Clastres with B-26s.
Campaign report of the RAF:
3/4 November 1944
55 Mosquitos to Berlin and 9 to Herford but only 3 aircraft reached Herford. No aircraft lost.
4 November 1944
176 Lancasters of No 3 Group were dispatched to Solingen but the raid was not successful and the bombing was badly scattered. 4 Lancasters lost.
2 Wellingtons and 1 Halifax flew RCM sorties.
4/5 November 1944
Bochum: 749 aircraft - 384 Halifaxes, 336 Lancasters, 29 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 23 Halifaxes and 5 Lancasters were lost; German night fighters caused most of the casualties. No 346 (Free French) Squadron, based at Elvington, lost 5 out of its 16 Halifaxes on the raid. This was a particularly successful attack based upon standard Pathfinder marking techniques. Severe damage was caused to the centre of Bochum. More than 4,000 buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged. Bochum's industrial areas were also severely damaged, particularly the important steelworks. This was the last major raid by Bomber Command on this target.
Dortmund-Ems Canal: 174 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos of No 5 Group. 3 Lancasters lost. The Germans had partly repaired the section of the canal north of Münster after the No 5 Group raid in September, so this further attack was required. The banks of both branches of the canal were again breached and water drained off, leaving barges stranded and the canal unusable. A report from Speer to Hitler, dated 11 November 1944, was captured at the end of the war and described how the bombing of the canal was preventing smelting coke from the Ruhr mines reaching 3 important steelworks - 2 near Brunswick and 1 at Osnabrück. In his post-war interrogation, Speer stated that these raids on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, together with attacks on the German railway system, produced more serious setbacks to the German war industry at this time than any other type of bombing.
43 Mosquitos to Hannover and 6 to Herford, 39 RCM sorties, 68 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost. The No 100 Group Mosquitos claimed 4 Ju88s and 2 Me110s destroyed and 2 other night fighters damaged, possibly their most successful night of the war.
Total effort for the night: 1,081 sorties, 31 aircraft (2.9 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.