The 23 Sqdn left from Little Snoring at 1945-03-03 at 19:35. Loc or duty BS
He flew with a de Havilland Mosquito (type VI, serial RS577, code YP-).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force):: 2 missions are flown.
Mission 861: 1,102 bombers and 743 fighters are dispatched to bomb oil refineries, oil plant equipment works, motor transport factory, tank plant, and rail bridge in NC and E Germany; they claim 25-2-37 Luftwaffe aircraft; 9 bombers and 8 P-51s are lost:
1. 114 B-17s are sent to hit the oil refinery at Misburg (23); 82 hit the secondary target, the Hanomag tank factory at Hannover; and 2 hit Lemford, a target of opportunity; bombing is by H2X radar; 11 B-17s are damaged; 9 airmen are KIA and 5 WIA.
Escorting are 44 of 46 P-51s; they claim 0-0-1 aircraft in the air; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
2. 222 B-17s are sent to bomb the oil plant at Ruhland (24) and bomb visually; 166 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Chemnitz using H2X; targets of opportunity are Plauen (11) and other (16); 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 63 damaged.
193 of 214 P-51s escort claiming 3-0-0 aircraft in the air and 10-0-23 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
3. 94 B-24s are dispatched to hit the Nienburg Bridge (41); 48 hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Bielefeld and 1 hits a target of opportunity; attacks are visual; 3 B-24s are damaged.
The escort is 19 of 21 P-51s without loss.
4. All 219 B-24s dispatched hit the Rothensee oil refinery at Magdeburg visually; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft; 4 B-24s are lost and 77 damaged; 3 airmen are WIA and 39 MIA.
The escort is 129 of 144 P-51s; they claim 0-0-2 aircraft in the air; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).
5. The primary targets for 453 B-17s are the Wilke (53) and Brussing (77) oil plants and the MIAG munitions plant (61) at Brunswick and oil refineries at Dollbergen (37), Dedenhausen (53) and Nienhagen (56); 38 hit the secondary, Hildesheim (38); targets of opportunity are the marshalling yard at Bielefeld (36), Herford (23) and other (2); most attacks are visual; they claim 1-2-4 aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost and 53 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 41 MIA.
Escorting are 169 of 180 P-51s; they claim 0-0-4 aircraft in the air and 9-0-2 on the ground; 2 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair.
6. 100 of 107 P-51s fly a fighter sweep in the Leipzig-Magdeburg area; they claim 1-0-3 aircraft in the air; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
7. 30 of 31 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
Mission 862: 18 of 24 B-24s bomb the marshalling yard at Emden using PFF.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In Germany, the 9th Bombardment Division hits Wiesbaden, Giessen, Bergisch Born, and Nahbollenbach ordnance and storage depots, rail bridges at Remagen and Simmern, a communications center at Heimersheim, motor transport concentration at Schwelm, the Rheinbach ammunition dump, Kirn marshalling yard and town, and several targets of opportunity; fighters fly bomber escort, hit special targets, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, and support the US 9th Infantry Division, 3d Armored Division, and VII Corps astride the Erft River W of Euskirchen and the area near Roggendorf W of the Rhine River, the XIII, XVI, and XIX Corps E of Sevelen, NE of Krefeld, and W of the Rhine in the Dusseldorf area, and the VIII, XII, and XX Corps in the area between the Prum and Kyll Rivers and along the Mosel River in the Trier area.
Campaign report of the RAF:
2/3 March 1945
69 training aircraft on a sweep, 67 Mosquitos to Kassel and 3 to Berlin, 48 RCM sorties, 31 Mosquito patrols, 10 Halifaxes and Lancasters minelaying off Norway and 6 Mosquitos in the Kiel Canal, 21 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
3/4 March 1945
234 aircraft - 201 Halifaxes of No 4 Group and 21 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos of No 8 Group repeated the attack on Kamen. No aircraft lost over Germany. The synthetic-oil refinery at Bergkamen was severely damaged in this accurate raid and no further production of oil took place.
212 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of No 5 Group attacked the Ladbergen aqueduct on the Dortmund-Ems Canal, breached it in 2 places and put it completely out of action. 7 Lancasters lost. The gunners in the No 619 Squadron Lancaster of Wing Commander SG Birch claimed to have shot down a V-1 flying bomb near the target area; the V-1 was probably aimed at the port of Antwerp.
95 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep, 64 Mosquitos to Berlin and 32 to Würzburg, 61 RCM sorties, 29 Mosquito patrols, 31 Lancasters minelaying in the Kattegat and in Oslo Fjord, 17 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Lancaster lost - from the minelaying operation.
The Luftwaffe mounted Operation Gisella on this night, sending approximately 200 night fighters to follow the various bomber forces to England. This move took the British defences partly by surprise and the Germans shot down 20 bombers - 8 Halifaxes of No 4 Group, 2 Lancasters of No 5 Group, 3 Halifaxes, 1 Fortress and 1 Mosquito of No 100 Group and 3 Lancasters and 2 Halifaxes from the Heavy Conversion Units which had been taking part in the diversionary sweep. 3 of the German fighters crashed, through flying too low; the German fighter which crashed near Elvington airfield was the last Luftwaffe aircraft to crash on English soil during the war.
Total effort for the night: 785 sorties, 8 aircraft lost over Germany and the sea, 20 aircraft shot down by Intruders over England, a total casualty rate of 3.6 per cent.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net
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