The 571 Sqdn left from Oakington at 1945-03-27 at 18:59. Loc or duty Berlin
He flew with a de Havilland Mosquito (type XVI , serial PF438 , code 8K-M).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force):: Operations during the day include:
1. 110 of 115 P-47s and P-51s escort 262 RAF Lancasters attacking Paderborn, Germany.
2. 2 F-5s, escorted by 4 P-51s, fly a photo reconnaissance mission over Brunswick and Paderborn.
Mission 916: 9 of 10 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands and Germany during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): HQ XII Tactical Air Command moves from France to Germany.
Ninth Air Force: Weather cancels 9th Bombardment Division operations.
In Germany, IX Tactical Air Command fighters patrol the US First Army front; the XIX Tactical Air Command hits marshalling yards, patrols the Third Army front, flies area cover from Koblenz to Aschaffenburg to Worms, and supports the VIII and XII Corps along the Rhine River in the Wiesbaden area and the Main River in the Frankfurt/Main-Aschaffenburg area.
The 14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command (attached to Twelfth Army Group), moves from Luxembourg City, Luxembourg to Oberstein, Germany with L-5s.
Campaign report of the RAF:
26/27 March 1945
86 Mosquitos to Berlin, 2 each to Erfurt and Paderborn, and 2 which bombed both Berlin and Magdeburg on a 'siren tour'. No aircraft lost.
27 March 1945
268 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos to attack Paderborn where American troops were attempting to complete the encirclement of the Ruhr. No aircraft lost. The was covered by cloud but the raid was still carried out with almost perfect accuracy and this old town was virtually destroyed in less than a quarter of an hour.
150 Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out G-H raids on 2 benzol plants in the Hamm area. No results were seen, because of cloud, but dense black smoke rose through the cloud from both targets. No aircraft lost.
115 Lancasters of No 5 Group attacked an oil-storage depot (95 aircraft) and a U-boat shelter (20 aircraft of No 617 Squadron) at Farge on the River Weser north of Bremen. Both attacks appeared to be successful. The results of the raid on the oil depot were not known because this target was attacked with delayed-action bombs so that clouds of smoke would not obscure the target. The U-boat shelter was a particularly interesting target. It was a huge structure with a concrete roof 23 ft thick. It was almost ready for use when No 617 Squadron attacked it on this day and penetrated the roof with 2 Grand Slams which brought down thousands of tons of concrete rubble and rendered the shelter unusable. No aircraft were lost in these attacks.
Total effort for the day: 541 sorties, no aircraft lost.
27/28 March 1945
82 Mosquitos to Berlin, 7 to Bremen, 4 to Erfurt and 3 each to Hannover and Magdeburg, 46 RCM sorties, 23 Mosquito patrols, 8 Mosquitos of No 5 Group minelaying in the River Elbe. 4 Mosquitos lost - 3 from the Berlin raid and 1 from the minelaying operation.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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