The story
CALAIS
872 aircraft - 430 Lancasters, 397 Halifaxes, 45 Mosquitoes - were again sent to bomb German defensive positions but encountered low cloud. Only 287 aircraft were able to bomb, through breaks in the cloud. No aircraft lost.
PETROL-CARRYING
70 Halifaxes of 4 Group started a series of flights to carry petrol in jerricans from England to airfields in Belgium, in order to alleviate the severe fuel shortage being experienced by Allied ground forces. 4 Group would fly 435 such sorties during an 8-day period. Each Halifax carried about 165 jerricans, approximately 750 gallons of petrol, on each flight. The total amount of petrol lifted during the period was approximately 325,000 gallons, about the same amount of fuel that the Halifaxes themselves consumed. No aircraft were lost during these operations.
Minor Operations: 4 R.C.M. sorties, 5 Hudsons on Resistance operations. No losses.
Total effort for the day: 951 sorties, no losses.
---
MINOR OPERATIONS
48 Mosquitoes to Mannheim and 4 to a chemical factory at Hchst, just west of Frankfurt, 3 R.C.M. sorties, 30 Mosquito patrols. 1 Mosquito lost from the Mannheim raid.
There's more to discover
You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.