The 51 Sqdn left from Snaith at 1944-06-07 at 19:10. Loc or duty Croixdalle
He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial LV862, code MH-A).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): The Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF) directs air attacks against congested points to delay movement of more enemy forces into the assault area.
In the first mission (Mission 397) in the morning, 182 B-17s and 291 B-24s, including 20 PFFs, are dispatched; of the B-17s, 58 hit Conde sur Noireau, 60 hit Flers, and 54 hit Falaise; of the B-24s, 66 hit Argentan, 19 hit Vascoeuil, 61 hit Laigle and 83 hit Lisieux; 1 B-24 is damaged beyond repair and 17 B-17s are damaged; 8 airmen are KIA and 3 WIA.
In the second mission (Mission 398) in the afternoon, 487 B-17s and 88 B-24s are dispatched; the primary targets for the B-17s are Nantes (190 bomb) and the Kerlin/Bastard Airfield (132 bomb); 23 B-17s hit Niort and 40 hit the Nantes Bridge; the primary target for the B-24s is Tours/La Roche (12 bomb) and 13 hit Pouance, 13 hit Blain, 13 hit Chateaubriand, 25 hit Laval Airfield, 12 hit Vitre and 3 hit Tours; 1 B-17 and 1 B-24 are lost, 1 B-17 and 7 B-24s are damaged beyond repair and 78 B-17s and 96 B-24s are damaged; 21 airmen are KIA, 12 WIA and 12 MIA.
Heavy cloud prevents almost 100 others from bombing targets.
VIII Fighter Command furnishes area support for beachhead areas in the early morning and to heavy bomber operations at midday and in the late afternoon, at the same time maintaining harassment of communications and flying shipping patrol.
526 P-38s and 294 P-51s patrol the beachhead and provide escort in N France; they claim 2-0-1 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 0-0-2 on the ground; 8 P-51s are lost; 1 airman is KIA and 7 MIA.
505 P-47s and 148 P-51s engage in general strafing over N France and claim 29-1-12 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 25-0-12 on the ground; 10 P-47s and 4 P-51s are lost and 3 P-51s are damaged beyond repair; 1 airman is KIA and 12 MIA.
Mission 399: 10 B-17s drop leaflets over The Netherlands, France and Belgium.
14 B-24s participate in CARPETBAGGER operations in France.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): 600+ B-26s hit bridges, junctions, trestles, coastal and field batteries, and marshalling yards in France in support of the invasion; 1,100+ fighters support ground troops by dive bombing and strafing, escort B-26s and C-47s, and make sweeps throughout the battle area as Bayeux is liberated and the Bayeux-Caen road is cut; and 400+ C-47s, C-53's, and gliders resupply paratroops in the assault area.
Campaign report of the RAF:
6/7 June 1944
1,065 aircraft - 589 Lancasters, 418 Halifaxes, 58 Mosquitos - to bomb railway and road centres on the lines of communication behind the Normandy battle area. All of the targets were in or near French towns. 3,488 tons of bombs were dropped on targets at Achères, Argentan, Caen, Châteaudun, Conde sur Noireau, Coutances, St Lô, Lisieux and Vire. Every effort was made to bomb accurately but casualties to the French civilians were inevitable. Cloud affected the accuracy of the bombing at many of the targets and, at Achères, the Master Bomber ordered the raid to be abandoned because of cloud and no bombs were dropped. 10 Lancasters and 1 Halifax were lost in these raids; 6 of the Lancasters were lost in the No 5 Group raid at Caen, where the main force of bombers had to wait for the target to be properly marked and then fly over an area full of German units and guns at bombing heights below 3,000ft. Some details are available of the effects of the bombing. At Argentan, Châteaudun and Lisieux, much damage was done to railways, although the towns, Lisieux in particular, were hit by many bombs. Important bridges at Coutances were badly damaged and the town centres of Caen, Conde sur Noireau, St-Lô and Vire were all badly bombed and most of the roads through those towns were blocked.
32 Mosquitos to Ludwigshafen, 18 Serrate patrols, 19 aircraft minelaying in the Brest area, 26 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 1,160 sorties, 11 aircraft (0.9 per cent) lost.
7/8 June 1944
337 aircraft - 195 Halifaxes, 122 Lancasters, 20 Mosquitos - attacked railway targets at Achères, Juvisy, Massey Palaiseau and Versailles. Bombing conditions were better than on the previous night. All targets were accurately bombed and, although no details are available, it is probable that fewer civilians were killed. The targets were mostly more distant from the battle front than those recently attacked and German night fighters had more time to intercept the bomber forces. 17 Lancasters and 11 Halifaxes were lost, 8.3 per cent of the forces involved.
112 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 5 and 8 Groups carried out an accurate attack on an important 6-way road junction half-way between Bayeux and St-Lô at Forêt De Cerisy. The surrounding woods were believed to contain fuel dumps and German tank units preparing to counter-attack the Allied landing forces. The nearest French village was several kilometres away. 2 Lancasters lost.
32 Mosquitos to Cologne, 10 RCM sorties, 18 Serrate and 18 Intruder patrols, 22 Halifaxes and 3 Stirlings minelaying off Lorient and Brest, 24 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 586 sorties, 30 aircraft (5.1 per cent) lost.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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