The 51 Sqdn left from Snaith at 1945-01-29 at 20:16. Loc or duty Stuttgart
He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type III, serial MZ794, code MH-T).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
29 January 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force):: 2 missions are flown.
Mission 811: 1,158 bombers and 700 fighters are dispatched to hit industrial plants at Kassel and rail targets in C Germany; the attacks were made using H2X radar; they claim 6-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 1 B-24 and 2 P-51s are lost:
1. 415 B-17s are sent to hit rail centers at Niederlahnstein (110) and Siegen (144); 104 hit the secondary, the Mosel marshalling yard at Koblenz; 37 hit the marshalling yard at Bad Kreuznach, a target of opportunity; 4 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 7 damaged.
Escorting are 235 of 254 P-51s; they claim 1-0-1 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost and 1 damaged beyond repair; 1 pilot is KIA.
2. 386 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Henschel oil plant at Kassel (93); 154 hit the secondary, the Kassel marshalling yard; targets of opportunity are the Bielefeld marshalling yard (76), Koblenz (35) and other (2); 2 B-17s are damaged beyond repair and 28 damaged; 18 airmen are KIA and 1 WIA.
The escort is 207 of 224 P-51s; they claim 4-0-1 aircraft; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair.
3. 357 B-24s dispatched hit secondary targets, the marshalling yards at Munster (206) and Hamm (124); 9 others hit the Soest marshalling yard, a target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost and 18 damaged; 9 airmen are MIA.
173 P-47s and P-51s escort; they claim 1-0-0 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
4. 23 of 27 P-51s fly a scouting mission without loss.
Mission 812: 1 B-17 and 8 B-24s drop leaflets in Germany and the Netherlands during the night.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): Brigadier General Glenn O Barcus becomes Commanding General XII Tactical Air Command.
(Ninth Air Force): 364 A-20s, B-26s, and A-26s bomb rail bridges, supply and communications centers, and defended areas in W Germany; fighters escort the bombers, fly armed reconnaissance and patrols and support US Third Army units at points along the frontlines from S of Saint-Vith, Belgium to the bridgehead area around Saarlautern, Germany.
30 January 1945
(Ninth Air Force): Weather cancels bomber operations.
Fighters fly nightfighter and intruder reconnaissance missions; fighter cover for the US 5th Armored Division W of Gemund, Germany is recalled during the day.
HQ 365th Fighter Group and the 386th Fighter Squadron move from Metz, France to Juzaine Airfield, Florennes, Belgium with P-47s.
31 January 1945
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force):: Mission 813: 291 B-24s, 112 B-17s and 186 P-51s are recalled from a mission against targets in Germany because of expected bad weather at UK bases and heavy clouds; 1 B-17 and 3 B-24s are damaged beyond repair; 6 airmen are KIA and 8 WIA.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): All operations are cancelled due to weather.
The 387th Fighter Squadron, 365th Fighter Group, moves from Metz, France to Juzaine Airfield, Florennes, Belgium with P-47s.
In France, the 512th and 514th Fighter Squadrons, 406th Fighter Group, move from Mourmelon- le-Grand to Metz with P-47s (the 514th has been operating from Prosnes since 22 Jan).
Campaign report of the RAF:
28/29 January 1945
602 aircraft - 316 Halifaxes, 258 Lancasters, 28 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups dispatched to 2 targets in the Stuttgart area. 11 aircraft - 6 Lancasters, 4 Halifaxes, 1 Mosquito - lost. This raid was split into 2 parts, with a 3-hour interval. The first force - 226 aircraft - was directed against the important railway yards at Kornwestheim, a town to the north of Stuttgart, and the second was against the north-western Stuttgart suburb of Zuffenhausen, where the target is believed to have been the Hirth aero-engine factory. The target area was mostly cloud-covered for both raids and the bombing, on skymarkers, was scattered. Bombs fell in many parts of Stuttgart's northern and western suburbs. The important Bosch works, in the suburb of Feuerbach, was hit. A large number of bombs fell outside Stuttgart, particularly in the east around a decoy fire site which was also firing dummy target-indicator rockets into the air. The village of Weilimdorf, situated not far away, complained bitterly about its damage and casualties! This was the last large RAF raid on Stuttgart. Stuttgart's experience was not as severe as other German cities. Its location, spread out in a series of deep valleys, had consistently frustrated the Pathfinders and the shelters dug into the sides of the surrounding hills had saved many lives.
67 Mosquitos to Berlin and 8 to Mainz (a 'spoof' raid for the Stuttgart attacks), 51 RCM sorties, 36 Mosquito patrols, 6 Lancasters of No 1 Group minelaying in the Kattegat. 1 Mosquito of No 100 Group crashed in France.
Total effort for the night: 770 sorties, 12 aircraft (1.6 per cent) lost.
29 January 1945
148 Lancasters of No 3 Group attacked the Uerdingen railway yards at Krefeld without loss. Bombing was claimed to be accurate but a short Krefeld report states that bombs fell over a wide area.
29/30 January 1945
59 Mosquitos; 50 aircraft reached and bombed Berlin without loss.
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.