The 9 Sqdn left from Bardney at 1944-07-31 at 17:30. Loc or duty Rilly-la-Montage
He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type III, serial LM453, code WS-E).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 507: 1,295 bombers and 701 fighters are dispatched to hit targets in Germany and airfields in France; 16 bombers and 3 fighters are lost:
1. Of 705 B-17s, 567 bomb Munich, 43 hit Schleissheim Airfield, 36 hit aircraft engine plants at Munich-Allach and 4 hit targets of opportunity; 10 B-17s are lost and 331 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 6 WIA and 82 MIA.
Escort is provided by 439 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 0-1-0 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 18-0-12 on the ground; 1 P-47 and 2 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA) and 5 P-47s and 3 P-51s are damaged.
2. 447 of 486 B-24s bomb the chemical works and city at Ludwigshafen, and SW part of the city of Mannheim; 6 B-24s are lost and 186 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 7 WIA and 62 MIA.
Escort is provided by 135 P-38s; 1 is damaged.
3. Of 104 B-24s, 47 hit Laon/Athies Airfield, 36 hit Creil Airfield and 1 hits Poix Airfield; 4 B-24s are damaged.
Escort is provided by 38 P-47s and P-51s; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair (pilot is KIA) and 2 damaged.
13 B-24s fly CARPETBAGGER missions.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): In France, around 500 A-20s and B-26s attack bridges on the Seine, Loire, Mayenne, and Ruisseau la Forge Rivers and a fuel dump at Foret de la Guerche; fighters fly armed reconnaissance of activities in the Dieppe-Rouen areas, escort bombers, provide armored column cover, dive-bomb military targets in support of the US First Army and fly a few night intruder missions over enemy territory; HQ 303d Fighter Wing moves from Ashford, England to La Combe; the 392d Fighter Squadron, 367th Fighter Group, moves from Ibsley, England to Carentan with P-38s; and the 401st, 402d and 485th Fighter Squadrons, 370th Fighter Group, arrive at Cardonville from Andover, England with P-38s.
Campaign report of the RAF:
30/31 July 1944
20 Halifaxes on Resistance operations, 6 OTU sorties. No aircraft lost.
31 July 1944
127 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 5 Groups carried out an accurate raid on the railway yards at Joigny La Roche in clear conditions. 1 Lancaster lost.
97 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos of Nos 5 and 8 Groups attacked the ends of a railway tunnel at Rilly La Montage being used as a flying-bomb store. No 617 Squadron caved in both ends of the tunnel with their Tallboy bombs and the other part of the bombing force cratered all the approach areas. 2 Lancasters were lost, including the No 617 Squadron aircraft of Flight Lieutenant William Reid, who had won a Victoria Cross in 1943 in a raid on Düsseldorf while flying with No 61 Squadron. Flight Lieutenant Reid survived.
52 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups bombed the port area at Le Havre but the target soon became smoke-covered and results were uncertain, though one U-boat was believed to have been hit. 1 Lancaster lost.
31 July/1 August 1944
202 aircraft - 104 Lancasters, 76 Halifaxes, 22 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 6 and 8 Groups attacked two launching and two storage sites, but only at the Forêt de Nieppe storage site was effective damage caused. 1 Halifax and 1 Lancaster lost.
4 Serrate patrols, 4 Halifaxes minelaying off Brest.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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