The 61 Sqdn left from Skellingthorpe at 1944-10-29 at 22:36. Loc or duty Bergen
He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type III, serial ND902, code QR-R).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
(Ninth Air Force): About 170 B-26s and A-20s bomb rail bridges at Mayen, Konz-Karthaus, and Euskirchen, Germany and Ellern and Moerdijke, the Netherlands; fighters fly escort to bombers, sweeps, defensive patrols, armed reconnaissance over wide areas of E France, the Netherlands, and Germany, bomb rail targets and bridges, and fly cover for the US XIX Corps in Belgium.
In Belgium, HQ 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group and the 160th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron move from Luxembourg, Luxembourg to Le Culot with F-6s.
Campaign report of the RAF:
28/29 October 1944
237 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of No 5 Group to attack the U-boat pens at Bergen. It is probable that No 5 Group had been waiting to attack this important target for several days; the Group had not flown any operations since 23 October. Clear conditions were forecast for the target area, although there were some doubts about this. Unfortunately the area was found to be cloud-covered. The Master Bomber tried to bring the force down below 5,000ft but cloud was still encountered and he ordered the raid to be abandoned after only 47 Lancasters had bombed. 3 Lancasters lost.
30 Mosquitos to Cologne, 4 to Karlsruhe and 3 to Rheine, 8 RCM sorties, 5 Mosquito patrols, 14 Lancasters minelaying off Oslo. No aircraft lost.
29 October 1944
358 aircraft - 194 Lancasters, 128 Halifaxes, 36 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 3, 4 and 8 Groups attacked 11 different German ground positions on Walcheren. Visibility was good and it was believed that all the targets were hit. 1 Lancaster lost.
37 Lancasters - 18 from No 9 Squadron, 18 from No 617 and a film unit aircraft from No 463 Squadron - were dispatched from Lossiemouth in Scotland to attack the battleship Tirpitz, which was now moored near the Norwegian port of Tromso. The removal of the Lancasters' mid-upper turrets and other equipment and the installation of extra fuel tanks, giving each aircraft a total fuel capacity of 2,406 gallons, allowed the Lancasters to carry out this 2,250 mile operation. A weather reconnaissance Mosquito had reported the target area free of cloud and the Lancasters formed up at a lake near the bay in which the Tirpitz was moored and commenced their attack. Unfortunately the wind had changed and a bank of cloud came in to cover the battleship 30 seconds before the first Lancaster was ready to bomb. 32 aircraft released Tallboy bombs on the estimated position of the battleship but no direct hits were scored. 1 of No 617 Squadron's Lancasters, which was damaged by flak, crash-landed in Sweden and its crew were later returned to Britain.
3 RCM sorties, 4 Ranger patrols, 1 Hudson on a Resistance operation. No aircraft lost.
29/30 October 1944
59 Mosquitos to Cologne and 6 to Mannheim, 55 Mosquitos on Serrate and Intruder patrol. No aircraft lost.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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