The 85 Sqdn left from Swannington at 1945-03-18 at an unknown time. Loc or duty Anti Intruder
He flew with a de Havilland Mosquito (type NF.30 , serial NT254 , code VY-).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force):: 2 missions are flown.
Mission 894: 1,329 bombers and 733 fighters are dispatched to hit railway stations and tanks plants in the Berlin area; the attacks are made both visually and with H2X radar; the Luftwaffe makes it's most concentrated and successful attacks with Me 262s to date; the AAF claims 21-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft; 13 bombers (8 to flak) and 6 fighters are lost:
1. 421 of 450 B-17s hit the Schlesischer rail station in Berlin; 13 hit the secondary target, Zehdnuk; and 1 hits Vechta, a target of opportunity; they claim 6-0-0 aircraft; 5 B-17s are lost, 8 damaged beyond repair and 268 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 18 WIA and 49 MIA.
179 of 199 P-51s escort; they claim 4-0-2 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost.
2. 495 of 530 B-17s hit the Nord rail station in Berlin; targets of opportunity are Ludwigslust (3) and other (3); they claim 1-1-1 aircraft; 7 B-17s are lost, 6 damaged beyond repair and 319 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 12 WIA and 79 MIA.
Escorting are 219 of 238 P-51s; they claim 7-0-1 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost.
3. 347 B-24s are sent to hit the Tegel (225) and Henningsdorf (80) tank factories in Berlin; targets of opportunity are Oranienburg (9), Uelzen (9) and other (3); 1 B-24 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 127 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 1 WIA and 11 MIA.
The escort is 254 P-51s; they claim 3-0-1 aircraft; 2 P-51s are lost.
4. 2 B-17s fly a scouting mission.
5. 27 of 30 P-51s fly a scouting mission.
6. 1 of 12 P-51s escort 5 F-5s on photo reconnaissance missions over Germany.
Mission 895: 10 of 12 B-24s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night without loss.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
First Tactical Air Force (Provisional): The 415th Night Fighter Squadron, 64th Fighter Wing, moves from Ochey to St Dizier, France with Beaufighters.
Ninth Air Force: In Germany, 660+ A-20s, A-26s and B-26s hit the marshalling yards at Wetzlar, Worms, Kreuztal, and Bad Durkheim, a communications center at Bad Durkheim, and 4 town areas with the aim of hampering enemy movement; fighters escort the bombers, attack assigned targets, fly patrols, and armed reconnaissance, and cooperate with the US III Corps at Remagen, with the XII Corps as it begins an assault towards the Mainz-Worms sector of the Rhine River, and with the XX Corps as it moves rapidly eastward through the Sankt Wendel area toward Kaiserslautern.
HQ 70th Fighter Wing moves from Verviers, Belgium to Bruhl, Germany.
Campaign report of the RAF:
17/18 March 1945
66 Lancasters and 29 Halifaxes from training units on a sweep over Northern France to draw up German fighters, 39 Mosquitos to Nuremberg, 38 to Berlin and 2 each to Mannheim and Stuttgart, 6 RCM sorties, 15 Mosquito patrols. 1 Intruder Mosquito of No 100 Group lost.
18 March 1945
100 Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out G-H attacks on oil plants at Hattingen and Langendreer. Both raids appeared to be accurate. No aircraft lost.
18/19 March 1945
324 aircraft - 259 Halifaxes, 45 Lancasters, 20 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 6 and 8 Groups dispatched to Witten. 8 aircraft - 6 Halifaxes, 1 Lancaster, 1 Mosquito - lost. This was an area raid carried out in good visibility. 1,081 tons of bombs were dropped, destroying 129 acres, 62 per cent of the built-up area (according to the post-war British Bombing Survey Unit).
277 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups bombed Hanau. 1 Lancaster lost. This was another accurate area raid. 0 industrial buildings and 2,240 houses were destroyed. The Altstadt was completely devastated and, says the report, all of the town's churches, hospitals, schools and historic buildings were badly hit.
Support and 70 aircraft on a sweep over France, 30 Mosquitos to Berlin, 24 to Kassel and 18 to Nuremberg, 40 RCM sorties, 53 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 844 sorties, 9 aircraft (1.1 per cent) lost.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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