The 515 Sqdn left from Little Snoring at 1944-05-11 at 22:40. Loc or duty BS
He flew with a de Havilland Mosquito (type VI, serial NS929, code 3P-).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 350: 364 B-24s and 536 fighters are dispatched to bomb marshalling yards in France; 8 B-24s and 5 fighters are lost:
1. 144 are dispatched to hit Mulhouse; 94 bomb the primary, 19 hit Belfort, 13 bomb Orleans/Bricy Airfield and 2 hit Mezidon/Pithiviers; 1 B-24 is lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 17 damaged; 1 airman is KIA, 7 WIA and 40 MIA.
2. 74 are dispatched to Belfort; 33 bomb the primary and 24 hit Chaumont; 1 B-24 is lost.
3. 76 are dispatched to Epinal; 68 hit the primary and 1 bombs Caen Airfield; 3 B-24s are lost.
4. 70 are dispatched to Chaumont but none bomb; 3 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 30 damaged; 1 airman is WIA and 31 MIA.
Escort is provided by 147 P-38s, 188 P-47s and 201 P-51s; the P-38s claim 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground, the P-47s claim 3-0-2 in the air and 2-0-6 on the ground and the P-51s claim 3-0-0 on the ground; 2 P-4s and 3 P-51s are lost, 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair and 2 P-38s, 6 P-47s and 2 P-51s are damaged; 5 pilots are MIA.
Mission 351: In the afternoon, 609 B-17s and 471 fighters are dispatched to hit marshalling yards in Belgium, France, Germany and Luxembourg; 8 B-17s and 4 fighters are lost; primary targets are Brussels/Midi (55 bomb), Brussels (49 bomb) and Liege, Belgium (119 bomb, 2 lost); Saarbrucken (58 bomb, 5 lost), Kons Karthaus (55 bomb) and Ehrang (60 bomb, 1 lost), Germany; and Luxembourg (53 bomb); 12 hit the secondary target at Thionville, France; and 16 hit Volkingen, Germany; 19 hit Bettembourg, Luxembourg and 51 hit other targets of opportunity; 8 B-17s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 172 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 23 WIA and 83 MIA.
Escort is provided by 99 P-38s, 182 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47s and 190 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s; the P-51s claim 11-0-4 Luftwaffe aircraft; 4 P-51s are lost, the pilots are MIA.
Mission 352: 4 of 5 B-17s drop 2.4 million leaflets over Denmark; 2 airmen are KIA and 3 WIA.
4 B-24s are dispatched on CARPETBAGGER missions.
850th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), VIII Air Force Composite Command attached to 801st Bombardment Group (Provisional), moves from Eye to Cheddington, England with B-24s; the squadron is flying CARPETBAGGER missions.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): 330+ B-26s attack airfields at Beaumont-le-Roger and Cormeilles-en-Vexin and marshalling yard at Mezieres/ Charleville, France and Aerschot, Belgium.
Bad visibility and failure to rendezvous with fighters cause 100+ aborts.
This is start of Ninth Air Force's participation in AAF pre-invasion offensive against airfields.
14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command attached to Third Army, moves from Alderley Edge to Knutsford, England with L-5s; first mission is in Jul 44.
Campaign report of the RAF:
Day Operations, 1-21 May 1944
On 6 days during this period, Bomber Command Oboe Mosquitos flew as 'formation leaders' in Second Tactical Air Force attacks on small targets in Northern France. There were no losses from the 12 Bomber Command sorties flown.
10/11 May 1944
506 aircraft - 291 Lancasters, 187 Halifaxes, 28 Mosquitos - to bomb railway yards at Courtrai, Dieppe, Ghent, Lens and Lille. No post-raid reconnaissance was carried out at Dieppe and results of the raid there are not known. All other raids were successful, although some bombs fell on nearby civilian housing. 12 Lancasters lost from the No 5 Group raid to Lille and 1 Lancaster lost from the Dieppe raid.
29 Mosquitos to Ludwigshafen and 2 to Châteaudun, 5 RCM sorties, 9 Intruder and 3 Serrate patrols, 26 aircraft minelaying off Brest and Heligoland, 28 aircraft on Resistance operations, 10 OTU sorties. 1 Halifax minelayer lost.
Total effort for the night: 618 sorties, 14 aircraft (2.3 per cent) lost.
11/12 May 1944
190 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos of No 5 Group, with 3 Mosquitos of No 8 Group, were dispatched to attack a large military camp at Bourg Léopold in Belgium. Haze hampered the marking of the target and the Master Bomber ordered the raid to be abandoned, for fear of hitting the nearby civilian housing, after 94 Lancasters had bombed. 5 Lancasters lost.
Boulogne: 135 aircraft - 80 Halifaxes, 47 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitos - of 6 and 8 Groups. 2 Halifaxes lost.
Some bombs fell in the railway yards but the main weight of the raid missed the target and fell on nearby civilian housing. 128 civilians were killed.
126 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups to Hasselt in norrth-eastern Belgium. The target was marked and 39 aircraft bombed, but all missed the railway yards because of thick haze and the Master Bomber ordered the bombing to stop. 5 Lancasters lost.
105 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of Nos 3 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards at Louvain near Rennes but the main weight of the bombing hit the railway workshops and nearby storage buildings. 4 Lancasters lost.
53 Halifaxes of No 4 Group and 6 Pathfinder Mosquitos attacked railway yards at Trouville, south of Le Havre. The bombing was accurate and a large explosion was seen. No aircraft lost.
53 Halifaxes of No 4 Group and 6 Pathfinder Mosquitos attacked a gun position at Colline Beaumont near Le Touquet. The target proved difficult to mark and no results were established. No aircraft lost.
8 RCM sorties, 6 Serrate patrols, 12 aircraft minelaying off French ports, 3 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 725 sorties, 16 aircraft (2.2 per cent) lost.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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