The 627 Sqdn left from Woodhall Spa at 1944-06-29 at 12:36. Loc or duty Beauvoir

On Thursday 29 June 1944, a member of the 627 Sqdn, Flying Officer G E Heath, took off from Woodhall Spa in the United Kingdom. His mission is mentioned elsewhere on Back to Normandy. You can find the other details of this mission by searching here. Training and cargo flights are not separately mentioned as a mission. The plane left at 12:36.

He flew with a de Havilland Mosquito (type IV, serial DZ516, code AE-O).

Campaign report of the USAAF:

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS

(Eighth Air Force): Mission 447: 1,150 bombers and 779 fighters are dispatched to hit targets in Germany and the Netherlands; 15 bombers and 3 fighters are lost; cloud cover causes 400+ aircraft to abort the mission: 1.

Of 179 B-17s, 81 bomb the synthetic oil plant at Bohlen and 61 strike an aircraft components factory at Wittenberg; 4 B-17s are lost and 111 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 5 WIA and 30 MIA.

2. Of 380 B-17s, 41 hit Leipzig/Heiterblick, 30 hit Leipzig/Taucha Airfield, 19 hit Leipzig, 18 hit Wittenberg, 15 hit Limbach, 14 hit Quackenbruck and 2 hit targets of opportunity; 2 B-17s are lost, 1 is damaged beyond repair and 76 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA and 21 MIA.

3. Of 591 B-24s, 81 hit Magdeburg, 74 hit Oschersleben, 54 hit Bernburg, 47 hit Aschersleben, 46 hit Burg Airfield, 42 hit an aviation plant at Fallersleben, 35 hit targets of opportunity, 26 hit Stendal Airfield, 9 hit Gardelegen Airfield, 8 hit Oebisfelde/Kaltendorf, 8 hit Zerbst Airfield, and 4 hit Leopoldshall marshalling yard; 9 B-24s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 204 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 12 WIA and 92 MIA.

The missions above are escorted by 203 P-38s, 216 P-47 and 352 P-51s of the Eighth and Ninth Air Forces; they claim 34-0-9 Luftwaffe aircraft in the air and 16-0-8 on the ground; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots are MIA).

4 of 8 P-38s fly a fighter-bomber mission against shipping at Ijmuiden, the Netherlands without loss.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS

(Ninth Air Force): In France, almost 200 B-26s and A-20s bomb gun batteries on Cap de la Hague, bridges and rail lines in the Rennes-Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcourt-Vitre areas, and rail bridge at Oissel; fighters fly armed reconnaissance and attack enemy aircraft, road and rail traffic, gun positions, bridges and other targets in wide areas throughout NW France; and 509th and 511th Fighter Squadrons, 405th Fighter Group, move from Christchurch, England to Picauville with P-47s.

In England, the 14th Liaison Squadron, XIX Tactical Air Command, moves from Knutsford to Ibsley with L-5s.

Campaign report of the RAF:

28/29 June 1944

202 Halifaxes of 4 and No 6 Groups with 28 Pathfinder Lancasters attacked railway yards at Blainville and Metz. Both targets were hit. 20 aircraft were lost, 11 Halifaxes of No 4 Group and 1 Lancaster from the Blainville raid and 7 Halifaxes of No 6 Group and 1 Lancaster from Metz. The combined loss rate was 8.7 per cent.

33 Mosquitos to Saarbrücken and 10 to Scholven/Buer oil plant, 21 RCM sorties, 35 Mosquito patrols, 8 Halifaxes and 4 Stirlings minelaying off Lorient and St Malo. No aircraft lost.

29 June 1944

286 Lancasters and 19 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 5 and 8 Groups attacked 2 flying-bomb launching sites and a store. There was partial cloud cover over all the targets; some bombing was accurate but some was scattered. 5 aircraft - 3 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos - lost, including the aircraft of the Master Bomber on the raid to the Siracourt site, Flight Lieutenant SEC Clarke of No 7 Squadron, but Clarke survived.

2 Mosquitos carried out Ranger patrols and 1 shot up an E-boat while flying back to England. No aircraft lost.

29/30 June 1944

2 Fortresses on RCM sorties, 14 Mosquitos on flying-bomb patrols, 8 Stirlings minelaying off Biscay coasts, 16 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Mosquito shot down a flying bomb, probably the first No 100 Group Mosquito success against the flying bombs. No Bomber Command aircraft lost.

With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!

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