The 627 Sqdn left from Woodhall Spa at 1944-09-28 at 2:50. Loc or duty Kaiserslautern

On Thursday 28 September 1944, a member of the 627 Sqdn, Flight Lieutenant H E Brown, 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 2:50.

He flew with a de Havilland Mosquito (type XX, serial KB366, code AZ-O).

Campaign report of the USAAF:

AIRBORNE OPERATIONS

(IX Troop Carrier Command): In France, HQ 439th Troop Carrier Group and the 91st, 92d and 94th Troop Carrier Squadrons move from Juvincourt to Lonray with C-47s; the 95th, 96th and 97th Troop Carrier Squadrons, 440th Troop Carrier Group, move from Reims to Le Mans with C-47s.

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS

(Eighth Air Force): Mission 652: 1,049 bombers and 724 fighters are dispatched to hit oil and military vehicle factories in C Germany using PFF means; they claim 37-8-18 Luftwaffe aircraft; 34 bombers and 7 fighters are lost:

1. 445 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Magdeburg/Rothensee oil refinery (23); 359 hit the secondary at Magdeburg and 35 hit targets of opportunity; they claim 10-7-5 aircraft; 23 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 126 damaged; 8 airmen are WIA and 208 MIA.

Escort is provided by 263 P-38s and P-51s; they claim 24-0-13 aircraft in the air and 1-0-0 on the ground; 5 P-51s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 4 damaged; 5 pilots are MIA.

2. 342 B-17s are dispatched to hit the Merseburg/Leuna oil refinery (301); 10 others hit targets of opportunity; 10 B-17s are lost, 4 damaged beyond repair and 251 damaged; 4 airmen are KIA, 15 WIA and 92 MIA.

Escort is provided by 212 of 231 P-51s; they claim 2-1-0 aircraft in the air; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).

3. 262 B-24s are dispatched to hit the Kassel/Henschel motor transport plant (243); 1 hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-24 is lost and 86 damaged; 10 airmen are MIA.

Escort is provided by 171 of 195 P-47s; 1 P-47s is lost and 3 damaged; 1 pilot is MIA.

Mission 653: 4 B-24s and 6 B-17s drop leaflets in France, the Netherlands and Germany during the night.

194 B-24s fly a TRUCKIN' mission to France with fuel.

The 374th, 375th and 376th Fighter Squadrons, 361st Fighter Group, move from Bottisham to Little Walden, England with P-51s.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS

(Ninth Air Force): In France, bombers hit the defended area of Foret de Parroy; fighters escort bombers, attack railroads W of the Rhine River, fly sweeps and armed reconnaissance in Arnhem, the Netherlands (from which British airborne troops have relinquished their hold because of strong German opposition), the Koblenz, Strasbourg, Karlsruhe, and Mannheim, Germany areas, and support US First and Third Armies in E France and W Germany.

Night patrols continue over Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany.

In France, HQ 50th Fighter Group moves from Laon to Lyons/Bron; HQ 410th Bombardment Group (Light) moves from Gosfield, England to Coulommiers; the 645th and 647th Bombardment Squadrons (Light), 410th Bombardment Group (Light), moves form Gosfield, England to Coulommiers with A-20s.

Campaign report of the RAF:

27/28 September 1944

217 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and No 5 Groups in the only major raid carried out by Bomber Command during the war on Kaiserslautern. 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito lost.

46 Mosquitos to Kassel, 6 to Aschaffenburg and 6 to Heilbronn, 12 RCM sorties, 27 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.

28 September 1944

494 aircraft - 230 Lancasters, 214 Halifaxes, 50 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups to attack 4 German positions at Calais and 6 battery positions at Cap Gris Nez; approximately 50 aircraft were allocated to each position. Only 68 aircraft bombed at Calais before the Master Bomber cancelled the raid because of worsening cloud conditions and only 198 (from 301) aircraft bombed at Cap Gris Nez. No aircraft were lost. Calais surrendered to the Canadian Army soon after this raid and all the French Channel ports were thus in Allied hands, although most of the facilities required extensive clearance and repair. This, and the continuing presence of German troops along the River Scheldt between Antwerp and the sea, would cause the Allied ground forces serious supply difficulties for several more weeks.

2 Liberators and 2 Wellingtons on signals investigation patrols, 10 Hudsons and 2 Lysanders on Resistance operations, 75 Halifaxes on petrol-carrying flights. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the day: 585 sorties, no aircraft losses.

28/29 September 1944

44 Mosquitos to Brunswick, 5 to Heilbronn and 4 to Aschaffenburg, 43 RCM sorties, 52 Mosquito patrols. 1 Mosquito Intruder lost.

With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!

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