The 77 Sqdn left from an unknown RAF station at 1943-03-18 at an unknown time

On Thursday 18 March 1943, a member of the 77 Sqdn, Flight Lieutenant F K Bainbridge, took off from an unknown RAF station 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 an unknown time .

He flew with a Handley Page Halifax (type II, serial JB849, code KN-).

Campaign report of the USAAF:

17 March 1943 (Eighth Air Force): VIII Bomber Command Mission No. 44: 78 B-17's of the 1st Bombardment Wing are dispatched against the Rouen-Sotteville marshalling yard. Due to bad weather, the aircraft are recalled before they leave England. 28 B-24's of the 2d Bombardment Wing are dispatched on a diversionary mission over the North Sea but are also recalled. The 506th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) with B-24's arrives at Shipdham, England from the U.S.

18 March 1943 (Eighth Air Force): VIII Bomber Command Mission No. 45: 76 B-17's of the 1st Bombardment Wing and 27 B-24's of the 2d Bombardment Wing are dispatched against the submarine yards at Vegesack, Germany; 73 B-17's and 24 B-24's drop 268 tons of bombs on the target at 1531-1535 local. Seven U-boat hulls appear severely damaged. This mission marks the first successful combat use of automatic flight control linked with bombsights. Our claims are 52-20-23; we lose 1 B-17 and 1 B-24; 1 B-17 is damaged beyond repair; 9 B-17's and 14 B-24's are damaged; casualties are 1 KIA, 16 WIA and 20 MIA.

Campaign report of the RAF:

18 March 1943

2 Venturas attacked an oil refinery at Maasluis but their bombs just missed the target; 12 further Venturas turned back from raids to targets in France. No aircraft lost.

With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!

This record can also be found on the maps of Back to Normandy with Google coordinates. You can find the maps by clicking on this link on this location.

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