The 427 Sqdn left from Croft at 1943-02-05 at 18:26

On Friday 05 February 1943, a member of the 427 Sqdn, Sergeant A M Templeton, took off from Croft 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 18:26.

He flew with a Vickers Wellington (type III, serial BJ668, code ZL-X).

Campaign report of the USAAF:

(Eighth Air Force): Spitfires of the 4th Fighter Group fly 8 sorties; 2 on uneventful patrols and 6 to strafe an shipping convoy. Two corvettes and a merchant ship are damaged in the convoy; 1 Spitfire is shot down and the pilot is listed as MIA.

Campaign report of the RAF:

4/5 February 1943

188 aircraft - 77 Lancasters, 55 Halifaxes, 50 Stirlings, 6 Wellingtons ordered to Turin of which 156 reached the target. Elsewhere in Italy, 4 Pathfinder Lancasters were sent to this Italian port to try out a new type of 'proximity fuzed' 4,000lb bomb which exploded between 200 and 600ft above the ground to widen the effects of the resulting blast. 3 aircraft dropped their bombs successfully, but this type of weapon does not seem to have come into general use. 3 Lancasters, all from the Turin raid, lost.

128 aircraft - 103 Wellingtons, 16 Halifaxes, 9 Lancasters attacked Lorient. 1 Wellington lost. This was an all-incendiary attack without the Pathfinders. Bombing was concentrated and large areas of fire were started.

Finally, 2 Mosquitos bombed Bochum and Ruhrort and 1 Wellington laid mines off Lorient

5/6 February 1943

19 Stirlings of No 3 Group were sent minelaying in the Frisian Islands; 2 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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