The 83 Sqdn left from Wyton at 1943-03-06 at 19:43
He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type I, serial W4847, code OL-V).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
(Eighth Air Force): VIII Bomber Command Mission No. 40: 71 B-17's of the 1st Bombardment Wing are dispatched against the power plant, bridge and the port area at Lorient, France; 65 drop 162.5 tons on the target between 1441 and 1445 hours local. We claim 7 aircraft destroyed, 2 probably destroyed and 1 damaged; we lose 3 B-17's and 8 others are damaged; casualties are 30 MIAs. Fifteen B-24's of the 2d Bombardment Wing fly a diversionary mission against the a bridge and the U-boat facilities at Brest, France; all 15 drop 44.5 tons of bombs at 1416-1417 hours local. We claim 2 aircraft destroyed and 2 damaged; 3 B-24's are damaged but there are no casualties.
Campaign report of the RAF:
5/6 March 1943
Essen was the target for 442 aircraft - 157 Lancasters, 131 Wellingtons, 94 Halifaxes, 52 Stirlings, 8 Mosquitos - in the first raid of the 'Battle of the Ruhr'. It was on this night that Bomber Command's 100,000th sortie of the war was flown. 14 aircraft - 4 Lancasters, 4 Wellingtons, 3 Halifaxes, 3 Stirlings - lost, 3.2 per cent of the force.
The only tactical setback to this raid was that 56 aircraft turned back early because of technical defects and other causes. 3 of the 'early returns' were from the 8 Oboe Mosquito marker aircraft upon which the success of the raid depended but the 5 Mosquitos which did reach the target area opened the attack on time and marked the centre of Essen perfectly. The Pathfinder backers-up also arrived in good time and carried out their part of the plan. The whole of the marking was 'blind', so that the ground haze which normally concealed Essen did not affect the outcome of the raid. The Main Force bombed in 3 waves - Halifaxes in the first wave, Wellingtons and Stirlings in the second, Lancasters in the third. Two thirds of the bomb tonnage was incendiary; one third of the high-explosive bombs were fused for long delay. The attack lasted for 40 minutes and 362 aircraft claimed to have bombed the main target. These tactics would be typical of many other raids on the Ruhr area in the next 4 months. Reconnaissance photographs showed 160 acres of destruction with 53 separate buildings within the Krupps works hit by bombs. Small numbers of bombs fell in 6 other Ruhr cities.
7 aircraft of No 4 Group were sent minelaying in the Frisian Islands without loss.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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