The 429 Sqdn left from an unknown RAF station at 1943-05-04 at an unknown time

On Tuesday 04 May 1943, a member of the 429 Sqdn, Sergeant R E Murray, 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 Vickers Wellington (type X, serial LN438, code AL-).

Campaign report of the USAAF:

4 May 1943 (Eighth Air Force): VIII Bomber Command Mission No. 54: 79 B-17's are dispatched against the former Ford and General Motors plants at Antwerp, Belgium; 65 aircraft hit the target between 1839 and 1843 hours local. We claim 10-0-2 Luftwaffe aircraft; 16 B-17's are damaged. Casualties are 3 WIA. The B-17's are escorted by 117 P-47C's up to 175 miles (280 km) from base. A diversion is flown by 20 B-17's and 13 B-24's towards the French coast arousing more than 100 German fighters (about half of the total number in the region) and keeping many of them airborne long enough to prevent their attacking the main effort. None of the 33 diversionary aircraft are damaged or lost.

Campaign report of the RAF:

3/4 May 1943

4 OTU Whitleys dropped leaflets over France without loss.

4 May 1943

12 Venturas attacked railway yards at Abbeville. 3 Mosquitos out of 6 dispatched bombed power-stations at Haarlem and The Hague. No aircraft lost.

4/5 May 1943

596 aircraft - 255 Lancasters, 141 Halifaxes, 110 Wellingtons, 80 Stirlings, 10 Mosquitos - on the largest 'non-1,000' raid of the war to date and the first major attack on Dortmund. 31 aircraft - 12 Halifaxes, 7 Stirlings, 6 Lancasters, 6 Wellingtons - lost, 5.2 per cent of the force. A further 7 aircraft crashed in bad weather at the bomber bases. The initial Pathfinder marking was accurate but some of the backing-up marking fell short. A decoy fire site also attracted many bombs. But half of the large force did bomb within 3 miles of the aiming point and severe damage was caused in central and northern parts of Dortmund.

6 Stirlings and 2 Halifaxes on an H2S training raid to Rheine. 24 OTU sorties. No losses.

With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!

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