The 161 Sqdn left from Tempsford at 1944-10-07 at 22:29. Loc or duty SOE
He flew with a Short Stirling (type IV, serial LK238, code MA-X).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 669: 1,422 bombers and 900 fighters are dispatched to hit oil installations and armored vehicle plants in Germany; with one exception, bombing is visual; 40 bombers and 11 fighters are lost:
1. 142 of 149 B-17s hit the oil refinery at Politz; 17 B-17s are lost and 106 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 17 WIA and 171 MIA.
Escort is proivded by 93 of 108 P-51s; they claim 7-0-3 aircraft; 1 P-51 is lost (pilot MIA).
2. 333 B-17s are dispatched to hit the oil refinery at Ruhland (59); targets of opportunity hit are Zwickau Airfield (60), motor vehicle facotry at Zwickau (58), Dresden (30), Freiburg (24) and other (87); 3 B-17s are lost and 172 damaged.
Escort is provided by 214 of 256 P-51s; they claim 12-0-0 aircraft in the air and 1-0-1 on the ground; 4 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA), 1 damaged beyond repair and 1 damaged; 1 pilot is WIA.
3. 451 B-17s are dispatched to hit oil refineries at Merseburg/Leuna (129), Lutzendorf (88) and Bohlen (86); targets of opportunity are Bielefeld (51), Hameln (27) and Nordhausen Airfield (24); they claim 11-13-10 aircraft; 16 B-17s are lost, 2 damaged beyond repair and 240 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 15 WIA and 149 MIA.
Escort is provided by 250+ P-47s and P-51s; tehy claim 10-0-1 aircraft; 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are lost (pilots MIA), 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair and 2 P-47s and 1 P-51 are damaged.
4. 489 B-24s are dispatched to hit an armored vehicle plant at Kassel/ Henschel (122) and oil refineries at Kassel/Altenbauna (88), Magdeburg/Buckau (62) and Magdeburg/Rothensee (25); targets of opportunity are Clausthal (129), Bergen/Steinfort (10), Hengelo marshalling yard (4) and other (6); 4 B-24s are lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 183 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 6 WIA and 38 MIA.
Escort is provided by 214 P-38s, P-47s and P-51s; they claim 8-0-0 aircraft on the ground; 1 P-47 and 3 P-51s ar elost and 1 P-47 and 1 P-51 are damaged; 3 pilots are MIA.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): HQ Ninth AF cancels previous instructions against bombing bridges and opens to attack all bridges on the US front, except those over the Rhine River.
300+ B-26s and A-20s strike bridges at Arnhem, the Netherlands and in Germany, bridges at Bullay and Dillingen, a supply depot at Euskirchen, and marshalling yard and warehouse at Hengelo and Trier; fighters fly bomber escort, sweeps and armed reconnaissance in the forward areas, hitting railroads, barges, and troop concentrations, and support ground forces in E France and W Germany.
In France, the 597th, 598th and 599th Bombardment Squadrons (Medium), 397th Bombardment Group (Medium), moves from Dreux to Peronne with B-26s.
Campaign report of the RAF:
6/7 October 1944
Dortmund: 523 aircraft - 248 Halifaxes, 247 Lancasters, 28 Mosquitos - of Nos 3, 6 and 8 Groups. No 6 Group provided 293 aircraft - 248 Halifaxes and 45 Lancasters, the greatest effort by the Canadian group in the war. This raid opened a phase which some works refer to as 'The Second Battle of the Ruhr'. 5 aircraft - 2 Halifaxes (of No 6 Group), 2 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito - lost, less than 1 per cent of the force raiding this Ruhr target on a clear night. The Pathfinder marking and the bombing were both accurate and severe damage was caused, particularly to the industrial and transportation areas of the city, although residential areas also suffered badly.
246 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 5 Groups carried out the last of 32 major Bomber Command raids on Bremen during the war. 5 Lancasters lost. The raid, based on the No 5 Group marking method, was an outstanding success. Severe damage was caused to the AG Weser shipyard, the two Focke-Wulf factories, the Siemens Schuckert electrical works and other important war industries. The 'transport network' was described as being seriously disrupted. (It is interesting to note the increased efficiency and hence destructive power of Bomber Command at this time. Bremen - with its shipyards and aircraft factories - had been the target for many carefully planned Bomber Command raids earlier in the war and was the target for one of the much publicized 1942 1,000-bomber raids. Now this raid by no more than a quarter of the total strength of Bomber Command, hardly mentioned in the history books, had finished off Bremen and this city need not be attacked by Bomber Command again.)
22 Mosquitos to Berlin, 11 to Ludwigshafen and 2 to Saarbrücken, 35 RCM sorties, 76 Mosquito patrols, 19 aircraft minelaying off Texel and Heligoland and in the River Weser, 6 aircraft on Resistance operations. 2 Mosquitos were lost - 1 from the Berlin raid and 1 Serrate aircraft.
Total effort for the night: 947 sorties, 12 aircraft (1.3 per cent) lost.
7 October 1944
351 aircraft - 251 Halifaxes, 90 Lancasters, 10 Mosquitos - of Nos 3, 4 and 8 Groups to bomb the small German town of Kleve which, together with Emmerich, stood on the approach routes by which German units could threaten the vulnerable Allied right flank near Nijmegen which had been left exposed by the failure of Operation Market Garden. Visibility was clear and the centre and north of the town were heavily bombed, although some crews bombed too early and their loads actually fell in Holland near Nijmegen. 2 Halifaxes lost.
340 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 3 and 8 Groups carried out an even more accurate attack on Emmerich. 3 Lancasters were lost.
121 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos of No 5 Group continued the attack on Walcheren Island, without any aircraft losses, and the sea walls which were breached near Flushing.
The Kembs Dam. This was another No 617 Squadron special operation. The Kembs Dam on the Rhine, just north of Basle, held back a vast quantity of water and it was feared that the Germans would release this to flood the Rhine valley near Mulhouse, a few miles north, should the American and French troops in that area attempt an advance. The Squadron was asked to destroy the lock gates of the dam. 13 Lancasters were dispatched. 7 aircraft were to bomb from 8,000ft and draw the flak, while the other 6 would come in below 1,000ft and attempt to place their Tallboys, with delayed fuses, alongside the gates. American Mustang fighters would attempt to suppress flak positions during the attack. The operation went according to plan. The gates were destroyed but 2 Lancasters from the low force were shot down by flak.
5 RCM sorties, 2 Ranger patrols, 2 Hudsons on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the day: 846 sorties, 7 aircraft (0.8 per cent) lost.
7/8 October 1944
46 aircraft of No 100 Group flew an operation in which various electronic devices and Window were used in an attempt to lure the German night-fighter force into the air to waste its fuel. The feint was made in the direction of Bremen, using the same route as had been used in the raid carried out the previous night. Radio listening stations in England heard the German controllers plotting the supposed force 'vigorously', but few night fighters were scrambled. Mosquito Intruders and Serrate aircraft, which were part of the No 100 Group force, then flew on towards Bremen and claimed an Me110 destroyed and a Ju88 damaged. 1 further RCM Halifax flew a signals listening patrol. No aircraft were lost on this night.
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.
There are several possibilities to investigate the flight records on Back to Normandy. All the flights are plotted on maps, sorted "day by day", "by squadron", "by type aircraft", "by year or month", "by location" and much more! Don't miss this!!!
If you have any information that you want to share, please add your comment at the bottom of this record. Or send your information to [email protected]. This information will be added to the record.
Your photos and your information are very welcome! The young do care and with your help we keep up the good work.
