The 161 Sqdn left from Tempsford at 1945-03-05 at 23:34. Loc or duty SOE

On Monday 05 March 1945, a member of the 161 Sqdn, Flight Lieutenant H O Sharman, took off from Tempsford 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 23:34.

He flew with a Short Stirling (type IV, serial LK312, code MA-W).

Campaign report of the USAAF:

AIRBORNE OPERATIONS

(IX Troop Carrier Command): HQ 52d Troop Carrier Wing moves from Cottesmore, England to Amiens, France.

STRATEGIC OPERATIONS

(Eighth Air Force):: 3 missions are flown.

Mission 865: 429 bombers and 689 fighters are dispatched to hit oil targets in Germany; the primary target for the B-17s is the synthetic oil plant at Ruhland but weather forces them to hit the secondary target; all bombing is with H2X radar; 1 B-17 is lost:

1. 233 of 303 B-17s hit the secondary target, the marshalling yard at Chemnitz; targets of opportunity are Plauen (34) and Fulda (9); 1 B-17 is lost and 15 damaged; 9 airmen are MIA.

Escorting are 369 of 420 P-51s; 3 P-51s are damaged beyond repair and 1 pilot is KIA.

2. 120 of 126 B-24s hit the Harburg oil refinery at Hamburg without loss.

The escort is 186 P-47s and P-51s without loss.

3. 27 P-51s attack the marshalling yard at Kreuztal; 1 P-51 is damaged beyond repair.

4. 28 P-51s fly a scouting mission.

5. 14 P-51s escort 4 F-5s on a photo reconnaissance mission over Germany.

Mission 866: 21 of 24 B-24s bomb the Wiesbaden rail station by PFF markers during the night.

Mission 867: 9 of 11 B-24s drop leaflets in the Netherlands, France and Germany during the night.

TACTICAL OPERATIONS

(Ninth Air Force): In Germany, 565 B-26s, A-20s and A-26s attack 6 marshalling yards, a communications center, an ordnance depot, a city area and targets of opportunity with the aim of obstructing reinforcements and supplies to German forces being pushed back across the Rhine River; fighters escort the bombers, drop leaflets in the Cologne-Bonn area, and fly armed reconnaissance over the Ruhr and Hamm-Duisburg area.

Campaign report of the RAF:

4/5 March 1945

31 Mosquitos to Berlin, 24 to Essen and 28 in small numbers to 5 ports in Northern Germany, 6 Mosquito patrols, 12 Halifaxes minelaying off Heligoland, 16 aircraft on Resistance operations. 2 Stirlings on Resistance operations were lost.

5 March 1945

170 Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out a G-H attack on the Consolidation benzol plant at Gelsenkirchen. No results were seen. 1 Lancaster lost.

5/6 March 1945

Chemnitz; 760 aircraft - 498 Lancasters, 256 Halifaxes, 6 Mosquitos - to continue Operation Thunderclap. The operation started badly when 9 aircraft of No 6 Group crashed near their bases soon after taking off in icy conditions. No 426 Squadron, at Linton-on-Ouse, lost 3 out of their 14 Halifaxes taking part in the raid in this way, with only 1 man surviving. 1 of the Halifaxes crashed in York, killing some civilians. 22 further aircraft were lost in the main operation - 14 Lancasters and 8 Halifaxes.

248 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos of No 5 Group attacked the synthetic-oil refinery at Böhlen. The target area was covered by cloud but some damage was caused to the refinery. 4 Lancasters lost.

75 Mosquitos to Berlin, 15 to Gelsenkirchen and 36 in small numbers to 6 other targets, 52 RCM sorties, 27 Mosquito patrols. 5 aircraft lost - 2 Mosquito bombers from the Berlin raid, 1 Mosquito lost from a small raid to Hallendorf, 2 RCM aircraft (1 Halifax and 1 Stirling, of which the latter was believed to have been shot down over France by an American artillery unit).

Total effort for the night: 1,223 sorties, 31 aircraft (2.5 per cent) lost and 10 more crashed in England.

With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!

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