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434 Sqn RCAF (Croft – Halifax V) 25-3-44
Can.R140741 F/Sgt. Stinson G. (Pilot) and crew attached to 1659 Conversion Unit for night cross country refresher effective this date for a period of one week. Information received from Air Ministry that Can. J5754 F/Lt. J. M. Cameron (Pilot) who went missing on operations against Leipzig 19/20 Feb./44 reclassified killed. RAF 1386966 Sgt. Cox R. T. (WOP/AG) who went missing on operations against Berlin 20th January/44 now captured and prisoner of war. RAF 1652436 Sgt. E. H. Davies (R/AG) who went missing on an operation against Leipzig 19th Feb. classified as killed. Thirteen aircraft provided on an operation against Aulnoye. Twelve aircraft returned safely to base, another was diverted to Friston, crash Landing at that aerodrome with two engines unserviceable due to damage sustained from enemy night fighters.

BOMBER COMMAND
AULNOYE
192 aircraft – 92 Halifaxes, 47 Lancasters, 37 Stirlings, 16 Mosquitoes. No aircraft lost.

The weather was clear but the Pathfinders were not able to mark the railway yards accurately. Most bombs fell wide of the target but no report is available from France.

Minor Operations: 22 Lancasters of 5 Group to an aero-engine factory at Lyons, 10 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 2 to Hamm, 7 Serrate patrols, 14 Stirlings minelaying in Brittany to the Frisians, 5 O.T.U. sorties. No losses. USAAF
AUSTRIA: A small force of Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attacks the Klagenfurt Airdrome, and 16 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s that become separated from the day’s main effort against Regensburg, Germany, attack a marshalling yard at Zell-am-See. A 14th Fighter Group P-38 escort pilot downs a Bf-110 south of Salzburg at 1340 hours.

BELGIUM: IX Bomber Command B-26s mount a morning attack against St.-Trond Airdrome.

ENGLAND: MajGen Paul L. Williams succeeds MajGen Benjamin F. Giles as head of the IX Troop Carrier Command.

FRANCE: IX Bomber Command B-26s mount a morning attack against Cambrai/Epinoy Airdrome, but 164 B-26s dispatched in the afternoon against various military targets in northern France are recalled because of bad weather.

Aircraft from the Ninth Air Force’s 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Group complete their unit’s first operational mission, over the Cherbourg Peninsula.

GERMANY: The Eighth and Fifteenth air forces conclude Big Week with coordinated attacks on aircraft-industry targets, including a one-two punch against Regensburg.

One hundred ninety-six 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack aircraft- industry factories at Augsburg; 50 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack aircraft-industry factories at Stuttgart; 172 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack aircraft-industry factories at Furth; and 267 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack aircraft-industry factories at Regensburg. Twenty-five B-17s and six B-24s are lost with 305 crewmen killed or missing; three B-17s are written off, and one B-17 lands in Switzerland.

Escort and support for the bombers is provided by 899 Eighth and Ninth air force fighter sorties, including double missions flown by the 361st, 363d, and 365th Fighter groups. One P-47 and two P-51s are lost with their pilots.

USAAF fighter pilots down 25 GAF fighters and two Ju-88s over Germany, France, Luxembourg, and Belgium between 1206 and 1515 hours. 1stLt Frank Q. O’Connor, a P-51 pilot with the 354th Fighter Group’s 356th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Mannheim at 1440 hours.

German opposition against the main Fifteenth Air Force strike against Regensburg is concentrated on the 36 B-17s that are leading the main body of 103 47th Heavy Bombardment Wing B-24s by a considerable margin. Owing to a lack of sufficient long-range fighters in the theater, the heavy bombers are not escorted during the target-penetration phase of the mission; 85 P-38s and 40 P-47s will be on hand, however, during target withdrawal. More than 100 GAF fighters attack the in-bound B-17s over Fiume and manage to down 11 301st Heavy Bombardment Group B-17s long before the target is reached. The bombing run by the 25 remaining lead B-17s hits the primary target with many bombs, but the GAF fighters return once the B-17s clear the flak belt, and they continue to make firing passes for another 30 minutes, albeit without downing any more B-17s. Claims by bomber gunners amount to an improbably high 31 GAF fighters downed, but many claims are undoubtedly correct.

During the second phase of the attack, by 103 304th Heavy Bombardment Wing B-24s, GAF fighters begin attacking the heavy bombers some 300 miles from the target, and continue to do so in several waves all the way to Regensburg and on the way out, beyond the flak belt. The Prufening Messerschmitt aircraft components factory is severely damaged by bombs.

In sum, of the 149 Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers dispatched to attack the Prufening Messerschmitt factory, ten abort and 33 are downed. The onus for the exceptionally high 24 percent loss rate among the bombers is put on the inadequate number of long-range fighter escorts with sufficient range to reach Germany from bases in southern Italy.

Six Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers are lost attacking other targets, as well as three P-38s and a P-47 engaged in the Regensburg withdrawal.

Shortly after the Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers depart the Regensburg area, 267 Eighth Air Force B-17s arrive to find that most of the GAF fighters are on the ground being refueled and rearmed. Troubled by fewer than 50 GAF fighters (which nonetheless down 12 B-17s) the Eighth Air Force bombers complete the destruction of the Prufening factory and also severely damage the Obertraubling aircraft-industry plant.

Other Eighth Air Force bombers attack Furth and Stuttgart, and RAF Bomber Command bombers return to Stuttgart during the night of February 25–26.

ITALY: Sixteen 304th Heavy Bombardment Wing B-24s attack a marshalling yard at Fiume; and XII Air Support Command A-36s and P-40s attack numerous targets in or near the battle areas.

YUGOSLAVIA: Twenty-one Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack warehouses in the dock area at Pola, and Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack the port area at Zara.

RAF BASE CHANGES
47 Sqn (Non-Op) left for SEAC
86 Sqn (Libertator IIIA/V) moves to Reyjavik

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
108 Sqn (Luqa) flies its first OM in the Mosquito NFXIII

426 Sqn RCAF (Linton-n-Ouse – Lancaster II) 26-3-44
Operations are again scheduled and ten aircraft were offered. All took off and bombed the main target which was ESSEN. All save one of our aircraft returned safely and reported an uncertain show due to 10/10th clouds. W/C W.H. Swetman Officer Commanding, was ordered an immediate D.S.O. At 1200 hours today all Squadron personnel had their picture taken with the Commanding Officer and a Lancaster aircraft In background.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster II DS789 OW-A. Crew: P/O AL Olsson RCAF KIA, Sgt T Earle KIA, P/O JO Koivu RCAF KIA, P/O TH Proudlock RCAF KIA, WO2 CG Phinney RCAF KIA, Sgt RV Jones KIA, Sgt EA Milliner KIA. T/o 1958 Linton-on-Ouse. Shot down by Hptm Paul Zorner (37th victory) 8./NJG3. Aircraft exploded and spread debris over a wide area of Bottrop. All are buried in the Reichswald War Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
ESSEN
705 aircraft – 476 Lancasters, 207 Halifaxes, 22 Mosquitoes. The sudden switch by Bomber Command to a Ruhr target just across the German frontier caught the German fighter controllers by surprise and only 9 aircraft – 6 Lancasters, 3 Halifaxes – were lost, 1.3 percent of the force.

Essen was covered by cloud but the Oboe Mosquitoes marked the target well and this was a successful attack. 48 industrial buildings were seriously damaged and 1,756 houses destroyed. 550 people were killed, 49 missing and 1,569 were injured. The figures for killed and missing are broken down in the Essen report as follows: Germans – 192 women, 155 men, 27 children, 6 soldiers, 4 policemen and 2 Hitler Youth. Foreigners – 74 forced workers and 1 prisoner of war. The remaining 138 victims were mixed German and foreign concentration-camp prisoners, large numbers of whom were now providing the labour forces in German factories.

COURTRAI
109 aircraft – 70 Halifaxes, 32 Stirlings, 7 Mosquitoes – of 3, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. No aircraft lost.

A detailed report is available from Courtrai (from local historian José Vanbossele). It is obvious that the bombing spread to many built-up areas beyond the railway targets. 313 buildings in the town were destroyed, including the gaol, where 5 prisoners were killed, and a Catholic school, where 9 nuns died. When the gaol was hit, several prisoners escaped including a local butcher who had been caught helping airmen to evade capture. The total number of civilians killed was 252; 79 of these people were not local inhabitants but visitors who had come to Courtrai for the celebration of a religious feast. Many fires developed in the town and Hauptmann Schüller, from a nearby airfield, is noted as having been most helpful in sending men to put out the fires.

Details on damage to the railways are limited. The Germans called in 450 unemployed civilians and 1,200 other local men to repair the damage and the railway line was open 3 days later.

Minor Operations: 22 Mosquitoes to Hannover, 3 to Aachen and 3 to Julianadorp, 8 R.C.M. sorties, 13 Serrate patrols, 20 Stirlings minelaying off French ports, 4 aircraft on Resistance operations, 12 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 899 sorties, 9 aircraft (1.0 percent) lost. Operations Map 2nd TAF
Flak hit a 180 Squadron Mitchell during an attack on E-boat pens along the French coast, the bomber crash-landing at Bungay in Norfolk on return. On this date at 133 Airfield 306 Squadron began receiving Mustang IIIs to replace its Spitfire VBs, 315 Squadron commencing a similar conversion next day. Ten days earlier 129 Squadron had rejoined 2nd TAF from Peterhead, arriving at Heston to bring 133 Airfield up to three squadrons. This unit also converted to Mustangs from Spitfire IXs, having received its first example on the 24th; on the 30th the Squadron would be off to Llanbedr APC, borrowing 315 Squadron's Mustangs, which, unlike the unit's own at this stage, were equipped to carry bombs.

USAAF
ETO: Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower approves a plan to isolate the OVERLORD invasion area by means of concentrated air attacks on the transportation system in western Europe, particularly the rail system.

FRANCE: A total of 500 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attack 16 V-weapons sites around Pas-de-Calais and Cherbourg with 1,271 tons of bombs. Four B-17s and one B-24 are lost, and 236 bombers are damaged. Escort and support for the heavy bombers is provided by 266 VIII Fighter Command P-47s, of which just one is lost with its pilot.

Nearly 140 IX Air Support Command P-47s and P-51s from five groups attack a marshalling yard, V-weapons sites, and German Army installations throughout France.

ITALY: Forced to turn back by bad weather while bound for Steyr, Austria, Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack the Udine Airdrome complex and marshalling yards at Rimini, and Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack port facilities and shipping at Fiume. However, approximately 150 B-17s and B-24s return to their bases with bombs aboard. Also, faithful to its schedule, the 82d Fighter Group turns up over Steyr at about 1055 hours and is engaged by GAF fighters, of which five are downed and four are damaged or possibly downed by the P-38 pilots.

The 340th Medium Bombardment Group, which suffered the loss of all of its 88 B-25s when it was run out of Pompeii Airdrome on March 22, sets up new quarters at Paestum Airdrome and immediately mounts a strike against the rail bridge at Perugia with all six of the new B-25s it has received so far.

Twelfth Air Force B-26s attack viaducts at Arezzo; XII Air Support Command A-20s attack troop concentrations; XII Air Support Command P-40s attack gun emplacements around the Anzio beachhead area and near Fontana Liri; and XII Air Support Command P-47s attack two rail bridges.

NETHERLANDS: Three hundred thirty-eight IX Bomber Command B-26s and 35 A-20s attack the German Navy E-boat and R-boat (torpedo boats and gunboats) pens at Ijmuiden, but a misdrop by the lead bomber results in very little damage. One B-26 is lost.

RAF BASE CHANGES
157 Sqn (Mosquito NFII) moves to Valley
219 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Colerne
268 Sqn (Mustang IA) moves to Dundonald

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
222 Sqn (Hornchurch) flies its last OM in the Spitfire LFIXB

401 Sqn RCAF (Biggin Hill – Spitfire LFIXB) 27-3-44
Weather was good, but hazy with fog at first. The Squadron stood readiness from dawn, which meant getting up at 0600 hours for no reason as the fog me very thick. We didn't take off on our first army co-operation exercise until 1140 hours included in these exercises are practice scrambles. These exercises, of which we had three practice scrambles, went on until 1610 hours, when flying was packed up.

F/O G.D. Billing (CAN. J. 18371) formerly of Malta, joined the Squadron for flying duties.

BOMBER COMMAND
14 Mosquitoes to Duisburg and 3 to Krefeld. No losses.

USAAF
FRANCE: Seven hundred one Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack 11 GAF airfields in France with 1,853 tons of bombs. Losses are three B-17s and three B-24s to enemy action and two B-24s destroyed in a collision during assembly over England.

Escort and support is provided by a record 960 USAAF fighters, of which ten are lost with their pilots and five are damaged.

USAAF escort pilots down 12 GAF aircraft over France between 1330 and 1615 hours. Maj Walker M. Mahurin, a P-47 ace with the 56th Fighter Group’s 63d Fighter Squadron, brings his final tally in the ETO to 18.75 confirmed victories when he shares with three other pilots in the downing of a Do-217 near Chartres at 1500 hours. Shortly, Mahurin’s P-47 is downed by flak, but he is able to evade capture, and he will be returned to the U.K. on May 7, 1944. (Mahurin subsequently downs a Japanese airplane in Southeast Asia in 1945, and he will down 3.5 jet interceptors in the Korean War.) Less fortunate than Walker Mahurin is Maj Gerald W. Johnson, a 16.5-victory P-47 ace with the 56th Fighter Group’s 63d Fighter Squadron, who is taken prisoner after his P-47 is downed by flak during a strafing pass at a railroad train.

Of 53 IX Bomber Command B-26s dispatched against V-weapons sites in northern France, only 18 attack their assigned targets while the others abort in the face of bad weather.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack road and rail bridges at three locations; Twelfth Air Force B-26s attack a rail bridge and other rail targets at Poggibonsi; XII Air Support Command A-20s and A-36s attack a railroad station; XII Air Support Command P-40s attack supply dumps and a German Army command post near Rome; and XII Air Support Command P-47s attack transportation targets along the rail line between Rome and Orvieto.

RAF BASE CHANGES
98 Sqn (Mitchell II) moves to Swanton Morley
235 Sqn (Beaufighter TFX) moves to Portreath
332 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to North Weald
485 Sqn RNZAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Hornchurch

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
439 Sqn RCAF (Hurn – Typhoon IB) flies its first OM of the war
441 Sqn RCAF (Holmsley South – Spitfire LFIXB) flies its first OM of the war

456 Sqn RAAF (Ford – Mosquito NFXVII) 28-3-44
What a day, last night the Squadron put itself on the map. In a short raid on BRISTOL and S.WALES our aircraft shot down three JU.88’s. The C.O and F/O CONDON (AUS.404399) getting two and S/L HOWARD (AUS.404787) and F/O ROSS (AUS.401721), the third. The C.O. now has three in two nights work. Both his, crashed on land near PORTLAND, and BASIL HOWARD saw his hit the sea in flames off the FRENCH COAST. Altogether a very successful night Eleven enemy aircraft were disposed of all together, one being got from FAIRWOOD COMMON and the story has it that they still can’t believe it in Ops. there. A pleasant day with all the usual flying. The C.O.’s aircraft was damaged by his second kill blowing up, so he is off the programme for a couple of days.

2nd TAF
The newly-arrived Canadian Spitfire pilots of 144 Airfield undertook their first sweep on this date, led by their Wing Leader, 'Johnnie' Johnson, and accompanied by a leading New Zealand fighter pilot, Wg Cdr E.P. 'Hawkeye' Wells, DSO, DFC & Bar, who was on a brief attachment to the Airfield at this time. Johnson's R/T soon proved unserviceable and Wells took over the lead. The formation arrived over Dreux airfield to spot aircraft on the ground there. Wells and Flg Off Tommy Brannagan each claimed an Me 410 destroyed by strafing, while Brannagan also claimed a second unidentified aircraft. Johnson and Flg Off McLauchlan shared a Ju 88. Both the Flying Officers were members of 441 Squadron. Three probables and one damaged were also claimed.

During a sortie over the French coast in the mid- afternoon, a Mosquito of 305 Squadron was obliged to force-land in that area, while another of these aircraft from 107 Squadron was shot down in error south of Dieppe by a P-51, apparently from the US Eighth Air Force's 4th Fighter Group.

USAAF
BALKANS: The Twelfth Air Force’s 60th Troop Carrier Group is assigned to keep Yugoslav, Greek, and Albanian partisans supplied with weapons, munitions, and other military equipment and stocks, and to drop agents as needed. Hereafter (except for commitment to the invasion of southern France in August 1944) the group will more or less specialize in partisan-support operations.

ENGLAND: The Eighth Air Force’s 652d Bombardment Squadron, a provisional weather-reconnaissance unit, is formally reconstituted as the 8th Provisional Heavy Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. At the same time, the Eighth Air Force forms the Provisional Light Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, a Mosquito unit that will conduct meteorological flights over northern Europe, and the Provisional Special Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, a Mosquito unit that will conduct day and night reconnaissance sorties. The latter two units are formed from a nucleus of P-38 pilots from the 50th Fighter Squadron, a former 14th Fighter Group component that has been serving in Iceland since mid-1942.

The 801st Provisional Heavy Bombardment Group is created under the auspices of the VIII Air Force Composite Command. Equipped with specially remodeled B-24s, the new unit will drop agents and supplies by parachute to assist partisan organizations in France and the Low Countries. The 801st is initially composed of former aircrews and groundcrews from the disbanded 479th Antisubmarine Group.

The Eighth Air Force’s 803d Provisional Bombardment Squadron (Radio Counter Measures) is redesignated as the 36th Provisional Bombardment Squadron and assigned to the 801st Provisional Heavy Bombardment Group.

FRANCE: Three hundred sixty-four 1st and 3d Bombardment division B-17s attack Dijon/Longvic, Chartres, Chateaudun, and Reims/Champagne airdromes with a total of 937 tons of bombs. Two B-17s are lost.

Escort and support for the bombers is provided by 453 USAAF fighters, of which three P-51s and their pilots are lost. Also, 355th Fighter Group P-51 pilots strafe the Dijon/Longvic Airdrome after it has been bombed.

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack marshalling yards at Verona; and B-24s attack bridges at Cessano and Fano, and a marshalling yard and industrial targets (including the Breda shipyard) at Mestre. The aggregate of bombs expended is 1,061 tons, making this the Fifteenth Air Force’s first thousand-ton day.

Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack rail bridges and viaducts at two locations; Twelfth Air Force B-26s attack a marshalling yard and rail junction at Montepescali, and a bridge approach at Perugia; XII Air Support Command A-20s attack a tank factory; XII Air Support Command A-36s attack rail bridges at two locations; and XII Air Support Command P-40s attack numerous tactical targets around Cassino as well as motor-vehicle parks and supply dumps.

A total of 12 GAF fighters are downed over Italy during the day, by both Twelfth and Fifteenth air force fighter pilots engaged in either escort or ground-support missions.

NETHERLANDS: 2d Bombardment Division B-24s are recalled due to bad weather while en route to attack the German Navy base at Ijmuiden.

RAF BASE CHANGES
310 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Southend
315 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Heston

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
1 Sqn (Martlesham Heath) flies its last OM in the Typhoon IB
165 Sqn (Culmhead) flies its last OM in the Spitfire IX and its first OM in the Spitfire LFIXB
260 Sqn (Cutella) flies its last OM in the Kittyhawk III
442 Sqn RCAF (Holmsley South – Spitfire LFIXB) flies its first OM of the war

419 Sqn RCAF (Middleton St. George – Halifax II) 29-3-44
Thirteen aircraft were detailed to attack VAIRES, in the East PARIS region. One aircraft was a non-starter on this operation, aircraft "T" being unable to take off owing to an unserviceable constant-speed unit in one engine. Aircraft "F", captained by W/O Greenidge, on his 6th operational sortie, was missing from this operation. Weather conditions at base were only fair, but over the target weather conditions were good. The PFF were once again late, causing ten of the eleven aircraft to make a second run over the target.

ADDENDUM – Halifax II HR912 VR-F. Crew: WO2 JA Greenidge RCAF KIA, Sgt WA Sinclair KIA, F/S TB Lowe RCAF KIA, Sgt VN Lunney RCAF KIA, WO1 EOE Humphreys RCAF KIA, Sgt MW Wheeler RCAF KIA, Sgt EG Surridge RCAF KIA. T/o 1819 Middleton-St-George.

BOMBER COMMAND
VAIRES
76 Halifaxes and 8 Mosquitoes of 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards at Vaires, near Paris, in bright moonlight. The bombing was very accurate and 2 ammunition trains which were present blew up; it is reported that 1,270 German troops were killed. 1 Halifax lost.

Minor Operations: 19 Lancasters of 5 Group to the aero-engine factory at Lyons, which was bombed accurately. Mosquitoes: 32 to Kiel, where 47 people were killed and 134 were injured, 11 to Krefeld, 5 to Aachen and 4 to Cologne. No losses. USAAF
ENGLAND: The 442d Troop Carrier Group arrives in England for service with the IX Troop Carrier Command, and the 48th Fighter Group, in P-47s, arrives in England for service with the IX Fighter Command.

The IX Troop Carrier Command is reorganized as follows: 50th Troop Carrier Wing—439th, 440th, 441st, and 442d Troop Carrier groups; 52d Troop Carrier Wing—61st, 313th, 314th, 315th, and 316th Troop Carrier groups; and 53d Troop Carrier Wing—434th, 435th, 436th, 437th, and 438th Troop Carrier groups. This will be the IX Troop Carrier Command organization for Operation OVERLORD.

FRANCE: Thirty of 77 2d Bombardment Division B-24s dispatched attack the V-weapons sites around Watten. The only losses are two B-24s that collide during assembly, killing 18 crewmen. Also, 19 would-be rescuers and four civilians on the ground are killed and 38 servicemen are wounded when the bombs in one of the crashed airplanes detonate. Escort for this otherwise uneventful mission is provided by 37 361st Fighter Group P-47s.

GERMANY: Two hundred thirty-three 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack the city of Brunswick and several targets of opportunity.

Escort and support for the bombers is provided by 428 USAAF fighters. Ten pilots are lost when 12 fighters are downed in action and six crash or ditch for various reasons.

USAAF escort pilots down 46 GAF fighters over Germany between 1315 and 1520 hours. LtCol Everett W. Stewart, the executive officer of the 355th Fighter Group, in P-51s, achieves ace status when he downs two fixed-gear trainers near Brunswick at 1350 hours; and 1stLt Charles F. Anderson, Jr., a P-51 pilot with the 4th Fighter Group’s 335th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two FW-190s and shares in the downing of a third FW-190 near Gifhorn between 1410 and 1425 hours.

ITALY: In the Fifteenth Air Force’s largest mission so far in the war, nearly 300 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack marshalling yards at Bolzano and Milan; and 105 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack marshalling yards, a ball-bearing factory, and the Fiat airplane-engine factory at Turin.

A total of 13 GAF fighters are downed over Italy during the day by Twelfth and Fifteenth air force fighter pilots. Capt James E. Fenex, Jr., a P-40 pilot with the 324th Fighter Group’s 316th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two FW-190s near Rome at 1530 hours.

Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack Viterbo Airdrome; Twelfth Air Force B-26s attack Leghorn; XII Air Support Command A-36s attack the harbors and port facilities at Civitavecchia and San Stefano al Mare; XII Air Support Command P-40s attack repair shops, supply dumps, and a bivouac area near Rome and a supply dump and gun emplacements near Velletri; and XII Air Support Command P-47s attack a rail overpass north of Rome.

RAF BASE CHANGES
486 Sqn RAAF (Typhoon IB) moves to Castle Camps

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
6 Sqn (Grottaglie) flies its first OM in the Hurricane IV
33 Sqn (Mersa Matruh) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VC
35 Sqn (Graveley) flies its last OM in the Halifax II
229 Sqn (Catania) flies its last OM’s in the Spitfire VB & VC

429 Sqn RCAF (Leeming – Halifax III) 30-3-44
Weather: Fair. Visibility 5-10 miles. Wind light Northerly.

The Squadron was required for operations and thirteen aircraft were ordered. The thirteen crews were briefed at 1700 hours for an attack on Nuremberg. All these took off but one was forced to return early due to engine trouble. One aircraft failed to return from this operation. This aircraft “N”, LX800 was captained by Pilot Officer K. Bowley (AUS414458). The remaining aircraft attacked the target and dropped their bomb load. There was 8/10 to 10/10 cloud over the target with tops from 8,000 to 12,000 feet. Visibility was moderate to good. The ground markers were scattered and the sky markers were more concentrated. H2S Indications were that neither ground or sky markers were over the built up area. One aircraft reported that the glow of fires could be soon 100 miles away. A violent explosion occurred during the bombing but in general the results of the attack were very hard to assess owing to the dense cloud conditions. Aircraft “F” LK802 was attacked by an enemy fighter on the outward journey. Evasive action was taken and the enemy was fired on by the rear gunner but no hits are claimed Aircraft “Q” LK804 which was piloted by F/O J.H. Wilson (Can.J.16948) was forced to ditch in the channel on the return journey. All the crew except the captain managed to escape by dinghy and were rescued later. The captain is reported missing- believed killed. The navigator, 1314764 F/S Way, C.W. (RAF) was slightly wounded in the left leg and the remainder of the crew escaped uninjured. Several of our aircraft were diverted and landed away at other bases.

ADDENDUM – Halifax III LK800 AL-N. Crew: P/O KH Bowley RAAF POW, Sgt JW Clowes POW, F/S JWA Myers POW, F/O J Dougall POW, F/S DD Findlay POW, Sgt W McMahon RCAF POW, F/S R Dawson EVD. T/o 2148 Leeming. Shot down by Oblt Wilhelm Engel (11th victory) 3./NJG8, at Weiler am Turmat 0238.

BOMBER COMMAND
NUREMBERG
This would normally have been the moon stand-down period for the Main Force, but a raid to the distant target of Nuremberg was planned on the basis of an early forecast that there would be protective high cloud on the outward route, when the moon would be up, but that the target area would be clear for ground-marked bombing. A Meteorological Flight Mosquito carried out a reconnaissance and reported that the protective cloud was unlikely to be present and that there could be cloud over the target, but the raid was not cancelled.

795 aircraft were dispatched – 572 Lancasters, 214 Halifaxes and 9 Mosquitoes. The German controller ignored all the diversions and assembled his fighters at 2 radio beacons which happened to be astride the route to Nuremberg. The first fighters appeared just before the bombers reached the Belgian border and a fierce battle in the moonlight lasted for the next hour. 82 bombers were lost on the outward route and near the target. The action was much reduced on the return flight, when most of the German fighters had to land, but 95 bombers were lost in all – 64 Lancasters and 31 Halifaxes, 11.9 percent of the force dispatched. It was the biggest Bomber Command loss of the war.

Most of the returning crews reported that they had bombed Nuremberg but subsequent research showed that approximately 120 aircraft had bombed Schweinfurt, 50 miles north-west of Nuremberg. This mistake was a result of badly forecast winds causing navigational difficulties. 2 Pathfinder aircraft dropped markers at Schweinfurt. Much of the bombing in the Schweinfurt area fell outside the town and only 2 people were killed in that area.

The main raid at Nuremberg was a failure.* The city was covered by thick cloud and a fierce cross-wind which developed on the final approach to the target caused many of the Pathfinder aircraft to mark too far to the east. A 10-mile-long creepback also developed into the countryside north of Nuremberg. Both Pathfinders and Main Force aircraft were under heavy fighter attack throughout the raid. Little damage was caused in Nuremberg; 69 people were killed in the city and the surrounding villages.

DIVERSION AND SUPPORT OPERATIONS
49 Halifaxes minelaying in the Heligoland area, 13 Mosquitoes to night-fighter airfields, 34 Mosquitoes on diversions to Aachen, Cologne and Kassel, 5 R.C.M. sorties, 19 Serrate patrols. No aircraft lost.

Minor Operations: 3 Oboe Mosquitoes to Oberhausen (where 23 Germans waiting to go into a public shelter were killed by a bomb) and 1 Mosquito to Dortmund, 6 Stirlings minelaying off Texel and Le Havre, 17 aircraft on Resistance operations, 8 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Halifax shot down dropping Resistance agents over Belgium.

Total effort for the night: 950 sorties, 96 aircraft (10.1 percent) lost.

Pilot Officer C. J. Barton, a Halifax pilot of 578 Squadron, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for carrying on to the target in the Nuremberg operation after his bomber was badly damaged in a fighter attack and 3 members of his crew baled out through a communication misunderstanding. Although the navigator and wireless operator were among the men who had parachuted, Barton decided to attempt the return flight to England in spite of the fact that only 3 engines were running. An unexpected wind took the Halifax steadily up the North Sea and it was short of fuel when the English coast was reached near Sunderland. Barton had to make a hurried forced landing when his engines failed through lack of fuel and he died in the crash, but his 3 remaining crew members were only slightly hurt.

Pilot Officer Barton’s Victoria Cross was the only one awarded during the Battle of Berlin, which had now officially ended. Operations Map:
USAAF
BULGARIA: One hundred fourteen Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and 253 B-24s attack marshalling yards at Sofia, an industrial area at Imotski, and Imotski Airdrome.

The 463d Heavy Bombardment Group, in B-17s, makes its combat debut on this mission as part of the 5th Heavy Bombardment Wing.

Thirteen Axis fighters, many of which appear to be Bulgarian Air Force aircraft, are downed during the mission by P-38 pilots of the 1st and 82d Fighter groups. Also, while escorting the bombers en route over Yugoslavia, 14th Fighter Group P-38 pilots down an Axis fighter and damage or possibly down seven others.

ENGLAND: The IX Engineer Command is formally activated under the command of BriGen James B. Newman.

GERMANY: The Combined Bomber Offensive suffers a major setback when nearly 100 RAF bombers are downed while taking part in a mission against Nurnberg, on the night of March 30–31. As a result of these losses, the RAF’s night-bombing program is sharply curtailed.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack port facilities at Leghorn and a rail bridge near Orte; and XII Air Support Command A-36s and P-40s attack a variety of scattered targets, including ammunition and supply dumps, rail bridges, and motor vehicles.

The 57th Fighter Group, the first Twelfth Air Force unit to be equipped with P-47s, moves temporarily from Italy to Corsica in order to be in a better position from which to conduct low-level sweeps against German Army lines of supply and communication. The uniquely equipped group is ordered to provide a minimum of 48 fighter-bomber sorties per day as well as its own top cover. This is the first effective test of the P-47 in a fighter-bomber roll, which includes low-level strafing and dive-bombing attacks. (Between April 1 and 14, the group exceeds all expectations by providing at least 80 fighter-bomber sorties per day.)

NETHERLANDS: Twelve P-47s each from the 359th and 361st Fighter groups dive-bomb Soesterberg and Eindhoven airdromes, respectively. Also, 22 78th Fighter Group P-47s strafe a marshalling yard, shipping on the Rhine River, a flak tower and gun emplacements, and the Deelen, Twente/Enschede, and Venlo airdromes.

RAF BASE CHANGES
26 Sqn (Mustang I) moves to Peterhead
129 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Lianbedr
198 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Lianbedr

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
74 Sqn (Idku) flies its last OM’s in the Spitfire VB, VC & IX
94 Sqn (El Adem South) flies its last OM in the Hurricane IIC
115 Sqn (Witchford) flies its last OM in the Lancaster II
131 Sqn (Harrowbeer) flies its last OM in the Spitfire IX
440 Sqn RCAF (Hurn – Typhoon IB) flies its first OM of the war

401 Sqn RCAF (Biggin Hill – Spitfire LFIXB) 31-3-44
Weather was fair with light haze No flying was done in the morning or until the late afternoon when the Squadron, led by F/Lt. W.R. Tow, did its last army co-operation exercise, which was to dive-bomb motor convoys.

BOMBER COMMAND
MINOR OPERATIONS
3 Oboe Mosquitoes to Essen, 28 aircraft on Resistance operations, 15 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Halifax on a Resistance supply-dropping operation was lost.
USAAF
ITALY: The Twelfth and Fifteenth air forces are grounded by bad weather— except for fighter sweeps carried out by the Corsica-based P-47s of the 57th Fighter Group.

RAF BASE CHANGES
66 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Bognar
168 Sqn (Mustang I) moves to Odiham
206 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Davidstowe Moor
331 Sqn (Spitfire IX/LFIXB) moves to Bognar
332 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Bognar

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
55 Sqn (Biferno) flies its first OM in the Baltimore V
80 Sqn (Trigno) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VC
126 Sqn (Grottaglie) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VC
223 Sqn (Biferno) flies its last OM in the Baltimore IV
274 Sqn (Canne) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VC

137 Sqn (Manston – Typhoon IB) 1-4-44

Today the Squadron moved "en masse" from R.A.F. Lympne to R.A.F. Manston.

At 13.35 hrs, three sections of two aircraft each took off on A.S.R. patrols. Nothing to report on the Fortress crew. White section reported seeing 2 x 800 ton coasters with one trawler entering OSTENDE from the West. Also two trawlers from the East.

At 22.20 hrs, W/O.J.W. CARTER was scrambled for a shipping patrol to cover area between DUNKIRK and FLUSHING. Soon after commencement of patrol, SWINGATE reports, the pilot faded. W/O. CARTER (R.A.F.) is reported missing - reason or cause not known.

ADDENDUM – Typhoon IB MN145 SF-B. Pilot W/O JW Carter KIA. Lost off of Dunkirk.

BOMBER COMMAND
HANNOVER
35 Mosquitoes bombed the city through thin cloud. No aircraft lost.


Minor Operations: Mosquitoes – 7 to Aachen, 6 to Krefeld and 2 to La Glacerie flying-bomb site, 1 R.C.M. sortie, 4 Serrate patrols, 34 Halifaxes minelaying off the Dutch coast, 9 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
USAAF
GERMANY: Two hundred forty-five 3d Bombardment Division B-17s and 195 2d Bombardment Division B-24s are dispatched to attack chemical plants at Ludwigshafen. All the B-17s abort due to heavy cloud cover over France. Due to the weather and a pathfinding error, the 2d Bombardment Division B-24s end up more than 100 miles off course. Although completely lost, 101 B-24s attack Pforzheim, Germany; nine attack Grafenhausen, Germany; 17 B-24s attack Strasbourg, France; and 36 B-24s attack Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The U.S. government eventually pays Switzerland $1 million in reparations. Twelve B-24s are lost in action. Among the lost airmen is Col James M. Thompson, the 448th Heavy Bombardment Group commander, who is killed.

Of 17 VIII and IX Fighter command fighter groups scheduled to escort the heavy bombers, four are grounded by bad weather, including one group that is scheduled to report on weather conditions over Germany. In all, 475 fighters participate in the mission, and 4th and 354th Fighter group P-51 pilots down five Bf-109s during the morning over France and Germany.

The 352d Fighter Group, which is transitioning from P-47s to P-51s flies a mixed-group formation in both types, even though the pilots flying the P-51s (480th Fighter Squadron) have accumulated no more than five hours experience in the new type.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack the harbor at Leghorn, bridges, and a rail line; Twelfth Air Force B-26s attack several bridges across the Arno River; XII Air Support Command A-20s attack German Army ammunition dumps; XII Air Support Command P-40s attack a tunnel, bridges, fuel dumps, gun emplacements, and tactical targets in the battle areas; and XII Air Support Command P-47 fighter-bombers attack a bridge and a train.

The 31st and 52d Fighter groups are transferred from the Twelfth Air Force to the Fifteenth Air Force. Both veteran Spitfire units are temporarily dispatched to Tunisia to transition to new P-51B long-range fighters and to train to undertake bomber-escort missions.

RAF BASE CHANGES
33 Sqn (Non-Op) leaves for the UK
126 Sqn (Non-Op) leaves for the UK
137 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Manston
174 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Holmesley South
175 (Typhoon IB) moves to Holmesley South
181 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Hurn
182 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Hurn
183 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Thorney Island
219 Sqn (N0n-Op) moves to Bradwell Bay
245 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Holmesley South
247 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Eastchurch
302 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Deanland
306 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Coolham
308 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Deanland
315 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Coolham
317 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Deanland
414 Sqn RCAF (Mustang I) moves to Odiham
430 Sqn RCAF (Mustang I) moves to Odiham
441 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Westhampnett
442 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Westhampnett
609 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Thorney Island

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
162 Sqn RCAF (Reyjavik – Canso) flies its first OM in the ETO
326 Sqn (Ajaccio/Ghisonaccia – Spitfire VB/VC) flies its first OM of the war
327 Sqn (Ajaccio/Campo del Oro – Spitfire VB/VC) flies its first OM of the war
328 Sqn (Oran/Taher - Spitfire VB/VC) flies its first OM of the war
544 Sqn (Benson) flies its first OM in the Mosquito PRXVI

401 Sqn RCAF (Biggin Hill – Spitfire LFIXB) 2-4-44
Weather was too duff for flying and most of the pilots spent the day in town continuing with the party of the night before. Drinking was done in the Hotel (Bromley Court) until noon. At night, several of us met in the New Bromley Club which was the final phase of the party.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: Following four aborts due to weather during the preceding two weeks, Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers are finally able to get through heavy clouds to Steyr. A phased escort—the first of its kind in the theater—is provided by the Fifteenth Air Force’s three P-38 groups and one P-47 group. Between 1213 and 1231 hours, 125 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and 30 B-24s attack the ball-bearing plant; 168 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack the Steyr Airdrome; and 125 B-24s bomb the Daimler-Puch aircraft components factory. Of 280 heavy bombers taking part in this mission, 20 are lost to enemy fire.

In punishing series of fighter battles en route to and over the target area, Fifteenth Air Force escort pilots down 33 GAF aircraft against one P-38 written off after it makes a wheels-up landing at its home base.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack numerous rail bridges; and XII Air Support Command fighter-bombers attack numerous transportation targets, dumps, tactical targets, and targets of opportunity.

YUGOSLAVIA: Thirty-five Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack marshalling yards at Bihac; 28 B-24s of the 55th Heavy Bombardment Wing’s 461st Heavy Bombardment Group make their unit’s combat debut in an attack on the Mostar Airdrome; and 29 B-17s of 5th Heavy Bombardment Wing’s 463d Heavy Bombardment Group attack a marshalling yard at Brod. Three Bf-109s are downed near Zagreb at 1045 hours by P-47 pilots of the 325th Fighter Group’s 317th Fighter Squadron.

RAF BASE CHANGES
40 Sqn SAAF TR (Spitfire IX) moves to Marcianese
109 Sqn (Mosquito BIX/BIX/BXVI) moves to Little Staughton
243 Sqn (Spitfire IX) moves to Alto
439 Sqn RCAF (Typhoon IB) moves to Funtington

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
13 Sqn (Biferno) flies its first OM’s in the Baltimore IV & V
40 Sqn (Foggia Main) flies its first OM in the Wellington X
69 Sqn (Montecorvino) flies its last OM’s in the Baltimore IV & V
315 Sqn (Coolham) flies its last OM’s in the Spitfire VB & VC

401 Sqn RCAF (Biggin Hill – Spitfire LFIXB) 3-4-44

Weather was again very poor with low cloud ceiling and although flying was possible, only a few flips were made as the conditions did not seem to be worth enough to put time on the aircraft.

USAAF
HUNGARY: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack marshalling yards at Budapest, and Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack Budapest’s Csepel Island aircraft plant. P-38 pilots of the 1st, 14th, and 82d Fighter groups down seven GAF fighters and two He-111s in the Budapest area between 1020 and 1105 hours.

ITALY: Despite bad weather that causes many mission cancellations and aborts, Twelfth Air Force medium bombers cut the approaches to a bridge north of Orvieto; XII Air Support Command A-20s attack an ammunition dump; XII Air Support Command A-36s attack a rail line and underpass; XII Air Support Command P-40s attack the town area at Itri, a German Army bivouac, a railroad station, and a supply dump; and XII Air Support Command P-47s attack a road junction and town area.
UNITED STATES: The 489th Heavy Bombardment Group, in B-24s, departs for England via the southern ferry route.
YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack a marshalling yard at Brod.

RAF BASE CHANGES
87 Sqn (Spitfire VC/VIII/IX) moves to Catania
165 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Predannack
184 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Odiham
310 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Appledram
336 Sqn (Spitfire VB/VC) moves to Mersa Matruh
438 Sqn RCAF (Typhoon IB) moves to Funtingdon
440 Sqn RCAF (Typhoon IB) moves to Funtingdon

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
43 Sqn (Lago) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VC

401 Sqn RCAF (Biggin Hill – Spitfire LFIXB) 4-4-44

Weather improved slightly in the morning, but it was our turn to do readiness and we stood by for an early army exercise. No. 421 Squadron did our dawn readiness, but at 0900 hours, we took over with "B" Flight, one section at immediate, and two at 15 minutes as soon as the weather seemed to be unfit for flying. In the afternoon, "A" Flight went on readiness and at 15.50 hours, the flight of 6 aircraft took off to participate in the “Smash” exercises - which consisted of patrolling the Bournemouth area while the army made an amphibious landing. On their return, readiness was continued until dusk (21.50 hours) by "A" Flight while pilots from “B” Flight did some dusk and night flying.

BOMBER COMMAND
COLOGNE
41 Mosquitoes dispatched; none lost. Cologne reports several bombs in and around the main railway station and in other parts of the city. 19 people were killed.

16 other Mosquitoes were dispatched: 5 to Aachen, 4 to Essen, 3 to Duisburg, 2 to Krefeld and 2 to La Glacerie. No losses.

2nd TAF
Yet again Wg Cdr 'Bob' Braham managed to escape from his desk to undertake a lone 'Ranger' in one of 613 Squadron's Mosquitoes. This time he headed for France, encountering and shooting down a Bu 131 trainer over St Jean-d'Angel, to the south-east of Rochefort.

USAAF
ENGLAND: The 410th Light Bombardment Group, in A-20s, arrives in England for service with the Ninth Air Force. The 410th is the last of the Ninth Air Force’s three A-20 groups to arrive in the war zone.

The 339th Fighter Group arrives by ship from the United States for service with the VIII Fighter Command. Trained as a P-39 fighter-bomber group, the 339th will be equipped with P-51s. The new unit is assigned to the 66th Fighter Wing.

The Ninth Air Force’s 404th Fighter Group and the advance echelon of the 373d Fighter Group, both in P-47s, arrive in England by ship.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force medium bombers abort in the face of bad weather; XII Air Support Command A-20s attack ammunition dumps; and XII Air Support Command fighter-bombers attack gun emplacements, a bivouac, and numerous transportation targets in the Rome area and along and around the battlefronts.

ROMANIA: In the first of many strategic missions made under a commitment by the Fifteenth Air Force to aid the advance of the Red Army across the Balkans by disrupting Balkans transportation centers in use to supply the German Army in the East, 350 B-17s and B-24s, escorted by 119 P-38s, are dispatched to attack rail facilities in Bucharest. GAF fighter opposition is fierce, especially against the 449th Heavy Bombardment Group, a 47th Heavy Bombardment Wing B-24 unit that becomes separated from the rest of the wing in bad weather. Seven of the group’s 28 B-24s are downed by the Axis fighters, but the survivors attack the target and make it home. Altogether, 93 B-17s and 220 B-24s drop 863 tons of bombs, mostly on marshalling yards at Bucharest. Also, 30 B-24s from two groups attack the Bucharest/Otopeni Airdrome. Bomber gunners are awarded credit for 50 GAF fighters, but the only victories credited to Fifteenth Air Force fighters taking part in the Bucharest mission (or at all in the theater) are a Bf-110 and two Ju-88s downed over Caracal, Romania, at 1428 hours by 82d Fighter Group P-38 pilots.

RAF BASE CHANGES
2 Sqn (Mustang IA) moves to Gatwick
4 Sqn (Spitfire PRXI/Mosquito PRXVI) moves to Gatwick
127 Sqn (Non-Op) leaves for the UK
154 Sqn (Spitfire IX) moves to Alto
222 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Southend
312 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Appledram
313 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Appledram

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
223 Sqn (Biferno) flies its first OM in the Baltimore V

207 Sqn (Spilsby – Lancaster I) 5-4-44
Cloudy. 11 aircraft detailed for operations. 10 aircraft attacked TOULOUSE – 1 failed to return. (W/O Senior)

ADDENDUM – Lancaster I ME685 EM-C. Crew: W/O JR Senior KIA, Sgt AF Wooley KIA, F/S SW Sayce KIA, F/S JT Read KIA, W/O WJ Waycott RAAF KIA, F/S JTR Bruce RAAF KIA, Sgt H Wilson KIA. T/o 2020 Spilsby. Hit by flak, exploded and crashed 0030 some 5 km SE of the city. All are buried in the Toulouse Communal Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
TOULOUSE
144 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of 5 Group. 1 Lancaster exploded in the air over the target.

This was the successful attack on the aircraft factory which was described in the introduction to this period of the diary. A report from Toulouse confirms that the factory was severely damaged. Most of the people living nearby had time to take shelter or run into fields but 22 people were killed and 45 were injured when about 100 houses near the factory were hit.

Minor Operations: 24 Stirlings minelaying off Biscay ports, 37 aircraft on Resistance operations. No losses. USAAF
ENGLAND: The 397th Medium Bombardment Group, in B-26s, arrives in England for service with the IX Bomber Command. The 397th is the fourth and last B-26 unit assigned to the 98th Combat Bombardment Wing. Also, the Ninth Air Force’s 50th Fighter Group, in P-47s, arrives in England by ship.

The newly arrived 486th and 487th Heavy Bombardment groups, both in B-24s, are assigned to the 3d Bombardment Division’s 92d Combat Bombardment Wing.

FRANCE: Due to heavy cloud cover over the target area, only 21 of 50 2d Bombardment Division B-24s dispatched attack V-weapons sites at St.-Pol/Siracourt.

GERMANY: Despite heavy clouds and a snow storm that turns back numerous other groups, the 4th and 355th Fighter groups, in P-51s, strafe eleven airfields in the vicinity of Munich and claim 96 German aircraft destroyed on the ground. Also damaged is a captured B-17 parked on one of the GAF airfields.

In addition to GAF aircraft destroyed on the ground, pilots of the 4th, 20th, and 355th Fighter groups down a total of 12 GAF aircraft over Germany between 1450 and 1515 hours. In all, ten USAAF fighters and eight pilots are lost in the day’s action. Capt Duane W. Beeson, a 19-victory ace with the 4th Fighter Group’s 334th Fighter Squadron, shares with two other pilots in the downing of a Ju-88 near Brandenburg at 1500 hours, but he is also shot down by flak near Brandenburg and taken prisoner.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force bombers are grounded by bad weather; XII Air Support Command A-36s attack Formia and several railroad stations; and XII Air Support Command P-40s attack fuel dumps, a railroad station, and gun emplacements in the U.S. Fifth Army battle area.

POLAND: Heavy bombers of the Eighth Air Force’s 45th Combat Bombardment Wing strike an aircraft components factory.

ROMANIA: Although SHAEF has officially proscribed attacks specifically aimed at gutting Axis oil facilities, the commanders of the Fifteenth Air Force heavy-bomber force claim that the 558 tons of bombs dropped by 95 B-17s and 135 B-24s on the Ploesti oil fields and refining facilities this day are aimed only at rail facilities. However, bombs that miss the rail facilities cause grave harm to adjacent oil facilities. Thus, this mission effectively begins a tacitly approved bombing campaign against oil targets, especially Ploesti. Five B-24s are lost, all from the 451st Heavy Bombardment Group, which is attacked fiercely by as many as 85 Axis fighters.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack a marshalling yard at Leskovac, and Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Nis.

RAF BASE CHANGES
17 Sqn SAAF (Ventura V) moves to Gibraltar
130 Sqn (Spitfire VB) moves to Lympne
232 Sqn (Spitfire IX) moves to Alto
459 Sqn RAAF (Ventura V) moves to Ramat David

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
72 Sqn (Lago) flies its first OM in the Spitfire LFIXB

401 Sqn RCAF (Ford – Spitfire LFIXB) 6-4-44
In the morning the weather ma fair, and at 07.40 hours, the squadron did the first patrol while the army did manouvres in the Bournemouth area, making landings in Poole Harbour and Studland Bay. At 1040 hours, "B" Flight did a patrol, and at 15.40 "A" Flight did the last one, as the weather was poor. The pilots who stayed at Biggin Hill spent the day packing up their equipment. The advance party left for Fairwood Common in the Transport.

Note – 401 Squadron left Biggin Hill the previous day for Ford. It returned to Biggin on the 7th before moving to Fairwood Common on the 9th.

BOMBER COMMAND
HAMBURG
35 Mosquitoes; 1 aircraft lost. Hamburg reports 39 people dead and 161 injured (Hamburg’s first air-raid casualties since October 1943), 7 fires and 322 people bombed out.

Minor Operations: 14 Mosquitoes bombed 7 targets in the Ruhr and the Rhineland, and 3 aircraft flew R.C.M. sorties. No losses. 2nd TAF
Typhoons of 266 Squadron flew a 'Ranger' over the Rennes-Gael area, catching a Ju 88C near the former town, two pilots shooting this down in flames.

USAAF
FRANCE: Five 2d Bombardment Division B-24 groups are dispatched against the V-weapons site at Watten, but heavy clouds over the target prevent all but 12 B-24s from mounting the attack.

ITALY: Although some medium-bomber missions are canceled because of bad weather, Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack Perugia Airdrome, and B-26s attack a bridge near Orvieto. Also, XII Air Support Command fighter-bombers attack small ships in the Aegean Sea, and gun emplacements, railroad stations, and road and rail bridges throughout central Italy.

The 350th Fighter Group, in modified ground-attack P-39s, mounts an all-out effort against German Army lines of supply and communication. Operating from Corsica, the group mounts 75 sorties in ten missions through intense flak and severs a highway and knocks out two rail bridges, a barracks, and two air-warning systems. When a flight of six of the group’s P-39s is attacked in the afternoon by ten FW-190s and Bf-109s in the Grosseto area, ten P-39s flying top cover down five of the GAF fighters and drive away the rest without loss.

The Fifteenth Air Force’s new 49th Heavy Bombardment Wing becomes operational when the veteran 451st Heavy Bombardment Group, in B-24s, is transferred to its control from the 47th Heavy Bombardment Wing, and the 461st Heavy Bombardment Group is transferred from the 55th Heavy Bombardment Wing.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack an airdrome at Zagreb.

While escorting the B-17s, 325th Fighter Group P-47 pilots and 82d Fighter Group P-38 pilots down 13 GAF fighters over Yugoslavia and northern Italy. 1stLt Eugene H. Emmons, a P-47 pilot with the 325th Fighter Group’s 317th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 over Trieste at 1540 hours.

RAF BASE CHANGES
129 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Coolham
193 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Lianbedr
198 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Thorney Island

401 Sqn RCAF (Biggin Hill – Spitfire LFIXB) 7-4-44
Weather was poor in the morning with low cloud and haze prevailing but at both Ford and Biggin Hill, the weather became clear in the afternoon, and the Squadron returned to base at 15.40 hours, where they spent the rest of the day packing their equipment for the Squadron move to Fairwood Common to do a week's course of bombing and air firing.

BOMBER COMMAND
Minor Operations
1 R.C.M. sortie, 4 Mosquitoes on Serrate patrols, 12 Halifaxes minelaying off the Dutch coast. No aircraft lost. 2nd TAF
16 and 140 Squadrons moved from Hartford Bridge to Northolt with 34(Strategic Reconnaissance) Wing, and here 140 Squadron completed its last sorties with Spitfires, becoming fully-equipped with PR Mosquitoes.

USAAF
ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Treviso, and Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack marshalling yards at Bologna and Mestre.

1stLt Robert K. Seidman, a P-38 pilot with the 14th Fighter Group’s 49th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 over Mestre at 1305 hours. Seidman’s victory is one of ten Bf-109s downed by 14th Fighter Group P-38 pilots between 1245 and 1305 hours.

Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack a marshalling yard at Prato, a viaduct, and several rail lines and bridges; XII Air Support Command A-20s attack an ammunition dump; XII Air Support Command A-36s attack gun emplacements, a train, and the rail line at Orvieto; XII Air Support Command P-40s attack several towns, dumps, and gun emplacements; and XII Air Support Command P-47s attack bridges near Rome and a marshalling yard.

RAF BASE CHANGES
16 Sqn (Spitfire PRXI) moves to Northolt
56 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Ayr
74 Sqn (Non-Op) leaves for the UK
94 Sqn (Spitfire VC/IX) m0ves to Bu Amud
140 Sqn (Spitfire PRXI/Mosquito PRIX/PRXVI
241 Sqn (Spitfire VIII/IX) moves to Trigno
256 Sqn (Mosquito NFXII/XIII) moves to Senia
485 Sqn RNZAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Selsey
610 Sqn (Spitfire XIV) moves to Culmhead

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
327 Sqn (Ajaccio/Campo del Oro) flies its first mission in the Spitfire IX

401 Sqn RCAF (Biggin Hill – Spitfire LFIXB) 8-4-44
Weather was fair with scattered cloud, but there was the usual bad haze all morning. The morning was spent packing personal equipment and also dispersal equipment. At 1350 hours, eighteen of the aircraft as well as the Auster III and Tiger Moth became airborne for R.A.F. Fairwood Common, Southern Wales. We flew as two Squadrons with S/Ldr. L. Cameron, DFC leading one and F/Lt. J. Sheppard leading the other. We arrived at Fairwood Common at 1505 and spent the rest of the day settling down. This being Saturday night, we all piled into the Studebaker and went to a dance at Langdon Bay, where we had a very good time.

BOMBER COMMAND
ESSEN
40 Mosquitoes attacked the Krupps works area without loss.

Minor Operations: 3 Mosquitoes to Duisburg and 3 to Osnabrück, 2 R.C.M. sorties, 8 Halifaxes minelaying off Texel and Den Helder. No losses.
2nd TAF
122 Squadron's Mustangs flew a 'Ranger' to Braunschweig in support of an Eighth Air Force 'Ramrod. Twelve miles south-east of Arnhem, Flak hit the Commanding Officer's aircraft and Sqn Ldr I.A. Morrin baled out, but failed to survive.

This day also saw the first dive-bombing sorties undertaken by Spitfires, when pilots of 403 and 421 Squadrons dropped 500 pounders on a 'Noball' site. This was to prove the first of many bomb-carrying operations for the air superiority squadrons.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack aircraft-industry targets at Fischamend Markt.

BELGIUM: One hundred ninety-six IX Bomber Command B-26s attack Coxyde Airdrome and a marshalling yard at Hasselt, and 32 P-47 fighter-bombers attack targets around Hasselt.

ENGLAND: IX Bomber Command’s 97th, 98th, and 99th Combat Bombardment wings are ordered to assume operational control of the B-26 and A-20 groups heretofore assigned to them administratively.
GERMANY: Although nearly the entire 1st Bombardment Division is grounded by fog at its bases, all 59 91st and 381st Heavy Bombardment group B-17s that are able to get airborne attack the assigned target, Oldenburg Airdrome.

Of 350 2d Bombardment Division B-24s dispatched, 190 attack the assigned target, an aircraft plant at Brunswick, and 113 attack several targets of opportunity, including Langenhagen Airdrome. Thirty B-24s are downed.

One hundred eighty-four of the 255 3d Bombardment Division B-17s dispatched attack their primary targets, the Achmer, Quakenbruck, and Rheine/Hopstein airdromes. In addition, 65 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack various targets of opportunity. Four B-17s are downed.

Escort for the heavy bombers is provided by 780 fighters, whose pilots down an unprecedented 88 GAF aircraft (mostly fighters) along the bomber routes between 1300 and 1630 hours. Forty-nine other GAF aircraft are claimed as destroyed on the ground in strafing attacks. 1stLt James B. Dalglish, a 354th Fighter Group P-51 pilot flying with the 363d Fighter Group’s 381st Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 over Gifhorn at 1124 hours; Capt Raymond C. Care, a P-51 pilot with the 4th Fighter Group’s 334th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 over Ulzen at 1350 hours; 1stLt Willard W. Millikan, a P-51 pilot with the 4th Fighter Group’s 336th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs three Bf-109s near Ulzen at 1350 hours; and Capt Don S. Gentile, a P-51 ace with the 4th Fighter Group’s 336th Fighter Squadron, brings his final personal tally to 21.833 confirmed victories when he downs three FW-190s near Ruhrburg at about 1350 hours.

Twenty-three USAAF fighters are lost with their pilots, either in air-to-air combat or while strafing ground targets of opportunity of Germany. Capt Virgil K. Meroney, a nine-victory ace with the 352d Fighter Group’s 487th Fighter Squadron, is shot down by ground fire and captured while strafing an airdrome in northwestern Germany; and Capt Norman E. Olson, a six-victory P-47 ace with the 355th Fighter Group’s 357th Fighter Squadron, is shot down by flak and killed near Celle Hofer.

The VIII Fighter Command’s 352d Fighter Group flies its first group mission since transitioning to P-51s.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack a bridge near Orte; XII Air Support Command A-20s attack several supply dumps; and XII Air Support Command fighter-bombers attack bridges, motor vehicles, rail lines, and supply dumps.

YUGOSLAVIA: For the first time, Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers take part in mining the Danube River. During this night mission, three B-24s accompanying RAF Wellingtons seed the river below Belgrade with 1,000-pound and 1,600-pound mines.

RAF BASE CHANGES
201 Sqn (Sunderland III) moves to Pembroke Dock
242 Sqn (Spitfire IX) moves to Alto
268 Sqn (Mustang IA) moves to Gatwick
489 Sqn RNZAF (Beaufighter TFX) moves to Langham

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
112 Sqn (Vasto) flies its last OM in the Kittyhawk III

427 Sqn RCAF (Leeming – Halifax III) 9-4-44
Weather: Cloudy with some haze and rain, becoming fine. Visibility poor becoming good.

At long last we’re finally detailed for operations much to the approval of all. Fourteen aircraft re detailed to bomb VILIENEUVE ST. GEORGES. All aircraft became airborne. Soon after take-off, one of our aircraft piloted by F/S. STEVENS collided in mid-air with another aircraft from 424 Squadron. The ailerons were so badly damaged that the Pilot couldn't control the aircraft, so ordered the crew to bale out. The remaining thirteen aircraft bombed a visible and easy target. A few explosions were noticed and fires were taking a good hold. Defences at the target were very weak and only one aircraft reported a night fighter that didn't open fire on them. In general this attack was considered very successful.

BOMBER COMMAND
LILLE
239 aircraft – 166 Halifaxes, 40 Lancasters, 22 Stirlings, 11 Mosquitoes – of 3, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 1 Lancaster lost.

A full description of this raid is available from our French researcher, Philippe Lerat, who lives near Lille. The target was the Lille-Délivrance goods station, which was hit by 49 bombs. Much damage was caused to buildings and tracks and 2,124 of the 2,959 goods wagons in the yards were destroyed. Unfortunately for the local people, much of the attack fell outside the railway area and 456 French people were killed. More than 90 percent of these casualties were in the suburb of Lomme, where more than 5,000 houses were destroyed or damaged. M. Lerat’s report continues: ‘The Cité des Cheminots the housing area in Lomme where all the railwaymen lived in pleasant but frail houses, was completely destroyed. Fortunately the full moon permitted the search for wounded. The inhabitants were very resentful towards the British at the time. A bookseller who was living near by and remembers Frenchmen and women walking as lost among the bomb holes and shouting “bastards, bastards!” They had lost everything. Many inhabitants of other suburbs felt they were living their last hour, such was the intensity of the bombing.’

VILLENEUVE-ST-GEORGES
225 aircraft – 166 Lancasters, 49 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitoes – of all groups. No aircraft lost.

Bomber Command claimed a successful attack on these railway yards near Paris. The local report does not contain details of damage to the railways but states that more than 400 houses were damaged or destroyed and that 93 people were killed and 167 injured.

Minor Operations: 36 Mosquitoes to Mannheim and 8 to four other targets, 16 Serrate patrols, 103 Lancasters of 1 and 5 Groups minelaying off Danzig, Gdynia and Pillau in the Baltic, 61 aircraft on Resistance operations, 9 O.T.U. sorties. 9 Lancasters from the minelaying force and 1 Serrate Mosquito were lost.

Total effort for the night: 697 sorties, 11 aircraft (1.6 percent) lost. Operations map for the night:
2nd TAF
198 Squadron had a change of command, when Sqn Ldr J.M.Bryan, DFC & Bar, who had previously undertaken a tour at the head of this unit, returned to command again in place of Sqn Ldr Johnny Baldwin, who ended his tour and became Sqn Ldr Tactics with 2 Group. With 412 Squadron Flg Off George Beurling also completed his tour to bring his operational career to an end.

USAAF
GERMANY: One hundred forty 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack aircraft-industry targets at Marienburg and Rahmel; 126 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Parchim, an aircraft plant at Tutow, and several targets of opportunity; and 136 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack aircraft-industry targets at Posen (Poznan, Poland) and Warnemunde, and the Rostock/Marienehe Airdrome. Thirty-two heavy bombers are lost.

Escort for the heavy bombers is provided by 719 fighters, whose pilots down 21 GAF fighters along the bomber routes between 1120 and 1545 hours. USAAF fighter losses are ten airplanes and nine pilots. Two P-51 pilots with the 354th Fighter Group’s 356th Fighter Squadron achieve ace status near Kiel at 1445 hours: 1stLt Robert E. Goodnight, when he downs an FW-190, and 2dLt Thomas F. Miller, when he downs an FW-190 and shares in the downing of another FW-190.

ITALY: XII Air Support Command A-36s and P-40s attack two towns, the rail line between Rome and Bracciano, railroad repair shops, and gun emplacements.

RAF BASE CHANGES
464 Sqn RAAF (Mosquito FBVI) moves to Hunsdon

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
75 Sqn (Mepal) flies its first OM’s in the Lancaster I & III
119 Sqn (Witchford) flies its first OM’s in the Lancaster I & III
140 Sqn (Northolt) flies its last OM in the Spitfire PRXI
582 Sqn (Little Staughton – Lancaster III) flies its first OM of the war

460 Sqn RAAF (Binbrook – Lancaster III) 10-4-44
Weather:– Fine. 13 aircraft were detailed for operations against AULNOYE. One of these failed to return, viz:- Lancaster ND 586.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster III ND586 AR-B. Crew: F/O AH Probert RAAF KIA, Sgt BG Wiseman KIA, F/O RB McDougall RAAF KIA, F/S AH Palfeyman RAAF KIA, Sgt D Robbins KIA, F/S WG Hogg RAAF KIA, F/O KF Ryan RAAF KIA. T/o 2341 Binbrook. Shot down by Hptm Helmut Bergman (19th victory) 8./NJG4 at 0220, crashing near the village of Vieux-Mesnil, 5 km W of Hautmont. All are buried in Meubeuge Centre Cemetery.

NOTE – This was the first of seven aircraft that Hptm Bergman shot down in a span of 46 minutes!

BOMBER COMMAND
TOURS
180 Lancasters of 5 Group. 1 aircraft lost. The railway yards were seriously damaged.

TERGNIER
157 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 10 Pathfinder Mosquitoes. 10 Halifaxes lost. The railway yards were seriously damaged.

LAON
148 Lancasters and 15 Mosquitoes of 3, 6 and 8 Groups. 1 Lancaster lost. The marking was not completely accurate and only a corner of the railway yards was hit.

AULNOYE
132 Lancasters of 1 Group and 15 Pathfinder Mosquitoes. 7 Lancasters lost. The attack was successful; a later examination showed that 287 bombs hit the railway yards. The local report says that many bombs fell in fields near the railway but the engine-shed was hit and 30 locomotives were put out of action. 340 houses were destroyed or damaged and 14 civilians were killed.

GHENT
122 Halifaxes of 6 Group and 10 Pathfinder Mosquitoes. No aircraft lost.

Ghent was the only target of this night to provide a report. The raid caused much damage at the Merelbeke-Melle railway yards, on the main line to Brussels, but surrounding housing areas were also hit. 428 Belgians were killed and 300 injured. 584 buildings were destroyed – including 7 schools, 2 convents and an orphanage – and 1,009 other buildings were damaged.

Minor Operations: 36 Mosquitoes to Hannover and 2 to Duisburg, 17 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of 617 Squadron to St-Cyr signals depot, 8 R.C.M. sorties, 9 Serrate patrols, 8 Stirlings minelaying off La Pallice, 46 aircraft on Resistance operations, 17 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 908 sorties, 19 aircraft (2.1 percent) lost. (25 Mosquitoes each marked two targets; only 25 sorties have been counted for these aircraft.) Operations Map: 2nd TAF
One of 4 Squadron's PR Spitfire XIs failed to return from a sortie over Belgium, Flg Off I.A.Turnbull being lost. Whilst on a sweep over the North Sea, a Mustang III of 122 Squadron was shot down by ship-mounted Flak north-west of Texel; Sgt P.K.Heller baled out, but like his Commanding Officer two days earlier, was not recovered.

USAAF
BELGIUM: Two hundred fourteen 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack aircraft-industry targets at Brussels and Evere, and Brussels/Melsbroek and Brussels/Evere airdromes; and 143 3d Bombardment Division B-17s that are unable to locate their assigned target in France, attack the airdromes at Beaumont-sur-Oise (France), Diest/Schaffen, and Maldagem.

During the afternoon, in their second mission of the day, 267 IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack coastal defenses, V-weapons sites, marshalling yards, and airdromes at Charleroi/Montignies, Coxyde, Namur, and Nieuport.

ENGLAND: In response to reports of degraded bombing performance among IX Bomber Command units, LtGen Lewis H. Brereton orders that all bomber units be withdrawn from combat, in rotation, for training designed primarily to bring replacement-filled combat crews to top operational standards.

FRANCE: One hundred sixty-six 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack their primary targets, the Marquise/Mimoyecques V-weapons site, an aircraft factory at Bourges, and Bourges Airdrome; and 49 B-24s attack assigned secondary targets, Orleans/Bricy and Romorantin/Prunieres airdromes.

The 467th Heavy Bombardment Group makes its combat debut in the attack on Bourges Airdrome.

Only 21 of 248 3d Bombardment Division B-17s dispatched attack their primary, the Courcelles-sur-Seine Airdrome, but 42 B-17s are able to attack the Florennes/Juzaine Airdrome in Belgium.

During the morning, 258 IX Bomber Command B-26s and 41 A-20s attack coastal batteries and military installations around Le Havre.

In the first mission of its kind, 29 20th Fighter Group P-38s are dispatched to bomb Florennes/Juzaine Airdrome while being led by a special “droopsnoot” airplane, a P-38 with a nose modified to carry a bombardier and his bombsight. However, all bombs are dropped in the English Channel after heavy clouds are encountered over the target.

In the second such mission in the theater, 16 of 34 55th Fighter Group P-38s led by a droopsnoot model divert from their cloud-obscured primary target, St.-Dizier/Robinson Airdrome, and drop 17 tons of bombs on Coulommiers Airdrome. Also, escorting 355th Fighter Group P-47s strafe Villaroche Airdrome. Two P-38s and their pilots are lost in the attack. One of the missing pilots is Col Jack S. Jenkins, the 55th Fighter Group commander, who is taken prisoner.

USAAF pilots escorting the various Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber formations down 15 GAF aircraft over Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. 1stLt Paul S. Riley, a P-51 pilot with the 4th Fighter Group’s 335th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bu-131 trainer over Romorantin/Prunieres Airdrome at 1000 hours.

Ninth Air Force P-47s dive-bomb Evreux Airdrome.

GERMANY: Twenty-seven 20th Fighter Group P-38s, guided by a droopsnoot P-38 and escorted by 46 359th Fighter Group P-47s, attack Gutersloh Airdrome with 13 tons of bombs. One P-38 and its pilot are lost.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack a marshalling yard at Orvieto and two bridges; Twelfth Air Force B-26s attack Poggibonsi, viaducts near Arezzo and at Bucine, and the rail line and rail bridges at Cecina; XII Air Support Command A-20s attack an ammunition dump; and XII Air Support Command fighter-bombers attack barracks and troop concentrations, rail bridges, rolling stock, and motor vehicles throughout central Italy.

When 30 GAF bombers attack the Anzio beachhead during the night of April 10–11, two 416th Night-Fighter Squadron Beaufighters are vectored to intercept them. The German aircraft are driven off by persistent attacks in which one bomber is probably destroyed and another is severely damaged. Unfortunately, one Beaufighter crashes in flames with its crew aboard, and the other is damaged.

NETHERLANDS: Unable to locate their primary target in Belgium, 20 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack Bergen Op Zoom.

RAF BASE CHANGES
7 Sqn SAAF (Spitfire VC) moves to Trigno
26 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Dundonald
69 Sqn (Non-Op) leaves for the UK
80 Sqn (Non-Op) leaves for the UK
98 Sqn (Mitchell II) moves to Dunfold
197 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Need’s Oar Point
257 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Need’s Oar Point
266 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Need’s Oar Point
274 Sqn (Non-Op) leaves for the UK

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
77 Sqn (Elvington) flies its first OM in the Halifax V
431 Sqn RCAF (Croft) flies its last OM in the Halifax V

151 Sqn (Predannack – Mosquito NFXIII) 11-4-44
A terrific day for the Squadron. /C.Goodman bagged the 100th Hun, and as if to celebrate the. total score for the day reads:-
6 JU.88's Destroyed. (Playford 2. Goodman. Harrison. Turner 1 each).
1 JU.88. Probable. (Harrison and Handley).
3 JU.88's Damaged. (Etherton, Playford and Heath)

On the other side of the picture I regret to say that two very valuable crews failed to return from the day's operations, P/O.Kemp and F/Sgt. Maidment, and W/0.Perman and Sgt.Stevenson. The first Instep was lead by W/C.Goodman and P/O.Thomas with Section 3, "A" Flight: in addition F/Lt.Etherton and F/Lt.Gibbs and P/O.Turner and P/O.Partridge. They were accompanied by the Portreath Squadron and a "Tetse". Result:- 2 destroyed, 1 probable, 2 damaged. The second patrol was lead by S/L.Harrison and P/O.Horrex, with P/O.Hutchinson and F/Sgt.Forter, W/O.Penman and Sgt. Stevenson, who was flying in the place of F/Sgt. Phillips and F/Sgt. Playford and W/O.Kelsey Result:- 3 destroyed, 1 probable, 1 damaged. Congratulations to all concerned.

Later: Probable claimed by F/Lt.Handley now a destroyed. One Flak Ship "Damaged” by F/Lt. Etherton and F/O.Turner.

ADDENDUM – Mosquito NFXIII MM505. Crew: P/O HK Kemp RNZAF KIA, F/S JR Maidment KIA. Shot down by a JU88C of ZG1 over the Bay of Biscay.

Mosquito NFXIII MM475. Crew: W/O WG Penman KIA, Sgt ECC Stevenson KIA. Missing after combat with JU88s of ZG1.

BOMBER COMMAND
AACHEN
341 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitoes of 1, 3, 5 and 8 Groups. 9 Lancasters lost, 2.6 percent of the force.


This raid was accurate and caused widespread damage and fires in the centre of Aachen and in the southern part of the town, particularly in the suburb of Burtscheid. This was Aachen’s most serious raid of the war.

Control of the air-raid services was quickly lost when one of the first salvoes of bombs cut communications between the main operations centre and outlying posts. The 5th and 6th Air Raid posts were both destroyed. In the 5th, in the Burtscheid district, the local leader, 15 of his men and several Hitler Youth messengers were all killed. The police headquarters was also hit. The local officials did not make a count of buildings destroyed and no details of industrial damage are given but 6 hospitals were listed as being hit. 80 patients and 11 staff were killed in the town hospital. Much damage was caused to railway and road communications and to power supplies. 1,525 people were killed, this number being broken down as follows: 758 women, 454 male civilians, 212 children, 49 service personnel, 21 police and air-raid workers, 13 prisoners of war, 10 foreign workers and 8 unidentified.

SUPPORT AND MINOR OPERATIONS
7 Mosquitoes to bomb night-fighter airfields, 36 Mosquitoes on diversion raid to Hannover and 3 each to Duisburg and Osnabrück, 7 R.C.M. sorties, 7 Serrate patrols, 35 Halifaxes and 8 Stirlings minelaying off Brest and in the Kattegat, 26 aircraft on Resistance operations, 8 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 492 sorties, 9 aircraft (1.8 percent) lost. Operations Map: 2nd TAF

613 Squadron was briefed for another 2 Group special operation. The Squadron's Mosquitoes flew to Swanton Morley, and from there were led by Wg Cdr Bateson to attack a building (housing German records of the Dutch Resistance) near the Peace Palace in The Hague, Holland. The target was accurately bombed without loss, and subsequently four decorations were awarded to squadron personnel, including a DSO to Bateson. Only one window was broken in the Peace Palace!

132 Airfield's Norwegians, led now by Lt Col R.A.Berg, attacked Juvincourt airfield, where Berg personally claimed an Me 410 destroyed by strafing, the pilots of 332 Squadron claiming five Fw 190s.

USAAF
BELGIUM: Two hundred twenty-nine IX Bomber Command B-26s and A-20s attack Charleroi/Montignies and Chievres airdromes and coastal military installations.

FRANCE: More than 90 Ninth Air Force P-47s dive-bomb Gael Airdrome and nearby military installations.

GERMANY: A total of 311 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack Cottbus and Sorau airdromes and several targets of opportunity. Nineteen 1st Division B-17s are lost.

1stLt Edward S. Michael, a B-17 pilot with the 1st Bombardment Division’s 305th Heavy Bombardment Group, is critically injured by fire from a GAF fighter, but he remains at his post and recovers from a steep dive. Realizing that a crewman is too badly injured to bail out of the severely damaged bomber, Michael elects to fly to England, where he successfully crash-lands. Lieutenant Michael is awarded a Medal of Honor.

Two hundred forty-three 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack aircraft- industry targets at Bernburg, Halberstadt, and Oschersleben, plus several targets of opportunity. Twelve B-24s are lost.

Two hundred seventy-four 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack Politz, Rostock, an aircraft factory at Arnimswalde, and several targets of opportunity through heavy fighter opposition. Thirty-three B-17s are lost, including 11 that eventually turn up following landings in Sweden due to battle damage.

Escort for the various bombing missions is provided by a total of 819 USAAF fighters, of which 16 are lost with their pilots.

A total of 52 GAF aircraft, mostly fighters, are downed by USAAF fighter pilots over Germany between 1045 and 1530 hours. The USAAF fighter pilots also claim 65 GAF aircraft destroyed on the ground. 1stLt John B. Carder, a P-51 pilot with the 357th Fighter Group’s 364th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Leipzig at 1130 hours; 1stLt Don McDowell, a P-51 pilot with the 354th Fighter Group’s 353d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Leipzig at 1140 hours; 1stLt Hipolitus T. Biel, a P-51 pilot with the 4th Fighter Group’s 334th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs an Me-410 and a Bf-110 near Stettin at 1225 hours; and 1stLt Robert L. Shoup, a P-51 pilot with the 354th Fighter Group’s 356th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Munich at 1320 hours.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack a rail bridge; Twelfth Air Force B-26s attack marshalling yards at Ancona and Siena; and XII Air Support Command fighter-bombers attack numerous rail targets northeast of Rome, the town of Gaeta, and several supply dumps.

RAF BASE CHANGES
164 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Lianbedr
193 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Need’s Oar Point
222 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to Selsey
349 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Selsey
613 Sqn (Mosquito FBVI) moves to Swanton Morley

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
488 Sqn RNZAF (Bradwell Bay) flies its last OM in the Mosquito NFXII

401 Sqn RCAF (Fairwood Common – Spitfire LFIXB) 12-4-44
More good weather and flying began at 09.50 hours with a Squadron dive bombing sortie, and this continued on throughout the day, except that only Flight dive bombing (4 aircraft) carried out. The last flight of the day we carried out at 1740 hours with dive bombing and strafing attacks. Today, 320 bombs were dropped. In the air to air firing, 7,000 rounds of .303 were expanded, and in a strafing 1,570 rounds of 20 mm were expanded. The evening's entertainment as usual consisted of Pub crawling. When we arrived back at our billets, F/Lt. G.B. "Scotty" Murray, D.F.C. (CAN. J.15476) of 412 Squadron, was there having just flown in from Biggin Hill with bags of news for us. F/Lt. Jack Sheppard (CAN. J.6289) had been chosen as the new C.O. of No. 412 Squadron, R.CA.F., W/Cdr. "Buck" McNair was off ops to have an operation, and had been awarded the D.S.0. S/Ldr. George Keefer, DFC, of 412 Squadron was to become the new W/Cdr. Flying, and had been awarded a bar to his DFC. F/Lt. Scotty Murray was to take F/Lt. J. Sheppard's place as Flight Commander of "A" Flight, Scotty being an old ex-member of 401 Squadron. All these promotions and decorations were well deserved by all, and may their success continue. Today, W/O T.W. Dowbiggin and F/O R.K. Hayward returned to R.A.F. Biggin Hill to get their cars prior to the Airfield move under canvas.

BOMBER COMMAND
OSNABRÜCK
39 Mosquitoes carried out a harassing raid without loss.

Minor Operations: 2 Mosquitoes on Serrate patrols, 40 Halifaxes and 10 Stirlings minelaying in the Frisians and off Heligoland, 21 aircraft on Resistance operations, 11 O.T.U. sorties. 2 Stirlings lost on Resistance operations. 2nd TAF
Wg Cdr R.W.'Buck' McNair gave up his position at the head of 126 Airfield's squadrons, handing over to George Keefer, who was promoted from commanding 412 Squadron. McNair had been suffering increasingly from failing eyesight, the result of burns received when he had been forced to bale out due to an engine fire on 20 July 1943. As he departed, he was advised of the award of a DSO. One of 412's flight commanders, J.E.Sheppard, was promoted to take over Keefer's place, and G.B.Murray, DFC, was posted in from 401 Squadron as replacement flight commander.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: In an all-out effort against aircraft-industry targets in the Vienna area, 172 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack the aircraft components factory at Fischamend Markt; 140 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack the Messerschmitt assembly plant at Bad Voslau; and 134 Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack the Bf-109 components and assembly factory at Wiener-Neustadt. One B-17 and six B-24s are lost.

The 483d Heavy Bombardment Group, in B-17s, makes its combat debut as part of the 5th Heavy Bombardment Wing. It is the last of six B-17 groups to join the Fifteenth Air Force’s only B-17 wing.

Escort for the heavy bombers is provided by more than 200 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s and P-47s, whose pilots down 17 GAF fighters between 1135 hours and 1220 hours. LtCol William L. Leverette, the commanding officer of the 14th Fighter Group’s 37th Fighter Squadron, downs a Bf-110 near Fischamend Markt, bringing his final personal tally to 11 confirmed victories; and 2dLt Edsel Paulk, a P-47 pilot with the 325th Fighter Group’s 317th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Wiener-Neustadt at 1215 hours.

BELGIUM: Two hundred thirty-one IX Bomber Command B-26s and 20 A-20s attack Coxyde/Furnes and Courtrai/Wevelghem airdromes, and military bases, V-weapons sites, and rail targets in De Pannes-Bains, Dunkirk (France) and Ostend, and St. Ghislain.

FRANCE: More than 70 Ninth Air Force P-47s dive-bomb various German military installations in northern France.

The IX Fighter Command’s 371st Fighter Group, in P-47s, makes its combat debut.

Twelfth Air Force medium bombers attack rail bridges spanning the Var River.

GERMANY: All 455 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers dispatched against various targets in Germany abort or are recalled in the face of heavy clouds and dense contrails. One pathfinder airplane is downed in the dark over England by a German intruder during assembly, and five 2d Bombardment Division B-24s are lost to GAF fighters near the German frontier.

Seven hundred eighty-eight USAAF fighters are dispatched to escort the abortive bomber missions. Four Ju-87s and 13 GAF fighters are downed over Belgium, northern France, and northwestern Germany. Capt John J. Hockery, a P-47 pilot with the 78th Fighter Group’s 82d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Ju-87 near Sedan at 1340 hours; and 1stLt Charles F. Anderson, Jr., a P-51 ace with the 4th Fighter Group’s 335th Fighter Squadron, achieves double-ace status when he downs two Bf-109s near Brunswick at 1410 hours.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s and B-26s attack rail targets and bridges at six locations; XII Air Support Command A-20s attack a supply dump; and XII Air Support Command fighter-bombers attack rail bridges, transportation targets, dumps, and motor vehicles throughout central Italy and on Elba Island.

UNITED STATES: The 490th Heavy Bombardment Group, in B-24s, departs for England via the southern ferry route for service with the 3d Bombardment Division’s 93d Combat Bombardment Wing.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack the port at Split, and Fifteenth Air Force B-24s attack Zagreb Airdrome and several marshalling yards. One B-24 is downed over Zagreb.

RAF BASE CHANGES
180 Sqn (Mitchell II) moves to Swanton Morley
206 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to St. Eval
302 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Southend
441 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Yorks

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
431 Sqn RCAF (Croft) flies its first OM in the Halifax III
571 Sqn (Downham Market – Mosquito BXVI) flies its first OM of the war

442 Sqn RCAF (Westhampnett – Spitfire LFIXB) 13-4-44
Weather- fair with moderate winds in morning, slight haze over area, visibility decreasing toward noon with light to heavy rain squalls. Weather improving later in the evening. Squadron took part in a fighter sweep early in the morning, our squadron escorting B.25's and B.26's who were bombing the Dieppe area. Two of the bombers were seen to go down from the heavy flak barrage. A section of aircraft lead by Wing Commander Johnson went in low south of Paris and strafed lorries, flak towers, etc. One of our aircraft returned slightly damaged while taking evasive action, Fight Lieutenant Kaltie being the pilot. The weather turned "duff" in the afternoon and the squadron was released from duty. A farewell party was held in the Unicorn, Chichester in honour of Group Captain Devoud, who, we are sorry to say, is being given a new command. The party was attended by pilots from 143 Airfield and everyone in the Squadron enjoyed seeing the boys of old 111 (F) Squadron who were there. Total flying hours – 5:45.

BOMBER COMMAND
BERLIN
29 Mosquitoes were dispatched but observation of bombing results was not possible because of the glare of massed searchlights. No aircraft lost.

Minor Operations: 6 Mosquitoes to Düren and 3 to Dortmund, 10 Stirlings and 6 Halifaxes minelaying off Cherbourg, Le Havre and La Pallice. No losses. 2nd TAF
Wg Cdr 'Bob' Braham set off on another of his lone 'Rangers, this time having borrowed a Mosquito from 305 Squadron. He reverted to Denmark on this occasion, where he claimed an He 111 shot down over Esbjerg and an Fw 58 Weihe trainer over Aalborg. 305 Squadron had become very short of Polish aircrew at this time, and consequently a British flight was formed within the unit, commanded by Sqn Ldr M.J.Herrick, DFC, a veteran New Zealand fighter pilot.


Braham was not the only senior officer to undertake an operational sortie on this date, for Grp Capt P.L.Donkin, DSO, Commanding Officer of 35 (Recce) Wing, also borrowed an aircraft-in this case a 268 Squadron Mustang - and flew a tactical reconnaissance sortie over the Belgian coast. Whilst so engaged, his aircraft was hit by Flak 20 miles north-west of Ostend, and he was obliged to bale out into the Channel. Many searches were undertaken by the pilots of his Wing, of 39 Wing, and of ASR Spitfires over the next few days without success. Just as hope was fading, he was found in his dinghy by a RN minesweeper during the evening of 18th, and was picked up, having spent six days and five nights on the water. After a month's recuperation he would resume command.

During recent weeks the Mitchell crews of both 98 and 180 Squadrons had undertaken bombing courses, but on the 13th one of the former unit's aircraft was shot down in flames off Dieppe whilst attacking gun positions along the coast; all the crew were lost.

USAAF
BELGIUM: One hundred seventy-five IX Bomber Command A-20s and B-26s abort in the face of bad weather, but 121 B-26s and 37 A-20s attack airdromes, marshalling yards, coastal batteries, V-weapons sites, and other military targets along the Channel and North Sea coasts at Chievres, Le Havre (France), Namur, and Nieuport. Also, Ninth Air Force P-47s dive-bomb coastal V-weapons sites.

The 409th Light Bombardment Group, in A-20s, makes its combat debut.

CORSICA: At 0335 hours, GAF night bombers attack Alesan Airdrome, the new home of the 340th Medium Bombardment Group, whose entire complement of B-25s was destroyed in late March during an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. The fragmentation bombs dropped by the GAF aircraft kill 20 members of the group, totally destroy 30 of the group’s 90 B-25s, and severely damage 45 others. Later in the day, however, the battered 340th Medium Bombardment Group puts up a 12-plane mission.

ENGLAND: At the stroke of midnight, in formal recognition of what he has been doing since mid-March, Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower officially assumes supreme control of all Allied air operations mounted out of the U.K.

FRANCE: The U.S. Ninth and British Second Tactical air forces formally open a coordinated offensive against German Army shore defenses and batteries along the Normandy coast. However, to prevent the Germans from pinpointing the area as the OVERLORD invasion objective, attacks on targets in Normandy are to be mixed in with the general offensive, already under way, against numerous other targets in other areas of coastal France and Belgium.

GERMANY: One hundred fifty-four 1st Bombardment Division B-17s attack aircraft-industry targets at Schweinfurt; 182 2d Bombardment Division B-24s attack Lauffern, Lechfeld Airdrome, and aircraft-industry targets at Oberpfaffenhofen; and 227 3d Bombardment Division B-17s attack the Messerschmitt factory and the town area at Augsburg. In the heaviest GAF fighter attack mounted since November 1943, 32 B-17s and six B-24s are lost and a total of 350 heavy bombers are damaged.

Escort for the various heavy-bomber missions is provided by 871 USAAF fighters, of which nine are lost with eight pilots.

Forty-two GAF fighters and a trainer are downed over Belgium, Germany, and Luxembourg between 1310 and 1645 hours. 1stLt Alwin M. Jucheim, Jr., a P-47 pilot with the 78th Fighter Group’s 83d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs an FW-190 over Beuchenbeuren; 1stLt Louis H. Norley, a P-51 pilot with the 4th Fighter Group’s 336th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs an FW-190 near Schweinfurt at 1400 hours; and 1stLt Carl M. Frantz, a P-51 pilot with the 354th Fighter Group’s 353d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Darmstadt at 1410 hours.

This is the first anniversary of the combat debuts of the 56th and 78th Fighter groups.

HUNGARY: In the Fifteenth Air Force’s largest mission to date (535 B-17s and B-24s dispatched, overall), 324 B-24s attack the aircraft components plant on Csepel Island, at Budapest, and the Tokol and Vesces airdromes; mounting a counterattack against the invasion fleet and beaches during the landing or consolidation phases of Operation OVERLORD. In addition, Eisenhower explicitly adds strategic oil targets to the overall target list, with the specific intention of both diminishing the flow of oil products to the Axis armed forces and forcing GAF fighters into the air against what is perceived as being the overwhelming strength of the Allied fighter forces accompanying each strategic bomber mission.

FRANCE: Fourteen 2d Bombardment Division B-24s, including five pathfinder aircraft, conduct an experimental attack against the V-weapons site at Wizernes.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack bridges at two locations; XII TAC A-20s attack fuel dumps near Rome; and XII TAC fighter-bombers attack various transportation targets, gun emplacements around Orte, and gun emplacements, motor vehicles, and dumps in the Anzio battle area.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Sava, an aircraft factory in Belgrade, and the Belgrade/Rogozarski Airdrome. 82d Fighter Group P-38 pilots down an He-111 and two Ju-52 over Belgrade.

RAF BASE CHANGES
17 Sqn SAAF (Ventura V) moves to Bone
422 Sqn RCAF (Sunderland III) moves to Castle Archdale

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
112 Sqn (Vasto) flies its first OM in the Kittyhawk IV
443 Sqn (Westhampnett) flies its first OM in the Spitfire LFIXB