Action This Day

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26-3-45
401 Sqn RCAF (B.88 Heesch – Spitfire LFIXB)

Operations for 401 Squadron were changed today and we were put on Armed Reccos in the DORSTEN/HALTEN/HAHN/MUNSTER Area.

Four such missions were carried out in all to-day, with S/L Klersy supplying leadership on all four shows. The day's claim was very good indeed with 16 Met. destroyed and 75 Met. damaged, plus 1 loco damaged.

The second “do” up at 10:25 was the most fruitful single show of the day, with 225 Met. destroyed and 45 damaged in the area S.E. of DORSTEN.

BOMBER COMMAND
26/27 March 1945
MOSQUITO OPERATIONS
86 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 2 each to Erfurt and Paderborn, and 2 which bombed both Berlin and Magdeburg on a ‘siren tour’. No aircraft lost.

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2nd TAF
Flak again accounted for about eight aircraft on 26th, two of these Tempests and three Typhoons. Both Tempest pilots were killed, one of them being 56 Squadron's successful Flg Off W.R.MacLaren-known as 'Little Mac'-whose aircraft was hit whilst he was in a strafing dive north-east of Dörsten. It went straight into the ground. The other, Plt Off A.H. 'Bill' Bailey of 486 Squadron, was badly injured in a heavy crash-landing in Allied territory and died on the way to hospital. Dutch-flown Spitfires of 322 Squadron undertook another strafing attack on Plantlünne airfield, where an Me 410 was claimed probably destroyed on the ground.

At 1440 nine of 33 Squadron's Tempests provided cover to US B-26 Marauders over Vlotho, on the US Ninth Army axis of the advance. South-east of Münster eight Fw 190Ds of I. and II./JG 26 'bounced' these fighters and Wt Off C.A.Ligtenstein was shot down by Oblt Wilhelm Hofmann of 5. Staffel (his 44th victory), baling out to become a prisoner. The RAF pilots turned on their attackers, Sqn Ldr A.W.Bower and Flt Sgt C.B.Nisbet claiming one shot down between them, while Flg Off R.H.Brown claimed a second shot down and a third damaged. They actually shot down all three, all aircraft of L. Gruppe, two of the German pilots being killed and the third baling out, suffering from burns.

However, Hofmann also failed to return and when Ofhr Erich Schneider returned claiming his first victory, he was arrested for shooting him down, although he was acquitted next day. It seems nonetheless that Schneider had indeed shot down Hofmann, whose body was not found until 2 April. He had baled out of his aircraft, but without his parachute opening.

616 Squadron's Meteor detachment now moved from Melsbroek to B.77, Gilze-Rijen, where they would soon be joined by the remainder of the unit, which was just completing its re-equipment with Derwent-engined Meteor IIIs at Andrews Field. As evening approached 2nd TAF fighter-bombers had undertaken 671 sorties during the day, claiming 139 vehicles of various types, put out of action.

The night fighters were again to enjoy success that night, beginning at 2230 when Flt Lt Ben Plumer/Flt Lt N.W.Bradford of 410 Squadron claimed a Bf 110 north of Wesel. Half an hour later Flt Lt John Hall/Plt Off T.F.Taylor of 488 Squadron claimed a Ju 88 north-west of Bocholt. Debris from their victim struck their Mosquito XXX and they returned to B.77 on one engine. Flg Off Reed/Flg Off Bricker of 219 Squadron claimed another Ju 88 north of the bridgehead.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack marshalling yards at three locations.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack a marshalling yard at Bratislava.

GERMANY: Due to bad weather, only 12 1st Air Division B-17s attack their primary, an oil-industry target at Zeitz, but 130 attack their secondary target, a tank factory at Plauen. Also, 139 3d Air Division B-17s attack their primary, the tank factory at Plauen, and 49 B-17s attack various targets of opportunity.

Approximately 300 9th Air Division bombers attack marshalling yards at three locations, and a defended town.

The Ninth Air Force’s 48th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-54, at Kelz.

HUNGARY: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack a marshalling yard.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s are grounded by bad weather, and XXII TAC P-47s are able to mount only limited missions against rail targets in the Po River valley.

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
608 Sqn (Downham Market) flies its first OM in the Mosquito BXVI

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27-3-45
139 Sqn (Upwood – Mosquito B.XVI/XX/XXV)
Raid Schedule. 10 Machines.

ADDENDUM – Mosquito B.XVI MM131 MD-J. Crew: F/L AAJ Van Amsterdam DFC Vliegercruz KIA, S/L HA Forbes DFC RCAF POW. T/o 1912 Upwood. Shot down by Fw Karl-Heinz Becker (6th victory) 10./NJG 11 and crashed N of Brandenburg at 2138. This was F/L Van Amsterdam’s 101st operational sortie.

BOMBER COMMAND
PADERBORN
268 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes to attack this town where American troops were attempting to complete the encirclement of the Ruhr. No aircraft lost.

Paderborn was covered by cloud but the raid was still carried out with almost perfect accuracy and this old town was virtually destroyed in less than a quarter of an hour. A local report, compiled a few hours after the raid, estimated that there were 3,000 separate fires and 330 people, including 50 foreigners, were dead or buried in the ruins.

HAMM
150 Lancasters of 3 Group carried out GH raids on 2 benzol plants in the Hamm area. No results were seen, because of cloud, but dense black smoke rose through the cloud from both targets. No aircraft lost.

FARGE
115 Lancasters of 5 Group attacked an oil-storage depot (95 aircraft) and a U-boat shelter (20 aircraft of 617 Squadron) at this small port on the River Weser north of Bremen. Both attacks appeared to be successful. The results of the raid on the oil depot were not known because this target was attacked with delayed-action bombs so that clouds of smoke would not obscure the target. The U-boat shelter was a particularly interesting target. It was a huge structure with a concrete roof 23 ft thick. It was almost ready for use when 617 Squadron attacked it on this day and penetrated the roof with 2 Grand Slams which brought down thousands of tons of concrete rubble and rendered the shelter unusable.

No aircraft were lost in these attacks.

Total effort for the day: 541 sorties, no aircraft lost.
________________________________________
27/28 March 1945
MINOR OPERATIONS
82 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 7 to Bremen, 4 to Erfurt and 3 each to Hannover and Magdeburg, 46 R.C.M. sorties, 23 Mosquito patrols, 8 Mosquitoes of 5 Group minelaying in the River Elbe. 4 Mosquitoes lost – 3 from the Berlin raid and 1 from the minelaying operation.

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2nd TAF
Five minutes after midnight, at 0005 on 27th, Flt Lt K.W.Stewart/Flg Off H.E.Brumby, another 488 Squadron crew, claimed a Bf 110 north of Bocholt, and 25 minutes later added an He 111 hit over Haltern; the latter was claimed as a probable but awarded as a damaged. At 0210 a 604 Squadron crew, Flg Off T.R.Wood/Flg Off R.Leafe, claimed another Ju 88 near Duislaken, bringing this night's total to five confirmed.

There were no aerial engagements during the day, but with nightfall on 27th the night fighters were again active. Flg Offs Reed and Bricker of 219 Squadron were able to claim an He 177 south of Nijmegen at 2220, while Flg Off M.G.Kent and his radar operator from 409 Squadron, shot down two V-1s.

USAAF
ENGLAND: The last V-1 rocket falls on English soil.

ETO: The 9th Air Division is grounded by bad weather.

ITALY: The Twelfth and Fifteenth air forces are grounded by bad weather.

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
157 Sqn (Swannington) flies its last OM in the Mosquito NF.XIX
192 Sqn (Foulsham) flies its last OM in the Mosquito B.IV

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28-3-45
403 Sqn (B.90 Petit-Brogel – Spitfire XVI)
J87156 F/O Reeves reported missing(believed killed) in a crash in the early afternoon. Eight operational patrols carried out, tanks, trucks and gun positions attacked. The boys are really in the groove these days And giving the Hun everything they've got when their turn comes. Many wagers around the dispersal between pilots who gets the first enemy aircraft in this show.

ADDENDUM – Spitfire XVI SM302 KH-? Pilot F/O M Reeves. Patrol, am. Shot down by flak in the Borken area when attacking MT. Buried in Nederweert War Cemetery.

2nd TAF
During a late morning armed reconnaissance by Tempests of 56 Squadron, Flt Lt Pierre Clostermann claimed the destruction of a Fi 156 Storch on the ground, but Sgt S.A.Sheppard failed to return from the Hannover-Osnabrück area. He was the victim of IV./JG 26, 12 Fw 190Ds of this Gruppe having been led off by Oblt Hans Dortenmann at 1105. The pilots of these aircraft were able to 'bounce' the 56 Squadron formation south-west of Münster at 1134, where Dortenmann claimed one Tempest shot down, a similar claim by Uffz Kurt Hein at the same time and location not being filed. It is assumed that this was because it was realized that he had fired at the same aircraft as that which his formation leader had attacked.

In the early afternoon Flt Lt T.E.Lawrence of 41 Squadron claimed damage to a single Fw 190 west of Rheine, but during the mid-afternoon period a number of engagements occurred. At 1550 Flt Lt J.W.E.Harten of 416 Squadron claimed two Fw 190s shot down when these were encountered north-east of Emmerich. At precisely the same time Tempests of 80 Squadron became engaged with Bf 109s near Osnabrück. Six of the unit's aircraft were covering PR Spitfires over the Lingen-Rhine-Dummer See area when ten of the Messerschmitts suddenly 'popped out' of a bank of cloud, initial claims for three damaged being raised later to two probables and one damaged. Five minutes later a pilot of 443 Squadron claimed damage to another Bf 109 south of Borken, while shortly after this Flt Lt John MacKay of 401 Squadron met six Messerschmitts and claimed two shot down, one in the Dulmen-Coesfeld area, and one near Münster.

The pilots of these three latter units all seem to have become engaged with aircraft of II./JG 27, which lost three Bf 109s in combat on this date. At 1545 Fw Stefan Kanzler of 5. Staffel claimed a Typhoon shot down to the south of Coesfeld - possibly a claim made whilst the unit was engaged with 80 Squadron. Much earlier in the day at 1052, another claim for a Typhoon had been made by 6. Staffel's Fw Hans Stenglein, but no aircraft of this type appears to have been lost or damaged by hostile aircraft on this date.

A little later than these events, eight Spitfire XIVS of 130 Squadron commenced an armed reconnaissance to Gutersloh, meeting 15 Fw 190Ds over Warendorf at 1645. These were attacked, apparently with great enthusiasm, seven being claimed shot down, one probably so, and two damaged. Flt Lts Harry Walmsley and P.E.Sibeth, Flt Sgts P.H.T.Clay and B.W.Woodman, Wt Off J.A.Bolton and Sgt G.D.Warren claimed one each, Flg Off D.A.Stott and Wt Off R.E.Coverdale sharing the seventh claim. The Spitfires had been engaged with aircraft of IV./JG 26, but on this occasion there must have been a fair degree of double claiming as the British pilots rushed in to attack, for the German unit's losses were restricted to just three aircraft, all the pilots being killed. Despite the intensity of operations on the ground, the toll to Flak had been rather less severe on this date. Two more Tempests, one each from 3 and 274 Squadrons, had gone down, but both pilots survived safely, while one Spitfire of 403 Squadron and a Typhoon of 182 Squadron were also lost. Flg Off McKenzie Reeves, one of the more successful RCAF pilots, was killed in the Spitfire.

USAAF
GERMANY: Three hundred eighty-three 3d Air Division B-17s attack a munitions factory and an armaments factory in Berlin; 34 3d Air Division B-17s attack a tank factory at Hannover (primary); 431 3d Air Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Hannover (secondary); and 43 B-17s attack a secondary target and targets of opportunity.

Two hundred fifteen 9th Air Division bombers attack two oil-storage depots and numerous targets of opportunity.

The Ninth Air Force’s 36th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-46, at Aachen.

ITALY: The entire Fifteenth Air Force, all Twelfth Air Force B-25s, and virtually all XXII TAC P-47s are grounded by bad weather.

During the night of March 28–29, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack rail targets, road targets, bridges, a factory, and river crossings.

BASE CHANGES
504 Sqn (Spitfire HFIX) moves to Colerne

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29-3-45
401 Sqn RCAF(B.88 Heesch – Spitfire LFIXB)
Rain and low cloud kept us grounded to-day. However, the all Canadian “Blackout” show was here and gave two shows, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, so we had some much enjoyed diversified entertainment.

BOMBER COMMAND
29 March 1945
SALZGITTER
130 Lancasters of 3 Group carried out a G-H raid on the Hermann Goering benzol plant. No results were seen through the cloud. No aircraft were lost.
________________________________________
29/30 March 1945
MOSQUITO OPERATIONS
48 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 7 to Harburg and 3 each to Bremen and Hannover. No aircraft lost.

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USAAF
ITALY: The entire Fifteenth Air Force and all Twelfth Air Force B-25s are grounded by bad weather, but during the afternoon XXII TAC P-47s attack dumps, a viaduct, rail bridges and bridge approaches, and road and rail lines.

During the night of March 29–30, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack lines of communications, freight facilities, and crossing points in the Po River valley.

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
138 Sqn (Tuddenham) flies its first OM’s in the Lancaster I & III

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30-3-45
692 Sqn (Graveley – Mosquito B.XVI)
Twelve aircraft detailed for operations. 11 aircraft successfully completed the operation, and one was reported missing.

ADDENDUM – Mosquito B.XVI RV341 P3-B. Crew: F/S W Campey KIA, F/S J Rabiner RCAF KIA. T/o 1951 Graveley. Shot down by 10./NJG11. Both are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

BOMBER COMMAND
30/31 March 1945
MINOR OPERATIONS
43 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 43 to Erfurt, 4 to Nordingen and 3 each to Hamburg and Kiel, 36 R.C.M. sorties, 31 Mosquito patrols, 6 Mosquitoes minelaying in Jade Bay and the River Weser. 1 Mosquito was lost from the Berlin raid.

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2nd TAF
The Flak defences were back on deadly form on 30th, five Typhoons, two Spitfire IXs and a Tempest being shot down with the loss of four pilots killed, one wounded and two taken prisoner. The dangers of operational flying caused the fate of three more pilots and their aircraft. Flt Lt C.A.B.Slack, one of 175 Squadron's flight commanders, crashed to his death while in the midst of undertaking a rocket attack on a target north-west of Telgte, and Wt Off F.Roberts of 341 Squadron was obliged to crash-land when his Spitfire XVI was caught in the explosion caused by the bombs released by the aircraft in front of him when dive-bombing. Injured in the landing, he was later liberated by advancing Canadian troops. On another sortie Flt Lt T.L.Trevorrow of 130 Squadron hit a tree, having to bale out, although he was able to return safely.

Sixteen Fw 190Ds of I. and IV./JG 26 had undertaken a strafing mission during the later afternoon/early evening period, but as they completed this, Flt Lt H.A.Cowan of 402 Squadron in a Spitfire XIV managed to 'bounce' the formation, and shot down Fw Hans Eisenberg. The latter baled out, but struck the tail of his Dora-9 and was killed.The day also saw further moves, as 143 Wing became the first RCAF Wing on German soil when its units joined 121 Wing at B.100, Goch. 127 Wing meanwhile went to B.78, Eindhoven. At 2024, after darkness had fallen, Wg Cdr E.S.Smith of 264 Squadron with Flt Lt P.C.O'Neil- Dunne manning the radar, claimed an Fw 190 shot down 12 miles north-west of Dulmen.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: Approximately 60 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack a tank factory and several widely separated rail targets.

GERMANY: Three hundred eighteen 1st Air Division B-17s attack the U-boat yard at Bremen; 109 1st Air Division B-17s attack a rail bridge at Bremen; 273 2d Air Division B-24s attack the U-boat yard at Wilhelmshaven; 85 2d Air Division B-24s attack the port area at Wilhelmshaven; 32 2d Air Division B-24s attack the U-boat yard at Farge using rocket-enhanced concrete-busting bombs; 169 3d Air Division B-17s attack an oil depot at Hamburg; 64 3d Air Division B-17s attack two U-boat yards at Hamburg; and 263 3d Air Division B-17s attack the port area at Hamburg (secondary). A total of five heavy bombers and four of VIII Fighter Command escorts and scouts are lost.

Three hundred thirty-seven 9th Air Division bombers attack an ordnance depot, a tank factory, an oil depot, and towns.

LtCol John D. Landers, an ace and the executive officer of the 78th Fighter Group, in P-51s, brings his final personal tally to 14.5 confirmed victories (including six in the Southwest Pacific) when he shares in the downing of an Me-262 near Rendsburg at 1345 hours.

The Ninth Air Force’s 404th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-54, at Kelz.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack bridges and bridge approaches at seven locations, and XXII TAC P-47s mount more than 400 effective sorties against dumps, rail lines, marshalling yards, bridges, and road and rail traffic.

During the night of March 30–31, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack crossing points in the Po River valley, ammunition dumps, and rail facilities.

BASE CHANGES
439 Sqn RCAF (Typhoon IB) moves to B.100 Goch
440 Sqn RCAF (Typhoon IB) moves to B.100 Goch

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
55 Sqn (Forli) flies its last OM in the Boston IV
228 Sqn (Pembroke Dock) flies its last OM in the Sunderland III
303 Sqn (Coltishall) flies its last OM in the Spitfire IX

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31-3-45
429 Sqn RCAF (Leeming – Lancaster I/III)
The Squadron was required for operations early this morning and fifteen aircraft were ordered. Ten of these for bombing and the other five for mining. The mining operation was cancelled prior to briefing but the ten ore detailed for bombing ware briefed at 0300 hours for a daylight attack on HAMBURG. All took off and nine successfully attacked the primary which was the submarine pens of HAMBURG. The other aircraft, “V” NG345 which was piloted by F/O R. Jones (Can.J.26131) failed to return. There was 10/10ths cloud over the target with tops from 8,000 ft. to 10,000 ft. with good visibility above. The target was very poorly marked, only two to four stale red smoke puffs being seen. The Master Bomber had apparently left the target several crews heard him say “Raid must be over, can't so any more aircraft. Let's go home.” The Deputy replied, "I agree - Cheerio". Due to the 10/10th cloud no assessment of the raid can be made but the crews generally thought the attack very poor. The gaggle was nine minute late due to apparently unnecessary dog-legs on the outward journey. Enemy fighters were numerous around the target area and our aircraft were engaged in 9 combats with many ME.262 jet fighters. Aircraft “D” RA371piloted by Can.R.129904 WO2 Weld., K.R. was attacked twice, PD209 “K” flown by F/O R.P. Pike (Can.J.37478) was attacked once and the ME.262 is claimed a probably destroyed. Aircraft “F” - RF207 attacked once and this aircraft was flown by F/L R.K. Mitchell (Can.J.23102). "Q" – MR536 flown by F/O E.A.M. Humphries (Can.J.36547) was attacked once and another M262 is claimed as probably destroyed. Aircraft “H” - PA226 was attacked no less than four times by ME.262s and sustained severe damage as a result the starboard aileron was destroyed, the mid-upper turret was danged and a large hole was made in the starboard mainplanes. None of the crew were injured and the aircraft was successfully brought back to base. Outside of the two enemy aircraft claimed as probably destroyed no other claims are made. All of our aircraft except for “V” NG345 were successfully landed at base.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster I NG345 AL-V. Crew: F/O RR Jones RCAF POW, Sgt RL Bailey KIA, F/O RH Fisher RCAF KIA, F/S JAJC Rancourt RCAF POW, WO2 EM Hooker RCAF KIA, WO1 JHRR Ledoux RCAF KIA, F/S JLA Campeau RCAF KIA. T/o 0614 Leeming. Shot down by a Me 262 and partially abandoned, the pilot landing within 300 meters from where his Lancaster hit the ground some 2 km from Nenndorf, 7 km SW of Harburg. Those who died lie in Becklingen War Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
31 March 1945
HAMBURG
469 aircraft – 361 Lancasters, 100 Halifaxes, 8 Mosquitoes – of 1, 6 and 8 Groups attempted to attack the Blohm & Voss shipyards, where the new types of U-boats were being assembled, but the target area was completely cloud-covered. The local report describes ‘considerable damage’ to houses, factories, energy supplies and communications over a wide area of southern Hamburg and Harburg. 75 people were killed.
8 Lancasters and 3 Halifaxes were lost, a number being victims of an unexpected intervention by the Luftwaffe day-fighter force. This was Bomber Command’s last double-figure aircraft loss of the war from a raid on one city.

2nd TAF
From their new base at Eindhoven the squadrons of 127 Wing were very active during the last day of the month. On an early operation, 12 Spitfires of 421 Squadron patrolled over the Rheine- Enschede area, Flg Off O.H.Levere claiming an Fw 190 shot down east of Nordhorn airfield.

At around the same time Spitfire XIVs of 402 Squadron from 126 Wing were undertaking the first of four armed reconnaissances over the front, and during this sortie Flg Off R.W.Lawson dived on two Fw 190s south of Oldenburg, claiming both shot down. Flt Lt Bruce Innes then spotted another attempting to get away in cloud, and claimed this shot down also.

I./JG 26 had been out on an early strafing attack, but fell foul of Allied AA, one Dora-9 being shot down and one damaged; whilst returning to base, one more was shot down in error by German Flak. II. Gruppe at Bissel had its aircraft fitted with bomb racks for the first time on this morning, eight aircraft taking off to bomb the Ludinghausen-Olfen road. While looking for their target in ground haze, they were attacked by Spitfires, jettisoning their bombs in the Dummer See and trying to escape. However, two 5. Staffel pilots were shot down and killed. It would appear that it was 402 Squadron's pilots who had attacked these aircraft; possibly one of those which Lawson had claimed actually survived, and was finished off by Innes.

127 Wing's operations continued, and during the day 403 Squadron was able to achieve six 'rail cuts, damaging ten wagons and some passenger coaches. The cost was Flt Lt E.G.Aitchison, who was seen to bale out, but who did not survive. On this unit's third operation of the day, Flt Lt T.S.Todd was also shot down by Flak, baling out over Keppel to become a PoW. 416 Squadron meanwhile, was attacked by a lone USAAF P-51, which shot down two Spitfires, Flg Offs S.A.R.Round and V.W.Mullens both baling out, although Round was wounded. Both were later learned to be safe in England, having been picked up by Allied ground troops. Incensed by the hostile actions of this supposedly 'friendly' pilot, and in accordance with 2nd TAF orders which allowed such a response in these circumstances, Flt Lt F.G.Picard attacked the Mustang and reported strikes on the starboard wing before it escaped into cloud.

In the mid-afternoon period two Typhoons of 181 Squadron were brought down by Flak in the Enschede area, one pilot being killed, while a 3 Squadron Tempest was reported to have been shot down by fighters north-east of Damme. During an early evening 'armed recce' of the Hanover-Bremen area Tempests of 80 Squadron intercepted a Ju 188 'on the deck' to the north- east of Osnabrück. The four pilots of Pink section attacked in turn and the 188 (probably a night-fighter) was seen to crash in flames to the north-west of the Dummer See.

The day had also seen the arrival of the rest of 616 Squadron's Meteor IIIs, flying into B.77 from Andrews Field; these were the latest version and would see action in the coming weeks.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack the main rail station an at Linz, and a marshalling yard at Villach.

BELGIUM: The Ninth Air Force’s 322d Medium Bombardment Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground A-89, at Le Culot.

GERMANY: Three hundred sixty-nine 1st Air Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Halle (secondary); 371 2d Air Division B-24s attack a marshalling yard at Halle; 265 3d Air Division B-17s attack the city of Brandenburg; 137 3d Air Division B-17s attack a synthetic-fuel plant at Zeitz; and 152 heavy bombers attack various secondary targets and targets of opportunity. Five heavy bombers and four of 847 VIII Fighter Command escorts and scouts are lost.

More than 550 9th Air Division bombers attack three storage depots, a defended town, and a marshalling yard.

Eighth and Ninth air force fighter pilots down 14 GAF fighters over Germany between 0715 and 1145 hours.

On unspecified dates in March, the Ninth Air Force’s 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Group and 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group displace to Advance Landing Ground Y-57, at Trier, and Advance Landing Ground Y-51, at Vogelsang, respectively.

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack a marshalling yard at Treviso; despite bad weather, Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack rail bridges and a fill in the Brenner Pass area and the Po River valley; and XXII TAC P-47s attack dumps and lines of communication throughout northern Italy.

During the night of March 31–April 1, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack road, rail, and other transportation targets in the Po River valley.

MTO: In their highest-scoring day of the entire year, Fifteenth Air Force P-38 and P-51 pilots of the 1st, 31st, and 332d Fighter groups down a total of 35 GAF fighters and one He-111 medium bomber over Austria, Czechoslovakia, and southern Germany.

BASE CHANGES
403 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to B.78 Eindhoven
416 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to B.78 Eindhoven
421 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to B.78 Eindhoven
441 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to B.78 Eindhoven

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
154 Sqn (Hunsdon) flies its last OM in the Mustang IV
429 Sqn RCAF (Leeming) flies its first OM’s in the Lancaster I & III

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1-4-45
515 Sqn (Little Snoring – Mosquito FBVI)
Four night Ranger patrols of the Munich, Augsburg and Ingoldstadt areas were arranged during the day, the night flying tests being completed during the early afternoon and the briefing of the crews at 1600 hours. In order to give these four aircraft maximum endurance, they were flown to Juvincourt, France, leaving Little Snoring at 1735 to 1745 hours, and on arrival they were all re-fuelled. Later that night all four machines took off from Juvincourt two of the aircraft carrying out Ranger patrols in the Munich area, and the other two were detailed to patrol the Augsburg- Ingoldstadt areas.

Many airfields in the Munich area were visited by Wing Commander Kelsey with his navigator F/Lt. Smith in Mosquito No 575, but no enemy aircraft were seen on the ground and no Ash contacts were obtained, but a factory was attacked with incendiary bombs causing terrific explosions and large fire. The other Mosquito aircraft on the Munich area had better luck as far as aircraft was concerned and at Erding attacked seven ME109's with cannon fire claiming one as damaged. Incendiaries were also dropped by this aircraft on Lechfeld airfield, causing fire and explosions.

The other two Mosquito aircraft took off from Juvincourt at 2310 hours and proceeded to Leipheim airfield, Squadron Leader Penny with his navigator F/O Whitfield in Mosquito aircraft No. 597 and Lt. E.J.Van Heerden with his navigator F/O.J.W.Robson in Mosquito No 249. The two machines were in R.T. communication up to 0136 hours (2/4/45) but at 0139 hours S/Ldr. Penny saw a big explosion in the vicinity of the airfield, with black smoke belching upwards (petrol fire) and incendiaries were also seen burning. Thinking that Lt. Van Heerden had succeeded in shooting down and enemy aircraft, S/Ldr. Penny called him up immediately but received no reply and nothing further of this aircraft or crew has been heard, and in the light of the above circumstances, they have been reported missing, believed killed. At the moment the cause of this loss is not known, but further enquiries are being made. After this unfortunate loss, S/Ldr. Penny proceeded to Nieuburg which was inactive, so returned to Laphein where incendiary bomb load was released on dispersals, but no results were soon later an M.T. vehicle was attacked at Ertingen and damaged.

ADDENDUM – Mosquito FBVI PZ249 3P-? Crew: F/Lt. EJ van Heerden SAAF KIA, F/O JW Robson KIA. They lie in Dürnbach War Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
1/2 April 1945
Intruders
4 Mosquitoes of 100 Group, operating from a forward airfield in France, patrolled airfields in Southern Germany. 1 Mosquito was lost, hit by Flak and seen to crash at Leipheim, a small airfield near Ulm.

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2nd TAF
What was to become one of the busiest months of the war for 2nd TAF began quietly enough, with a further succession of moves, but also with more casualties to Flak. The moves, of course, were occasioned by the increasingly rapid advances on the ground by what was left of 21st Army Group, as its units pushed ever-more swiftly across northern Germany.

But All Fools' Day was to prove particularly costly to the Flak. 84 Group's Spitfire units were the worst sufferers on this occasion, and particularly the squadrons of 132 Wing. No fewer than 13 Merlin-engined Spitfires went down, eight of them from this single unit, in which 322 Squadron alone suffered three losses and one damaged. Three of the Dutch pilots managed to return however, two from behind the enemy lines; Plt Off M.J. Janssen achieved this feat despite burns suffered during his crash-landing. 145 Wing also paid a high price, five of its French pilots being shot down. Half of the personnel from these various squadrons were killed, two wounded and two captured. The root cause of these losses seems to have been the poor weather conditions, which forced the fighter-bombers down to lower and more vulnerable speeds and altitudes.

Amongst the Typhoons, the balance between the Groups was nearly equal, with 84 Group units losing four aircraft and 83 Group six. Three pilots were killed, three captured, and two came down in enemy lines, but managed to evade capture. Two Spitfire XIVs were also lost, one an aircraft of 130 Squadron, and one an FR version from 2 Squadron-one aircraft from each Group. In 2 Group, 88 Squadron was disbanded; this was effectively the last Boston unit in 2nd TAF, as the Free-French 342 Squadron would shortly re-equip with Mitchell aircraft.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack marshalling yards at five locations and one rail bridge; and 82 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s attack a rail bridge.

While escorting a Fifteenth Air Force bombing mission, P-51 pilots of the 332d Fighter Group’s 301st Fighter Squadron down 12 GAF fighters over Wels at about 1400 hours.

ETO: 9th Air Division bombers are grounded by bad weather.

GERMANY: Elements of the U.S. First Army capture Paderborn, and elements of the U.S. Third Army begin clearing Kassel.

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack coastal batteries near Venice; Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack rail bridges at seven locations; and XXII TAC P-47s attack road and rail targets, especially bridges spanning the Po River.

During the night of April 1–2, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack communications targets and crossing points in the Po River valley.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack a rail bridge at Maribor.

BASE CHANGES
100 Sqn (Lancaster I/III) moves to Elsham Wolds
154 Sqn Disbanded
616 Sqn (Non-Op) moves to B.77 Gilze-Rijen

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
16 Sqn (B.58 Melsbroek) flies its first OM in the Spitfire PR XIX

[warshipbuilder]

2-4-45
401 Sqn RCAF (B.88 Heesch – Spitfire LFIXB)
Another duff day with no operational flying being carried out, they boys were favoured with Gen. talks by the A.I.O. who posted everybody up to date on the movements of our fast moving amies.

BOMBER COMMAND
2/3 April 1945
MINOR OPERATIONS
59 training aircraft on a sweep over the North Sea, 54 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 50 to Magdeburg, 8 to Lüneburg and 1 each to Hamburg and Lübeck, 55 R.C.M. sorties, 26 Mosquito patrols. 1 Mosquito lost from the Berlin raid.

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2nd TAF
Losses were much reduced on 2nd, although 80 Squadron suffered the loss of two of its Tempests and their pilots, both believed to have been the victims of Flak. During an evening sortie, Flt Lt Clostermann of 56 Squadron reported spotting two Fw 190s taking off from Vechta airfield at Ahlhorn, claiming one of these shot down; he went on to claim damage to a pair of Ju 88s on the ground here.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: Nearly 600 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack marshalling yards and rail bridges.

DENMARK: Due to bad weather, more than 700 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s are recalled at the Danish coast while on their way to attack airfields in Denmark. One B-17 and one escort fighter are lost.

ETO: The 9th Air Division and XXIX TAC are grounded by bad weather.

GERMANY: XIX TAC fighter pilots down 17 GAF aircraft between 0715 and 1600 hours. 1stLt Henry S. Rudolph, a P-51 pilot with the 354th Fighter Group’s 353d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two FW-190s near Bayreuth at 1600 hours.

The Ninth Air Force’s 67th Tactical Re-connaissance Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-83, at Limburg.

Advances on the ground by the First and Third U.S. armies bring about the formation of a German Army defensive locale known as the Ruhr Pocket.

ITALY: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack rail bridges on both sides of the Austro-Italian border, and XXII TAC P-47s attack methane plants and lines of communication in the Po River valley.

In the last significant air-to-air engagement of the war in the MTO, P-47 pilots of the Twelfth Air Force’s 350th Fighter Group down 13 Bf-109s in the Verona area between 1420 and 1430 hours.

MajGen Benjamin W. Chidlaw replaces LtGen John K. Cannon as commanding general of the Twelfth Air Force.

During the night of April 2–3, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack a marshalling yard at Mantua and communications targets and crossing points in the Po River valley.

BASE CHANGES
3 Sqn (Tempest V) moves to Warmwell
73 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Prkos
208 Sqn (Spitfire IX) moves to Bologna
331 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.85 Schijndel
345 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.85 Schijndel
350 Sqn (Spitfire XIV) moves to B78 Eindhoven

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
58 Sqn (Stornoway) flies its first OM in the Halifax III
441 Sqn RCAF (Skeabrae) flies its last OM in the Spitfire HFIX

[warshipbuilder]

4-4-45
408 Sqn RCAF (Linton-on-Ouse – Halifax VII)
The scheduled operation for this morning was scrubbed at 0315 hours much to the disappointment of the aircrews. The next operation which was prepared later in the day was happily not done in vain. Fifteen of our aircraft were detailed and the first-aircraft-took off at 1924 hours. The aircraft are expected to return in the early hours of the morning.
Flying training consisted of only one Air Test. Ground training comprised Panel Drill and Link trainer for Bomb-Aimers, Group W/T Exercises and a Lecture for the Wop/Ags, Log Marking for Navigators and Night Vision Exercises for the Gunners.

As predicated our aircraft returned early in the moving. The target a HARBURG REHNANIA. Fourteen of our aircraft claimed to have attacked the primary between 2229 hours and 2235 hours from between 16,900 and 19,000 feet. One of our aircraft failed to return from this mission and nothing was heard from this aircraft since take-off time.

ADDENDUM – Halifax VII NP712 EQ-N. Crew: P/O AK Brown RCAF KIA, Sgt RA Hinds POW, F/O WG Burnett RCAF POW, P/O TC King RCAF POW, F/S JB Bennett RCAF POW, P/O FW Trow RCAF POW, F/S KG Finn RCAF POW. T/o 1943 Linton-on-Ouse. Shot down by a night-fighter.

BOMBER COMMAND
4 April 1945
NORDHAUSEN
243 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of 5 Group, with 8 Pathfinder Mosquitoes, attacked the barracks and the town, which was severely damaged. 1 Lancaster lost.
________________________________________
4/5 April 1945
LEUNA
327 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitoes of 3, 6 and 8 Groups attacked the synthetic-oil plant. The target was cloud-covered, the bombing was scattered and only minor damage was caused. 2 Lancasters lost.

HARBURG
327 aircraft – 277 Halifaxes, 36 Lancasters, 14 Mosquitoes – of 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked the Rhenania oil plant. The target was easily identified and severe damage was caused to it. 2 Lancasters and 1 Halifax lost.

LÜTZKENDORF
258 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups attacked the oil refinery. Bomber Command claimed ‘moderate damage’. 6 Lancasters lost.

Minor Operations: 35 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 31 to Magdeburg, 70 R.C.M. sorties, 66 Mosquito patrols, 30 Lancasters minelaying in the Oslo Fjord and the Kattegat. 5 aircraft lost – 2 Mosquitoes from the Magdeburg raid and 3 Lancasters of 1 Group from the Kattegat minelaying operation. The 136 aircraft dispatched by 100 Group on this night were that group’s largest effort of the war.
Total effort for the night: 1,172 sorties, 16 aircraft (1.4 percent) lost.

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2nd TAF
The Luftwaffe again appeared on 4th, when 16 Dora-9s from L./JG 26 took off on a fighter- bomber hunt. Seven were obliged to return early, but the other nine spotted the newly-returned 438 Squadron undertaking a late evening armed reconnaissance in the Diepholz area, and 'bounced the unit, Lts Soffing and Ramthun shooting down the two top cover Typhoons in which Flt Lt E.J.McAlpine and Wt Off W.J.Kinsella were killed; a third Typhoon was claimed damaged by Uffz Frob, the German pilots then departing without loss. The Canadians thought that their attackers had been Bf 109s.

Flak also accounted for at least two Tempests, and probably a third, the latter an aircraft of 222 Squadron last seen over Oldenburg. One more crashed while attacking a train near Bremen; Flg Off P.A.Halliwell was killed when he failed to pull out of his dive and flew right into the locomotive, knocking it off the rails. Two Typhoons and a 350 Squadron Spitfire XIV were also lost.

414 Squadron noted that on this date it received the first example of a Spitfire FR XIV with a 'teardrop' cockpit hood, several more arriving next day.

USAAF
GERMANY: One hundred ninety-nine 1st Air Division B-17s attack three GAF airfields (two of which are secondaries); 22 1st Air Division B-17s attack a U-boat yard at Hamburg; 159 2d Air Division B-24s of 438 dispatched attack three airfields (one of them a secondary); and 505 3d Air Division B-17s attack a shipyard at Kiel. Ten heavy bombers and four of 812 VIII Fighter Command escorts and scouts are lost. One of the airmen lost is Col Troy W. Crawford, the 446th Heavy Bombardment Group commander, who is taken prisoner.

More than 330 9th Air Division bombers attack an oil depot, a supply depot, a marshalling yard, a barracks, a defended town, and a road and rail junction.

Eighth and Ninth air force fighter pilots down 34 GAF aircraft between 0800 and 1830 hours. LtCol George F. Ceuleers, the commanding officer of the 364th Fighter Group’s 383d Fighter Squadron, brings his final personal tally to 10.5 confirmed victories when he downs an Me-262 over Leipzig at about 0940 hours; and 1stLt William J. Cullerton, a P-51 pilot with the 355th Fighter Group’s 357th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs an FW-190 near Halberstadt at 1020 hours.

P-51 pilots of the VIII Fighter Command’s 339th Fighter Group claim 105 GAF aircraft destroyed on the ground during strafing attacks.

The XXIX TAC is returned from the operational control of the British Second Tactical Air Force to the operational control of the U.S. Ninth Air Force.

While escorting a Fifteenth Air Force bomber mission against targets around Munich, 325th Fighter Group P-51 pilots down five FW-190s over southern Germany between 1545 and 1635 hours.

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers are grounded by bad weather; Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack bridges on both sides of Brenner Pass, and a methane plant at Merano; and XXII TAC P-47s attack rail lines, fuel and ammunition dumps, and German Army forces on the move in the Po River valley.

During the night of April 4–5, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack bridges at seven locations.

BASE CHANGES
303 Sqn (non-Op) moves to Andrews Field

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
141 Sqn (West Raynham) flies its first OM in the Mosquito NF30
234 Sqn (North Weald) flies its first OM in the Mustang III
346 Sqn (Elvington) flies its first OM in the Halifax VI
347 Sqn (Elvington) flies its first OM in the Halifax VI
640 Sqn (Leconfield) flies its first OM in the Halifax VI

[warshipbuilder]

5-4-45
350 (Belgian) Sqn (B.78 Eindhoven – Spitfire XIV)
Another Armed Recce is on in the same area uneventful but on the second operation of the morning F/O Muls after shooting at a horse and cart was bounced by an FW.190. He simply shot it down and his number 2 F/S Neulinger on his second Ops. shares it with him. Unfortunately F/O. Cresswell-Turner and F/O. Van Eckhardt were split when bounced by 5 other FW.190s and F/O. Cressswell-Turner did not return.

ADDENDUM – Spitfire XIV RB185 MN-L. Pilot: F/O A Cresswell-Turner POW. Shot down by FW.190 of JG 26. (see below)

2nd TAF
Spitfire XIVs from both 350 and 402 Squadrons undertook patrols on the morning of the 5th, as the Fw 190Ds of II. and IV./JG 26 took off on various duties. II. Gruppe's aircraft were bomb- laden, but these were jettisoned when 402 Squadron aircraft intercepted; however, on this occasion the German pilots managed to disengage without loss. During these manoeuvres, Uffz Fritz Rohrmann became seperated, and flying alone, attacked a small formation of 350 Squadron's aircraft which were strafing roads near Friesoythe. He hit Flg Off A.Cresswell-Taylor's aircraft, which he later claimed as a probable, but he had in fact been successful in shooting the latter down north-east of Meppen, Cresswell-Taylor becoming a PoW. Two of the other Spitfire pilots, Flg Off R.Muls and Flt Sgt S.H.Neulinger, then shot down Rohrmann's aircraft, and he baled out, suffering injuries.

Behind II. Gruppe came five IV. Gruppe aircraft, led by Lt Prager, but these were attacked in the Lingen-Rheine area by six of 402 Squadron's aircraft, Flt Lt W.F.Peck and Flg Off A.G.Ratcliffe shooting down Uffz Kurt Soder and Ofw Gunter Shitkowsky, both of whom were killed. The Canadian pilots identified their opponents as 20 Focke-Wulfs and Messerschmitts, further claims being made for one probable and four damaged, two of the latter identified by Peck as Bf 109s. Lt Prager and Fw Sinz each claimed one Spitfire shot down, but no loss or damage was actually suffered by the RCAF unit.

Six Tempests were launched by 56 Squadron at 1115 to the Osnabrück-Dummer See area. Here Flt Lt Clostermann spotted seven Fw 190Ds among heavy cloud and gave chase, the rest of the formation losing him in the clouds; he pursued the Focke-Wulfs for seven minutes before achieving a firing position, claiming to have inflicted damage on two of the Doras before he was forced to break off and retreat into the cloud.

Flak probably cost five aircraft, three of them Typhoons, with two of the pilots killed and one captured. Amongst other losses on this date was an unusual one- one of 276 Squadron's air-sea rescue Spitfires. While orbiting two dinghies which were roped together and which contained five survivors from a Fortress crew, Flg Off N.MacDonald's elderly Spitfire VB (which had seen earlier service with four fighter squadrons) was seen to emit black smoke and dive into the sea. No trace of pilot or aircraft was found.

USAAF
BELGIUM: The Ninth Air Force’s 344th Medium Bombardment Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground A-78, at Florennes/Juzaine Airdrome.

ETO: The 9th Air Division is grounded by bad weather.

GERMANY: Three hundred five 1st Air Division B-17s attack two munitions dumps; 73 1st Air Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Bayreuth; 151 2d Air Division B-24s attack a marshalling yard at Plauen; 39 2d Air Division B-24s attack a munitions dump at Bayreuth; 59 3d Air Division B-17s attack an airdrome; 13 3d Air Division B-17s attack an electric plant; 54 3d Air Division B-17s attack a munitions dump at Furth; 37 3d Air Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Nurnberg; 271 3d Air Division B-17s attack the main railroad station at Nurnberg (secondary); and 33 heavy bombers attack targets of opportunity. Ten heavy bombers and one of 606 VIII Fighter Command escorts and scouts are lost.

Eighth and Ninth air force fighter pilots down 14 GAF aircraft between 0750 and 1700 hours.

The Ninth Air Force’s 10th Photographic Reconnaissance Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-64, at Mainz/Ober Olm Airdrome.

The U.S. Ninth Army crosses the Weser River.

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack rail targets at Alessandria, Brescia, and Turin, and the airdrome complex at Udine; Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack gun emplacements at La Spezia and bridges in northern Italy and adjacent areas of Austria; and XXII TAC P-47s devote their entire effort to supporting the U.S. Fifth Army and attacking dumps and communications targets in the Po River valley.

During the night of April 5–6, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack bridges and an assembly area in the Po River valley.

YUGOSLAVIA: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack a bridge, and 96 P-38s dive-bomb a rail bridge.

BASE CHANGES
227 Sqn (Lancaster I/III) moves to Strubby
253 Sqn (Spitfire VIII/IX) moves to Prkos
351 Sqn (Hurricane IV) moves to Prkos
488 Sqn RNZAF (Mosquito NF 30) moves to B.77 Gilze-Rijen
603 Sqn (Spitfire XVI) moves to Coltishall

[warshipbuilder]

6-4-45
50 Sqn (Skellingthorpe – Lancaster I/III)
BOMBING ATTACK ON YMUIDEN.
Ten aircraft, plus two reserve aircraft, were detailed for operations against the above named target. Of this number one was cancelled prior to take off. Eleven aircraft took off but one (F/O. TURRELL & CREW) crashed near Waddington owing to failure of port outer engine after being airborne 7 minutes, the rear gunner being injured. Ten aircraft reached the target area but were instructed not to attack by the Controller. Aircraft returned p.m. same day being diverted to Spilsby.

BOMBER COMMAND
6 April 1945
IJMUIDEN
54 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of 5 Group to attack a ship or ships which had broken the naval blockade around that large part of Western Holland where German forces were cut off. The raid was abandoned because of bad weather.

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2nd TAF
The day brought several more successes for 2nd TAF fighters, while losses amongst the fighter- bomber units were somewhat lower than of late. Six Tempests of 80 Squadron undertook a standing patrol over the Vechta-Osnabrück area from 1620. In the Dummer See-Steinhuder Meer area five Fw 190s were sighted and attacked; two were pursued and claimed shot down by Flt Lt R.C.Cooper and Flg Off L.Smith over Hoya.

During a sweep up the Rhine by Tempests in bad weather an hour later, pilots of 56 Squadron spotted Fw 190s bombing army units in the bridgehead area near Stolzenau. These were duly 'bounced' before the German pilots had even realised the Tempests were there, and braving the 'friendly' AA fire, Sqn Ldr R.A.MacKichan was credited with two shot down, and Flt Lt 'Joe' E. Payton a third. Two of this unit's Tempests force landed, Wt Off D.C.H.Rex coming down at B.102, while Wt Off L.W.Freeman had the indignity of falling to the Allied AA fire, putting his aircraft down near Helmond.

IV./JG 26 undertook two operations to the Dedelsdorf area, losing one Dora-9 to ground fire and two to fighters. The latter pair fell to the west of Stolzenau and would therefore appear to have been the victims of 56 Squadron. Both pilots, young Unteroffizier, became PoWs.

Towards evening four Tempests from 486 Squadron flew a patrol in the Dummer See- Steinhuder Meer area, when at 2000 hours they were advised by 'Scalwag' (a forward contact car) that Ju 878 were attacking the bridge over the Weser at Stolzenau. Guided by AA fire, Flg Off 'Jimmy' Sheddan latched
In the small hours, for the second night running, two Mosquito intruders were lost; on each night one simply failed to return and one struggled back to make a crash-landing at A.75. Both the crash-landed Mosquitoes were beyond repair but the crews were safe.

Whilst on patrol during the evening, 56 Squadron pilots encountered two Fw 190s. One escaped at once, but the second was attacked by Sgt G.J.Swindells, who gained hits on it. Flg Off Joe Payton followed it down to photograph its crash, but it suddenly pulled up hard and escaped. The squadron lost a Tempest to Flak later in the day but the pilot survived, unlike the pilot of a 222 Squadron Tempest who, earlier in the morning, apparently lost control in cloud and spun into the ground near Nijmegen.

Misfortune for the night operators continued when an all-Sergeant crew of 69 Squadron failed to return from a reconnaissance in the north of Holland. However, patrolling from their new base during the late hours of 7th, Flt Lt K.W.Stewart/Flg Off H.E.Brumby of 488 Squadron were able to claim an unidentified aircraft shot down 20 miles south-east of Osnabrück at 2320. It was their fifth confirmed success.

USAAF
GERMANY: Two hundred fifteen 1st Air Division B-17s and 106 3d Air Division B-17s attack the main rail station at Leipzig (secondary); 183 2d Air Division B-25s attack a marshalling yard at Halle; and 33 heavy bombers attack several targets of opportunity. Four B-17s and one of 630 VIII Fighter Command escorts and scouts are lost.

Ninety-nine 9th Air Division bombers attack the city of Herzberg and marshalling yards at two other locations.

The U.S. First Army begins crossing the Weser River.

ITALY: Three hundred eighty-seven Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack flak emplacements and an ordnance depot at Verona, and a marshalling yard and small-arms factory at Brescia, but 179 other heavy bombers are recalled because of bad weather over their targets; Twelfth Air Force B-25s are diverted by bad weather from attacking rail lines in the Brenner Pass area, but they are able to attack gun emplacements at La Spezia and six bridges in the Po River valley; and XXII TAC P-47s support the U.S. Fifth Army and attack lines of communication in the Po River valley.

BriGen Thomas C. Darcy assumes command of the XXII TAC.

During the night of April 6–7, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack several crossing points in the Po River valley and bridges at four locations.

BASE CHANGES
74 Sqn (Spitfire XVIE) moves to B.105 Drope
88 Sqn (Boston IIIA/IV) B.50 Vitry-en-Artois DISBANDED
410 Sqn RCAF (Mosquito NF 30) moves to B.77 Gilze-Rijen
451 Sqn RAAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to Lympne
453 Sqn RAAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to Lympne

[warshipbuilder]

Dear Reader,

In case you didn't notice, today's Night Raid Reports were in yesterday's post. There SHOULD have been no NRP yesterday.

7-4-45
9 Sqn (Bardney – Lancaster I/III)
Weather poor. F/O Jeff's Crew crashed on returning from operations. 12 aircraft took off to bomb Molbis. 11 returned to Base.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster I NG235 WS-H. Crew: F/O BS Woolstencroft RAAF KIA, Sgt WC Lewis KIA, F/S LA Bayley RAAF KIA, F/O CPW Warren KIA, F/S L Robinson KIA, Sgt GT Greenwood KIA, Sgt E Williams POW. T/o 1826 Bardney. Shot down by flak during the final attack on the Lutzkendorf refinery. Those who died are buried in the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
7 April 1945
IJMUIDEN
15 Lancasters (617 Squadron) and 2 Mosquitoes of 5 Group carried out an accurate attack on the ships at Ijmuiden. No aircraft lost.
________________________________________
7/8 April 1945
MOLBIS
175 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitoes of 5 Group attacked the benzol plant at Molbis, near Leipzig. The weather was clear and the bombing was so effective that all production at the plant ceased. No aircraft lost.

6 R.C.M. sorties and 14 Mosquito patrols were flown by 100 Group without loss.

2nd TAF
In the small hours, for the second night running, two Mosquito intruders were lost; on each night one simply failed to return and one struggled back to make a crash-landing at A.75. Both the crash-landed Mosquitoes were beyond repair but the crews were safe.

Whilst on patrol during the evening, 56 Squadron pilots encountered two Fw 190s. One escaped at once, but the second was attacked by Sgt G.J.Swindells, who gained hits on it. Flg Off Joe Payton followed it down to photograph its crash, but it suddenly pulled up hard and escaped. The squadron lost a Tempest to Flak later in the day but the pilot survived, unlike the pilot of a 222 Squadron Tempest who, earlier in the morning, apparently lost control in cloud and spun into the ground near Nijmegen.

Misfortune for the night operators continued when an all-Sergeant crew of 69 Squadron failed to return from a reconnaissance in the north of Holland. However, patrolling from their new base during the late hours of 7th, Flt Lt K.W.Stewart/Flg Off H.E.Brumby of 488 Squadron were able to claim an unidentified aircraft shot down 20 miles south-east of Osnabrück at 2320. It was their fifth confirmed success.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: A small number of Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack marshalling yards at three locations.

GERMANY: 1,261 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack numerous airfields, ordnance depots, marshalling yards, and several industrial sites. In the last major effort by GAF fighters to stem a bombing attack over Germany, 17 heavy bombers are lost—including at least five 3d Air Division B-17s that are intentionally rammed by aircraft from a special GAF unit—as are five of 830 VIII Fighter Command escorts and scouts. Among the airmen lost is Col John B. Herboth, Jr., the 389th Heavy Bombardment Group commander, who is killed.

Two hundred sixty-eight 9th Air Division bombers attack two marshalling yards and two defended towns.

Eighth and Ninth air force fighter pilots down 82 GAF aircraft between 0830 and 1900 hours. Maj Robin Olds, the commanding officer of the 479th Fighter Group’s 434th Fighter Squadron and a P-38 and P-51 ace, brings his final personal World War II tally to 13 confirmed victories when he downs a Bf-109 near Bremen at 1220 hours; 1stLt Richard G. Candelaria, a P-51 pilot with the 479th Fighter Group’s 435th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs four Bf-109s and probably downs an Me-262 near Luneberg between 1225 and 1230 hours; Capt Gene E. Markham, a P-51 pilot with the 353d Fighter Group’s 351st Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Steinhuder Lake at 1235 hours; Capt Harrison B. Tordoff, a P-51 pilot with the 353d Fighter Group’s 352d Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Hamburg at 1250 hours; and Capt Donald M. Cummings, a P-51 pilot with the 55th Fighter Group’s 38th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two Bf-109s over Celle at 1300 hours (Cummings’s total of 6.5 victories includes two that he scored while flying A-36s in the MTO); and Capt Valentine S. Rader, an F-6 pilot with the 67th Tactical-Reconnaissance Group’s 111th Reconnaissance Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs two Bf-109s near Stuttgart between 1710 and 1800 hours.

The Ninth Air Force’s 371st Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-74, at Frankfurt/Eschborn Airdrome.

ITALY: More than 500 Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers dispatched against bridges and other targets in Austria and northern Italy are recalled because of bad weather, but a small number are able to attack two rail bridges and a road bridge in northern Italy; Twelfth Air Force B-25s are grounded by bad weather; and a small number of XXII TAC P-47s attack an oilfield at Montechino, ammunitions dumps, and communications targets.

During the night of April 7–8, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack dumps and German Army command posts.

BASE CHANGES
33 Sqn (Tempest V) moves to B.91 Kluis
41 Sqn (Spitfire XIV) moves to B.106 Twente
124 Sqn (Spitfire HFIX) moves to Hawkinge
130 Sqn (Spitfire XIV) moves to B.106 Twente
222 Sqn (Tempest V) moves to B.91 Kluis
326 Sqn (Spitfire IX) moves to Strasbourgh/Enizheim
327 Sqn (Spitfire VIII/IX) moves to Strasbourgh/Enizheim
328 Sqn (Spitfire VIII/IX) moves to Strasbourgh/Enizheim
350 Sqn (Spitfire XIV) moves to B.106 Twente

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
441 Sqn RCAF (Hawkinge) flies its first OM in the Spitfire IX

[warshipbuilder]

8-4-45
419 Sqn RCAF (Middleton St. George – Lancaster X)
Fifteen aircraft attacked HAMBURG, taking off at 1910 hours. Aircraft crews bombed on sky markers on Master Bomber instructions from 17,000 to 19,000 feet. Bombing was considered concentrated and this should prove to be a good attack. Aircraft were diverted to WING on return from bombing. J.17180 F/O. GRAM H.R, in K.B. 752 "V" failed to return from this trip. It was his 3rd trip on his second tour. It was learned later that his aircraft, on the way to the Target developed trouble in two motors and would not hold sufficient altitude. The whole crew baled out over occupied Germany and were all back in the U.K.

BOMBER COMMAND
8/9 April 1945
HAMBURG
440 aircraft – 263 Halifaxes, 160 Lancasters, 17 Mosquitoes – of 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 3 Halifaxes and 3 Lancasters lost.

This attack was intended for the shipyard areas but partial cloud caused the raid to become dispersed. Some damage was probably caused to the shipyards but, as an American raid on the yards had taken place a few hours earlier, damage seen in photographs could not be allocated between the two forces. Other areas of Hamburg, particularly the Altona district, were badly damaged and 292 people were killed.

This was the last major Bomber Command raid of the war on Hamburg.

LÜTZKENDORF
231 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitoes of 5 Group attacked the oil refinery, which had escaped serious damage the previous night. The refinery was rendered ‘inactive’. 6 Lancasters lost.

Minor Operations: 22 Halifaxes of 4 Group in a diversionary raid on Travemünde, 71 Mosquitoes to Dessau, 28 to Berlin (where Oboe from forward ground stations was used for the first time) and 8 to Munich, 64 R.C.M. sorties, 43 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 918 sorties, 12 aircraft (1.3 percent) lost.

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2nd TAF
In 121 Wing, 174 Squadron became the third Typhoon unit to be disbanded, its pilots mainly posted as instructors or to other squadrons in the Wing. Having gained recent experience of current operations with 56 Squadron, Flt Lt Pierre Clostermann was now posted to 3 Squadron as 'X' Flight commander. In 274 Squadron Sqn Ldr 'Jesse' Hibbert and Flt Lt Fred Mossing completed their tours and departed for the UK.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force P-38s bomb a rail bridge at Rattenburg.

GERMANY: 1,103 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack munitions plants, munitions dumps, marshalling yards, a jet factory, and several airdromes. Nine B-17s and one of 763 VIII Fighter Command escorts and scouts are lost.

Approximately 620 9th Air Division bombers attack an oil depot, an oil refinery, a communications center, a marshalling yard, and city areas at eight locations.

Eighth, Ninth, and First Tactical air force fighter pilots down 38 GAF aircraft between 0001 and 1900 hours. 2dLt Leland A. Larson, an F-6 pilot with the 10th Photographic-Reconnaissance Group’s 15th Reconnaissance Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Ju-87 and shares in the downing of an He-111 near Dresden between 0800 and 0820 hours.

1stLt William J. Cullerton, a P-51 ace with the 355th Fighter Group’s 357th Fighter Squadron, is shot down by flak and taken prisoner.

The IX TAC operational headquarters displaces forward from Bruhl to Marburg/Lahn; the Ninth Air Force’s 36th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-62, at Neidermendig; the Ninth Air Force’s 354th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-64, at Mainz/Ober Olm Airdrome; and the Ninth Air Force’s 362d Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-73, at Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airdrome.

Fifteenth Air Force P-38s bomb a rail bridge at Garmisch and strafe rail traffic on the lines running from Munich to Salzburg and Linz.

ITALY: More than 500 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s systematically attack lines of communication feeding into the Brenner Pass as well as an electrical-power dam and marshalling yards at 11 locations; despite bad weather, Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack rail bridges at four locations, a rail fill, a canal, and gun emplacements at La Spezia; and XXII TAC P-47s attack four bridges and lines of communication, all in Brenner Pass.

During the night of April 8–9, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack bridges and targets of opportunity in the Po River valley and other areas of northern Italy.

BASE CHANGES
1 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to Coltishall
91 Sqn (Spitfire XIV) moves to Ludham

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
174 Sqn (B.100 Goch) DISBANDED
201 Sqn (Castle Archdale) flies its first OM in the Sunderland V
342 Sqn (B.50 Vitry-en-Artois) flies its first OM’s in the Mitchell II & III
417 Sqn RCAF (Bellaria) flies its last OM in the Spitfire VIII

[warshipbuilder]

9-4-45
302 (Polish) Sqn (B.77 Gilze-Rijen – Spitfire LFXVI)
There were two operations under number DO345 today, the first had takeoff at 1400 hours, and was Armed Recce in area "Y" <unreadable>-ZWOLLE-LEEUWARDEN. 1 MET was destroyed at Z9547, 1 MET flamer at Z8506, and 1 RDI damaged at B8393. During this mission 1 aircraft with Pilot W/O1 Schmidt, crash landed at E4895, the pilot reported by R/T. Engine trouble after an attack on MET. The a/c. lost wings and turned over on landing. Smoke was seen coming from the Engine. Again in the same area, with take off commencing 1655, an operation proved uneventful, no Military movement being seen.

ADDENDUM – Pilot was safe and uninjured.

BOMBER COMMAND
9 April 1945
HAMBURG
57 Lancasters of 5 Group attacked oil-storage tanks (40 aircraft) and U-boat shelters (17 aircraft of 617 Squadron with Grand Slams and Tallboys). Both attacks were successful. 2 Lancasters were lost from the raid on the oil tanks.
________________________________________
9/10 April 1945
KIEL
591 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 1, 3 and 8 Groups. 3 Lancasters lost.

This was an accurate raid, made in good visibility on two aiming points in the harbour area. Photographic reconnaissance showed that the Deutsche Werke U-boat yard was severely damaged, the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer was hit and capsized, the Admiral Hipper and the Emden were badly damaged. The local diary says that all 3 shipyards in the port were hit and that the nearby residential areas were severely damaged. 81 civilians were killed; there were probably naval casualties as well. The Kiel diarist comments on the effects of shortages – the shoes removed from the body of a dead woman, the flesh all cut from a dead horse.
Minor Operations: 22 Halifaxes in a diversionary raid to Stade, 44 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 37 to Plauen and 24 to Hamburg, 45 R.C.M. sorties, 37 Mosquito patrols, 70 Lancasters and 28 Halifaxes minelaying in Kiel Bay and the Little Belt. 1 Halifax from the diversion raid crashed in France.

Total effort for the night: 906 sorties, 4 aircraft (0.4 percent) lost.

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2nd TAF
2 Group's Mosquito VI intruders had continued to suffer regular losses during their nocturnal sorties, but usually it was to ground fire of one sort or another that they fell. At 0215 on 9th however, Wt Off R.W.Everson and Sgt R.A.W.Rudd of 305 Squadron were intercepted and shot down by a night fighter near Olpe in the Cologne pocket. Everson was captured but liberated from Stalag 6G, by American troops, just four days later; Rudd evaded, returning to report their fate.

On a standing patrol over the Weser bridgehead which commenced at 1830, Sqn Ldr Mackie and Wt Off W.R.Sheaf of 80 Squadron encountered three Luftwaffe training aircraft over Fassberg airfield which they at once attacked, Mackie claiming two shot down and Sheaf the third. They identified their victims as Bf 108s, but study of Mackie's gun camera film indicates that these were in fact Arado Ar 96s.

USAAF
BELGIUM: The Ninth Air Force’s 386th Medium Bombardment Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground A-92, at St.-Trond Airdrome.

ENGLAND: The Eighth Air Force’s 361st Fighter Group is returned to duty with the 65th Fighter Wing and transferred from a temporary base in Belgium to a permanent base in England.

GERMANY: 1,215 Eighth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack ten airfields, an ordnance depot, and a marshalling yard. Seven heavy bombers and five of 812 VIII Fighter Command fighters are lost.

9th Air Division bombers mount more than 700 effective sorties against oil targets, ordnance depots, and marshalling yards, and Ninth Air Force fighters attack airfields and a fuel depot.

Eighth, Ninth, and First Tactical air force fighter pilots down 27 GAF fighters between 0001 and 1935 hours. LtCol Robert D. Johnston, the commanding officer of the 50th Fighter Group’s 81st Fighter Squadron, in P-47s, achieves ace status when he downs two FW-190s near Crailsheim at 1900 hours.

ITALY: Eight hundred twenty-five Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s, Twelfth Air Force B-25s, and XXII TAC P-47s attack German Army headquarters, strongpoints, gun emplacements, and troop concentrations in support of a major offensive launched by the British Eighth Army. XXII TAC P-47s also attack a methane plant, ammunition and fuel dumps, and communications targets.

During the night of April 9–10, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack gun emplacements along the British Eighth Army battle front, bridges in Brenner Pass, and crossing points in the Po River valley.

MTO: More than 150 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s bomb and strafe bridges and rail lines along the Austro-German border.

BASE CHANGES
6 Sqn (Hurricane IV) moves to Prkosa

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
417 Sqn RCAF (Bellaria) flies its first OM in the Spitfire LFIXB
442 Sqn RCAF (Hunsdon) flies its first OM in the Mustang IV

[warshipbuilder]

10-4-45
415 Sqn RCAF (East Moor – Halifax III)
Operation scheduled. 13 aircraft detailed.

During today's day-light attack against Leipzig, this Squadron suffered the loss of one aircraft - CAN/J.35885 F/O R.S. Evans, and crew. The loss of this most efficient and popular Crew is much regretted by all. Remainder of Crews participating in the attack on Leipzig reported excellent concentration of bomb-loads.

V-Day talk again heard around Station. As yet mostly a roast-de-rumour slightly warmed.

ADDENDUM – Halifax III NA185 6U-B. Crew F/O RS Evans RCAF KIA, Sgt JM Andrews KIA, F/O LM Spry RCAF KIA, F/O LE Veitch RCAF KIA, F/S MJ Burns RCAF KIA, F/S DL Lorenz KIA, F/S RD Teevin RCAF KIA. T/o 1347 East Moor for a raid on the Engelsdorf and Mockau railway yards. F/O Evans is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial and his crew rests in the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
LEIPZIG
230 aircraft – 134 Lancasters, 90 Halifaxes, 6 Mosquitoes – attacked the Engelsdorf and Mockau railway yards. The weather was clear and the bombing was accurate. 1 Halifax and 1 Lancaster lost.
________________________________________
10/11 April 1945
PLAUEN
307 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups. No aircraft lost.

The bombing fell around the railway yards in the northern half of the town. The railways were hit and 365 acres, 51 percent, of the town’s built-up area were also destroyed.

LEIPZIG
76 Lancasters and 19 Mosquitoes of 5 and 8 Groups attacked the Wahren railway yards. The eastern half of the yards was destroyed. 7 Lancasters lost.

Minor Operations: 77 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 21 to Chemnitz and 7 to Bayreuth, 53 R.C.M. sorties, 26 Mosquito patrols. 1 Mosquito from the Berlin raid and 1 R.C.M. Halifax were lost.

Total effort for the night: 594 sorties, 9 aircraft (1.5 percent) lost.

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2nd TAF
In the early hours of 10th, 219 Squadron's successful team of Flg Offs Ron Young and Guy Fazan, claimed an He 177 shot down to the east of the Ruhr. The day, however, brought a resumption of Flak losses, some four Spitfires being lost, although of the two Typhoons which failed to return, one crashed after hitting high tension cables and the other went down to Allied fire, with Wt Off D.W.McCulloch killed. 341 Squadron lost one of its most experienced pilots - Lt A. 'Fifi' de Saxce - who, after his Spitfire was hit by Flak while attacking transport, was forced to bale out hurriedly at low level; his parachute snagged on the tail unit of his doomed Spitfire and, although it came free at about 500ft, he hit the ground too hard. Pilots of 197 Squadron strafed Broekletzel airfield, where a Ju 88 was claimed destroyed on the ground.

With evening, 130 Squadron Spitfire XIVs patrolled over the Nordholz-Wenzendorf area, spotting a Ju 188 going in to land at Stade airfield. Before it could do so it was shot down by the unit's commanding officer, Sqn Ldr Marty Hume. This was a fitting end to his tour, for on return he was posted away, tour-expired, his place being taken by Sqn Ldr E.G.Woolley from 350 Squadron. Some 40 minutes after this combat, at 2015, Flt Lt W.E.Schrader of 486 Squadron claimed an Fw 190 over Nienburg, while at 2237 Flt Lt R.D.Schultz/Flg Off J.S.Christie of 410 Squadron, claimed another Ju 188, this one intercepted over the Hannover area, near Damme. That night however, three of 2 Group's Mosquito VIs would fail to return and their crews were all killed.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: One hundred fifty-two Fifteenth Air Force P-38s bomb bridges, a tunnel, and a marshalling yard.

P-51 pilots of the 325th Fighter Group’s 318th Fighter Squadron down five FW-190s and a Ju-88 near Linz between 1620 and 1640 hours. Maj Norman L. McDonald, the 318th Fighter Squadron commanding officer, brings his final personal tally to 11.5 confirmed victories when he downs one of the FW-190s; and 1stLt William E. Aron achieves ace status when he downs the Ju-88 near Linz at 1620 hours. Aron is the last Fifteenth Air Force fighter pilot to attain ace status in World War II.

GERMANY: Four hundred seventeen 1st Air Division B-17s attack a German Army headquarters, a munitions dump, an aircraft factory, and an airfield at Oranienburg; 262 2d Air Division B-24s attack two airfields at Rechlin; 492 3d Air Division B-17s attack four airfields; and 29 heavy bombers attack several targets of opportunity. Nineteen heavy bombers and eight of 868 escorts and scouts are lost.

Four hundred twenty-three 9th Air Division bombers attack oil and ordnance depots, a viaduct, a rail bridge, a marshalling yard, and an industrial area.

The 9th Air Division’s 391st Medium Bombardment Group flies its first mission since transitioning from B-26s to A-26s.

Eighth and Ninth air force fighter pilots down 43 GAF aircraft between 0001 and 1905 hours. Capt Gordon B. Compton, a P-51 pilot with the 353d Fighter Group’s 351st Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs an Me-262 near Dessau at 1400 hours; and Capt Robert W. Abernathy, a P-51 pilot with the 353d Fighter Group’s 350th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs an Me-262 over Dessau at 1510 hours.

The Ninth Air Force’s 67th Tactical Re-connaissance Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground R-11, at Eschwege Airdrome; and the Ninth Air Force’s 367th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-74, at Frankfurt/Eschborn Airdrome.

ITALY: In their largest single-day effort to date, 648 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s attack numerous tactical targets in direct support of the British Eighth Army offensive, as do Twelfth Air Force B-25s and XXII TAC P-47s. XXII TAC P-47s also attack lines of communication in the Po River valley and rail bridges on the line from the Brenner Pass.

During the night of April 10–11, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack bridges at five locations and crossing points in the Po River valley.

BASE CHANGES
400 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire PRXI) moves to B.108 Rheine
430 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire FRXIV) moves to B.108 Rheine
459 Sqn RAAF DISBANDED

[warshipbuilder]

11-4-45
163 Sqn (Wyton – Mosquito B.XXV)
12 aircraft took part in raid on Berlin. KB.502 Pilot F/O.W. Houghton, Navigator F/Sgt. L.A. Stegman, failed to return. It is thought that they were forced down 40 miles west of the target, on the ingoing run. No further details are available.

ADDENDUM – Mosquito B.XXV KB502 U. Crew: F/O W Houghton KIA, F/S LA Stegman KIA. Both are buried in the Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
11 April 1945
NUREMBERG
129 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 14 Pathfinder Lancasters attacked the railway yards with great accuracy. No aircraft lost.

BAYREUTH
100 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 14 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 8 Group also carried out a very good attack on railway yards without loss.
________________________________________
11/12 April 1945
MOSQUITO OPERATIONS
107 Mosquitoes attacked Berlin in 3 waves. Large fires were seen. 1 Mosquito lost. 8 Mosquitoes attacked Munich without loss.

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2nd TAF
The 11th proved to be the day upon which the strafing of Luftwaffe airfields became a major occupation for 2nd TAF. During an early sortie Typhoons of 197 Squadron attacked Marx airfield where two Ju 88s were claimed destroyed on the ground. Three 74 Squadron Spitfires then hit Rotenburg, 20 miles east of Bremen, where some 12 fighters were seen parked. Three passes were (somewhat inadvisedly) made, during which four Bf 109s and a single Fw 190 were claimed destroyed and two more of each damaged. On this occasion the gamble of making more than one pass paid off, no casualties being suffered.

Next it was the turn of 266 Squadron, this unit's Typhoons striking Varrelbusch, north-east of Cloppenburg, where a Ju 88, an Fw 190 and a Bf 109 were claimed. 197 Squadron undertook a second such operation, this time to Handorf. Here Sqn Ldr K.J.Harding, Flt Lt G.R.Gibbings and two other pilots claimed two Ju 1888, an He 111 and two unidentified aircraft destroyed, four more claims for aircraft damaged also being submitted.

The Tempest pilots also had their turn when Wg Cdr H.M.Mason, 135 Wing Leader, led five 222 Squadron aircraft to Fassburg, one aircraft being claimed destroyed here and one damaged.

The only claim in the air on this date occurred during an early morning patrol over the Bremen- Nienburg area by Spitfire XIVs of 41 Squadron, when Flt Lt Tony Gaze intercepted and shot down a Ju 52/3m transport.

While ground strafing is normally a fairly hazardous enterprise, and the strafing of airfields particularly so, not one aircraft was lost during any of the attacks detailed above. Elsewhere during the day one Spitfire of 66 Squadron failed to return from a bombing sortie, and one Typhoon force-landed due to Flak. Two Spitfire XIVs were also lost, Flg Off G.F.Peterson of 402 Squadron being shot down and killed by Flak, while Flt Lt Sibeth of 130 Squadron had to bale out when his aircraft was hit by debris as he was strafing.

USAAF
FRANCE: Maj Gilbert F. Talbot, the commanding officer of the 354th Fighter Group’s 355th Fighter Squadron, in P-51s, achieves ace status when he downs a Bf-109 near Muhlhausen at 0620 hours.

GERMANY: 1,270 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attack two airfields, seven marshalling yards, a munitions factory, three munitions dumps, and two ordnance depots. One B-17 is lost.
9th Air Division bombers mount 689 effective sorties against marshalling yards at four locations, a truck plant, and an ordnance depot.

Ninth Air Force fighter pilots down 47 GAF aircraft over Germany between 0100 and 2340 hours. 1stLt Edward B. Edwards, Jr., a P-47 pilot with the 373d Fighter Group’s 411th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs four FW-190s over Sachau Airdrome at about 1745 hours.

1stLt Eugene D. Axtell, a P-61 pilot with the Ninth Air Force’s 422d Night Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs a Ju-52 on each of two separate missions near Kassel, one at 0108 hours and the other at 2307 hours.

The Ninth Air Force’s 366th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-94, at Munster/Handorf Airdrome.

The U.S. Ninth Army reaches the Elbe River near Magdeburg.

ITALY: Five hundred forty-four Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s continue their systematic interdiction of lines of supply and communication throughout northern Italy with attacks on bridges, marshalling yards, a fuel depot, and a vehicle repair facility.

In anticipation of the final Allied ground offensive of the war in Italy, the Twelfth Air Force opens an intense three-day operation aimed at blocking or snarling German Army lines of supply and communication. In addition to providing support for the ongoing British Eighth Army offensive, Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack four bridges in the Brenner Pass area and gun emplacements at La Spezia; and XXII TAC P-47s also attack the Brenner Pass rail line and ammunition and fuel dumps throughout northern Italy.

During the night of April 11–12, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack crossing points in the Po River valley.

MTO: More than 100 Fifteenth Air Force P-38s and P-51s attackrail lines throughout Czechoslovakia, Germany, and Austria.

BASE CHANGES
56 Sqn (Tempest V) moves to B.112 Hopsten
136 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.102 Twente
175 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.110 Achmer
181 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.102 Twente
182 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.102 Twente
184 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.110 Achmer
245 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.110 Achmer
403 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to B.100 Goch
414 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.108 Rheine
421 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to B.100 Goch
440 Sqn RCAF (Typhoon IB) moves to B.110 Achmer
486 Sqn RNZAF (Tempest V) moves to B.112 Hopsten

[warshipbuilder]

12-4-45
416 Sqn RCAF (B.100 Goch – Spitfire LFXVI)
Got away this morning about 9 A.M. and spent all day on the road and spent the night in Rheine as guests of 39 Recce Wing. P/O's Spurr and Williams are now on as the "Town Busters" since they blew up half of a town on a bombing show. F/O Trov. Dollery went missing today when his aircraft was hit by flak and he had to crash land on our side of the lines.

ADDENDUM – Spitfire LFXVI TB327 AU-? Pilot: F/O TP Dollery RCAF KIA. Damaged by flak near Oldenburg. He is buried in Holten Canadian War Cemetery.

BOMBER COMMAND
12/13 April 1945
MINOR OPERATIONS
97 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 10 to Munich, 13 Mosquitoes on Intruder patrols. No aircraft lost.

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2nd TAF
There was more airfield strafing on 12th, though results were rather more sparse than on the previous day. Typhoons of 197, 198 and 266 Squadrons all undertook such attacks, but claims were limited to a single Ju 88 destroyed and four Ju 188s damaged. One of 197 Squadron's aircraft was hit by debris and Flt Lt G.R.Gibbings, one of the 'stars' of the previous day, baled out into captivity. On other operations five Typhoons and three Spitfires were brought down by Flak. Eight of 274 Squadron's Tempests set off on an early armed reconnaissance at 0655 during which a Ju 88 was intercepted south of Huby and was shot down by Flt Lts J.D.Morrison and D.M.Nichols to the north-east of Fassburg. 33 Squadron despatched 12 more Tempests on a sweep at 1145, during which one section descended to strafe targets on the ground, being rather badly 'bounced' while doing so. They had been caught, despite a cloudless sky, by 12 L/JG 26 D-9s led by Oblt Dortenmann, and a violent turning combat. commenced. Between 1253-1312, the German pilots claimed six victories, two of them by Dortenmann and one by Lt Soffing, while in the RAF unit Capt E.D.Thompson, SAAF, and Flg Off D.J.ter Beek each claimed one Focke-Wulf shot down, the latter claiming two more damaged. However, Thompson's aircraft was so badly damaged that it was subsequently written off. There is little doubt that on this occasion the Tempests had come off worst, for although six were not lost, as well as the damage to Thompson's aircraft, Flt Sgt P.W.C.Watton and Sgt J.Staines were both shot down, the former surviving and evading capture, but the latter was killed. Watton apparently also claimed one of the attackers shot down but this was never confirmed by 2nd TAF HQ. In fact the only loss suffered by I./JG 26 was Lt Erich Asmus.

A more successful engagement featured 56 Squadron, when Flg Off David Ness intercepted a lone Fw 190 at 500 feet in the Fassburg area. The Canadian closed from 250 to 50 yards while firing and the German pilot, who took no evasive action, was seen to crash and blow up. Towards the end of the afternoon Spitfire XIVs of 41 Squadron patrolling in the Bremen area, gave chase to an Ar 234. This was shot down by Flt Lts Tony Gaze and D.M.V.Rake as it was attempting to force-land, and it blew up. A final claim was made at 1935 by Flt Lt Jack Stafford of 486 Squadron, who broke off from an attack on MET to turn in behind a lone Dora; his cannon strikes caused a fire in the engine and cockpit area and he pulled to one side to watch the Fw 190D roll over and crash in a field east of Ludwigslust.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: One hundred twenty-four Fifteenth Air Force P-38s bomb rail bridges at two locations.

GERMANY: Although more than 275 9th Air Division bombers abort in the face of bad weather, 167 bombers are able to attack an ordnance depot, a rail bridge, a marshalling yard, and several targets of opportunity. Of special note among numerous Ninth Air Force fighter missions, 11 36th Fighter Group P-47 pilots destroy 14 He-111s and three Do-217s on the ground at Schkeuditz Airdrome, and then discover more than 300 GAF aircraft on the ground at Leipzig/Mockau Airdrome. In the course of continuous strafing passes, the 11 P-47 pilots account for 16 Ju-88s, nine Fw-190s, eight Bf-109s, six He-111s, five Me-410s, ten assorted trainers, an Me-262, a Ju-87, and a captured P-47.

The Ninth Air Force’s 404th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-86, at Fritzlar.

Erfurt falls to the U.S. Third Army.

ITALY: Although 128 B-24s abort in the face of bad weather, more than 400 Fifteenth Air Force B-17s and B-24s complete attacks on lines of communication on both sides of the Austro-Italian border and rail bridges at Padua; Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack the Brenner Pass rail line and support the British Eighth Army; and XXII TAC P-47s attack rail lines, communications targets, and dumps in the Po River valley.

UNITED STATES: President Franklin D. Roosevelt passes away in Warm Springs, Georgia.

YUGOSLAVIA: Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack a bridge at Maribor.

BASE CHANGES
80 Sqn (Tempest V) moves to B.112 Hopsten
247 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.106 Twente
352 Sqn (Spitfire VC) moves to Prkos
401 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.108 Rheine
402 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire XIVE) moves to B.108 Rheine
411 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXE) moves to B.108 Rheine
416 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to B.100 Goch
438 Sqn RCAF (Typhoon IB) moves to B.110 Achmer
443 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to B.100 Goch

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
414 Sqn RCAF (B.108 Rheine) flies its first OM in the Spitfire FRXIV

[warshipbuilder]

13-4-45
428 Sqn RCAF (Middleton St. George – Lancaster X)
"Friday the 13th” so all the boys woke up wondering if we would operate. Operation laid on for a night do on KIEL. Eighteen crews took off but F/O D.P. VARIEN (J.24596 RCAF) returned early due to engine trouble. F/O D.M. PAYNE (J.38377 RCAF) and crew failed to return. They were “gen" crew and will be missed by all. The remainder reached England safely and were diverted to Church Broughton, Preliminary reports indicate that it was a bang-on prang.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster X KB866 VR-M. Crew: F/O DM Payne RCAF POW, Sgt TF Sinclair RCAF POW, F/O GC Riley RCAF POW, F/O V Banks RCAF POW, WO2 EV Miller RCAF POW, F/S ERO Casey RCAF POW, F/S AE Vardy POW. T/o 2020 Middleton St. George. Hit by flak both inbound and outbound. With three engines failing, the Lancaster was ditched. F/S Vardy is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

BOMBER COMMAND
13 April 1945
SWINEMÜNDE
34 Lancasters of 5 Group (9 and 617 Squadrons) set out to attack the warships Prinz Eugen and Lützow in Swinemünde harbour but the raid was abandoned because of cloud over the target. All aircraft returned safely.
________________________________________
13/14 April 1945
KIEL
377 Lancasters and 105 Halifaxes of 3, 6 and 8 Groups. 2 Lancasters lost.
This raid was directed against the port area, with the U-boat yards as the main objective. Bomber Command rated this as ‘a poor attack’ with scattered bombing. The local diary states that the main bombing was in and around the suburb of Elmschenhagen, 2 miles from the port area, but some damage was caused nearer the harbour, including a hit on an ammunition depot at the northern end. 50 people were killed.

Minor Operations: 20 Halifaxes and 8 Mosquitoes in a diversionary raid on Boizenburg, 87 Mosquitoes to Hamburg, 20 to Stralsund and 12 to Reisa, 62 R.C.M. sorties, 55 Mosquito patrols, 82 Lancasters and 27 Halifaxes minelaying in Kiel Bay and the Kattegat. 1 Mosquito of 100 Group lost.

Total effort for the night: 855 sorties, 3 aircraft (0.4 percent) lost.

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2nd TAF
486 Squadron enjoyed more success on 13th during a strafing attack on an airfield near Parchim. Here four Ju 88s and five He 111s were claimed damaged. However, the commanding officer's Tempest suffered a direct hit from an 88 mm Flak shell whilst the unit was engaged on an armed reconnaissance, and he baled out north-west of Domitz and was seen to land safely. Thereafter there was no further news of Sqn Ldr Taylor-Cannon, whose ultimate fate has never been. satisfactorily resolved, but who is thought to have been killed after reaching the ground.

The day began another series of moves forward, as 127 Wing moved to B.114, Diepholz. Next day 131 Wing moved to B.101 at Nordhorn, while 126 Wing started shifting its squadrons to B.116, Wunstorf. 616 Squadron moved its Meteors to B.91, Kluis, but was still not permitted to cross the lines into hostile territory; this restriction would soon be lifted.

USAAF
ETO: The 9th Air Division is grounded by bad weather.

GERMANY: Two hundred twelve 1st Air Division B-17s attack a marshalling yard at Neumunster (secondary). Two B-17s and eight of 372 VIII Fighter Command escorts and scouts are lost.

IX TAC P-47s mount a raid against the headquarters of the German Army Group B, in the Ruhr Pocket.

Capt Clyde B. East, an F-6 ace with the 10th Photographic-Reconnaissance Group’s 15th Reconnaissance Squadron, brings his final personal tally to 13 confirmed victories and secures his place as the USAAF’s top-scoring F-6 ace when he downs a Bf-109 near Hof at 1500 hours.

1stLt Richard G. Candelaria, a P-51 ace with the 479th Fighter Group’s 435th Fighter Squadron, is shot down by flak and taken prisoner.

The Ninth Air Force’s 365th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-86, at Fritzlar.

The U.S. Ninth Army crosses the Elbe River.

ITALY: The Fifteenth Air Force is grounded by bad weather; Twelfth Air Force B-25s are able to mount only one mission, an attack on a road bridge; and XXII TAC P-47s attack gun emplacements at La Spezia and dumps and communications targets in the Po River valley.

During the night of April 13–14, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack communications targets in the Po River valley.

BASE CHANGES
19 Sqn (Mustang III) moves to Peterhead
137 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Hopsten
181 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Hopsten
182 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to B.108 Rheine
247 Sqn (Typhoon IB) moves to Hopsten
308 Sqn (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to B.101 Nordhorn
317 Sqn (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.101 Nordhorn
412 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXE) moves to B.108 Rheine
421 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to B.114 Diepholz
443 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to B.114 Diepholz
616 Sqn (Meteor III) moves to B.91 Nijmegen

FIRST AND LAST OPERATIONAL MISSIONS
249 Sqn (Canne) flies its last OM in the Mustang III
345 Sqn (B.85 Schijndel) flies its last OM in the Spitfire LFIXB

[warshipbuilder]

14-4-45
35 Sqn (Graveley – Lancaster I/III)
Fifteen aircraft were detailed for a night attack on POTSDAM. Ion excellent visibility many explosions wore observed. One aircraft caught fire over the target area; the Captain, F/O V.B. Bowen-Morris, quickly baled out his crew and ultimately left the aircraft himself over Holland.

ADDENDUM – Lancaster III PB377 TL-K. Crew: F/O VB Bowen Harris, Sgt WG Reynolds KIA, F/O RHH Dyers POW, F/S EG Silcock POW, F/S CS Gibbons POW, F/S JW Tovey EVD, F/S EG Meredith DFM POW. Sgt Reynolds is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

BOMBER COMMAND
14/15 April 1945
POTSDAM
500 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitoes of 1, 3 and 8 Groups. This was the first time that Bomber Command 4-engined aircraft had entered the Berlin defence zone since March 1944 but the approach, across parts of Germany recently captured by Allied troops, and the Cuxhaven diversion led to only 1 Lancaster being lost; it was shot down by a night fighter.

This was the last raid of the war by a major Bomber Command force on a German city. The aiming point was the centre of Potsdam and the intention was to destroy the local barracks (depot of the old German Guards regiments) and the railway facilities. The attack was reasonably successful and severe damage was caused in Potsdam but bombs also fell in the nearby northern and eastern districts of Berlin. No information is obtainable from Potsdam, but a figure of 5,000 dead has been mentioned. This high figure, if true, was caused by the fact that the people of this community had seen Berlin and not themselves bombed so often that they failed to take proper cover when the sirens sounded.

Minor Operations: 24 Lancasters and 4 Mosquitoes in a diversion raid to Cuxhaven, 62 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 10 to Wismar, 54 R.C.M. sorties, 50 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.

Total effort for the night: 716 sorties, 1 aircraft (0.1 percent) lost.

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2nd TAF
486 Squadron was involved in two engagements during the day, on the first of which Flt Lt "Jimmy' Sheddan saw a lone silver-coloured aircraft when he and his companions were strafing railway rolling stock during a mid afternoon weather reconnaissance. Identifying the machine as an Fw 190, he caught up with it when north of Ludwigslust, opening fire, upon which it shed pieces from the wings and fuselage, rolled onto its back, dived into the ground and exploded.

In the same area that evening Wg Cdr Brooker and three of the unit's pilots were again after rail targets, but were split up. At 1930 Wt Off W.J.Shaw, who was flying with Brooker, saw a lone fighter - apparently an Fw 190 again, and shot this down in flames after a brief combat. Meanwhile the other pair had been caught by three more fighters whilst concentrating on strafing, and Wt Off O.J.Mitchell, a new pilot with the unit, was shot down and killed. It was reported that his opponent may have been a Bf 109E - an obsolete type. Flg Off S.J.Short fought with one of the others, which he also identified as a Messerschmitt, claimed to have inflicted some damage on this. Their opponents were certainly not flying Bf 109Es, but fighters of a much more 'exotic' nature. The New Zealanders had been engaged by three members of Stab/JG 301, a unit which had recently been equipped with the initial examples of the Focke-Wulf Ta 152, the ultimate development of the Focke-Wulf 190 line to see operational service. In one of these, Ofw Willi Reschke had shot down Mitchell's Tempest over Ludwigslust at 1920, for his 25th victory, but in another of these fighters, Ofw Sepp Sattler had been shot down and killed - almost certainly by Shaw.

In the time-slot between these two engagements Typhoons of 182 Squadron had flown an armed reconnaissance to the Lüneberg area, where the pilots had spotted ten bomber aircraft in a clearing in a wood, diving down to claim six Ju 88s and an He 111 destroyed, and the other three damaged.

Sqn Ldr Don Laubman, DFC & Bar, who had just taken command of 402 Squadron at the start of his second tour just eight days earlier, attacked a pair of half-tracks near Rethem. Having shot up the nearest vehicle he lined up on the second- just as the first blew up, engulfing his newly-delivered Spitfire XIV in a fireball. With engine temperature rising, he climbed to 7,000 feet and set course for Allied territory. Before such safety was reached the engine burst into flames and he was forced to bale out into captivity; 2nd TAF had lost its top-scoring pilot of 1944-45, but he would be back with the unit by 5 May.

Four of 41 Squadron's Mark XIVs undertook another armed reconnaissance to the Bremen area from 1845, and here about an hour later, aircraft were spotted over Nordholz airfield. Sqn Ldr J.B.Shepherd attacked a Bf 110 which was towing an Me 163, shooting down the former in flames. Thereupon, the little rocket interceptor, piloted by Ofw Werner Nelte, formerly of I./JG 400, appeared to dive straight into the ground alongside its erstwhile tug. In fact Nelte was able to pull it out of its dive at the last minute and achieved a crash-landing.

USAAF
AUSTRIA: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack a marshalling yard at Klagenfurt.

FRANCE: Preceding a clearing operation to be launched by French Army ground forces, 1,133 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attack fortifications, strongpoints, gun emplacements, and flak positions at Bordeaux and other German defensive positions remaining along the French Atlantic coast. Four heavy bombers are lost.

1stLt Loyd “J” Overfield, a P-51 ace with the 354th Fighter Group’s 353d Fighter Squadron, brings his final personal tally to 11 confirmed victories when he downs an Me-262 and an He-111 over Muhlhausen at 1530 hours.

GERMANY: Ninth and First Tactical air force fighter pilots down 14 GAF aircraft between 1330 and 1840 hours.

The XXIX TAC operational headquarters displaces forward to Gutersloh.

Advances by the First and Third U.S. armies split the Ruhr Pocket into two parts.

ITALY: Fifteenth Air Force heavy bombers attack a motor-transport depot and four ammunition factories.

Although diverted by bad weather from primary targets in Brenner Pass, Twelfth Air Force B-25s attack gun emplacements at La Spezia, rail lines at three locations, and five defended areas along the British Eighth Army front.

Allied ground forces open what is being billed as the final ground offensive in Italy. The entire XXII TAC is committed to supporting the ground troops on a 24-hour-a-day on-call basis.

During the night of April 14–15, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack crossing points and communications targets in the Po River valley.

BASE CHANGES
416 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFXVI) moves to B.114 Diepholz

[warshipbuilder]

15-4-45
169 Sqn (Great Massingham – Mosquito NFXIX)
Two aircraft carried out patrols, one of which, with W/O. W.R. PADDICK and his Navigator
W/O. D.A.YOUNG did not return from the STUTTGART area.

ADDENDUM – Mosquito NFXIX MM633 VI-? Crew: W/O WR Paddick KIA, W/O DA Young KIA. T/o 2020 Great Massingham. Lost without a trace. Both are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

BOMBER COMMAND
15/16 April 1945
MINOR OPERATIONS
106 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 8 to Oranienburg airfield and 4 to Lechfeld airfield, 27 R.C.M. sorties, 19 Mosquito patrols. 1 Mosquito of 100 Group lost.

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2nd TAF
The 15th was to see a resumption of aerial activity, particularly during the morning period. First, however, following night duty, 604 Squadron was stood down at 0600 hours, and would be disbanded on 18th - another victim of the deletion of the old Auxiliary units. At 0830 nine Tempests of 486 Squadron, led by F/L W.E. Smokey Schrader, were airborne on an armed reconnaissance to the Müritz See area. At about 0915 they were notified of an enemy formation on a reciprocal course. Turning onto a heading to intercept, the New Zealanders came up behind a formation of nine Fw 190s and were not spotted by the Luftwaffe pilots until having closed to 1,000 yards. The Focke-Wulf formation broke and the Tempest pilots each sought individual targets. The New Zealanders quickly gained the upper hand as, one after another, the German fighters were seen to go down. However, Flg Off A.R.Evans, having seen a wing break off his victim, rejoined the dogfight to seek a fresh target and immediately found himself at a disadvantage against a well-flown Fw 190:
"I was forced to try and out-turn him but as my LRTs would not jettison I could not do this, so tried to outclimb him. But here again the 190 beat me and I stalled and spun out of the turn. When I recovered from the spin I saw three Fw 190s in line astern following me down. As I tried to pull up to port my engine cut and the last of the Fw 190s had a 90 degree deflection shot at me and hit me on the port wing and fuselage. The control column jammed hard and I slowly went over on my back. I jettisoned my hood, undid my straps and was drawn out of the cockpit. Prior to leaving my aircraft and whilst on my back I saw the three Fw 190s pull up and rejoin the fight."

Evans was picked up by British airborne troops south of Uelzen. Meanwhile, an 80 Squadron formation, which had taken off an hour earlier than 486, led by Sqn Ldr Evan Mackie, heard his fellow New Zealanders reporting their combat and headed for the area. Sighting the fight still in progress Mackie selected a target which he followed through a series of manoeuvres, eventually seeing strikes in the cockpit area; as the Focke-Wulf dived vertically from 5,500 feet Mackie's No.2 scored further hits on the tail, with pieces flying off before it crashed in woods south-west of Uelzen. On return 486 Squadron filed claims for eight Fw 190s destroyed and one damaged, while Mackie claimed one destroyed shared with Sgt W.E.Turner. However 2nd TAF HQ's final assessment was that Flg Off B.J.O'Connor's 'damaged' was the same aircraft attacked by Mackie - which was then shared between the three pilots. This was the first occasion for some time in which it has not been possible to identify the units engaged in a major combat. By now 2nd TAF aircraft were operating over an area of Germany where Luftwaffe units were to be found which had been part of the home defence (Luftflotte Reich), or had been withdrawing in the face of the Soviet advance from the east. Increasingly, aircraft from such units, including Fw 190 Schlacht (ground-attack) Gruppen, were to be encountered by the Western Allies. It is considered probable that the 15th marked the start of such encounters.

Flt Lts N.D.Cox and J.A.McCairns of 56 Squadron, who had taken off at 0930, claimed an 'Me 262' destroyed just after it had taken off from Kaltenkirchen airfield, seeing it crash in flames. From gun camera film it was later identified as an Ar 234.

There were to be several more encounters during the day, the first also occurring at 0930 when Flt Lt W.M.Middleton of 430 Squadron, flying a TacR sortie to Velmen in his Spitfire FR XIV, also claimed an Fw 190 near Uelzen. At 1805 Flt Lt A.Seeger from 80 Squadron led a weather reconnaissance during which three Fw 190s were seen north-west of Celle. Seeger dived to attack, hitting one and closing to 150 yards. Black and white smoke poured from the stricken aircraft which rolled over, the pilot baling out at an altitude of 3,000 feet. During the day however, Wt Off A.M.Rollo of this unit was lost either to Flak or to a Focke-Wulf - or both- coming down north of Ludwigslust to become a PoW. Later in the day at 2045, two pilots of 416 Squadron claimed damage to another Fw 190 to the north-east of Rethem.

USAAF
FRANCE: 1,278 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers attack fortifications, strongpoints, gun emplacements, and flak positions at Bordeaux, Royan, and other German defensive positions remaining along the French Atlantic coast. One B-24 is lost. The Royan mission is of interest in that it involves the first and only operational use of napalm bombs by Eighth Air Force heavy-bomber units. The results are negligible, and plans to drop more napalm from heavy bombers are canceled.

GERMANY: Two hundred fifty-eight 9th Air Division bombers attack five marshalling yards and several targets of oppor-tunity.

Ninth and First Tactical air force fighter pilots down ten GAF aircraft over Germany between 0745 and 1830 hours. Capt Richard W. Asbury, a P-51 pilot with the 354th Fighter Group’s 356th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he shares in the downing of an He-111 near Bayreuth at 0745 hours; 1stLt Bruce W. Carr, a P-51 ace with the 354th Fighter Group’s 353d Fighter Squadron, brings his final personal tally to 15 confirmed victories when he downs an He-111 over Gotha at 1400 hours; and Capt Gerald Brown, a P-51 pilot with the 55th Fighter Group’s 38th Fighter Squadron, achieves ace status when he downs at FW-190 and an He-111 near Munster between 1430 and 1435 hours.

The Ninth Air Force’s 368th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-73, at Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airdrome; the Ninth Air Force’s 406th Fighter Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-94, at Munster/Handorf Airdrome; and the Ninth Air Force’s 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group displaces to Advance Landing Ground Y-99, at Gutersloh Airdrome.

ITALY: In its busiest day of the war, the Fifteenth Air Force mounts 1,235 heavy-bomber sorties and 586 fighter sorties in unremitting attacks against German Army troop concentrations, headquarters, gun positions, and supply points, especially in and around Bologna.

Twelfth Air Force B-25s and XXII TAC P-47s provide direct support for the U.S. Fifth and British Eighth armies.

During the night of April 15–16, XXII TAC A-20s and A-26s attack crossing points and three defended towns in the Po River valley.

MTO: Fifteenth Air Force fighters and fighter-bombers attack rail lines and other rail targets throughout Austria and southern Germany.

BASE CHANGES
16 Sqn (Spitfire PRXI/PRXIX) moves to B.78 Eindhoven
69 Sqn (Wellington XIII) moves to B.78 Eindhoven
401 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXB) moves to B.116 Wunsdorf
402 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire XVIE) moves to B.116 Wunsdorf
411 Sqn RCAF (Spitfire LFIXE) moves to B.116 Wunsdorf