The 103 Sqdn left from Elsham Wolds at 1944-12-25 at 14:43. Loc or duty Koln
He flew with a Avro Lancaster (type I, serial NG420, code PM-Q).
Campaign report of the USAAF:
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS
(Eighth Air Force): Mission 761: 422 bombers and 460 fighters are dispatched to hit communications centers and rail bridges W of the Rhine River; they claim 49-7-12 Luftwaffe aircraft; 5 bombers and 9 fighters are lost:
1. 248 B-24s are sent to hit communications centers at Hallschlag (41), Prum (40), Pelm (37), Murlenbach (33), Pronsfeld (16) and Wahlen (12); targets of opportunity are communications centers at Budesheim (21), Hillesheim (12), Marmegen (11), Nettersheim (10) and Mechernich (9); they claim 3-1-3 aircraft; 4 B-24s are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 92 damaged; 2 airmen are KIA, 4 WIA and 40 MIA.
Escorting are 144 of 156 P-51s; they claim 6-0-1 aircraft; 3 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 2 damaged beyond repair.
2. 174 B-17s are sent to hit railroad bridges at Ahrweiler (44) and Bad Munster (9), the Kaiserslautern railroad (38) and the Hermeskeil Simmern communications center and Marscheid railroad bridge (36); targets of opportunity are railroad bridges at Bad Kreuznach (17) and Eller (11) and other (1); they claim 0-0-1 aircraft; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 36 damaged; 9 airmen are MIA.
Escorting are 278 of 294 P-51s; they claim 40-6-7 aircraft; 6 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA) and 1 damaged beyond repair.
3. 10 of 10 P-51s fly a scouting missions without loss.
TACTICAL OPERATIONS
(Ninth Air Force): Nearly 650 B-26, A-20s and A-26s hit rail and road bridges, communications centers and targets of opportunity in W Germany and the breakthrough area; fighters, including an Eighth AF group loaned to the Ninth AF, escort the 9th Bombardment Division, fly patrols and armed reconnaissance, and support the US III, VIII, and XII Corps along the S battleline of the enemy salient from Echternach, Luxembourg to NW of Neufchateau, Belgium.
Campaign report of the RAF:
24/25 December 1944
104 Lancasters of No 3 Group carried out an accurate attack on Hangelar airfield near Bonn. 1 Lancaster lost. No results are known.
Cologne/Nippes: 97 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos of Nos 1 and 8 Groups. 5 Lancasters were lost and 2 more crashed in England. The Oboe marking and the resultant bombing were extremely accurate. The railway tracks were severely damaged and an ammunition train blown up. The nearby Butzweilerhof airfield was also damaged.
2 Mosquitos to Münster, 42 RCM sorties, 42 Mosquito patrols, 12 Halifaxes of No 6 Group minelaying off Oslo, 8 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
With thanks to the RAF and USAAF.net!
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