Target:
Essen

 March  1944

 26th

Tonight is Williams Twelved operation.

 

705 aircraft - 476 Lancasters, 207 Halifaxes, 22 Mosquitos.

The sudden switch by Bomber Command to a Ruhr  target just across the German frontier caught the

German fighter controllers by surprise and only 9 aircraft - 6 Lancasters, 3 Halifaxes - were lost.

Essen was covered by cloud but the Oboe Mosquitos marked the target well and this was a successful attack.

   

109 aircraft - 70 Halifaxes, 32 Stirlings, 7 Mosquitos of Nos 3, 4, 6 and 8 Groups - attacked railway targets at

Courtrai. No aircraft lost.

 

22 Mosquitos to Hannover, 3 to Aachen and 3 to Julianadorp, 8 RCM sorties, 13 Serrate patrols, 20 Stirlings

minelaying off French ports, 4 aircraft on Resistance operations, 12 OTU sorties. No aircraft lost.

 

The increase in the number of air raids hits RWE and VEW hard. RWE staff are accommodated in offices

in the Hochtief house in the Rellinghauser road. These temporary offices remain in use for the next 17 years.

 

No.78 Squadron

16 aircraft detailed for operations, Target Essen.

14 aircraft reached and attacked target.

Weather in the aria: fair to fine. Good visibility.

 

Ground crew managed to get the LW815, LW515, LV915, LV788, LK749, V872, LV876, LV868, LV905, LW511, LV520, LK748, LV795, LV901, HX241 and LV899  in the air for there operation over Essen.

 

 

1 Aircraft was lost on this raid on Essen.
Raid over Essen.

 

Handley Page Halifax BIII

 

 LV905 EY-W

 

March   26th 1944

 Target Essen

 Airborn:

 20:15 hour, Breighton Yorkshire.

 

 Bombing on:

 22000ft  at 22:10 hour.


 Landed:

 01:03 hour, Breighton Yorkshire.

 

 

 

 

Crew LV905  EY-W

F/O Hudson, H.

(Capt)

 F/L Taylor, A

 (Nav)

 F/O Uyen, William

 (Bomb)

 Sgt. Monks, H.

 (W/Op)

 Sgt. Hillis, J.

 (F/Eng)

 

 Sgt. Nugent, Leslie

(MU)

 

 

 Sgt. Morris, J.

(RG)

 
The primary target was attacked and bombed at 22:10 hour, from a height of 22.000ft. Target identified by T.I. Red and green, and bombed on red T.I. In bomb/sight which cascaded at 22:09 hour no result seen due thick cloud.

( LV905 was shot down during the raid of May 24th 1944. Airborne 22.55 hour from Breighton. Shot down by a night-fighter and crashed, bursting into flames, near the Bergse Maas apx. 1 km S of Hank (Noord-Brabant), 11 km NNE of Oosterhout.
All are buried in Jonkerbos War Cemetery.
P/O E.B.Wilson KIA.    Sgt W.J.White KIA.    F/O S.C.Peterson RCAF KIA.
F/O N.A.Marston DFC KIA.    F/S J.Henderson KIA.    Sgt G.H.Butler KIA.
Sgt J.T.L.Leblanc RCAF KIA. )

Returned early

LV876

F/S Wilson took off from Breighton Air Base at 20:02.

returned owing to sickness of the flight engineer Sgt. Lees.

Furthest point reached mid North Sea at 52.35N/03.10E.

Bombs jettisoned safe of 18.000ft in the North Sea at 21:17.

Lost in combat

LK749 EY-J

F/S Lovett took off at 2032 from Breighton.  

Shot down by night fighter, while on to homeward flight.

And crashed 11km from Philippeville, Belgium.     All crew killed.

F/S N. Lovatt KIA.   P/O C. Weeks KIA.   F/O Henderson KIA.   Sgt. E. Robberts KIA.

Sgt. W. Smith KIA.   Sgt. Cottrel KIA.   Sgt. Scholfield KIA.

March 1944

27th

No Operations or standby for No.78 Squadron.

 

28th

No Operations or standby for No.78 Squadron.

 

29th

18 aircraft detailed for operations, Later cancelled 

Navigation
        Berlin,     
March 24, 1944
   Nuremburg,  
March 30, 1944







William Uyen
November 18, 1943           HisStory during the Air-battle of Berlin           March 31, 1944
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