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.

 


Squadron 78

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, LV872, LV876, LV868, LV905, LW511, LV520, LK748, LV795, LV901, HX24 and LV899 in the air for there operation over Berlin.

 

 

March 26th, 1944


   


 

Handley Page Halifax III

LV905 EY-W


 

 

    

March 26th

Target Essen

Airborn:

20:14 hour, Breighton Yorkshire

 

 

Bombing on

22.000 ft at 22:10 hour

 

 

Landed:

01:03 hour, Breighton Yorkshire

Crew LV905 EY-W

F/L Hudson, H.

(Capt.)

  
 

F/L Taylor, A.

(Nav)

  
 

F/O Uyen, William

(B.A.)

  
 

Sgt. Monks, H.

(W.Op)

  
 

Sgt. Hillis, J.

(F.Eng)

  
 

Sgt. Nugent, leslie

(M.U.)

  
 

Sgt. Morris, J.

(R.G.)

  
 

 

    

 

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.

( LV 905 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

returned owing to sickness of the flight engineer
Furthest point reached mid North Sea at 52.35N/03.10E.
Bombs jettisoned safe of 18.000ft in the North Sea.

 

Lost in Combat

LK749 EY-J

Shot down by night fighter, while on to homeward flight.
And crashed 11km from Philippeville, Belgium.
All crew killed.

 

 

 

 

March 1944

27th


No operation or standby for squadron 78

 

28th


No operation or standby for squadron 78

 

29th

18 aircraft detailed for operations, Later cancelled