Crew Missions:

1: 6/5/44 – Mantes Gassicourt Target: Rail System

2: 10/5/44 – Lens Target: Rail System s at Courtrai, Ghent, Lens and Lille.

3: 11/5/44 – Colline Beaumont Target : Gun positio

4: 5/6/44 – Maisy The Eve of D-day Target: Artillery Batteries

The Maisy battery is a group of World War II artillery batteries constructed by the Wehrmacht near the French village of Grandcamp-Maisy in Normandy. It formed a part of Germany’s Atlantic Wall coastal fortifications and was the principal position of defence for that area. It was responsible for the defence of the sector between the Longues-sur-Mer and the St Marcouf (Crisbecq) batteries. It could target both Omaha Beach and Utah Beach.

5: 6/6/44 – Chateaudun “D-day” Target: Air field

Seized by the Germans in June 1940 during the Battle of France, Châteaudun was used as a Luftwaffe military airfield during the occupation. Under occupation, the German army, owner, undertook infrastructure projects including the construction of dispersal areas called "daisies" and the track. Chateaudun also served as a starting point for air raids on England.

6: 7/6/44 – Versailles Target: Railway yards

7: 9/6/44 – Laval Target: Railway yards

Laval airfield (9/10 June) which was one of four rail yards hit by RAF Bomber Command that night.

8: 12/6/44 – Amiens Target: Railway Yards

671 aircraft - 348 Halifaxes, 285 Lancasters, 38 Mosquitos - of Nos 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups to attack communications, mostly railways, at Amiens/St Roch, Amiens/Longueau, Arras, Caen, Cambrai and Poitiers. (It is interesting to note that, with the exception of Caen, all of these targets were the sites of well-known battles of earlier wars and Caen was soon to be the scene of fierce fighting.) Bomber Command's records state that the Poitiers attack, by No 5 Group, was the most accurate of the night and that the 2 raids at Amiens and the raid at Arras were of reasonable accuracy. 23 aircraft - 17 Halifaxes and 6 Lancasters - were lost from these raids; all of these losses were from Nos 4 and 6 Groups.

9: 14/6/44 – Evrecy Target: German Panzers

RAF bombing provided noise cover for the retreat of 7th Allied armoured division near Caen.

10: 16/6/44 – Sterkrade Target : Oil Refinery

"Oberhausen-Holten" or "Sterkrade/Holten") was a bombing target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, On June 16th 1944 1, 4, 6, and 8 Bomber Groups sent 321 aircraft, consisting of 162 Halifaxes, 147 Lancasters, and 12 Mosquitoes went to "Happy Valley".

11: 17/6/44 – St. Martin l’Hortier Target: V -I Launching site

In order to carry out the planned V-1 "flying bomb" attacks on the United Kingdom, Germany built a number of military installations including launching sites and depots. Some of the installations were huge concrete fortifications. The Allies became aware of the sites at an early stage and carried out numerous bombing raids to destroy them before they came into use.

12: 22/6/44 – Siracourt Target: Bunker

The Siracourt V-1 bunker is a Second World War bunker built in 1943-44 by the forces of Nazi Germany at Siracourt, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Codenamed Wasserwerk St. Pol (Waterworks St. Pol), it was intended for use as a bomb-proof storage facility and launch site for V-1 flying bombs. However it never went into operation due to intensive Allied bombing that made it the most heavily attacked of all the German V-weapon sites.

The Allies spotted the construction of the Siracourt bunker almost as soon as it began in September 1943, when two parallel trenches were dug and concreted to form the walls of the structure. Heavy Allied bombing hindered construction but it continued until the end of June 1944, when the site was wrecked by Tallboy bombs dropped by the Royal Air Force. By this time about 90 per cent of the concrete had been completed, apart from the end sections, but the supposedly bomb-proof structure proved unable to withstand the six-ton Tallboy. One bomb fully penetrated the roof and exploded underneath, while another caused substantial damage when it exploded next to one of the walls. The ground around the site was churned up by over 5,000 tons of bombs.^[1] By the time the site was abandoned in April 1944, the exterior had practically been completed but the excavation of the interior had only just begun.^[2]

The Siracourt bunker is still extant today and is visible from the road. It is located on private land.^[4]

June 22, 1944

234 aircraft - 119 Lancasters, 102 Halifaxes, 13 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 5 and 8 Groups to special V-weapon sites and stores. The sites at Mimoyecques and Siracourt were accurately bombed by 1 and No 4 Group forces with Pathfinder marking but the No 617 Squadron force attacking Wizernes failed to find its target because of cloud and returned without dropping its bombs. 1 Halifax lost from the Siracourt raid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siracourt_V-1_bunker

13: 23/6/44 – Oisemont Target: V-1 launch site

In order to carry out the planned V-1 "flying bomb" attacks on the United Kingdom, Germany built a number of military installations including launching sites and depots. Some of the installations were huge concrete fortifications.The Allies became aware of the sites at an early stage and carried out numerous bombing raids to destroy them before they came into use.

14: 24/6/44 – Le Grand Rossignol

Squadron Target No 53: Le Grand Rossignol - 25th June 1944

Twenty three aircraft away between 01.09 to 01.41 hours and all bombed the target between 03.06 to 03.13 hours from heights between 15,500 to 17,500 feet. Bombing was well concentrated, no opposition, but plenty of searchlights which were not effective. All 578 aircraft returned between 04.15 to 05.16 hours. This operation was very successful.

15: 27/6/44 – Mimoyecques Target: Underground Military Complex.

The Fortress of Mimoyecques is the modern name for a Second World War underground military complex built by the forces of Nazi Germany between 1943 and 1944. It was intended to house a battery of V-3 cannons aimed at London, 165 kilometres (103 mi) away. Originally codenamed Wiese ("Meadow") or Bauvorhaben 711 ("Construction Project 711"),^[ it is located in the commune of Landrethun-le-Nord in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France, near the hamlet of Mimoyecques about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Boulogne-sur-Mer. It was constructed by a mostly German workforce recruited from major engineering and mining concerns, augmented by prisoner-of-war slave labour.

16: 28/6/44 – Wizernes Target: V-2 Bunker

La Coupole (English: The Dome), also known as the Coupole d'Helfaut-Wizernes and originally codenamed Bauvorhaben 21 (Building Project 21) or Schotterwerk Nordwest (Northwest Gravel Works),^[3] is a Second World War bunker complex in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Saint-Omer, and some 14.4 kilometers (8.9 miles) south-southeast from the less developed Blockhaus d'Eperlecques V-2 launch installation in the same area. It was built by the forces of Nazi Germany between 1943 and 1944 to serve as a launch base for V-2 rockets directed against London and southern England, and is the earliest known precursor to modern underground missile silos still in existence.

Following repeated heavy bombing by Allied forces during Operation Crossbow, the Germans were unable to complete the construction works and the complex never entered service. It was captured by the Allies in September 1944, partially demolished on the orders of Winston Churchill to prevent its reuse as a military base, and then abandoned. It remained derelict until the mid-1990s. In 1997 it opened to the public for the first time, as a museum. Exhibits in the tunnels and under the dome tell the story of the German occupation of France during World War II, the V-weapons and the history of space exploration.

Conventional bombing raids only achieved a single bomb hit on the dome itself, causing negligible damage. However, in June and July 1944 the RAF began attacking the site with 12,000 pounds (5,400 kg), ground-penetrating Tallboy bombs.^[17] The external construction works were completely wrecked by the bombing and one Tallboy landed just beside the dome, blowing out the entire quarry cliff face and burying the entrances to the Gustav and Gretchen tunnels. The entrance to Sophie was also buried, leaving Ida as the only entrance to the facility. The dome was unscathed but the buttresses supporting the protective Zerschellerplatte were dislodged and slid partway down into the quarry. Serious damage was also caused to the tunnels beneath the dome. The damage made it impossible to continue work on the site. Dornberger complained: "Persistent air attack with heavy and super-heavy bombs so battered the rock all around that in the spring of 1944 landslides made further work impossible." His staff reported on 28 July 1944 that, although the dome had not been hit by the Tallboys, "the whole area around has been so churned up that it is unapproachable, and the bunker is jeopardised from underneath."

Crossbow was the code name of the World War II campaign of Anglo-American "operations against all phases of the German long-range weapons programme.^[2] It included operations against research and development of the weapons, their manufacture, transportation and their launching sites, and against missiles in flight".^[2]:7

17: 30/6/44 – Villers-Bocage* Target: traffic centre for German forces

At 20:30 hours on 30 June, Villers-Bocage was bombed again by 266 bombers (151 Lancasters, 105 Halifaxes and 10 Mosquitos from No.3, No. 4 and No. 8 Group RAF) in support of Operation Epsom, dropping 1,100 long tons (1,100 t) of bombs. Only two aircraft were lost.

18 1/7/44 – Oisemont Target: V-1 fortification

In order to carry out the planned V-1 "flying bomb" attacks on the United Kingdom, Germany built a number of military installations including launching sites and depots. Some of the installations were huge concrete fortifications.

The Allies became aware of the sites at an early stage and carried out numerous bombing raids to destroy them before they came into use.

19: 6/7/44 – Mimoyecques Target: Underground Fortress

The Fortress of Mimoyecques is the modern name for a Second World War underground military complex built by the forces of Nazi Germany between 1943 and 1944. It was intended to house a battery of V-3 cannons aimed at London, 165 kilometres (103 mi) away. Originally codenamed Wiese ("Meadow") or Bauvorhaben 711 ("Construction Project 711"),^[2] it is located in the commune of Landrethun-le-Nord in the Pas-de-Calais region of northern France, near the hamlet of Mimoyecques about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Boulogne-sur-Mer. It was constructed by a mostly German workforce recruited from major engineering and mining concerns, augmented by prisoner-of-war slave labour.

The complex consists of a network of tunnels dug under a chalk hill, linked to five inclined shafts in which 25 V-3 guns would have been installed, all targeted on London. The guns would have been able to fire ten dart-like explosive projectiles a minute – 600 rounds every hour – into the British capital, which Winston Churchill later commented would have constituted "the most devastating attack of all".^[3] The Allies knew nothing about the V-3 but identified the site as a possible launching base for V-2 ballistic missiles, based on reconnaissance photographs and fragmentary intelligence from French sources.

Mimoyecques was targeted for intensive bombardment by the Allied air forces from late 1943 onwards. Construction work was seriously disrupted, forcing the Germans to abandon work on part of the complex. The rest was partly destroyed on 6 July 1944 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, which used ground-penetrating 5,400-kilogram (11,900 lb) "Tallboy" earthquake bombs to collapse tunnels and shafts, entombing hundreds of slave workers underground.

The Germans halted construction work at Mimoyecques as the Allies advanced up the coast following the Normandy landings. It fell to the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division on 5 September 1944 without resistance, a few days after the Germans withdrew from the area.^[4]

20: 7/7/44 – Caen

Operation Charnwood was an Anglo-Canadian offensive that took place from 8 to 9 July 1944, during the Battle for Caen, part of the larger Operation Overlord (code-name for the Battle of Normandy), in the Second World War. The operation was intended to at least partially capture the German-occupied city of Caen (French pronunciation: ​[kɑ̃]), which was an important objective for the Allies during the opening stages of Overlord.

On the night of 7 July, 467 Lancaster and Halifax heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force—half of Bomber Command's strength—attacked Caen, dropping over 2,000 long tons (2,000 t) of bombs on the city.^{[nb 6]} Although intended mainly to facilitate the Anglo-Canadian advance and to prevent German reinforcements from reaching the battle or retreating through Caen, a secondary consideration was the suppression of the German defences.^[68][69] In this the bombing largely failed; the main German armour and infantry positions to the north of Caen remained intact.^[46] Several tanks were hit and temporarily disabled but only two Panzer IV of the 12th SS Panzer Division were destroyed.^[69] General Miles Dempsey, in command of the British Second Army, was more concerned with the morale-boosting effect of the bombing on his troops, than any material losses it might inflict on the Germans.^[45]

21: 12/7/44 – Ferme du Forestal Target : V-1 Site

72 Halifaxes squadrons were ordered to attack 8 V-1 launching sites at L’Hey, Anderbelck, Ouef en Ternois, Bois St. Remy, Ferfay, Fresnoy, Ferme du Forestal, and Ferme du Grand Bois. The crews were over the targets at between 12,000 and 15,000 feet, releasing 455,000 lbs of high explosives. According to reports, all attacks were accurate. These were the last attacks on the V-1 launching sites in the Pas de Calais area.

22: 14/7/44 – Les Landes Villes Target: Not Known

23: 18/7/44 – Caen Target: Airfields

The Battle for Caen from June–August 1944 was a battle of the Second World War between Allied forces of the mainly Anglo-Canadian Second Army and German forces ofPanzergruppe West during the Battle of Normandy. The Allies aimed to take Caen, one of the largest cities in Normandy on D-Day. Caen was an important Allied objective because it lay astride the Orne River and Caen Canal; these two water obstacles could strengthen a German defensive position if not crossed. Caen was a road hub and the side which held it could shift forces rapidly. The area around Caen was open, compared to the bocage country in the west of Normandy and was valuable land for airfields.

24: 20/7/44 – Bottrop Target: Factories

Bottrop is a city in west central Germany, on the Rhine-Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail center and contains factories producing coal-tar derivatives, chemicals, textiles, and machinery. Bottrop grew as a mining center beginning in the 1860s, was chartered as a city in 1921, and bombed during the Oil Campaign of World War II. In 1975 it unified with the neighbour communities of Gladbeck and Kirchhellen, but Gladbeck left it in 1976, leading to Kirchhellen becoming a district of Bottrop as Bottrop-Kirchhellen.

n March 1944 the "Plan for Completion of Combined Bomber Offensive" was put forward which found favour with the British Ministry of Economic Warfare. The plan proposed attacking "fourteen synthetic plants and thirteen refineries" of Nazi Germany. The plan estimated Axis oil production could be reduced by 50% by bombing—33% below the amount Nazi Germany needed^[19]—but also included 4 additional priorities: first oil, then fighter and ball bearing production, rubber production, and bomber output. The damage caused by the May 12 and 28^[20] trial bombings of oil targets, as well as the confirmation of the oil facilities' importance and vulnerability from Ultra intercepts and other intelligence reports, would result in the oil targets becoming the highest priority on September 3, 1944.^[21]

In June 1944, in response to Air Ministry query on resources, Bomber Command staff estimated it would take 32,000 tons of bombs to destroy 10 oil targets in the Ruhr. Harris agreed to divert spare effort to oil targets. They were deemed to be of such importance that one raid was staged that consisted only of bomb carrying fighters, to rest the bomber crews and surprise the defenders.^[22]

In late summer 1944 the Allies began using reconnaissance photo information to time bombing with the resumption of production at a facility. Even with the weather limitations: "This was the big breakthrough...a plant would be wounded...by successive attacks on its electrical grid—its nervous system—and on its gas and water mains." (author Donald Miller).^[5]:320 However, due to bad fall and winter weather, a "far greater tonnage" was expended on Transportation Plan targets than oil targets.^[23] In January 1945, the priority of oil targets was lowered.

To prevent oil supplies from Romania reaching Germany, the RAF had extended its aerial mining activities to the Danube.

25: 25/7/44 – Wanne Eickel (Returned early) Target: Wanne-Eickel, synthetic oil plant Krupp GmbH

26: 29/7/44 – Foret de Nieppe Target: V-1 Site

To supply the V-1 flying bomb launch sites in the Calais region, construction began on several storage depots in August 1943. Sites at Biennais, Oisemont Neuville-au-Bois, and Saint-Martin-l'Hortier were not completed RAF records refer to flying-bomb stores at Bois de Cassan ), Forêt de Nieppe (bombed July 24,25, 31, August 3,4, 5,6, 1944

27: 2/8/44 – L’Hey Target: V-1 Site:

28: 3/8/44 – Foret de Nieppe Target: V-1 Site

To supply the V-1 flying bomb launch sites in the Calais region, construction began on several storage depots in August 1943. Sites at Biennais, Oisemont Neuville-au-Bois, and Saint-Martin-l'Hortier were not completed.^[why?][3] RAF records refer to flying-bomb stores at Bois de Cassan ), Forêt de Nieppe (bombed July 24,25, 31, August 3,4, 5,6, 1944

29: 5/8/44 – Foret de Nieppe Target: V-1 Site

To supply the V-1 flying bomb launch sites in the Calais region, construction began on several storage depots in August 1943. Sites at Biennais, Oisemont Neuville-au-Bois, and Saint-Martin-l'Hortier were not completed.^[why?][3] RAF records refer to flying-bomb stores at Bois de Cassan ),^[13] Forêt de Nieppe (bombed July 24,25,^[13][17] 31, August 3,4,^[9][13] 5,6, 1944

30: 7/8/44 – Normandy Battle Area (Mission abandoned as instructed)

31: 9/8/44 – Bois de la Haie

32: 10/8/44 – Dijon Target: Air Force Base

The first operational Luftwaffe unit to take up residence at Dijon Air Base was IV/KG 55 "Greiff", in February 1941, consisting of three squadrons numbers equipped with 12 Heinkel bombers each. This unit took part in many bombing missions over England. In March 1943,arrived a night fighter unit, equipped with three squadrons of Messerschmitts.

33: 27/8/44 – Homberg-Heerbeck Target: Chemical Plant

August 27: The RAF restarted daylight bombing of Germany (first since 12 August 1941) with an attack on the Homberg Fischer-Tropsch cemical plant in Hamburg.^[34]:149

34: 31/8/44 – La Pourchinte (Abandoned as instructed) Target: V-2 Rockets:

121 Aircraft including 95 Halifaxes bombed storage sites Lumbres and La Pouchinte without loss.

35: 9/9/44 – Le Havre (Abandoned as instructed)

36: 10/9/44 – Le Havre Target: Infrastructure

37: 11/9/44 – Le Havre Target: Infrastructure

Operation Astonia was the codename for the Allied effort to capture the German-held Channel port of Le Havre, France, during World War II. Fought from 10–12 September 1944, its objective was to secure the fortress city's harbor facilities intact to aid the Allied supply system on the Continental Europe. However, due to extensive damage the port was not ready for use until mid October 1944.

The attack was carried out by the British 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division and the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division, aided by elements of Canadian forces and action from naval and aviation units. After a substantial softening up Royal Navy bombardment ships and heavy raids by the Royal Air Force the city fell within three days of the first infantry assault.

38: 12/9/44 – Scholven-Buer Target: Oil Plant

The Scholven Buer synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen, Germany after 27 separate bombing attack by the 8th and the RAF dropped a combined total of 12,400 tons. Multiple strikes were required not only to correct inaccurate drops but also because the Germans were able to get the refineries back in order. This was part of the Oil Campaign.

39 : 15/9/44 – Kiel Target: Infrastructure

During World War II, Kiel remained one of the major naval bases and shipbuilding centres of the German Reich. Because of its status as a naval port and as production site for submarines, Kiel was heavily bombed by the Allies during World War II. The bombing destroyed more than 80% of the remaining old town, 72% of the central residential areas, and 83% of the industrial areas.

40 23/9/44 – Neuss (Abandoned as instructed)

On the night of 23 / 24 September 1944, RAF Bomber Command aircraft attacked several targets in Nazi Germany: 549 aircraft, consisting of 378 Lancasters, 154 Halifaxes and 17 Mosquitos from Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 8 Group of RAF Bomber Command attacked this city.

41: 25/9/44 – Calais (Abandoned as instructed)

42: 26/9/44 – Calais Target: Bunkers

Operation Undergo was the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division's operation to take the fortified French port of Calais in September 1944. A subsidiary operation was executed to silence and capture the heavy batteries at Cap Gris Nez, which threatened the sea approaches to Boulogne.The operation was part of the Allied effort to capture the Channel ports, following the breakout from Normandy.The infantry attacks were preceded, on the 26 and 28 September, by heavy air raids by RAF Bomber Command. Although these probably weakened the defences as well as the defenders' will to fight, the resultant cratering of the ground impeded the use of armour, tanks becoming stuck in bomb craters.