British Military Aviation in 1944 - Part 3

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26 April
The Victoria Cross is awarded to Sergeant N.C. Jackson, a flight engineer, for climbing onto the wing of his aircraft in order to extinguish a fire during a bombing mission on Schweinfurt in Germany. He subsequently parachuted to the ground and became a Prisoner of War. The aircraft involved was Avro Lancaster ME669 'ZN-O' of No.106 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command.

3-4 May
During preparations for the Normandy invasion (Operation Overlord), 346 Avro Lancasters and 14 de Havilland Mosquitoes of RAF Bomber Command attack the German military camp situated near the French village of Mailly-le-Camp. Although the target was accurately marked, communication difficulties led to a delay in the Main Force attack, during which the force was intercepted by Luftwaffe fighters.

Subsequently, 1,500 tons of bombs were dropped on the camp, causing considerable damage to the weapons and equipment held there and heavy casualties, 42 Lancasters - some 11.6% of the attacking force - were shot down. No French civilians were killed in the bombing, although there were a small number of casualties when one of the Lancasters shot down crashed on their house.

3-4 May
RAF Bomber Command mounts its first attack on Luftwaffe airfields within fighter range of the beaches selected for the invasion of Normandy, when 84 Avro Lancasters and 8 de Havilland Mosquitoes attacked the airfield at Montdidier, 4 Lancasters were lost.

1 June
The RAF's Balkan Air Force (BAF) is forms under command of Air Vice Marshal W. Elliot. The main focus of BAF operations was to provide support for Marshal Tito's Yugoslav partisans, particularly through attacks on communications. North American Mustang and Supermarine Spitfire squadrons of the BAF claimed 262 locomotives destroyed in its first month of operation.

6 June
D-Day for Operation Overlord. Allied ground forces begin landing in Normandy, France.

Allied air forces generated 14,674 sorties in support of the invasion, 5,656 of which were flown by the Royal Air Force. By contrast, the Luftwaffe flew approximately 100 sorties during the course of this day.

7 June
The first Allied airstrip in Normandy (B1) is completed at Asnelle, North-east of Bayeux.

8-9 June
The first 12,000 pound DP Bombs ('Tallboys') are dropped by No.617 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command, on a railway tunnel near Saumur, in an effort to block the tunnel and prevent the railway line from being used by German reinforcements en route to the invasion area. One bomb scored a direct hit, blocking the tunnel for months.

10 June
Allied aircraft begin operating from airfields built since D-Day in Normandy. Within the first 3 weeks of the Normandy Campaign, no fewer than 31 Allied squadrons had been transferred to airfields in North Western France.

12 June
The Victoria Cross is posthumously awarded to Pilot Officer A.C. Mynarski of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), a mid-upper gunner who gave his own life in an attempt to save that of a fellow crew member during a low level attack on marshalling yards at Cambrai. The aircraft involved was Avro Lancaster X KB726 of No.419 (RCAF) Squadron, RAF Bomber Command.

12-13 June
June RAF Bomber Command commences a new bombing campaign against German oil targets, when 303 aircraft (286 Avro Lancasters and 17 de Havilland Mosquitoes) attack a synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen. The attack was extremely accurate, halting oil production for several weeks. During the latter months of 1944 and early 1945, RAF Bomber Command and US 8th Army Air Force raids on oil refineries and production facilities crippled German fuel production, severely limiting the fighting ability of the German armed forces - particularly the Luftwaffe.

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