Operations of Bomber Command on the night of June 4 to 5, 1944
D-Day aerial operations
Maisy battery bombardment
259 bombers (125 Lancaster, 118 Halifax and 16 Mosquito) belonging to heavy groups 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8 were assigned to bomb four German gun batteries in France.
The objective was the complex of the Maisy battery, while the attack of three other batteries located in the Pas-de-Calais served as diversion.
Allied crews aboard 52 Lancaster of heavy group 5 attacked during the night what they thought was their target, but they largely missed their target because of heavy cloud cover, bombing instead part of the village of Maisy.
In the Pas de Calais, only one of the three batteries (located in Calais) was correctly bombed by the Halifax and Lancaster aircraft of the heavy group number 6 after the Mosquito marking, the cloud cover deceiving the bombers attacking the other two batteries.
No loss to deplore for these operations.
Other allied aircraft deployed during the night of 4 to 5 June 1944
- 20 Mosquito engaged on Cologne.6 Mosquito engaged on Argentan.
- 4 RCM (Radio Counter Measure) outputs.
- 6 Serrate patrols (radar fight against German night fighters).
- 4 Halifax and 3 Lancaster dump mines between the Scheldt and Dunkerque.
- 17 diverse units engaged in actions for the resistance and the SAS.
- No loss to deplore for these operations.
In total: 319 lossless missions.
