Mosquito Raid Night March 30/31 1945

[Michal]

Hallo,

does somebody have information which Mosquito Squadrons were involved in Night Ranger Operation over Austria and Czechoslovakia during night from 30th to 31st March 1945? According my info it sould be 27 planes, but I don´t have any other evidence. I am interesting as well if there is some evidence how many planes, trains and cars were destroyed by Mosquitos during this night.

Thank you for reply.

Michal

[mhuxt]

Hi:

Best I can manage is a single 406 Squadron crew which claimed one aircraft damaged on the ground at Pardubice, two damaged on the ground at Chrudim.

Where does the number 27 come from? Seems like an awful lot of Mossies - not even sure if the Firebash raids put that many aircraft up at night.

Cheers,

Mark

[Michal]

Hi,

thanks for reply. My source is Jiří Rajlich: Mustangy nad Protektorátem. Praha 1997 (Mustangs over Protectorate (Böhmen und Mähren), Prague 1997) but I don´t know where author found this info. I have evidence from one police book that one train was damaged and one railwayman was wounded at 1.30 morning nearby Nymburk Railway station (Central Bohemia) by air raid. So I think it could be Mosquito. I don´t have any evidence about damaged planes on Pardubice and Chrudim Airfields (which are some 50 kilometers East of Nymburk) but I can check archive files.

What´s your source for this, please?

Once again thank you lot for answer

Best

Michal

[mhuxt]

Hi Michal:

Reference was a combat report in the AIR 50/139 file at the National Archives in Kew, in the U.K.

I haven't seen the 406 Squadron Operations Record Book, which would likely have any references to trains attacked.

The claim at Pardubice was at 0015 U.K. time, at Chrudim at 0025, so it may have been the same aircraft. I didn't get a copy of the report, so I'm afraid I can't say for sure.

Cheers,

Mark

[Michal]

Dear Mark,

thank you very much once again. I will try to find something more about this day. Do you know who were crew and S/N or Code of aircraft?

If it help you it was cargo train No. 8982 with locomotive No. 354.762. Locomotive was damaged but "possible repairerable". Railwayman Josef Zlata was wounded on neck and left arm. A roof of one house was damaged.

Best

Michal

[mhuxt]

Hi Michal:

The crew were Squadron Leader Donald Burke Freeman RCAF and Flight Lieutenant J.J. Greene RCAF. I don't have the registration number of the aircraft, however it would have been an NF. 30 version. Thanks for the train info.

Cheers,

Mark

[David Pausey]

Originally Posted by Michal

Dear Mark,

thank you very much once again. I will try to find something more about this day. Do you know who were crew and S/N or Code of aircraft?

If it help you it was cargo train No. 8982 with locomotive No. 354.762. Locomotive was damaged but "possible repairerable". Railwayman Josef Zlata was wounded on neck and left arm. A roof of one house was damaged.

Best

Michal

Hi Michal

Just found this post and thought you would be interested in what the 406 Sqn ORB has to say:-

30/31-3-45 S/L D.B.Freeman, F/L J.J.Greene in NT453.
Up 21:15. Down 04:05.
Ranger to Prague area from St. Dizier. Pilzen, Ruzyne, Krelupy, Pardubice not lit but at the latter a Fw190 was seen and damaged on the ground and two Me323's were badly damaged at Chrudim(not lit). Locomotive exploded at 02:15 at Nymburk. Three good attacks on another train at Herrnbergtheim at 02:40. Landed at Toul-Ochey. Slight cloud and haze, moonlight.

Did you find any more info ?

Regards

David

[David Pausey]

Hi Mark

Any chance of a copy of the 406 Sqn combat report ?

Regards

David

[zaphod]

Hi :-)

I've questions about "Herrnbergtheim" (since 1905 called Herrnberchtheim, Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany).

What I know is: On 31.03.1945 american low-flying planes attacked railway and railway station and of course the town (18.00 o'clock or 6.00 pm). Some boxcars were destroyed and also three farmhouses (No. 36, 38, 39) were hardly damaged.

Was this attack the described raid? Who can tell more? Do I talk about the same Herrnbergtheim? (about 60km west of Nuremberg, 30 km southeast of Wuerzburg)

THX