Mission 116, 14/15th December 1944
Target: Bremen,Germany.
A.A.R. prepared and submitted by F.O. Bernard Keen
Pilot of Bird of Prey
The weather was awful and we had to be extra vigilant as we rose into the dense cloud cover. Fortunately there were no close calls or incidents. The clouds broke a bit in Zone Three and we could glimpse the sea far below; stigian and vast, but we couldn't make out any of the squadron ahead or behind.
The call from Geoff Lee came to advise we had entered German air space and soon we would be approaching the target. Visibility was still virtually nil. He maintained an up-date of our progress and then we were there. The promised yellow markers just visible as a glowing of the clouds right in front of us. Jack Mills announced he had "acquired the target", but the reality was that he had only the glow to go by. Our claim is a 30% accuracy for the drop. Good considering the atrocious weather.
We met Jerry only once. He surprised us but it didn't help him. We took minor damage from his hits. We were unable to counter. He vanished and we continued our homeward flight. Then we started the descent. The clouds made everything outside black. Night flying at its worst. But then, with just hundreds of feet left we saw the strip illumination. Landing was bumpy but safely done.
We felt good about the mission.