6th December 1942: Operation OYSTER. 47 Venturas, 36 Bostons and 10 Mosquitoes of RAF 2 Group took part in a low-level daylight attack on the Philips factory at Eindhoven. Though the raid caused significant damage which took months to repair, 15 aircraft, including 9 Venturas, were lost. 🧵1/5 - ThreadSky

jamiemctrusty.bsky.social • 92 days ago

6th December 1942: Operation OYSTER. 47 Venturas, 36 Bostons and 10 Mosquitoes of RAF 2 Group took part in a low-level daylight attack on the Philips factory at Eindhoven. Though the raid caused significant damage which took months to repair, 15 aircraft, including 9 Venturas, were lost.
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Comments

jamiemctrusty.bsky.social•92 days ago

Remarkable photo taken by a 21 Sqn Ventura as it cleared the target, showing clusters of 30lb incendiaries bursting over the Emmasingel lamp and valve factory. Despite efforts to minimise casualties on the ground, 135 Dutch civilians were killed during the attack.
📷©️IWM C 3268

jamiemctrusty.bsky.social•92 days ago

Venturas of 464 Squadron RAAF, which took part in OYSTER, at Feltwell in December 1942. Though on paper much more capable than the Hudson, the Ventura didn’t prove that way in RAF service and they were never popular with their crews. The type was phased out by September 1943.
📷©️IWM CH 8261
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jamiemctrusty.bsky.social•92 days ago

Mosquito B.IV of 105 Squadron after the raid. Only ten ‘Mossies’ took part in the attack, as relatively small numbers were in service. One was shot down by flak on the return flight, but it was already apparent that Mosquitoes were the best choice for such low level operations.
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jamiemctrusty.bsky.social•92 days ago

Check out this great presentation by @jamesjhistory.bsky.social on @ww2tv.bsky.social ‘s YouTube channel for a deeper dive into the attack 👇

https://www.youtube.com/live/IOpxjpStmUE?feature=shared

🧵5/5