Two nights later on 20th-21st July both Nos. 1 and 5 Groups combined to attack the important railway centre of Courtrai with 321 bombers, the largest force used against this class of target during the campaign. In the first wave 18 of No. 463 and 14 of No. 467 joined in a very successful attack against marshalling yards. Raid accounts refer to excellent marking with sound control and a good concentration of bombs. There was some criticism of the spoof fighter flares designed to confuse the Luftwaffe. In the opinion of some crews these were too close to the actual target and in fact illuminated the fringes of the bomber stream. No. 467 lost two freshman crews but otherwise casualties were very light. An hour later 22 Lancasters of No. 460 arrived in the second wave to attack the triangle main lines junction under the direction of the master bomber, Squadron Leader Swan of No. 635. Crews were again critical of the spoof flares which seemed to aid rather than distract enemy fighters. Five bombers were lost and there were many combats reported by crews which did return. Nevertheless the 1,650 tons of bombs dropped at the two Courtrai aiming points created a scene of devastation. Reception and dispatch sidings were destroyed, the passenger station was almost gutted, and a bridge carrying five sets of tracks was demolished. An effective bottleneck had been created at a significant point in relation to the land battle.
Extract from Herington, J. (John) (406545) Air War Over Europe 1944-1945, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1963 – Page 237
Lancaster LM119 took off from RAF Waddington at 2318 hours on the night of 20/21 July 1944 to bomb railway yards at Courtrai, Belgium. Bomb load 11 x 1000 lb (pound) (450 kg) and 4 x 500 lb (225 kg) bombs. Nothing was heard from the aircraft after take off and it did not return to base. Fourteen aircraft from the Squadron took part in the raid and two of these failed to return. Post war it was established that the aircraft when homebound after the raid on Coutrai crashed at approx 0200 hours on 21 July at Kaaskerke (West-Vlaanderen)
Source: Highgate.au
LM119 Aircrews's graves (Kaaskerke cemetery (Picture: Hangar Flying)
