20. Picking the Right Plane
Allied planners determined that the plane most suitable for the precision strike on the Amiens Prison was the de Havilland Mosquito. Poor weather kept delaying the mission, but on February 18th, 1944, one day before the scheduled mass executions, it was finally now or never. Despite heavy snow and fog, eighteen Mosquitoes took off from southern England and linked up with escorting Typhoon fighters over the English Channel.
Flying low, the attackers took a circuitous route until they reached the town of Albert, northeast of Amiens, then followed the long and straight Albert-Amiens road to approach the prison from that direction. The plan was for the leading Mosquitoes to bomb and breach the prison’s outer walls, followed by other Mosquitoes bombing the guard barracks and cafeteria. The raid was timed for lunchtime, to catch as many guards as possible as they sat dining.
