Picture of the day.

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Bristol Beaufighters from Nos. 144 and 254 Squadrons RAF, No. 455 Squadron RAAF and No. 489 Squadron RNZAF attacking German 'M' class minesweepers escorting a convoy off the Dutch coast, north-west of Borkum, with rocket projectiles. Thirteen aircraft can be seen in the photograph, which was taken over the tail of a Beaufighter of No. 455 Squadron after delivering its attack.

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Good lord, plenty of collision potential there. How accurate were rockets? I know they used the machine guns as a sighting tool and judging by the explosions, he nailed 'em(the MG splashes that is).

Geo

EDIT: just looking back at the photo, was it normal to swarm the targets like that, ensuring not too many enemy guns on one target.
 
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Beaus didn't use bombs on shipping strikes so the barrage balloon is almost certainly correct. If the towing ship was changing direction the cable wold go slack and then tight which would give a nose up attitude
 
They're AA balloons, and quite often went 'nose up', especially if the vessel was moving at some speed. They're clearer in a larger version of the photo I've seen. The Beaus didn't normally use bombs on anti-shipping ops - the 25lbAP rocket was preferred, sometimes with alternate aircraft carrying these, and other the 60lb SApHE, both very effective, and fairly accurate, against a large target like a ship.
 
ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) 'glamour girls' distribute cigarettes and beer to the troops in North Africa, 26 July 1942.

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