{"id":1465754,"date":"2026-06-03T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?p=1465754"},"modified":"2026-06-11T17:44:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T15:44:12","slug":"operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/","title":{"rendered":"Operation Jericho: When Mosquitoes Blew Open a Prison at Rooftop Height"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>\n  .wp-block-image figcaption { font-size: 13px !important; color: #777 !important; }\n  article h2 { font-size: 26px; line-height: 1.35; }\n  article h3 { font-size: 21px; }\n  @media(max-width:600px){ .quick-facts-grid { grid-template-columns: 1fr !important; } }\n<\/style>\n\n\n\n<p>The snow was falling hard across the flat farmland of Picardy on the morning of 18 February 1944. Inside Amiens Prison \u2014 a grim, cross-shaped building surrounded by walls six metres high and a metre thick \u2014 more than 700 men sat in their cells. Among them were dozens of members of the French Resistance, many of whom had been told they would face a German firing squad within days. At that very moment, 130 miles to the northwest, nineteen de Havilland Mosquitoes were warming their Merlin engines on airfields in southern England, preparing for one of the most audacious and controversial missions of the Second World War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:linear-gradient(135deg,#f0f4ff 0%,#e8eeff 100%);border:1px solid #c5d3f7;border-radius:12px;padding:24px 28px;margin:28px 0\">\n<h3 style=\"margin:0 0 16px;font-size:19px;color:#1a1a2e\">Quick Facts: Operation Jericho<\/h3>\n<div class=\"quick-facts-grid\" style=\"display:grid;grid-template-columns:1fr 1fr;gap:8px 24px;font-size:15px;line-height:1.7\">\n<div><strong>Date:<\/strong> 18 February 1944<\/div>\n<div><strong>Target:<\/strong> Amiens Prison, northern France<\/div>\n<div><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> 19 de Havilland Mosquito FB.VI<\/div>\n<div><strong>Escort:<\/strong> Hawker Typhoons of Nos. 174, 245 and 198 Squadrons<\/div>\n<div><strong>Squadrons:<\/strong> No. 487 (RNZAF), No. 464 (RAAF), No. 21 (RAF)<\/div>\n<div><strong>Leader:<\/strong> Group Captain P.C. Pickard DSO**, DFC<\/div>\n<div><strong>Prisoners escaped:<\/strong> 258 (of 717 held)<\/div>\n<div><strong>Resistance fighters freed:<\/strong> 79<\/div>\n<div><strong>Prisoners killed:<\/strong> 102<\/div>\n<div><strong>Bombs used:<\/strong> 500 lb with 11-second delay fuses<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Plan: Blow Open the Walls at Rooftop Height<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Operation Jericho \u2014 named after the biblical city whose walls fell to Joshua&#8217;s trumpets \u2014 was built around a deceptively simple idea: breach the prison walls with bombs, destroy the guards&#8217; quarters, and let the prisoners run for their lives into the snowy countryside where Resistance networks would be waiting to spirit them away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The attack force was drawn from 140 Wing RAF, comprising three squadrons: No. 487 Squadron (Royal New Zealand Air Force), No. 464 Squadron (Royal Australian Air Force), and No. 21 Squadron RAF. Each carried 500-pound bombs fitted with 11-second delay fuses \u2014 long enough for the aircraft to clear the blast zone, short enough to prevent the Germans from defusing them. A 19th Mosquito from the RAAF Film Production Unit would circle above, recording everything. Hawker Typhoons from Nos. 174, 245 and 198 Squadrons were assigned as fighter escort, though the snowstorm kept many from reaching the target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;It&#8217;s a death or glory show, boys. If it fails, we will have killed some of our own friends. If it succeeds, we will have saved the lives of many brave men.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Group Captain Percy Pickard DSO**, DFC<\/strong> &mdash; Commander of 140 Wing RAF, briefing before Operation Jericho<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The attack would come in three waves. The first six Mosquitoes from 487 Squadron would breach the outer walls at the eastern and northern ends. The second wave, six aircraft from 464 Squadron, would target the prison buildings and the German guards&#8217; mess hall. The third wave \u2014 six more from 21 Squadron \u2014 was held in reserve, to be called in only if the first two waves failed. Group Captain Percy Charles &#8220;Pick&#8221; Pickard, one of the most decorated bomber commanders in the RAF, would fly at the rear of the second wave to assess the damage and make the call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fKaZLR2C88E\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"padding-top:22px\">Into the Snow: The Attack<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Mosquitoes crossed the English Channel at wave-top height to avoid German radar, then descended even lower over the frozen French countryside, navigating by roads, railways, and church steeples. The snow was so heavy that navigation was extremely difficult, and the formation had to divert around unexpected weather. At approximately 12:03 pm, the first Mosquitoes screamed over the outskirts of Amiens at rooftop height \u2014 literally at the same altitude as the prison walls themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px\"><img data-opt-id=1486928795  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/operation-jericho-amiens-jail-during-raid-1944.jpg\" alt=\"Amiens Prison during Operation Jericho, February 1944\" style=\"max-width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Amiens Prison photographed from a Mosquito during the raid. The cross-shaped building layout and surrounding walls are clearly visible. Photo: RAF Film Production Unit, public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The bombing was devastating in its precision. The first wave punched two massive breaches in the outer walls. The second wave hit the guards&#8217; quarters and the main building. The 11-second delay fuses worked exactly as designed \u2014 the bombs slammed through walls and floors before detonating inside. The shock waves blew cell doors open throughout the prison. Within minutes, prisoners were pouring through the gaps in the walls and running across the snow-covered fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>The precision required was almost beyond belief: the Mosquitoes had to place their bombs with surgical accuracy at rooftop height \u2014 too high and they would miss, too low and the delayed-action bombs could bounce back and destroy the aircraft themselves.<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\">Paraphrased from <strong>Jack Fishman<\/strong> &mdash; Author of <em>And the Walls Came Tumbling Down<\/em> (1982)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px\"><img data-opt-id=677212748  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/operation-jericho-amiens-prison-walls-breached-1944.jpg\" alt=\"Amiens Prison with walls breached after Operation Jericho\" style=\"max-width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The prison walls after the Mosquito attack, showing the breaches through which 258 prisoners escaped. Photo: RAF, public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Of the 717 prisoners in Amiens that morning, 258 escaped through the breaches, including 79 Resistance members and political prisoners. But the cost was staggering: 102 prisoners were killed by the bombing itself, and 74 were wounded. Two-thirds of the escapees were eventually recaptured. Yet the 79 Resistance fighters who made it to freedom provided intelligence that damaged German operations in the crucial months before D-Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/l8uW-X-l28o\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Death of &#8220;Pick&#8221; Pickard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Group Captain Pickard \u2014 already famous as the pilot of &#8220;F for Freddie&#8221; in the 1941 propaganda film <em>Target for Tonight<\/em>, a holder of the DSO and two Bars plus the DFC \u2014 did not survive the mission. After confirming the first two waves had succeeded and signalling the reserve wave to stand down, Pickard&#8217;s Mosquito was bounced by a pair of Focke-Wulf Fw 190s from 7.\/JG 26. Feldwebel Wilhelm Mayer&#8217;s cannon fire severed the tail from Pickard&#8217;s aircraft. The Mosquito slammed into the ground near Saint-Gratien, north of Amiens, killing both Pickard and his navigator, Flight Lieutenant John Alan Broadley DSO, DFC, DFM. Pickard was 28 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They were buried with full military honours in the Saint-Pierre Cemetery in Amiens, where their graves remain to this day \u2014 a lasting reminder of the price paid for the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TDZlMRVwxEY\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Enduring Controversy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the decades since the raid, a persistent and troubling question has shadowed Operation Jericho: <em>was the raid really requested by the French Resistance, or was it an intelligence operation with a different purpose entirely?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A post-war RAF investigation revealed that French Resistance leaders had not been aware of the raid until the RAF approached them for a description of the prison layout. When Maurice Buckmaster, head of the SOE&#8217;s French section, was confronted with a letter signed by &#8220;C&#8221; (the head of MI6) thanking the RAF for the operation, he stated he had never seen it and had not requested the raid. It has never been satisfactorily established who actually ordered Operation Jericho.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #D4380D;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>Ducellier concluded that there was no mass execution planned and no British agents interned in the prison, and that the French Resistance had no prior knowledge of the raid \u2014 suggesting the real reasons for Operation Jericho may have been far more complex than the heroic narrative.<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\">Based on the research of <strong>Jean-Pierre Ducellier<\/strong> &mdash; French historian, author of <em>Amiens Raid: Secrets Revealed<\/em><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Some historians believe the raid was a cover operation \u2014 perhaps to eliminate specific prisoners who held sensitive intelligence, or to divert German attention from other clandestine activities in the run-up to D-Day. Others argue the raid was genuine but poorly coordinated through intelligence channels. Whatever the truth, the courage of the crews who flew at wall height through a snowstorm to breach a prison remains beyond question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"padding-top:22px\">Sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fishman, Jack. <em>And the Walls Came Tumbling Down<\/em>. Souvenir Press, 1982.<\/li>\n<li>Ducellier, Jean-Pierre. <em>Amiens Raid: Secrets Revealed<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>Warfare History Network. <a href=\"https:\/\/warfarehistorynetwork.com\/article\/operation-jericho-mosquito-raid-on-amiens-prison\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Operation Jericho: Mosquito Raid on Amiens Prison&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<li>The People&#8217;s Mosquito. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peoplesmosquito.org.uk\/2026\/02\/17\/operation-jericho-mosquito-attack-on-amiens-prison-18th-february-1944\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Operation Jericho \u2014 Mosquito Attack on Amiens Prison&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Operation_Jericho\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Operation Jericho \u2014 Wikipedia<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Australian War Memorial. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.awm.gov.au\/collection\/E84823\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Amiens Raid&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"padding-top:22px\">Related Posts<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The snow was falling hard across the flat farmland of Picardy on the morning of 18 February 1944. Inside Amiens Prison \u2014 a grim, cross-shaped building surrounded by walls six metres high and a metre thick \u2014 more than 700 men sat in their cells. Among them were dozens of members of the French Resistance, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":1465437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1465754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Operation Jericho: When Mosquitoes Blew Open a Prison at Rooftop Height<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On 18 February 1944, 19 Mosquitoes attacked Amiens Prison at rooftop height to free French Resistance fighters facing execution. 258 prisoners escaped \u2014 but the real story is far more complex.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Operation Jericho: When Mosquitoes Blew Open a Prison at Rooftop Height\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On 18 February 1944, 19 Mosquitoes attacked Amiens Prison at rooftop height to free French Resistance fighters facing execution. 258 prisoners escaped \u2014 but the real story is far more complex.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MiGFlug.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T18:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-11T15:44:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/mosquito-fb-vi-operation-jericho-amiens-prison-raid.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"944\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"544\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tamika Johnson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tamika Johnson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tamika Johnson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a3b0f1b2c017dca146d1474d88a7f2db\"},\"headline\":\"Operation Jericho: When Mosquitoes Blew Open a Prison at Rooftop Height\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T18:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-11T15:44:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1213,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/mosquito-fb-vi-operation-jericho-amiens-prison-raid.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"History &amp; Legends\",\"Military Aviation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/\",\"name\":\"Operation Jericho: When Mosquitoes Blew Open a Prison at Rooftop Height\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/mosquito-fb-vi-operation-jericho-amiens-prison-raid.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T18:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-11T15:44:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a3b0f1b2c017dca146d1474d88a7f2db\"},\"description\":\"On 18 February 1944, 19 Mosquitoes attacked Amiens Prison at rooftop height to free French Resistance fighters facing execution. 258 prisoners escaped \u2014 but the real story is far more complex.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/mosquito-fb-vi-operation-jericho-amiens-prison-raid.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/mosquito-fb-vi-operation-jericho-amiens-prison-raid.jpg\",\"width\":944,\"height\":544},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Operation Jericho: When Mosquitoes Blew Open a Prison at Rooftop Height\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug.com Blog\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a3b0f1b2c017dca146d1474d88a7f2db\",\"name\":\"Tamika Johnson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tamika Johnson\"},\"description\":\"Tamika finds the human story behind every headline. A political science graduate with a passion for aviation history, she writes about the people who shaped the skies \u2014 from the Night Witches to modern-day female fighter pilots. Her pieces read like narrative journalism: vivid, emotional, and impossible to put down.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/author\\\/tamikajohnson\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Operation Jericho: When Mosquitoes Blew Open a Prison at Rooftop Height","description":"On 18 February 1944, 19 Mosquitoes attacked Amiens Prison at rooftop height to free French Resistance fighters facing execution. 258 prisoners escaped \u2014 but the real story is far more complex.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Operation Jericho: When Mosquitoes Blew Open a Prison at Rooftop Height","og_description":"On 18 February 1944, 19 Mosquitoes attacked Amiens Prison at rooftop height to free French Resistance fighters facing execution. 258 prisoners escaped \u2014 but the real story is far more complex.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/","og_site_name":"MiGFlug.com Blog","article_published_time":"2026-06-03T18:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-06-11T15:44:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":944,"height":544,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/mosquito-fb-vi-operation-jericho-amiens-prison-raid.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tamika Johnson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tamika Johnson","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/"},"author":{"name":"Tamika Johnson","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/a3b0f1b2c017dca146d1474d88a7f2db"},"headline":"Operation Jericho: When Mosquitoes Blew Open a Prison at Rooftop Height","datePublished":"2026-06-03T18:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-11T15:44:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/"},"wordCount":1213,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/mosquito-fb-vi-operation-jericho-amiens-prison-raid.jpg","articleSection":["History &amp; Legends","Military Aviation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/","name":"Operation Jericho: When Mosquitoes Blew Open a Prison at Rooftop Height","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/mosquito-fb-vi-operation-jericho-amiens-prison-raid.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-03T18:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-11T15:44:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/a3b0f1b2c017dca146d1474d88a7f2db"},"description":"On 18 February 1944, 19 Mosquitoes attacked Amiens Prison at rooftop height to free French Resistance fighters facing execution. 258 prisoners escaped \u2014 but the real story is far more complex.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/mosquito-fb-vi-operation-jericho-amiens-prison-raid.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/mosquito-fb-vi-operation-jericho-amiens-prison-raid.jpg","width":944,"height":544},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/operation-jericho-when-mosquitoes-blew-open-a-prison-at-rooftop-height\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Operation Jericho: When Mosquitoes Blew Open a Prison at Rooftop Height"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","name":"MiGFlug.com Blog","description":"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/a3b0f1b2c017dca146d1474d88a7f2db","name":"Tamika Johnson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tamika Johnson"},"description":"Tamika finds the human story behind every headline. A political science graduate with a passion for aviation history, she writes about the people who shaped the skies \u2014 from the Night Witches to modern-day female fighter pilots. Her pieces read like narrative journalism: vivid, emotional, and impossible to put down.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/author\/tamikajohnson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1465754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1465754"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1465754\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1715786,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1465754\/revisions\/1715786"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1465437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1465754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1465754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1465754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}