DANZIG
44 Lancasters were dispatched on another experimental raid. The plan called for the Lancasters to fly at low level and in formation over the North Sea, but then to split up and fly independently in cloud which was forecast to be present over Denmark and that part of the Baltic leading to Danzig (now Gdansk). The target was expected to be clear of cloud and the Lancasters were to bomb U-boat yards from normal bombing heights just before dusk and return to England during darkness. With a round trip of 1,500 miles, it was the most distant target Bomber Command had yet attempted to reach. It was also another attempt to utilize Lancasters in a semi-daylight role.
The plan worked well except that some of the Lancasters were late in identifying Danzig and had to bomb the general town area in the dark. 24 aircraft bombed at Danzig and returned; 2 more were shot down by Flak at the target. They were the only losses; the novel tactics and routeing prevented any German fighters making contact.
Minor Operations: 7 Hampdens flew 'roving commissions' in the Bremen area but only 1 of these dropped bombs. 6 Mosquitoes attacked a U-boat yard at Flensburg but 1 was lost, possibly crashing into the ground because of flying so low; a second aircraft struck the chimney of a house but returned safely with pieces of chimney pot in its cockpit. Both the Hampden and Mosquito operations were intended to divert German attention from the Lancasters flying to Danzig.
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41 Wellingtons and 8 Stirlings minelaying off Heligoland, in the Frisians and in the Langeland Belt. 2 Wellingtons lost.
