. It crashed near Wilhelmshaven and its crew - F/Sgt L. W. Deeth and W.O. F. E. M. Hicks - were killed.
253 returning crews reported that they had bombed and started many fires but photographs showed that the flares of the leading aircraft, dropped by Gee, were not accurate and part of the bombing fell in open country over the Rhine to the west.
This large raid was possibly sent on a moonless night to avoid the increasing casualties being inflicted on night-bomber forces by German night fighters. It is interesting to note that bombing results were better than on many moonlit raids but the bomber casualties, at 4.1 percent, were heavier than normal. Returning crews reported that Duisburg's Flak and searchlight defences were not as fierce as in recent raids to that target because of the haze and most of the bomber losses were suffered in the coastal fighter belt.
Duisburg reports much damage in housing areas, 94 buildings being destroyed and 256 seriously damaged, with 49 people killed. What Bomber Command documents describe as 'ground sources' later stated that the Thyssen steelworks and 2 other important war industries were hit.
Minor Operations: 8 Blenheim Intruders to St-Trond, Venlo and Vechta airfields, 9 aircraft minelaying off Texel and in the Frisians, 6 aircraft on leaflet flights to France. 1 Intruder lost.
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6 Mosquitoes to individual German targets; 2 aircraft bombed at Bremen and 1 at Minden. 1 Mosquito lost.
