MINOR OPERATIONS
32 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 8 to Venlo airfield and 9 to various Ruhr targets, 1 R.C.M. sortie, 7 Mosquito patrols, 6 Halifaxes minelaying off La Pallice. No aircraft lost.
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La Pallice
25 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of 5 Group to attack the U-boat pens found the target was cloud-covered and only 3 aircraft bombed. 1 Wellington R.C.M. sortie was flown. No aircraft lost.
Operational Statistics, 5/6 June to
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(72 days/nights)
Number of nights with operations: 66
Number of days with operations: 58
Number of night sorties: 29,264, from which 668 aircraft (2.3 percent) were lost
Number of day sorties: 17,580, from which 59 aircraft (0.3 percent) were lost
Total sorties: 46,844 from which 727 aircraft (1.6 percent) were lost
Approximate bomb tonnage in period: 125,882 tons
Averages per 24-hour period: 650.6 sorties, 10.1 aircraft lost, 1,748.4 tons of bombs dropped
The number of daylight sorties in this period exceeded the total number of Bomber Command's daylight sorties flown between September 1939 and the departure of 2 Group in May 1943 - at about one tenth the cost in aircraft casualties.
Quoted in the Official History, Vol. IV, p. 322.
Vol. IV, p. 323.
Some of the details from the 18 July report come from John Keegan's Six Armies in Normandy, Cape, 1982.
Details of the Canadian side of the bombing come from Into Action with the 12th Field by Captain T. J. Bell (published privately in Canada) and from the personal reminiscences of former Lance-Corporal George R. Carter of the 12th Canadian Field Regiment. George Carter's brother, Flying Officer Roy E. Carter of 431 Squadron, was a Bomber Command navigator whose Halifax had been shot down over Holland on the Sterkrade raid of
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STETTIN
461 Lancasters to attack the port and industrial areas. 5 Lancasters lost.
Bomber Command claimed an accurate attack, with much damage in the port and factory area. A German report states that 1,508 houses and 29 industrial premises were destroyed and 1,000 houses and 26 industrial premises badly damaged. 5 ships in the harbour (totalling 5,000 tons) were sunk and 8 ships (15,000 tons) were seriously damaged. 1,150 people were killed and 1,654 were injured; 33 of the dead and 72 of the injured were German soldiers.
KIEL
348 aircraft - 195 Lancasters, 144 Halifaxes, 9 Mosquitoes. 3 Halifaxes and 2 Lancasters lost.
This raid was only partially successful. The local report shows that serious damage was caused to the docks area and to many of the local shipbuilding firms, but it also stated that a large number of bombs fell outside the town, particularly in the Suchsdorf area to the north-west. 6 people were killed and 33 injured.
SUPPORT AND MINOR OPERATIONS
145 aircraft from training units on diversionary sweep over the North Sea, 23 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 5 to Deelen airfield and 3 each to Dortmund, Kamen and Sterkrade, 33 R.C.M. sorties, 47 Mosquito patrols, 89 aircraft minelaying in the Baltic and in Kiel Bay and 4 in the River Gironde, 24 O.T.U. sorties. 6 aircraft lost - 3 Halifaxes minelaying in Kiel Bay and 2 Lancasters off Swinemnde, and 1 O.T.U. Wellington.
Total effort for the night: 1,188 sorties, 16 aircraft (1.3 percent) lost.
