MINOR OPERATIONS
73 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 6 to Bremen, 4 to Erfurt and 3 on 'siren tours' of various German towns, 35 Lancasters to railway viaducts at Altenbeken and Bielefeld, 48 R.C.M. sorties, 23 Mosquito patrols, 19 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Mosquito from the Erfurt raid crashed in Belgium.
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ESSEN
342 aircraft - 297 Halifaxes, 27 Lancasters, 18 Mosquitoes - of 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 1 Halifax crashed in Holland.
The target area was cloud-covered and all of the bombs were dropped on sky-markers. The marking must have been extremely accurate; a German report states that 300 high-explosive and 11,000 incendiary bombs fell on the Krupps works. 155 people were killed in Essen. No other details are available.
GELSENKIRCHEN
133 Lancasters of 3 Group carried out a G-H attack on the Alma Pluto benzol plant but no results were seen. No aircraft lost.
1 Lightning flew an R.C.M. sortie.
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PFORZHEIM
367 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitoes of 1, 6 and 8 Groups and a Film Unit Lancaster carried out the first, and only, area-bombing raid of the war on this target. 10 Lancasters were lost and 2 more crashed in France.
The marking and bombing, from only 8,000 ft, were particularly accurate and damage of a most severe nature was inflicted on Pforzheim. 1,825 tons of bombs were dropped in 22 minutes. Local records show that an area measuring 3 km by 1_ km was completely engulfed by fire and that 'more than 17,000 people met their death in a hurricane of fire and explosions'. Fire Officer Brunswig from Hamburg, usually reliable, says that 17,600 people died. This was probably the third heaviest air-raid death toll in Germany during the war, following Hamburg and Dresden. The post-war British Bombing Survey Unit estimated that 83 percent of the town's built-up area was destroyed, probably the greatest proportion in one raid during the war.
Bomber Command's last Victoria Cross of the war was won on this night. The Master Bomber was Captain Edwin Swales, D.F.C., a South African serving with 582 Squadron. His Lancaster was twice attacked over the target by a German fighter. Captain Swales could not hear the evasion directions given by his gunners because he was broadcasting his own instructions to the Main Force. 2 engines and the rear turret of the Lancaster were put out of action. Captain Swales continued to control the bombing until the end of the raid and must take some credit for the accuracy of the attack. He set out on the return flight but encountered turbulent cloud and ordered his crew to bale out. This they all did successfully but Captain Swales had no opportunity to leave the aircraft and was killed when it crashed. He is buried at the Leopold War Cemetery at Limburg in Belgium.
HORTEN
73 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes carried out an accurate attack on a possible U-boat base on the Oslo Fjord. 1 Lancaster was lost.
The local report makes no mention of a U-boat base but describes very accurate bombing of the port area with a shipyard severely damaged by fire, a large warehouse which burned 'like a massive torch' and an old naval hospital, now used by the Germans as a military hospital, also on fire. A tanker was hit and a floating crane capsized. The local people came out after the raid and, from some high ground, 'looked out over the sea of fire in the place which had been Horten's main source of employment for generations'. If the wind had been from the wrong direction, much of the wooden town would have been destroyed, but there is no mention of civilian damage or casualties.
49. The blazing port area of Horten, in Norway, after being attacked by Lancasters and Mosquitoes of 5 Group on the
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608 (NORTH RIDING) SQUADRON
SERVICE
This pre-war Auxiliary Air Force squadron had flown maritime operations from England and in the Middle East from 1939 until disbanded in Italy on
