HAMBURG
312 aircraft - 241 Halifaxes, 62 Lancasters, 9 Mosquitoes - of 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 1 Halifax lost.
The purpose of this raid was to hit the shipyards which were now assembling the new Type XXI U-boats, whose parts were prefabricated in many parts of inland Germany. Thanks to the Schnorkel breathing tube and a new type of battery-driven electric engine, the Type XXI could cruise under water for long periods and was capable of bursts of high speed. Its development in numbers would have posed great problems for Allied convoy defence if the war had lasted longer.
The Hamburg area was found to be cloud-covered and the bombing was not expected to be accurate enough to cause much damage to the shipyards. Brunswig (pp. 362-3 and 456) mentions only a serious fire which almost destroyed the liner Robert Ley, built in Hamburg before the war as a cruise liner for the Strength Through Joy movement, and gives statistics of 118 people killed, 172 wounded, 54 fires (38 of them large ones).
KASSEL
262 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups carried out the first large raid on Kassel since October 1943; it was also the last large R.A.F. raid on this target. 1 Mosquito lost.
This target was also covered by cloud. The only local report available is a short one which says that many fires were started in the western parts of Kassel. No casualties or other details are given.
Minor Operations: 39 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 33 to Hannover, 7 to Hagen and 5 each to Bremen and Osnabrck, 50 R.C.M. sorties, 36 Mosquito patrols, 23 Halifaxes and 14 Lancasters minelaying in the Rivers Elbe and Weser, 5 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 R.C.M. Halifax lost. The 5 Stirlings of 161 Squadron, which were carrying supplies to Resistance units at unrecorded destinations, but probably in Denmark and Norway, were the last Resistance operations flights of the war.
Total effort for the night: 805 sorties, 3 aircraft (0.4 percent) lost.
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DATTELN
159 Lancasters of 3 Group bombed the North and South plants of the Emscher Lippe benzol plant. The target area was cloud-covered and G-H was used. The bombing appeared to be accurate but no results were seen. 1 Lancaster lost.
Bielefeld Viaduct
21 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitoes of 5 Group set out to this target but the raid was abandoned because of low cloud.
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MINOR OPERATIONS
92 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 16 Mosquitoes on 'siren tours' of Bremen, Hannover, Osnabrck and Wilhelmshaven, 29 R.C.M. sorties, 12 Mosquito patrols, 21 Halifaxes minelaying in the Kattegat and off Oslo. No aircraft lost.
