HAMBURG
119 aircraft - 60 Wellingtons, 35 Hampdens, 23 Whitleys, 1 Manchester - to shipyards, Altona power-station and the general city area. 3 Wellingtons and 1 Whitley lost.
The raid was carried out in perfect visibility. 128 fires - 47 large - were started in Hamburg with the worst of the fires in the city-centre area where a large department store (Ksters), a bank and part of the Hamburg Stock Exchange were among buildings destroyed by fire. 31 people were killed, 151 injured and 837 bombed out.
BERLIN
23 aircraft, of which only 12 reported bombing targets in the city. 3 aircraft - 2 Stirlings and 1 Manchester - lost.
Minor Operations: 18 Blenheims to the Dutch coast, 6 Wellingtons to Emden, 1 Hampden minelaying in the Frisians. There were no losses. A Wellington whose pilot, Pilot Officer Ball of 103 Squadron, and his crew were flying their first operation, claimed an Me 110 and a Ju 88 shot down on the Emden raid.
---
HAMBURG
92 aircraft - 91 Wellingtons, 1 Stirling. 3 Wellingtons lost.
Good bombing was reported in clear conditions. Hamburg reports 88 fires - 26 large, 11 people killed, 44 injured and 1,096 bombed out. This series of 3 raids in 4 nights made a big impression on Hamburg. Brunswig reports that there were 3,000 separate bombing incidents causing damage resulting in claims for 100 million Reichsmarks (£10 million). It may be significant, however, that there was no mention of industrial damage in any of the reports; this shows the continuing tendency to attack general city areas rather than the industrial targets, which were often so difficult to find. The morale of Hamburg was further affected when the Battleship Bismarck, built in Hamburg, was sunk in the Atlantic on 27 May.
BREMEN
81 aircraft - 48 Whitleys, 31 Hampdens, 2 Manchesters. 1 Hampden lost.
62 aircraft claimed good bombing results. Bremen reports many bombs in the harbour area. A floating dock at A.G. Weser was sunk when hit by 2 bombs; several industrial premises in the dock area were damaged. The report goes on to stress, however, that most of the damage was in the general town area where 24 houses were destroyed, 49 seriously damaged and nearly 1,000 damaged. An office building at the Focke-Wulf factory was hit, by chance the Bremen report suggests. 8 people were killed and 31 injured.
Minor Operations: 4 Wellingtons to Dieppe, 2 Wellingtons to Rotterdam, 1 Stirling to Bordeaux. No losses.
Total effort for the night: 180 sorties, 4 aircraft (2.2 percent) lost.
