BOURG-LOPOLD
190 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 5 Group, with 3 Mosquitoes of 8 Group, were dispatched to attack this large military camp in Belgium. Haze hampered the marking of the target and the Master Bomber ordered the raid to be abandoned, for fear of hitting the nearby civilian housing, after 94 Lancasters had bombed. 5 Lancasters lost.
BOULOGNE
135 aircraft - 80 Halifaxes, 47 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitoes - of 6 and 8 Groups. 2 Halifaxes lost.
Some bombs fell in the railway yards but the main weight of the raid missed the target and fell on nearby civilian housing. 128 civilians were killed.
HASSELT
126 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups. The target was marked and 39 aircraft bombed, but all missed the railway yards because of thick haze and the Master Bomber ordered the bombing to stop. 5 Lancasters lost.
LOUVAIN
105 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitoes of 3 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards but the main weight of the bombing hit the railway workshops and nearby storage buildings. 4 Lancasters lost. (See Louvain raid in next night for local details.)
TROUVILLE
53 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 6 Pathfinder Mosquitoes attacked railway yards. The bombing was accurate and a large explosion was seen. No aircraft lost.
COLLINE BEAUMONT
53 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 6 Pathfinder Mosquitoes attacked a gun position. The target proved difficult to mark and no results were established. No aircraft lost.
Minor Operations: 8 R.C.M. sorties, 6 Serrate patrols, 12 aircraft minelaying off French ports, 3 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 725 sorties, 16 aircraft (2.2 percent) lost.
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LOUVAIN
120 aircraft - 96 Halifaxes, 20 Lancasters, 4 Mosquitoes - of 6 and 8 Groups. 3 Halifaxes and 2 Lancasters lost.
The bombing was more accurate than on the previous night and considerable damage was caused in the railways yards. The local report, which consolidates the 2 raids, confirms that the railways were badly damaged and says that parts of the system were still being repaired 6 months later. But civilian casualties were also heavy, with 160 people being killed and 208 injured in Louvain and its suburbs of Herent and Wilsele. Building damage in Louvain included 5 blocks of the university, 8 factories, 4 convents and a church.
HASSELT
111 aircraft - 100 Halifaxes, 7 Lancasters, 4 Mosquitoes - of 4 and 8 Groups. 6 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost. Most of the attack fell in open fields and only a few bombs hit the railway yards.
SPECIAL MINELAYING OPERATION
22 Mosquitoes of 8 Group attempted to block the Kiel Canal by laying mines from low level. Intelligence sources had said that the Flak defences on part of the canal had been removed. 20 Mosquitoes laid their mines in this stretch; 1 aircraft lost.
Minor Operations: 12 Mosquitoes to Brunsbttel (as a diversion for the Kiel Canal mining operation) and 8 to Chteaudun, 10 R.C.M. sorties, 12 Serrate and 9 Intruder patrols, 43 aircraft minelaying off the French coast and in the Frisians. 8 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Intruder Mosquito lost.
Total effort for the night: 355 sorties, 14 aircraft (39 percent) lost.
