KASSEL
547 aircraft - 223 Halifaxes, 204 Lancasters, 113 Stirlings, 7 Mosquitoes. 24 aircraft - 14 Halifaxes, 6 Stirlings, 4 Lancasters - lost, 4.4 percent of the force.
This raid did not proceed according to plan. The H2S 'blind marker' aircraft overshot the aiming point badly and the 'visual markers' could not correct this because their view of the ground was restricted by thick haze. German decoy markers may also have been present. The main weight of the attack thus fell on the western suburbs and outlying towns and villages. But, even so, large fires were started at both the Henschel and Fieseler aircraft factories, at the city's main hospital and at several other important buildings. The eastern suburb of Wolfshanger was devastated. Kassel's casualties were 118 dead - 68 civilians, 12 military and 38 foreigners - and 304 injured. Musgrove, in his excellent book Pathfinder Force, records that a large ammunition dump at Ihringshausen, just north of Wolfshanger, was hit by a chance bomb load and the resulting explosions attracted further bombs; photographs taken later showed 84 buildings at the military location destroyed and a great mass of craters. The outlying townships of Bettenhausen and Sandershausen were also severely hit but details for these places are not available.
Mosquito Operations
10 aircraft on a diversion to Hannover, 12 Oboe aircraft to Knapsack power-station near Cologne, 4 aircraft on Mark II Oboe trials to Aachen. No losses.
Minor Operations: 7 Stirlings minelaying in the Frisians, 7 O.T.U. sorties. No losses.
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FRANKFURT
406 aircraft - 162 Lancasters, 170 Halifaxes, 70 Stirlings, 4 Mosquitoes. 3 B-17s also took part. 10 aircraft - 5 Halifaxes, 3 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings - lost, 2.5 percent of the force. 1 B-17 was also lost. This was the last R.A.F. night-bombing raid in which American aircraft took part, but individual B-17s occasionally carried out bombing flights in following weeks.
Clear weather and good Pathfinder marking produced the first serious blow on Frankfurt so far in the war, with extensive destruction being caused in the eastern half of the city and in the inland docks on the River Main; both of these areas are described in the Frankfurt report as having been a 'sea of flames'. Many city-centre-type buildings are also mentioned as being hit; the new Rathaus had its roof burnt out. No overall figures are given for casualties, the only mention being a tragedy at an orphanage housed in the former Jewish hospital, where a bomb scored a direct hit on the basement shelter killing 90 children, 14 nuns and other members of the staff. In the following days, the main railway station was packed with people trying to leave Frankfurt.
LUDWIGSHAFEN
66 Lancasters of 1 and 8 Groups carried out a diversionary raid without loss but the marking and bombing were scattered.
Minor Operations: 12 Mosquitoes to Knapsack power-station, 1 Mosquito to Aachen, 5 Stirlings minelaying in the River Gironde, 8 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost.
The Mosquito attacking Aachen was carrying out the first operational trial of the G-H blind bombing equipment but the trial was not successful.
