ROSTOCK
106 or 109 aircraft (there are conflicting figures) of 7 different types, approximately half to the town and half to the Heinkel factory. 3 aircraft - 1 Stirling, 1 Wellington, 1 Whitley - lost. The Official History describes this raid as 'the masterpiece', with successful bombing by both parts of the force.
The 4 raids in this series resulted in the destruction of 1,765 buildings and serious damage to 513 more buildings in Rostock. Bomber Command estimated that 130 acres were destroyed, 60 percent of the main town area. Casualties were 204 people killed and 89 injured, figures which would have been much higher if large numbers of people had not fled after the first raids.
In reporting these raids, the Germans used the expression 'Terrorangriff' ('terror raid') for the first time. Goebbels remarked in his diary that, 'community life in Rostock is practically at an end'.
Minor Operations: 24 aircraft to Dunkirk, 2 Blenheim Intruders to Leeuwarden, 4 aircraft minelaying, 7 O.T.U. sorties. No losses.
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18 Bostons to Ostend and Lille; 1 Boston lost.
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COLOGNE
97 aircraft - 76 Wellingtons, 19 Stirlings, 2 Halifaxes. 6 Wellingtons and 1 Halifax lost.
Bombing conditions were favourable and this small force claimed good results. Cologne reports 9 industrial premises and 1,520 houses hit or damaged, and 19 other premises affected. 11 people were killed, 52 injured and 1,683 bombed out. A considerable number of bombs, however, fell outside the city to the east. Individual damage incidents recorded were: a technical school, a finance office, a telegraph office and 3 old churches all burnt out and 150 hectares of the Tannenwald destroyed by fire.
TRONDHEIM
31 Halifaxes and 12 Lancasters to attack the Tirpitz and other German warships in Trondheim Fjord. The Tirpitz was found and bombed but no hits were scored. 4 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster lost.
One of the lost Halifaxes was piloted by Wing Commander D. C. T. Bennett, later the commander of the Pathfinders; Bennett escaped to neutral Sweden and returned to England 5 weeks later.
Another Halifax lost on this raid, W1048 of 35 Squadron, was damaged by Flak and its pilot, Pilot Officer Donald McIntyre, crash-landed it on the frozen surface of a nearby lake. Lake Hoklingen. The crew all survived and the Halifax, a new aircraft on its first operational flight, sank gently. In 1973 this aircraft was salvaged from the bed of the lake and, after restoration by airmen at R.A.F. Wyton, was placed on public display in the R.A.F. Museum at Hendon.
Minor Operations: 12 aircraft to Dunkirk, 8 aircraft minelaying off German coasts, 3 Lancasters from 5 Group and 5 O.T.U. Wellingtons on leaflet flights. 2 Halifaxes from the Dunkirk raid, 1 Stirling and 2 O.T.U. Wellingtons were lost to make the casualties for this night 17 aircraft, 10.1 percent of the forces dispatched.
The 2 Whitleys dispatched by 58 Squadron to Dunkirk represent the last Whitley operations flown by a front-line Bomber Command squadron; their last operation to Germany had been by 5 aircraft against Rostock the previous night. O.T.U.s would continue to use small numbers of Whitleys on leaflet flights for some time.
