KARLSRUHE
226 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitoes of 1 and 5 Groups. 2 Lancasters lost.
Bomber Command claimed a concentrated attack, with a large area of the city devastated. A short local report says that there was damage throughout Karlsruhe, mentions damage to the Schloss, the Rathaus, the Orangerie, the Stefanskirche and the Kunsthalle, but gives no statistics other than a vague estimate of 50 people killed.
Minor Operations: 50 Mosquitoes to Frankfurt and 6 to Hamburg, 26 R.C.M. sorties, 50 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.
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CALAIS AREA
341 aircraft - 222 Lancasters, 84 Halifaxes, 35 Mosquitoes - of 1, 3, 4 and 8 Groups. The target areas were covered by cloud but the Master Bomber brought the force below this to bomb visually. The attacks on the various German positions were accurate and only 1 Lancaster was lost.
BOTTROP
175 aircraft - 96 Halifaxes, 71 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitoes - of 6 and 8 Groups attacked the Ruhroel A.G. synthetic-oil plant in the Welheim suburb of Bottrop. The target was almost entirely cloud-covered and most of the bombing was aimed at Oboe sky-markers, although a few aircraft were able to bomb through small breaks in the cloud. Explosions and black smoke were seen. No aircraft lost.
STERKRADE
171 aircraft - 143 Halifaxes, 21 Lancasters, 7 Mosquitoes - of 6 and 8 Groups attempted to bomb the Sterkrade oil plant. Only 83 aircraft bombed the main target, through thick cloud; 53 aircraft bombed alternative targets, most of them aiming at the approximate position of Duisburg. No aircraft lost.
Minor Operations: 6 R.C.M. sorties, 5 Hudsons on Resistance operations, 73 Halifaxes on petrol-carrying flights. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the day: 771 sorties, 1 aircraft (0.1 percent) lost.
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KAISERSLAUTERN
217 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes of 1 and 5 Groups in the only major raid carried out by Bomber Command during the war on this medium-sized target. 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito lost.
909 tons of bombs were dropped in an accurate raid and widespread destruction was caused; the post-war British Bombing Survey Unit estimated that 36 percent of the town's built-up area was destroyed. The local report complains that the town was not a military objective but then lists the typical catalogue of small factories, public buildings, churches, etc. destroyed or seriously damaged, which larger German communities had long got used to being hit in area-bombing raids. The report concludes with the statement that 144 people, predominantly women and children died, 'der meist lebendig verbrannten Opfer' - 'victims mostly burnt alive'.
Minor Operations: 46 Mosquitoes to Kassel, 6 to Aschaffenburg and 6 to Heilbronn, 12 R.C.M. sorties, 27 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.
