MINOR OPERATIONS
47 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 11 R.C.M. sorties, 24 Mosquito patrols, 2 Lancasters minelaying off Texel. No aircraft lost.
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LE HAVRE
218 aircraft - 105 Halifaxes, 103 Lancasters, 10 Mosquitoes - of 4, 5, 6 and 8 Groups attacked German positions outside Le Havre. The bombing was carried out accurately in conditions of good visibility but the Master Bomber ordered the final wave to cease bombing because of smoke and dust. 171 aircraft bombed; none were lost.
Two British divisions were now making an attack on Le Havre and the German garrison surrendered a few hours later, but the port was not cleared for Allied use until several weeks later because of German mining and demolitions.
SYNTHETIC-OIL PLANTS
379 aircraft - 205 Halifaxes, 154 Lancasters, 20 Mosquitoes - carried out attacks on the Castrop-Rauxel, Kamen and Gelsenkirchen (Nordstern) plants. The first 2 targets were clearly visible and were accurately bombed but the Nordstern plant was partially protected by a smoke-screen which hindered bombing and prevented observation of the results.
The 3 forces were escorted by 26 squadrons of fighters - 20 squadrons of Spitfires and 3 each of Mustangs and Tempests. No German fighters were encountered. 5 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 2 Pathfinder Lancasters were lost from the Nordstern raid and 1 Lancaster was lost from each of the other raids. These losses were caused by Flak or by 'friendly' bombs.
Minor Operations: 5 R.C.M. sorties, 19 aircraft on Resistance operations. No losses.
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DARMSTADT
226 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitoes of 5 Group. 12 Lancasters lost, 5.3 percent of the Lancaster force.
A previous 5 Group attack in August had failed to harm Darmstadt but, in clear weather conditions, the group's marking methods produced an outstandingly accurate and concentrated raid on this almost intact city of 120,000 people. A fierce fire area was created in the centre and in the districts immediately south and east of the centre. Property damage in this area was almost complete. Casualties were very heavy. The deaths of 8,433 people were actually reported to police stations. This figure was made up of: German civilians - 1,766 men, 2,742 women and 2,129 children, 936 service personnel, 492 foreign workers and 368 prisoners of war. The United States Strategic Bombing Survey, which quotes these figures, adds that the actual death figure may have been 5,000 more, because many deaths were not immediately reported by the 49,200 homeless people who were evacuated from Darmstadt, most of whom did not return until after the war, if at all. A present-day Darmstadt city guide says: '12,300 dead, 70,000 homeless.'
41. Messages about dead and bombed-out relatives on the steel door of a German air-raid shelter.
42. Mobile cookers - traditionally called Gulaschkanonen in Germany - provide emergency meals for bombed-out air-raid victims.
The Darmstadt raid, with its extensive fire destruction and its heavy casualties, was held by the Germans to be an extreme example of R.A.F. 'terror bombing' and is still a sensitive subject because of the absence of any major industries in the city. Bomber Command defended the raid by pointing out the railway communications passing through Darmstadt; the directive for the offensive against German communications had not yet been issued to Bomber Command, although advance notice of the directive may have been received. Darmstadt was simply one of Germany's medium-sized cities of lesser importance which succumbed to Bomber Command's improving area-attack techniques in the last months of the war when many of the larger cities were no longer worth bombing.
Minor Operations: 47 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 7 to Steenwijk, 13 R.C.M. sorties, 44 Mosquito patrols, 76 Halifaxes and Lancasters minelaying in the Kattegat. 3 Lancaster minelayers and 1 Mosquito lost on the Berlin raid.
