FREIBURG
341 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups. 1 Lancaster lost.
Freiburg was not an industrial town and had not been bombed before by the R.A.F. It was attacked on this night because it was a minor railway centre and because many German troops were believed to be present in the town; American and French units were advancing in the Vosges, only 35 miles to the west. The marking of the medium-sized town was based on Oboe directed from caravans situated in France. Flak defences were light and 1,900 tons of bombs were dropped on Freiburg in 25 minutes. Photographs showed that the railway targets were not hit but that the main town area was severely damaged. German reports say that 2,000 houses were destroyed and 453 seriously damaged. Casualties were 2,088 people killed, 858 missing and 4,072 injured. 75 German soldiers were also killed and 61 were injured. The high casualty rate suggests that the population were taken by surprise and had not been properly prepared for air attack. The ratio of more than 8 people dead for each heavy bomber attacking is unusually high.
NEUSS
290 aircraft - 173 Halifaxes, 102 Lancasters, 15 Mosquitoes - of 1,6 and 8 Groups. 1 Mosquito lost.
The central and eastern districts of Neuss were heavily bombed and many fires were started. A brief local report says that 145 houses and 4 industrial buildings were destroyed and 586 houses, 16 industrial buildings and 5 public buildings were seriously damaged. 41 people were killed and 44 injured, figures which suggest a high degree of air-raid preparedness in this town on the western edge of the Ruhr.
Minor Operations: 67 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 7 each to Hallendorf and Ludwigshafen and 5 to Nuremberg, 35 R.C.M. sorties, 61 Mosquito patrols, 18 Halifaxes and 12 Lancasters minelaying off Danish and Norwegian coasts. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 853 sorties, 2 aircraft (0.2 percent) lost.
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ESSEN
316 aircraft - 270 Halifaxes, 32 Lancasters, 14 Mosquitoes - of 1, 4 and 8 Groups. No aircraft lost.
Bomber Command documents claim further damage to industrial areas, including the Krupps works. Essen reports 405 houses destroyed and 673 seriously damaged, with 135 people killed and 207 injured. An interesting little item in the local fire-brigade report congratulates the team working in the burning headquarters of the local Gestapo for saving valuable documents.
NEUSS
145 Lancasters of 3 Group and 8 Lancasters of 1 Group carried out a mainly G-H attack. No aircraft lost.
The brief local report gives details of modest property damage, mainly in residential areas, and states that 65 people were killed and 43 injured.
Minor Operations: 75 Mosquitoes to Nuremberg and 9 to Hallendorf, 35 R.C.M. sorties, 35 Mosquito patrols. 1 Mosquito lost from the Nuremberg raid.
Total effort for the night: 623 sorties, 1 aircraft (0.2 percent) lost.
