.
Bomber Command introduced a novel tactic on this night. The Schweinfurt force was split into two parts - 392 aircraft and 342 aircraft, separated by a 2-hour interval. Part of the German fighter force was drawn up by earlier diversions. The first wave of the Schweinfurt bombers lost 22 aircraft, 5.6 percent; the second wave lost only 11 aircraft, 3.2 percent, and it is believed that only 4 bombers from the second wave were shot down by night fighters. Total losses were 33 aircraft - 26 Lancasters, 7 Halifaxes - 4.5 percent of the force.
Both phases of the bombing suffered from undershooting by some of the Pathfinder backers-up and by many of the Main Force crews. Schweinfurt records refer to 'nominal damage' in the R.A.F. night raid and give a combined figure of 362 people killed by the American raid the previous day and by this R.A.F. raid No breakdown of this figure is available.
DIVERSION AND SUPPORT OPERATIONS
179 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep over the North Sea, 60 Halifaxes and 50 Stirlings minelaying in Kiel Bay and the Kattegat, 15 Mosquitoes to airfields in Holland, 8 Mosquitoes to Kiel and 7 to Aachen, 12 Serrate patrols. 2 Stirlings were lost from the minelaying operation and 1 Serrate Mosquito of 141 Squadron was lost, the first Serrate aircraft to be lost under Bomber Command control.
5 Wellingtons laid mines off Lorient without loss.
Total effort for the night: 1,070 sorties, 36 aircraft (3.4 percent) lost.
