COLOGNE
135 aircraft of 6 different types. 1 Manchester lost.
This can be considered the first successful Gee-led raid. Although there was no moon, the leading crews carrying flares and incendiary-bomb loads located the target and much accurate bombing followed. It was later estimated that this raid was 5 times more effective than the average of recent raids on Cologne. This estimate is confirmed by the local report. In industrial areas, the Franz Cloud rubber works was seriously damaged, resulting in complete production loss for 1 month and 80 percent loss for a further 11 months. The Land- und See-kabelwerke A.G. factory was also badly damaged and put out of action for a month, further rubber factory and a large railway-repair workshop were also hit. All these industrial premises were in the Nippes section of the city. Non-industrial premises hit or damaged included 5 churches, the Tivoli cinema and more than 1,500 houses. There were 237 separate fires.
Casualties were 62 killed and 84 injured. 46 of the dead were in blocks of flats which were collapsed by two 4,000-lb bombs, one near the city centre and one in the northern suburb of Longerich. 2 children were rescued alive after 65 hours of digging in the city-centre incident.
Minor Operations: 20 aircraft to Boulogne, 19 to Dunkirk, 2 Blenheim Intruders to France and Holland, 5 Hampdens minelaying in the Frisians, 7 Hampdens on leaflet flights to France. 2 Wellingtons were lost from the Dunkirk raid and 1 Wellington from the Boulogne raid.
---
6 Bostons on uneventful shipping sweeps off Le Havre.
---
and re-formed the same day in England to fly with 2 Group again until 2 Group left Bomber Command in May 1943. Equipped with Blenheims and Venturas and based at Watton, Bodney, Methwold and Oulton while with Bomber Command.
OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE
Raids Flown
Blenheims - 155 bombing
Venturas - 10 bombing
Total - 165 bombing raids
Sorties and Losses
Blenheims - 1,050 sorties, 29 aircraft lost (2.8 percent)
Venturas - 369 sorties, 10 aircraft lost (2.7 percent)
Total - 1,419 sorties, 39 aircraft lost (2.7 percent)
10 Blenheims were destroyed in crashes.
POINTS OF INTEREST
An operational squadron on the outbreak of war; flew photographic reconnaissance sorties over the Ruhr on
