On 5 days during this period, 2 Bomber Command Oboe Mosquitoes acted as 'formation leaders' for bomber units of the Second Tactical Air Force attacking flying-bomb sites. The formation bombed as soon as it saw the bombs of the Oboe Mosquito being released. There were no losses from the 10 Bomber Command sorties flown in this period.
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STUTTGART
863 aircraft - 617 Lancasters, 230 Halifaxes, 16 Mosquitoes. The German fighter controller split his forces into 2 parts. The bomber force flew over France nearly as far as the Swiss frontier before turning north-east to approach Stuttgart. This delayed the German fighters contacting the bomber stream but, when the German fighters did arrive, just before Stuttgart was reached, the usual fierce combats ensued. 37 aircraft - 27 Lancasters, 10 Halifaxes - were lost, 4.3 percent of the force. 2 of the Lancasters force-landed in Switzerland.
Adverse winds delayed the opening of the attack and the same winds may have been the cause of the Pathfinder marking falling back well short of the target, despite the clear weather conditions. Some of the early bombing fell in the centre of Stuttgart but most of it fell in open country south-west of the city. The Akademie was damaged in the centre of Stuttgart and some housing was destroyed in the south-western suburbs. 88 people were killed and 203 injured.
AMIENS
140 aircraft - 94 Halifaxes, 38 Stirlings, 8 Mosquitoes. 2 Halifaxes and 1 Stirling lost. The Bomber Command report claims much damage to the railway yards but few details are available from Amiens, where 18 French civilians were killed.
WOIPPY
22 Lancasters of 5 Group to an aero-engine factory at Woippy, near Metz. 10/10ths cloud caused the attack to be abandoned before any bombs were dropped. No aircraft lost.
SUPPORT AND MINOR OPERATIONS
17 Mosquitoes to 5 German targets and 10 Mosquitoes to airfields in Holland, 2 R.C.M. sorties, 11 Serrate patrols, 2 Stirlings minelaying off Texel, 31 aircraft on Resistance operations, 18 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Serrate Mosquito lost.
Total effort for the night: 1,116 sorties, 41 aircraft (3.7 percent) lost. The number of sorties flown on this night was a new record.
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AMIENS
130 aircraft - 81 Halifaxes, 41 Stirlings, 8 Mosquitoes. No aircraft lost. The Bomber Command report again reported sucessful bombing. Amiens suffered 18 civilians killed and at least 14 injured.
Clermont-Ferrand
21 Lancasters of 5 Group, mostly from 617 Squadron, carried out a successful precision attack on the Michelin tyre factory. No aircraft lost.
Minor Operations: 8 Mosquitoes to Cologne and 1 to Duisburg (only Cologne was bombed), 2 R.C.M. sorties, 2 Serrate patrols, 3 Stirlings minelaying off the Dutch coast. No losses.
