LILLE
239 aircraft - 166 Halifaxes, 40 Lancasters, 22 Stirlings, 11 Mosquitoes - of 3, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 1 Lancaster lost.
A full description of this raid is available from our French researcher, Philippe Lerat, who lives near Lille. The target was the Lille-Dlivrance goods station, which was hit by 49 bombs. Much damage was caused to buildings and tracks and 2,124 of the 2,959 goods wagons in the yards were destroyed. Unfortunately for the local people, much of the attack fell outside the railway area and 456 French people were killed. More than 90 percent of these casualties were in the suburb of Lomme, where more than 5,000 houses were destroyed or damaged. M. Lerat's report continues: 'The Cit des Cheminots, the housing area in Lomme where all the railwaymen lived in pleasant but frail houses, was completely destroyed. Fortunately the full moon permitted the search for wounded. The inhabitants were very resentful towards the British at the time. My own bookseller was living near by and remembers Frenchmen and women walking as lost among the bomb holes and shouting bastards, bastards! They had lost everything. Many inhabitants of other suburbs felt they were living their last hour, such was the intensity of the bombing.'
VILLENEUVE-ST-GEORGES
225 aircraft - 166 Lancasters, 49 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitoes - of all groups. No aircraft lost.
Bomber Command claimed a successful attack on these railway yards near Paris. The local report does not contain details of damage to the railways but states that more than 400 houses were damaged or destroyed and that 93 people were killed and 167 injured.
Minor Operations: 36 Mosquitoes to Mannheim and 8 to four other targets, 16 Serrate patrols, 103 Lancasters of 1 and 5 Groups minelaying off Danzig, Gdynia and Pillau in the Baltic, 61 aircraft on Resistance operations, 9 O.T.U. sorties. 9 Lancasters from the minelaying force and 1 Serrate Mosquito were lost.
Total effort for the night: 697 sorties, 11 aircraft (1.6 percent) lost.
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TOURS
180 Lancasters of 5 Group. 1 aircraft lost. The railway yards were seriously damaged.
TERGNIER
157 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 10 Pathfinder Mosquitoes. 10 Halifaxes lost. The railway yards were seriously damaged.
LAON
148 Lancasters and 15 Mosquitoes of 3, 6 and 8 Groups. 1 Lancaster lost. The marking was not completely accurate and only a corner of the railway yards was hit.
AULNOYE
132 Lancasters of 1 Group and 15 Pathfinder Mosquitoes. 7 Lancasters lost. The attack was successful; a later examination showed that 287 bombs hit the railway yards. The local report says that many bombs fell in fields near the railway but the engine-shed was hit and 30 locomotives were put out of action. 340 houses were destroyed or damaged and 14 civilians were killed.
GHENT
122 Halifaxes of 6 Group and 10 Pathfinder Mosquitoes. No aircraft lost.
Ghent was the only target of this night to provide a report. The raid caused much damage at the Merelbeke-Melle railway yards, on the main line to Brussels, but surrounding housing areas were also hit. 428 Belgians were killed and 300 injured. 584 buildings were destroyed - including 7 schools, 2 convents and an orphanage - and 1,009 other buildings were damaged.
Minor Operations: 36 Mosquitoes to Hannover and 2 to Duisburg, 17 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of 617 Squadron to St-Cyr signals depot, 8 R.C.M. sorties, 9 Serrate patrols, 8 Stirlings minelaying off La Pallice, 46 aircraft on Resistance operations, 17 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 908 sorties, 19 aircraft (2.1 percent) lost. (25 Mosquitoes each marked two targets; only 25 sorties have been counted for these aircraft.)
