DUISBURG
510 Lancasters and 22 Mosquitoes of 1, 3, 5 and 8 Groups carried out the first large raid on this target for a year. 29 Lancasters were lost, 5.5 percent of the force.
The target was covered by cloud but the Oboe sky-marking was accurate and much damage was caused in the southern areas of the city. 350 buildings were destroyed and 665 seriously damaged but no other details of material damage are available. 124 people were killed.
MINELAYING
70 Lancasters and 37 Halifaxes to the Frisians, Heligoland, the Kattegat and Kiel Bay. 3 Lancasters lost.
Minor Operations: 25 Mosquitoes to Hannover and 8 to Courtrai, 9 R.C.M. sorties, 28 Serrate and 7 Intruder patrols. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 716 sorties, 32 aircraft (4.5 percent) lost.
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DORTMUND
361 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitoes of 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups carried out the first large raid on this target for a year. 18 Lancasters were lost, 48 percent of the force.
The attack fell mainly in the south-eastern districts of Dortmund, mostly in residential areas. 852 houses and 6 industrial buildings were destroyed; 788 houses were seriously damaged. 335 Germans and 26 prisoners of war were killed and 1,697 people were injured.
BRUNSWICK
225 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes of 1 and 5 Groups. 13 Lancasters lost, 5.5 percent of the force.
This raid was a failure. The weather forecast had predicted a clear target but the marker aircraft found a complete covering of cloud. There was also interference on the Master Bomber's radio communications. The 5 Group method could not cope with these conditions and most of the bombing fell in the country areas around Brunswick. The city records show only a few bombs and there were no casualties. A reconnaissance aircraft flying through this area an hour later found it completely free of cloud.
LE MANS
133 aircraft - 112 Halifaxes, 13 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitoes - of 6 and 8 Groups again attacked the railway yards. The local report confirms that the bombing was accurate, with much damage to the railways and the nearby Gnome & Rhne factory. Only 2 French people were injured. 1 Halifax lost.
ORLANS
128 aircraft - 108 Halifaxes, 12 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitoes - of 4 and 8 Groups. 1 Halifax lost. Most of the bombs fell on the passenger station and the railway-repair workshops.
Minor Operations: 26 Mosquitoes to Ludwigshafen and 9 to Courtrai, 9 R.C.M. sorties, 21 Serrate and 8 Intruder patrols, 54 aircraft minelaying in the Frisians and off the French coast, 25 O.T.U. sorties. 1 O.T.U. Whitley was lost, probably the last Whitley to be lost on operations.
Total effort for the night: 1,023 sorties, 34 aircraft (3.3 percent) lost. The raids on Dortmund and Brunswick were the last major Bomber Command raids on German cities until after the invasion forces were firmly established in Normandy.
