THE THOUSAND-BOMBER RAID, COLOGNE
1,047 aircraft were dispatched, this number being made up as follows:
1 Group - 156 Wellingtons
3 Group - 134 Wellingtons, 88 Stirlings = 222 aircraft
4 Group - 131 Halifaxes, 9 Wellingtons, 7 Whitleys = 147 aircraft
5 Group - 73 Lancasters, 46 Manchesters, 34 Hampdens = 153 aircraft
91 (O.T.U.) Group - 236 Wellingtons, 21 Whitleys = 257 aircraft
92 (O.T.U.) Group - 63 Wellingtons, 45 Hampdens = 108 aircraft
Flying Training Command - 4 Wellingtons
Aircraft totals: 602 Wellingtons, 131 Halifaxes, 88 Stirlings, 79 Hampdens, 73 Lancasters, 46 Manchesters, 28 Whitleys = 1,047 aircraft
The exact number of aircraft claiming to have bombed Cologne is in doubt; the Official History says '898 aircraft bombed' but Bomber Command's Night Bombing Sheets indicate that 868 aircraft bombed the main target with 15 aircraft bombing other targets. The total tonnage of bombs was 1,455, two-thirds of this tonnage being incendiaries.
German records show that 2,500 separate fires were started, of which the local fire brigade classed 1,700 as 'large' but there was no 'sea of fire' as had been experienced at Lbeck and Rostock because Cologne was mainly a modern city with wide streets. The local records contained an impressive list of property damaged: 3,330 buildings destroyed, 2,090 seriously damaged and 7,420 lightly damaged. More than 90 percent of this damage was caused by fire rather than high-explosive bombs. Among the above total of 12,840 buildings were 2,560 industrial and commercial buildings, though many of these were small ones. However, 36 large firms suffered complete loss of production, 70 suffered 50-80 percent loss and 222 up to 50 percent. Among the buildings classed as totally destroyed were: 7 official administration buildings, 14 public buildings, 7 banks, 9 hospitals, 17 churches, 16 schools, 4 university buildings, 10 postal and railway buildings, 10 buildings of historic interest, 2 newspaper offices, 4 hotels, 2 cinemas and 6 department stores. Damage was also caused to 17 water mains, 5 gas mains, 32 main-electricity cables and 12 main-telephone routes. The only military installation mentioned is a Flak barracks. In domestic housing, the following 'dwelling units' (mainly flats/apartments) are listed: 13,010 destroyed, 6,360 seriously damaged, 22,270 lightly damaged. These details of physical damage in Cologne are a good example of the results of area bombing. Similar results can be expected in those of Bomber Command's raids which were successful during following years.
The estimates of casualties in Cologne are, unusually, quite precise. Figures quoted for deaths vary only between 469 and 486. The 469 figure comprises 411 civilians and 58 military casualties, mostly members of Flak units. This death toll was a new record for an R.A.F. raid. 5,027 people were listed as injured and 45,132 as bombed out. It was estimated that from 135,000 to 150,000 of Cologne's population of nearly 700,000 people fled the city after the raid.
The R.A.F. casualties were also a record high figure. 41 aircraft were lost, including 1 Wellington which was known to have crashed into the sea. The 41 lost aircraft were: 29 Wellingtons, 4 Manchesters, 3 Halifaxes, 2 Stirlings, 1 Hampden, 1 Lancaster, 1 Whitley. The total loss of aircraft exceeded the previous highest loss of 37 aircraft on the
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5 Mosquitoes of 105 Squadron were dispatched to take photographs of bomb damage at Cologne and drop a few more bombs there. These were Bomber Command's first Mosquito operations of the war but 1 aircraft was hit by Flak and later crashed into the North Sea; the bodies of the crew, Pilot Officers W. D. Kennard and E. R. Johnson, were washed up on the Belgian coast and buried at Antwerp.
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Carried out most bombing raids in 5 Group and in Bomber Command heavy squadrons.
Flew most Lancaster sorties in 5 Group, most overall sorties in 5 Group and third highest number of sorties in Bomber Command.
Dropped greatest tonnage of bombs in 5 Group (approximately 21,000 tons) and believed fourth greatest tonnage in Bomber Command.
51 SQUADRON
SERVICE
In 4 Group from the outbreak to the end of the war but with detachments to Coastal Command in November/December 1939 and May to October 1942. Equipped with Whitleys and Halifaxes; based at Linton-on-Ouse, Dishforth, Snaith and Leconfield.
OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE
Raids Flown
Whitleys - 221 bombing, 10 leaflet, 2 parachute dropping
Halifaxes - 255 bombing, 9 minelaying
Total - 476 bombing, 10 leaflet, 9 minelaying, 2 parachute dropping = 497 raids
Sorties and Losses
Whitleys - 1,806 sorties, 50 aircraft lost (28 percent)
Halifaxes - 4,153 sorties, 108 aircraft lost (2.6 percent)
Total - 5,959 sorties, 158 aircraft lost (2.7 percent)
POINTS OF INTEREST
An operational squadron on the outbreak of war.
Flew the first sorties over Germany when 3 Whitleys dropped leaflets over Hamburg and other places on the first night of the war.
Pioneered operational dropping of airborne forces and dropped the troops who carried out the Italian aqueduct raid in February 1941 (actually 51 Squadron crews in 78 Squadron aircraft) and the Bruneval raid on
