MINOR OPERATIONS
6 Mosquitoes to Scholven/Buer and 4 to Homberg, 4 Stirlings minelaying off Brest, 24 aircraft on Resistance operations, 11 Mosquitoes on flying-bomb patrols. No aircraft lost.
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FLYING-BOMB SITES
328 aircraft - 307 Halifaxes, 15 Mosquitoes, 6 Lancasters - of 4, 6 and 8 Groups to 3 launching sites. Some cloud was present but at least 2 of the attacks were assessed as accurate. No aircraft lost.
17 Lancasters, 1 Mosquito and 1 Mustang of 617 Squadron attacked a flying-bomb store in a large cave at St-Leu-d'Esserent, north of Paris, and bombed the site accurately and without loss. (Aircraft of 5 Group, with some Pathfinders, attacked St-Leu-d'Esserent immediately after the 617 Squadron attack but Bomber Command records show the 617 Squadron operation as a day raid and the later operation as a night raid.)
4 Mosquitoes carried out uneventful Ranger patrols.
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ST-LEU-D'ESSERENT
231 Lancasters and 15 Mosquitoes, mostly from 5 Group but with some Pathfinder aircraft, continued the attack on the underground flying-bomb store with 1,000-lb bombs, in order to cut all communications to the store. The bombing was accurate but 13 Lancasters were lost when German fighters engaged the force.
RAILWAYS
282 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitoes of 1, 6 and 8 Groups attacked railway yards at Orlans and Villeneuve. Both targets were accurately bombed. 14 Lancasters were lost, 11 from the Villeneuve raid and 3 from Orlans.
Minor Operations: 36 Mosquitoes to Scholven/Buer, 25 R.C.M. sorties, 61 Mosquito patrols, 6 Stirlings and 5 Halifaxes minelaying off Brest and St-Nazaire, 16 aircraft on Resistance operations, 30 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Halifax R.C.M. aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 712 sorties, 28 aircraft (3.9 percent) lost.
