MINOR OPERATIONS
23 Stirlings and 11 Halifaxes from Heavy Conversion Units of 1 and 5 Groups on a diversion flight over the North Sea without loss, although no major operation took place elsewhere, 31 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 24 R.C.M. sorties, 38 Mosquito patrols, 8 Halifaxes minelaying off Heligoland and the Frisians, 16 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
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NORMANDY BATTLE AREA
942 aircraft - 667 Lancasters, 260 Halifaxes, 15 Mosquitoes - to bomb 5 fortified villages in the area east of Caen through which British Second Army troops were about to make an armoured attack, Operation Goodwood.
The raids took place at dawn in clear conditions. 4 of the targets were satisfactorily marked by Oboe and, at the target where Oboe failed, the Master Bomber, Squadron Leader E. K. Creswell, and other Pathfinder crews used visual methods. American bombers also attacked these targets and a total of 6,800 tons of bombs were dropped, of which Bomber Command dropped more than 5,000 tons. Elements of two German divisions, the 16th Luftwaffe Field Division and the 21st Panzer Division, were badly affected by the bombing, the Luftwaffe Division particularly so. Operation Goodwood made a good start. This raid was either the most useful or one of the most useful of the operations carried out by Bomber Command in direct support of the Allied armies.
The aircraft bombed from medium heights, 5,000-9,000 ft, but army artillery and naval gunfire subdued many of the Flak batteries and only 6 aircraft - 5 Halifaxes and 1 Lancaster - were shot down. No German fighters appeared; Allied air superiority over the battlefield by day was complete.
VAIRES
110 aircraft - 99 Halifaxes, 6 Lancasters, 5 Mosquitoes - of 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards but no report on the bombing results was filed. 2 Halifaxes lost.
Total effort for the day: 1,052 sorties, 8 aircraft (0.8 percent) lost.
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WESSELING
194 aircraft - 111 Halifaxes, 77 Lancasters, 6 Mosquitoes - of 1, 6 and 8 Groups to attack the synthetic-oil plant. 1 Halifax lost.
A useful German report from Wesseling shows that this was a very successful raid and a credit to the Pathfinder marking. Approximately 1,000 high-explosive bombs fell inside the area of the plant in 20 minutes. 20 percent of the installations were destroyed but, because some important buildings were particularly hard-hit, the loss of production was greater than this figure. 600 workmen were present on the night shift but they had good air-raid shelters and only 3 were killed. The nearby town was also hit and 151 houses were destroyed, many of them being in the estate for the oil-plant workers. The people here must also have been provided with good shelters because only 8 German people were killed. The local report stresses that no children of school age were among the casualties; the local school had been evacuated to Silesia a few weeks earlier. Foreign workers and prisoners of war in a nearby camp probably had poorer air-raid shelters; 22 foreign workers and 9 prisoners of war died.
SCHOLVEN/BUER
157 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups attacked the oil plant. 4 Lancasters lost.
This was also a successful raid. The local report says that 550 bombs fell in the plant area, although 233 of them did not explode. Production came to 'a complete standstill for a long period'. 5 people were killed in the plant and a further 25 died in nearby houses which were hit. One of the fatal casualties committed suicide by shooting himself during the raid and another man drowned when he fell into an emergency water tank in the darkness and confusion.
RAILWAYS
253 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes of 1, 3, 5 and 8 Groups attacked railway junctions at Aulnoye and Revigny. Both targets were hit and the railway lines to the battle front were cut. 2 Lancasters were lost on the Aulnoye raid but the 5 Group raid to Revigny was caught by German fighters and 24 Lancasters were shot down, nearly 22 percent of the Lancasters involved. 619 Squadron, from Dunholme Lodge, lost 5 of its 13 aircraft taking part in the raid.
ACQUET
62 aircraft - 51 Halifaxes, 9 Mosquitoes, 2 Lancasters - of 4 and 8 Groups bombed a flying-bomb launching site but photographs indicated that no new damage was caused. 2 Halifaxes lost.
SUPPORT AND MINOR OPERATIONS
115 aircraft - 86 Wellingtons, 19 Stirlings, 10 Halifaxes - from Heavy Conversion and Operational Training Units on a diversionary sweep over the North Sea, 22 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 6 to Cologne, 20 R.C.M. sorties, 76 Mosquito patrols, 8 Halifaxes minelaying in the Frisians, 36 aircraft on Resistance operations. 3 aircraft lost: 1 Mosquito from the Berlin raid and 2 Halifaxes from Resistance operations.
Total effort for the night: 972 sorties, 36 aircraft (3.7 percent) lost.
