MINOR OPERATIONS
8 Mosquitoes to Cologne and Duisburg, 25 Wellingtons and 13 Stirlings minelaying in the Frisians, in the River Gironde and off Lorient and St-Nazaire. No aircraft lost.
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MANNHEIM/LUDWIGSHAFEN
605 aircraft - 299 Lancasters, 195 Halifaxes, 111 Stirlings. 34 aircraft - 13 Halifaxes, 13 Lancasters, 8 Stirlings - lost, 5.6 percent of the force.
The target area for this double attack was clear of cloud and the Pathfinder marking plan worked perfectly. Ground-markers were placed on the eastern side of Mannheim so that the bombing of the Main Force - approaching from the west - could move back across Mannheim and then into Ludwigshafen on the western bank of the Rhine. The creepback did not become excessive and severe destruction was caused in both targets.
Mannheim's normally detailed air-raid report does not give any specific details of property damage or casualties. It is probable that the raid was so severe that the normal report gathering and recording process broke down. The Mannheim records speak only of 'a catastrophe' and give general comments on the activities of the airraid services and the behaviour of the population which are both described as 'vorbildlich' (exemplary).
More detail is available from Ludwigshafen where the central and southern parts of the town were devastated. The fire department recorded 1,993 separate fires including 3 classed as 'fire areas' and 986 as large fires; 139 of the fires were in industrial premises. 1,080 houses, 6 military and 4 industrial buildings were destroyed and 8 more industrial buildings were seriously damaged, including the I.G. Farben works. 127 people were killed and 568 were injured; 10 of the dead were Flak troops. A further 1,605 people are described as suffering from eye injuries. The relatively small number of deaths may be an indication that many of the German cities were evacuating parts of their population after the recent firestorm disaster at Hamburg and other heavy raids.
Minor Operations: 4 Mosquitoes to DÜSSELDORF, 25 aircraft minelaying in the German Bight, near Texel and off Brest and Lorient. No aircraft lost.
