KARLSRUHE
535 aircraft - 369 Lancasters, 154 Halifaxes, 12 Mosquitoes - of 1, 6 and 8 Groups. 1 Lancaster and 1 Mosquito lost.
The marking and bombing were accurate and severe damage was caused, particularly in the southern and western districts of the city. Among individual buildings destroyed were the important Durlacher machine-tool factory, the main Protestant church and the concert hall. 375 Germans and 39 foreigners were killed.
HEILBRONN
282 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes of 5 Group. 12 Lancasters lost.
This was a crushing blow on Heilbronn which stood on a main north-south railway line but was otherwise of little importance. It was the first and only major raid by Bomber Command on this target. 1,254 tons of bombs fell in a few minutes and the post-war British Bombing Survey Unit estimated that 351 acres, 82 percent of the town's built-up area, were destroyed, mainly by fire. Much investigation by various people resulted in the reliable estimate that just over 7,000 people died. Most of these victims would have died in fires so intense that there was probably a genuine firestorm.
Minor Operations: 54 Mosquitoes to Hagen and 12 to Bielefeld and Hamm (the figure was not subdivided), 47 R.C.M. sorties, 60 Mosquito patrols. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 1,000 sorties, 14 aircraft (1.4 percent) lost.
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HAMM
94 Lancasters of 3 Group carried out a G-H raid through cloud. No aircraft lost.
The British Bombing Survey Unit estimated that 140 acres, 39 percent of Hamm's built-up area, were destroyed by this attack.
SCHWAMMENAUEL DAM
56 Lancasters of 3 Group attempted to bomb this dam on the River Roer (sometimes called the River Rur) to help the American Army, but the target was covered by cloud and only 2 aircraft bombed. No aircraft lost.
1 Hudson flew a Resistance operation.
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SOEST
497 aircraft - 385 Halifaxes, 100 Lancasters, 12 Mosquitoes - of 1, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 2 Halifaxes lost.
This was a successful raid, with the local report confirming that most of the bombing was in the northern part of the town where the railway installations were situated. Approximately 1,000 houses and 53 other buildings were completely destroyed and 198 Germans and 88 foreign workers were killed.
Minor Operations: 53 Mosquitoes to Ludwigshafen, 32 to Nuremberg and 4 to Duisburg, 36 R.C.M. sorties, 40 Mosquito patrols, 1 Stirling on a Resistance operation. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 663 sorties, 2 aircraft (0.3 percent) lost.
