LORIENT
122 aircraft - 63 Halifaxes, 33 Wellingtons, 20 Stirlings, 6 Lancasters - in the first of 8 area attacks on this French port being used as a U-boat base. 2 Wellingtons lost. This was 6 Group's first bombing operation, with 9 Wellingtons and 6 Halifaxes being sent to Lorient. Wellington BK165 of 426 Squadron was the group's first loss; Pilot Officer George Milne and his crew - 5 Canadians and 1 Englishman - all died when the Wellington was lost in the sea.
The Pathfinder marking of the target was accurate but later bombing by the Main Force was described as 'wild'. Lorient's scanty report shows a minimum of 12 people killed in the centre of the town and 120 buildings, including 2 churches, destroyed.
Minor Operations: 41 aircraft minelaying off Lorient and Brest, 13 O.T.U. flights. 1 Wellington of 91 O.T.U. lost.
---
10 Bostons attacked a whaling factory ship at Cherbourg but scored no hits. 6 Wellingtons attempted a cloud-cover raid to Norden but only 1 aircraft bombed. No aircraft lost on this day.
---
LORIENT
157 aircraft - 65 Wellingtons, 48 Halifaxes, 40 Stirlings, 4 Lancasters. 1 Stirling and 1 Wellington lost.
Bombing was more accurate than on the previous night. At least 800 buildings were destroyed and 12 civilians killed. Most of the inhabitants had fled the town during the previous day.
Minor Operations: 2 Mosquitoes to Aachen, 9 Wellingtons minelaying off Lorient and St-Nazaire, 3 O.T.U. sorties. No losses. The 2 Mosquitoes raiding Aachen used Oboe when bombing; it can be assumed that most attacks by small numbers of Mosquitoes in and around the Ruhr area will now be Oboe raids.
---
- Lorient/Minor Operations. Page 343, last line:
91 O.T.U. should read 29 O.T.U.
