BERLIN
677 aircraft - 432 Lancasters, 241 Halifaxes, 4 Mosquitoes. Part of the German fighter force was drawn up by the early diversions and the bomber approach route over Northern Denmark proved too distant for some of the other German fighters. The German controller was, however, able to concentrate his fighters over the target and many aircraft were shot down there. 46 aircraft - 26 Halifaxes, 20 Lancasters - lost, 6.8 percent of the force.
The cloud over Berlin was broken and some ground-marking was possible but the Bomber Command claim that this was the most concentrated attack of this period is not quite fully confirmed by German records. The western and southern districts were hit but so too were 77 places outside the city. The Berlin recording system was now showing an increasing deterioration. No overall figure for property damage was recorded; approximately 180,000 people were bombed out on this night. Although many industrial firms were again hit, the feature of this night is the unusually high proportion of administrative and public buildings appearing in the lists of buildings hit: the new Chancellery, 4 theatres, the 'French' cathedral, 6 hospitals, 5 embassies, the State Patent Office, etc. The report concludes with this entry: 'The casualties are still not known but they are bound to be considerable. It is reported that a vast amount of wreckage must still be cleared; rescue workers are among the mountains of it.'
DIVERSION AND SUPPORT OPERATIONS
63 Stirlings and 4 Pathfinder Halifaxes carried out minelaying in Kiel Bay 5 hours before the main Berlin operation; this was the first time that Pathfinder aircraft helped a minelaying operation. 6 Mosquitoes bombed Berlin 4 hours before the main attack and 18 Mosquitoes bombed night-fighter airfields at Deelen, Leeuwarden and Venlo. 4 Mosquitoes carried out a diversionary raid to Hannover and 6 more Mosquitoes flew Serrate patrols at the same time as the main raid. 2 Stirling minelayers and 1 Serrate Mosquito were lost from these operations.
16 O.T.U. Wellingtons carried out leaflet flights to France without loss.
Total effort for the night: 794 sorties, 49 aircraft (6.2 percent) lost.
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Minor Operations
22 Mosquitoes - 12 to Duisburg and 10 to Herbouville flying-bomb site - 6 O.T.U. sorties. No losses.
