This was the 2,000th night of the war.
KAMEN
234 aircraft - 201 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 21 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitoes of 8 Group. No aircraft lost over Germany.
The synthetic-oil refinery at Bergkamen was severely damaged in this accurate raid and no further production of oil took place. 17 people died in Kamen.
DORTMUND-EMS CANAL
212 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes of 5 Group attacked the Ladbergen aqueduct, breached it in 2 places and put it completely out of action. 7 Lancasters lost.
The gunners in the 619 Squadron Lancaster of Wing Commander S. G. Birch claimed to have shot down a V-1 flying bomb near the target area; the V-1 was probably aimed at the port of Antwerp.
SUPPORT AND MINOR OPERATIONS
95 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep, 64 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 32 to Wrzburg, 61 R.C.M. sorties, 29 Mosquito patrols, 31 Lancasters minelaying in the Kattegat and in Oslo Fjord, 17 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Lancaster lost from the minelaying operation.
The Luftwaffe mounted their Operation Gisella on this night, sending approximately 200 night fighters to follow the various bomber forces to England. This move took the British defences partly by surprise and the Germans shot down 20 bombers - 8 Halifaxes of 4 Group, 2 Lancasters of 5 Group, 3 Halifaxes, 1 Fortress and 1 Mosquito of 100 Group and 3 Lancasters and 2 Halifaxes from the Heavy Conversion Units which had been taking part in the diversionary sweep. 3 of the German fighters crashed, through flying too low; the German fighter which crashed near Elvington airfield was the last Luftwaffe aircraft to crash on English soil during the war.
Total effort for the night: 785 sorties, 8 aircraft lost over Germany and the sea, 20 aircraft shot down by Intruders over England, a total casualty rate of 3.6 percent.
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WANNE-EICKEL
128 Lancasters of 3 Group carried out a G-H attack through cloud. No results were seen. No aircraft lost.
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MINOR OPERATIONS
31 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 24 to Essen and 28 in small numbers to 5 ports in Northern Germany, 6 Mosquito patrols, 12 Halifaxes minelaying off Heligoland, 16 aircraft on Resistance operations. 2 Stirlings on Resistance operations were lost.
