HAMBURG
151 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 5 Group. 4 Lancasters lost.
The target for this raid was the Deutsche Erdlwerke refinery. The attack was accurate; 20 storage tanks were destroyed and the plant was still out of action at the end of the war. Some bombs fell in the nearby Wilhelmsburg district, where 31 Germans were killed and at least 100 foreign workers died when their camp was hit.
BOCHUM
131 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups carried out an accurate attack on the benzol plant. 1 Lancaster lost.
Minor Operations: 142 Mosquitoes in 2 attacks on Berlin (with some aircraft making 2 sorties), 3 Mosquitoes to Bremen, 26 R.C.M. sorties, 56 Mosquito patrols, 7 Mosquitoes of 5 Group minelaying in Jade Bay and the River Weser. 1 Mosquito from the Berlin raid and 1 R.C.M. Fortress lost.
Total effort for the night: 536 sorties, 7 aircraft (1.3 percent) lost.
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HILDESHEIM
227 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups. 4 Lancasters lost.
The target was the railway yards; these were bombed but the surrounding built-up areas also suffered severely in what was virtually an area attack. This was the only major Bomber Command raid of the war on Hildesheim and the post-war British survey found that 263 acres, 70 percent of the town, had been destroyed. The local report states that the inner town suffered the most damage. The Cathedral, most of the churches and many historic buildings were destroyed. A total of 3,302 blocks of flats (containing more than 10,000 apartments) were destroyed or seriously damaged. 1,645 people were killed.
DLMEN
130 aircraft - 106 Halifaxes, 12 Lancasters, 12 Mosquitoes - of 4 and 8 Groups. No aircraft lost.
This was an area attack and the town was soon burning after a concentrated raid in clear weather conditions. No other details are available.
DORSTEN
124 aircraft - 100 Halifaxes, 12 Lancasters, 12 Mosquitoes - of 6 and 8 Groups. No aircraft lost.
Dorsten was a rail and canal centre and also the location of a Luftwaffe fuel dump. All these targets were believed to have been hit but the town probably suffered as well.
BOCHOLT
100 Lancasters of 3 Group carried out a G-H attack on the town area, probably with the intention of cutting communications. The town was seen to be on fire. No aircraft lost.
RAILWAY BRIDGES
102 Lancasters of 5 Group attacked bridges at Bremen (82 aircraft) and Nienburg (20 aircraft of 617 Squadron). The bridge at Nienburg was destroyed; the bombing at the Bremen bridge appeared to be accurate but no results were seen. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the day: 708 sorties, 4 aircraft (0.6 percent) lost.
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MINOR OPERATIONS
56 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 8 to Paderborn and 6 to Bochum, 39 R.C.M. sorties, 30 Mosquito patrols, 21 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes minelaying in Oslo Fjord. 2 Intruder Mosquitoes of 100 Group lost.
