LAON
143 aircraft - 83 Halifaxes, 48 Stirlings, 12 Mosquitoes - of 3, 4, 6 and 8 Groups. 2 Halifaxes lost.
The weather in the target area was clear but the Master Bomber ordered the attack to be stopped after 72 aircraft had bombed. The local report states that about half of the bombs hit the railway yards but the remainder were scattered in an area up to 3 km from the target. The bombing did cut the through lines but these were repaired the following day. 83 houses around the station were hit but only 7 civilians were killed and 9 injured because most of the people who lived near the station moved to other parts of Laon at night.
Lyons
20 Lancasters of 5 Group, including 617 Squadron, bombed an aero-engine factory near Lyons without loss.
Minor Operations: 13 Mosquitoes to Dortmund and 2 to Oberhausen, 5 R.C.M. sorties, 4 Serrate patrols, 2 Stirlings minelaying off Brittany, 6 O.T.U. sorties. No losses.
---
BERLIN
811 aircraft - 577 Lancasters, 216 Halifaxes, 18 Mosquitoes. 72 aircraft - 44 Lancasters, 28 Halifaxes - lost, 8.9 percent of the force.
This night became known in Bomber Command as 'the night of the strong winds'. A powerful wind from the north carried the bombers south at every stage of the flight. Not only was this wind not forecast accurately but it was so strong that the various methods available to warn crews of wind changes during the flight failed to detect the full strength of it. The bomber stream became very scattered, particularly on the homeward flight and radar-predicted Flak batteries at many places were able to score successes. Part of the bomber force even strayed over the Ruhr defences on the return flight. It is believed that approximately 50 of the 72 aircraft lost were destroyed by Flak; most of the remainder were victims of night fighters. The Berlin report says that 14 bombers were shot down by fighters in the target area.
The strong winds caused difficulties in the marking at Berlin with, unusually, markers being carried beyond the target and well out to the south-west of the city. 126 small towns and villages outside Berlin recorded bombs and 30 people were killed in those places. The majority of the damage in Berlin was in the south-western districts. As usual, much housing was destroyed and about 20,000 people were bombed out. Approximately 150 people were killed. No industrial concerns were classed as destroyed but several important ones were damaged. 5 military establishments were badly hit including the depot of the Waffen-S.S. Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Division in Lichterfelde.
This was the last major R.A.F. raid on Berlin during the war, although the city would be bombed many times by small forces of Mosquitoes.
DIVERSION AND SUPPORT OPERATIONS
147 aircraft from training units carried out a diversionary sweep west of Paris; 27 Mosquitoes bombed night-fighter airfields and 15 Mosquitoes bombed Duisburg, Kiel and Mnster; aircraft of 100 Group flew 4 R.C.M. sorties and 10 Serrate patrols, 1 Serrate Mosquito lost.
9 aircraft dropped supplies to the Resistance without loss.
Total effort for the night: 1,023 sorties, 73 aircraft (7.1 percent) lost.
---
WESEL
195 Lancasters and 23 Mosquitoes of 5 and 8 Groups carried out the last raid on the unfortunate town of Wesel. No aircraft lost.
Wesel claims to have been the most intensively bombed town, for its size, in Germany. 97 percent of the buildings in the main town area were destroyed. The population, which had numbered nearly 25,000 on the outbreak of war, was only 1,900 in May 1945. No casualty figures or any other details of the raids are available.
SUPPORT AND MINOR OPERATIONS
78 training aircraft on a sweep across France and as far as Mannheim, 65 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 23 to Aschaffenburg, 41 R.C.M. sorties, 39 Mosquito patrols. 2 Mosquitoes lost from the Berlin raid.
---
were too numerous to be usefully indexed
Bielefeld,,,,,,,,,,, -
Bingen,, -,
Black Forest,,
Bblingen,
Bocholt,,
Bochum,,,, -,,,,, -, -,,,, -,,,, -
Bhlen,,,,,,
Boizenburg,
Bonn,, -,,,,,,,,
Borkum, -,,, -,,
Bottrop,,,,,,,,,,,
Brauweiler,,
Bremen: 1939-40:,,, -,,,,,,,. 1941: -,,,,,,, -,, -,, -,, -, -,, -,. 1942: -,,,,,,, -,,,, -,,,,. 1943-4:,,,,,,,,,, -,. 1945:, -,, -, -, -, -, -,
Bremerhaven, -,,,,,,,,
Bruckhausen,
Brunsbttel, -,
Brunswick,,,,,, -,,, -,,,, -,,,, -
Buer, see
Butzweilerhof,
Castrop-Rauxel,,,,,,,,,,,
Cham,
Chemnitz,, -,,
Cochem,
Cologne,. 1940: -,,, -,, -,,,,, -,. 1941:, -,,,,,, -,, -, -,,,, -,,, -,,,, -, -,,,. 1942:,,,,, -,,,,,,, -,. 1943:,,,,,,, -,,,, -,, -, -, -, -,, -. 1944: -,, -,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, -,, -,,, -,. 1945:, -,,
Cuxhaven,,, -
Danzig, -
Darmstadt,,,,,,, -,
Datteln,,
Dessau,,,,,,
Diepholz,
Dorsten,
Dortmund: 1940-43:,,,, -,,,,,, -,, -, -, - 1944:,,,,,,, -, -,,, -,, -, -.
1945: -,,,,,,,,,
Dortmund-Ems Canal,,, -,,,,, -,,, -,, -,,,
Dresden,, -,
Duisburg: 1940-42:,, -,,,,, -,, -,,, -,,,,,,, -,,,,. 1943:,,,,, -,,,, -,,,, -,, -,, -,,,, -, -. 1944-5: -, -,,, -,, -, -,,,,,, -, -,,,,,,
Dlmen,,
Dren,,,,,,,
DÜSSELDORF: 1940-41: -,, -,,,, -, -,,, -,,,,. 1942:, -,,,. 1943: -,,,,, -, -,, -,, -,,,, -,,, -. 1944-5:, -,,,,,,,,, -,,
Eder Dam, -
Eikenhorst,
Eisenach,,
Elberfeld, -
Elmshorn,
Emden: 1940-41:,,,,,,,, -,, -,, -, -,,,,, -,,, -,. 1942-4: -,,,,,,, -,,,, -,,,,,,,,, -.
Emmerich,,,,
Erfurt, -, -,,,,, -, -
Essen: 1940-41:,,,,,,,,,,,. 1942:, -, -,, -,,,, -,, -, -,,, -, -,,,,, -. 1943: -,,, -,, -,,, -, -,, -,,. 1944-5:,,, -,,,,,,,,,,,
Euskirchen,
Fallersleben,
Farge,
Flensburg,,,,, -,,
Frankenthal,
Frankfurt-on-Main: 1940-41:,,,,,,, -,,,,,. 1942:,, -,,,. 1943- -,,,,,, -. 1944:,, -,,,,,, -,, -. 1945:,,,,
Frankfurt-on-Oder, -
Freiburg,,,
Friedrichshafen,, -, -
Fulda,
Frth,
Gablingen,
Geldern,
Gelsenkirchen: 1941:,,,,,,,,,,,,,. I943-5:,,,, -,,,,, -,,,, -,,,,
Giessen,,
Gladbeck,
Goch,, -
Gotha, -,
Gttingen,,
Gravenhorst,,,,
Grevenbroich,,
Grossenbrode,
Hagen,, -,,,,,
Halle,,,
Hallendorf,, -,
Hamborn,,,,, -,,,,
Hamburg: 1939-40:,,, -,,, -, -,,,,,,, -,,,,. 1941:, -, -,, -,,,, -,, -,, -,, -,, -. 1942-3:,,,,,,,,,,,, -,,, -, -,,. 1944: -,,, -,,, -,,,,,, -,,,,,. 1945:,,,,,,, -,
Hamm,,, -,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Hanau,,, -, -,, -
Hangelar,
Hannover: 1940-41:,,,,,, -,,,,,,, -,,, -. 1942-3:,,,,,, -, -,, -. 1944:, -,,,,,,,, -,, -,, -,,,,,,. 1945:, -,, -,, -, -
Harburg,,,,, -
Harz Forest,
Hattingen,,
Heidelberg,
Heilbronn,,,, -,,,,,
Heimbach,
Heinsburg,
Heligoland, -,,,,
Hemmingstedt,,
Herford,, -
Herne, -
Hessler,
Hildesheim,
Hchst,
Holtenau,
Homberg,,, -,,, -,,,,,,,, -,
Hopsten,
Hrnum,
Horst,
Hls,,,,,
Ingoldstadt,
Jagel,
Jena,,,,
Jever,
Jlich,,,
Kaiserslautern,
Kamen, -,,,, -, -
Karlsruhe, -,,,,, -, -, -,,,,,,
Kassel,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, -
Kembs Dam,
Kiel: 1939-40:,, -,, -,, -,,,, -. 1941: -,,,,,,, -,,,,, -,,,. 1942-3:: 5,,,,,,,,,. 1944-5:,,, -,,,,,,,, -
Kiel Canal,,, -,,,,
Kleve,, -
Knapsack, -,,,
Koblenz,,,,,,,,, -,,,
Knigsberg,,,
Konstanz,
Kornwestheim, -
Krefeld,,,,,,, -, -, -,,,,,,,
Ladbergen,,,,
Langendreer,
Langeoog,
Lauffen,, -
Lauingen,
Lauta,
Lechfeld,
Leer,,
Leipheim,
Leipzig,,,,,, -,,,,, -,
Leuna,,,,,,
Leverkusen, -,,,,, -,,,, -,
Lichterfelde,
Limburg,
Lingen,,,,,,
Lohausen,
Lohr,
Lbeck,,,,,,,,,,,,
Ludwigshafen-on-Rhine: 1940-41:,,,,,,,,,.
1943:, -,,,. 1944:. -,,, -,,,,,,. 1945:, -,,
Lneburg,,
Lnen,
Ltzkendorf,,, -
Magdeburg,,,,,, -,, -,,, -, -, -, -
Mainz,,, -,,,,, -,,, -
Mannheim: 1940:,,, -,, -. 1941:, -,,,,,,, -, -,, -,. 1942:,,,,. 1943:,,,,,,. 1944:,, -,,,,,,,. 1945:, -,, -,, -,
Mayen,
Meiderich,,
Meimersdorf,
Merseburg,,,,,
Minden,
Misburg,,,
Mittelland Canal,,,, -
Mhne Dam, -
Molbis,
Mnchengladbach,,,,,,,,,,; see also
Monheim,
Mhlhausen,
Mlheim,,,,,
Munich,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, -
Mnster,,, -,,, -, -, -,,,,,,,,,,,,,, -,,,,
Mnster/Handorf,
Neheim-Hsten,
Neubrandenburg,
Neubrandenburg Camp,
Neumnster,
Neuss,,,,, -, -,
Neviges,
Nienburg,
Norderney,,,
Nordhausen,, -
Nordheim,
Nordholz,
Nordhorn,
Nuremberg: 1941-3: -,,,,,. 1944: -,,,,, -,. 1945:,,,,,, -, -,
Oberhausen,,, -,, -,,,,, -,
Oberursel (interrogation and transit camp),
Offenbach,
Oldenburg,,,
Opladen,
Oppau,,
Oranienburg,
Osnabrck: 1940-41:,,,,,,,,,,. 1942-43:, -,,,,,,. 1944-5:,,,,,,,,,, -,,,, -,,
Osterfeld,,,,,
Paderborn,,,,,,,, -
Pasing, -
Peenemnde,,, -,,
Pforzheim, -,, -,,,
Plauen,, -
Plitz,,,, -
Potsdam,, -
Recklinghausen,,,
Rees,
Regensburg,,
Reisholz,,
Remscheid, -,,
Rendsburg,
Rheinberg,
Rheine,,,, -,,,
Rheinfelden,
Rheinhausen,,,,,,,,
Rheydt,, -; see also
Rositz,
Rostock,,, -,,,,
Rgen,
Ruhland,
Ruhrort,
Rsselsheim,,,
Ruthen,
Saarbrcken,, -,, -,,,, -,,,, -
Saarlouis,
Salzbergen,
Salzgitter,
Sassnitz,
Schieissheim, -
Schleswig,
Schneidmhl,
Scholven (also Scholven/Buer),,,, -,, -,,,,,,,
Schwabach,
Schwammenauel Dam,
Schwandorf,
Schweinfurt,,,,,,,
Schwelm,,
Schwerte,,,,
Seigburg,
Siegen, -, -
Soest,,,,,,,,
Solingen,,,, -, -
Sorpe Dam, -,
Stade,
Stendal,
Sterkrade (also Sterkrade/Holten),,,,,,, -, -,,,,
Stettin,,, -,,, -,,,,,,,,
Stralsund,
Stuttgart: 1940-43:,,,,,,, -,, -,,,, 1944-5:,,,, -,,,,, -, -,,,
Swinemnde,,
Sylt, -,,,,
Thuringia Forest,
Travemnde,,
Trier,,,,,,
Troisdorf,
Ulm,,
Urft Dam,,
Vechta,,
Vegesack,,,,, -,,
Vlotho,,
Vohwinkel,,
Waldshut,
Wangerooge,,
Wanne-Eickel,,,,,,, -,,,,,
Warnemnde,,,
Wedel,
Weimar,,
Wesel,,,, -, -, -
Wesseling,,,,,
Westerland,,
Wiedenau,
Wiesbaden,,,, -,,,,,, -,
Wilhelmshaven: 1939-40:,, -, -,,,,, -. 1941: -,,,,,,,,,, -. 1942:, -,,,,,,,. 1943-5:,, -,,,,,,,,
Wismar,, -,,
Witten,,,,,
Wittstock,
Wolfenbttel,
Worms,,, -,
Wuppertal,,,,,,,,
Wrzburg,, -,,,
Xanten,
Zeitz,
Zweibrcken, -
Holland
Alkmaar,,
Amsterdam,,,,,,
Arnhem,
Bergen-op-Zoom,
Breda,
Breskens, -
Deelen,,
De Kooy,,,,
Den Helder, -,,,,
Eindhoven,,, -, -,,
Flushing (Vlissingen),,,,,,,,, -,, -,,,,,,, -,, -, -
Gilze-Rijen,
Haamstede,,,, -,
Haarlem,,
Hague, The,,
Hengelo,,, -,,,
Ijmuiden,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Julianadorp,
Leeuwarden,,,,,,,,,
Leyden,
Lunteren,
Lutterade,,
Maasluis,
Maastricht, -
Moerdijk,
Nijmegen,,
Poortershaven,
Roosendaal,
Rotterdam: 1940:,,,,,. 1941: -,,, -,, -, -, -,, -,, -, -,,,, -,,, -,,. 1942-4:,,,,
Schiphol, -,,,,,,,,
Sluiskil,,,,,
Soesterberg,,,,
Steenwijk, -,,,
Terneuzen,
Texel,,
Twente,
Valkenburg,,
Venlo,,,,,,,
Waalhaven,,
Walcheren Island,, -,, -,, -, -
Wassenar,
Ypenburg,
Italy
Bologna,
Cislago,
Genoa, -,,, -, -,,,
La Spezia,,,,,
Leghorn,
Milan,,, -,,,, -,
San Giovanni,
Savona,
Turin,,,,. -,,,, -, -, -,,,, -
Norway
Bergen,, -,,
Fornebu, -
Haugesund,
Herdla,
Heroya,
Horten, -
Kaa Fjord,
Kattegat,
Kjeller, -
Knaben,
Kristiansund,
Narvik,
Odda,
Oslo,,,,,,
Rye, -
Skagerrak,,
Stavanger, -,,,
Tonsberg,
Troms,,
Trondheim,,,,,
Vaags,
Other Countries
Austria
Vienna,,
Channel Islands
Le Bourg,
Czechoslovakia
Brx,
Komotau,
Pilsen,,,,,,, -,,
Prague,,
Poland
Gdynia,,,
Poznan,
Warsaw,,
United Kingdom
Birmingham,
Bristol,
Coventry,,
Felixstowe,
Harwich,
Hornchurch,
Kingsdown (radio station),
Lowestoft,
Scapa Flow,
Southampton,
Thornaby-on-Tees,
Weybridge,
York,
Luftwaffe
Units
IV/JG 2,,
III/NJG 1,
I/NJG 2,
16th Luftwaffe Field Division,
Personnel
Frster, Oberfeldwebel H.,
Hulshoff, Hauptmann K., -
Kammhuber, General J., -
Schller, Hauptmann,
Ships
British
Antelope,,
Trident,
Victorious,
German and German-controlled
Admiral Hipper,,
Admiral Scheer,,,,
Bismarck,,,,
Bremen,
Clmenceau, -
Elsa Essberger,
Emden,,
Europa,,
Gneisenau,,,,,,,,,,, -, -
Graf Zeppelin,
Gueydon,
Hamburg,
Kln,
Ltzow, -
Marieborg,
Monte Sarmiento,
Prinz Eugen, -,,,,,,
Robert Ley,
Scharnhorst,, -,,,,, -,, -, -
Schwabenland,
Tirpitz,,,,,,,,,, -, -,,
U-31,,
General
A.B.C. (Airborne Cigar),,
Abendroth, A.,,,
Admiralty,,
Air Ministry,,, -,, -, -,,,, -,,
Anderson, Brig.Gen. F. L., -, -
Bardua, H.,
B.B.C.,
Beckers, H.,
Boelck, D.,,,
British Army
British Expeditionary Force,
Second Army,,
Eighth Army,,
21st Army Group,
XXX Corps,,
15th (Scottish) Division,
51st (Highland) Division,
British Bombing Survey Unit,,,,,
Brunswig, H.,,,,,,,,,, -
Butt, D. M. (the Butt Report), -,
Canadian Army,
First Army,
3rd Division,
12th Field Regiment,
Commonwealth War Graves Commission,,; see also
Corona,
Cherwell, Viscount,
Churchill, Winston,, -,,, -, -,,
Daily Mail,
Deckers,
De Gaulle, Gen. C, -
Dimbleby, R.,
Doenitz, Grossadmiral K.,
Eisenhower, Gen. D. D.,,
FIDO (Fog Investigation Dispersal Operation),
Fleet Air Arm,,
Folz, E.,
Frankland, N.,
Freya radar stations,
Gee,, -
German Army
Afrika Korps,
Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Division,
21st Panzer Division,
G-H,,,
Goebbels, Dr Josef,,,,,,
Goering, Hermann,
Gorse, G.,
Grieg, Capt.,
Ground Position Indicator,
H2S, -
Hitler, Adolf,,,, -,,,,,
Horrocks, Lieut.-Gen. B. G.,
Jrgens, H.-J.,
Kegelman, Capt., -
Krger, N.,
Krupp, Dr G.,
Lerat, P.,
Lichtenstein,
Light Night Striking Force,
Maginot Line,
Mandrel,,
Ministry of Economic Warfare,
Montgomery, Gen. B. L.,,
Moyes, P.,
Mulzer, Dr E.,
Murrow, E.,
Naxos,
Oboe,, -,,,
Operation, code-names
Abigail Rachel,
Exodus,,
Gisella,
Goodwood, -
Hurricane, -
Manna,,
Market Garden,,
Sea Lion,,
Thunderclap,,
Pathfinder Force, see,
Quadflieg, E.,,
Razzies,
Romeike, F.,
Rommel, Gen. E.,
Roosevelt, President F. D.,,,
Runnymede Memorial to the Missing,,,,,,
Schnatz, Dr H.,,
Schrge Musik,
Serrate,,,
Speer, Albert,,,, -,
Stockton, N.,
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (S H A E F),, -
Sydney Sun,
Tame Boar, see
Thompson, Cdr, R. N.,
Tiger Force,
Tinsel,
United States Armies
First,
Third,
Ninth,
United States Eighth Air Force,,,,,,,,,,,,
VIII Bomber Command,,
15th (Light) Bomb Squadron,
422nd Bomb Squadron, -
United States Strategic Bombing Survey,,,,,
Vanbossele, J.,
V-weapons,, -,, -
Victoria Cross,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, -,,,, -, -,,, -,,,,, -,
Wallis, Barnes,,,
War Cabinet,,,, -, -
War Cemeteries
Berlin,,,,,
Durnbach,
Hamburg,
Heverlee,
Kiel,,
Lemsterland,
Limburg,
Meharicourt,
Omerville,
Reichswald,
Rheinberg,,,
Sage,,
Senantes,
Steenbergen-en-Kruisland,
Webster, Sir Charles,
Wegener, Gauleiter,
Western Air Plans,,
Wilde Sau (Wild Boar),
Window,
Wrzburg radars,
Zahme Sau (Tame Boar), -,,
to the previous edition of The Bomber Command War Diaries
