STUTTGART
121 aircraft - 69 Wellingtons, 19 Hampdens, 14 Lancasters, 12 Stirlings, 7 Halifaxes - on the first large raid on this city. 1 Stirling lost.
As on the recent Rostock raids, a proportion of the force was detailed to attack a specific factory target, on this occasion the Robert Bosch factory, which made dynamos, injection pumps and magnetos. The Ministry of Economic Warfare judged this factory to be one of the most important in Germany. But Stuttgart, which straggled along a series of deep valleys, was a notoriously difficult target to find, even in conditions of good visibility. On this night, 10/10ths cloud covered the whole area and the raid was a failure. Bombs were scattered across a wide area of Stuttgart and the surrounding countryside. 13 people were killed and 37 injured in Stuttgart but 12 of the dead were the result of one 4,000-lb bomb in the north-western suburb of Zuffenhausen. The Bosch works were not hit. A decoy site near Lauffen, 15 miles north of Stuttgart, attracted many bombs. This clever decoy was 'defended' by up to 35 searchlights and 50 Flak guns and regularly attracted bombs when targets in Southern Germany were attacked. The town of Lauffen was bombed 37 times in the war because of the decoy; Stuttgart people were not popular there.
Minor Operations: 9 aircraft to Nantes, 5 Stirlings to Pilsen, 8 aircraft minelaying off Heligoland, 6 aircraft on leaflet flights to France. 1 Stirling lost on the Pilsen raid.
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12 Bostons to Zeebrugge coke ovens and Lille power-station; only the Zeebrugge target was bombed. No Bostons lost.
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STUTTGART
77 aircraft - 49 Wellingtons, 13 Stirlings, 11 Halifaxes, 4 Lancasters - to the city and the Bosch factory. 3 Wellingtons and 1 Stirling lost.
There was no cloud but the ground was haze-covered. The Lauffen decoy again attracted much of the bombing. The nearest bombs to Stuttgart fell in woods west of the city.
Minor Operations: 19 aircraft to Nantes, 4 Blenheim Intruders to Schiphol, 10 aircraft on leaflet flights to France. No losses.
