RAILWAY TARGETS
506 aircraft - 291 Lancasters, 187 Halifaxes, 28 Mosquitoes - to bomb railway yards at Courtrai, Dieppe, Ghent, Lens and Lille. No post-raid reconnaissance was carried out at Dieppe and results of the raid there are not known. All other raids were successful, although some bombs fell on nearby civilian housing. At Ghent, 48 Belgian civilians were killed and 58 were injured but no other details are available. 12 Lancasters lost from the 5 Group raid to Lille and 1 Lancaster lost from the Dieppe raid.
Minor Operations: 29 Mosquitoes to Ludwigshafen and 2 to Chteaudun, 5 R.C.M. sorties, 9 Intruder and 3 Serrate patrols, 26 aircraft minelaying off Brest and Heligoland, 28 aircraft on Resistance operations, 10 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Halifax minelayer lost.
Total effort for the night: 618 sorties, 14 aircraft (2.3 percent) lost.
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BOURG-LOPOLD
190 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 5 Group, with 3 Mosquitoes of 8 Group, were dispatched to attack this large military camp in Belgium. Haze hampered the marking of the target and the Master Bomber ordered the raid to be abandoned, for fear of hitting the nearby civilian housing, after 94 Lancasters had bombed. 5 Lancasters lost.
BOULOGNE
135 aircraft - 80 Halifaxes, 47 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitoes - of 6 and 8 Groups. 2 Halifaxes lost.
Some bombs fell in the railway yards but the main weight of the raid missed the target and fell on nearby civilian housing. 128 civilians were killed.
HASSELT
126 Lancasters and 6 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups. The target was marked and 39 aircraft bombed, but all missed the railway yards because of thick haze and the Master Bomber ordered the bombing to stop. 5 Lancasters lost.
LOUVAIN
105 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitoes of 3 and 8 Groups attacked the railway yards but the main weight of the bombing hit the railway workshops and nearby storage buildings. 4 Lancasters lost. (See Louvain raid in next night for local details.)
TROUVILLE
53 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 6 Pathfinder Mosquitoes attacked railway yards. The bombing was accurate and a large explosion was seen. No aircraft lost.
COLLINE BEAUMONT
53 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 6 Pathfinder Mosquitoes attacked a gun position. The target proved difficult to mark and no results were established. No aircraft lost.
Minor Operations: 8 R.C.M. sorties, 6 Serrate patrols, 12 aircraft minelaying off French ports, 3 aircraft on Resistance operations. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 725 sorties, 16 aircraft (2.2 percent) lost.
