DORTMUND
361 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitoes of 1, 3, 6 and 8 Groups carried out the first large raid on this target for a year. 18 Lancasters were lost, 48 percent of the force.
The attack fell mainly in the south-eastern districts of Dortmund, mostly in residential areas. 852 houses and 6 industrial buildings were destroyed; 788 houses were seriously damaged. 335 Germans and 26 prisoners of war were killed and 1,697 people were injured.
BRUNSWICK
225 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitoes of 1 and 5 Groups. 13 Lancasters lost, 5.5 percent of the force.
This raid was a failure. The weather forecast had predicted a clear target but the marker aircraft found a complete covering of cloud. There was also interference on the Master Bomber's radio communications. The 5 Group method could not cope with these conditions and most of the bombing fell in the country areas around Brunswick. The city records show only a few bombs and there were no casualties. A reconnaissance aircraft flying through this area an hour later found it completely free of cloud.
LE MANS
133 aircraft - 112 Halifaxes, 13 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitoes - of 6 and 8 Groups again attacked the railway yards. The local report confirms that the bombing was accurate, with much damage to the railways and the nearby Gnome & Rhne factory. Only 2 French people were injured. 1 Halifax lost.
ORLANS
128 aircraft - 108 Halifaxes, 12 Lancasters, 8 Mosquitoes - of 4 and 8 Groups. 1 Halifax lost. Most of the bombs fell on the passenger station and the railway-repair workshops.
Minor Operations: 26 Mosquitoes to Ludwigshafen and 9 to Courtrai, 9 R.C.M. sorties, 21 Serrate and 8 Intruder patrols, 54 aircraft minelaying in the Frisians and off the French coast, 25 O.T.U. sorties. 1 O.T.U. Whitley was lost, probably the last Whitley to be lost on operations.
Total effort for the night: 1,023 sorties, 34 aircraft (3.3 percent) lost. The raids on Dortmund and Brunswick were the last major Bomber Command raids on German cities until after the invasion forces were firmly established in Normandy.
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MINOR OPERATIONS
46 Mosquitoes - 24 to Dortmund, 16 to Berlin and 6 to a railway junction at Lison in France, 2 R.C.M. sorties, 2 Serrate patrols, 30 aircraft minelaying off various coasts, 4 aircraft on Resistance operations, 8 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost.
