ESSEN
This was yet another major step forward, a heavy raid on the previously difficult target of Essen with leading aircraft now fitted with the Gee navigational aid.
211 aircraft - 115 Wellingtons, 37 Hampdens, 27 Stirlings, 22 Manchesters, 10 Halifaxes. 8 aircraft - 5 Wellingtons, 2 Manchesters, 1 Stirling - lost. It was a fine night but industrial haze over Essen prevented accurate bombing and the raid was a disappointment. Gee could only enable the aircraft to reach the approximate area of the target. Photographic evidence showed that the main target, the Krupps factories, was not hit but some bombs fell in the southern part of Essen.
Essen reports only a 'light' raid with a few houses and a church destroyed, 10 people killed and 19 'missing'. The most noticeable incident was the burning down of a well-known restaurant, the Blumenhof, in the Gruga Park, which was being used to house foreign workers.
Minor Operations: 13 Wellingtons and Stirlings to Le Havre, 6 Blenheims to Ostend, 6 Blenheim Intruders to Dutch airfields, 9 Hampdens minelaying in the Frisians, 3 Manchesters minelaying off Lorient, 1 Hampden on a leaflet flight to France. No losses.
Total effort for the night: 249 sorties, 8 aircraft (3.2 percent) lost.
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6 Bostons on Circus raid to Mazingarbe fuel depot. All bombed; no losses.
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ESSEN
187 aircraft - 136 Wellingtons, 21 Stirlings, 15 Hampdens, 10 Manchesters, 5 Halifaxes - to continue the series of heavy Gee-guided raids to Essen. 2 Wellingtons and 1 Halifax lost.
Thick ground haze led to scattered bombing. Only 2 buildings were destroyed in Essen but 72 were damaged. Bombs also fell in 24 other Ruhr towns with particular damage in Hamborn and Duisburg. 10 people were killed, 19 were missing and 52 were injured in Essen; 74 people were killed and 284 injured in other towns.
Minor Operations: 9 Wellingtons and Stirlings to Boulogne, 5 Hampdens minelaying in the Frisians. No losses.
