FRANKFURT
63 aircraft - 34 Hampdens, 16 Whitleys, 13 Wellingtons. No losses.
MANNHEIM
29 Wellingtons. No losses.
Minor Operations: 19 Wellingtons and Whitleys to Dunkirk, 5 Hampdens minelaying off Brest, 5 O.T.U. sorties. No losses.
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17 Blenheims on coastal operations; ships were attacked and set on fire but 6 Blenheims were lost. 12 further Blenheims on raids to Northern France; no losses.
There was an important development on this day in the continuing bombing campaign against the three German warships - Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen - sheltering in Brest. The Scharnhorst had not been hit in any recent bombing and the Germans had moved her stealthily to La Pallice, a small port more than 200 miles further south. A large tanker covered with camouflage netting was left in the Scharnhorst's old berth at Brest. Scharnhorst was spotted by reconnaissance aircraft at La Pallice on 23 July. It was important to attack this powerful ship at once in case she was preparing for another Atlantic shipping foray. A formation of 6 Stirlings made the first attack on the evening of this day. 1 Stirling was shot down by German fighters.
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MANNHEIM
51 Wellingtons; haze obscured the target. No aircraft lost.
Mannheim reports only 17 high-explosive bombs and an unknown number of incendiary bombs, the only damage recorded being to a water main, broken glass and roof tiles in 12 houses, and crops damaged in some fields of cereals and tobacco. The only casualties recorded are 3 people killed in a village some distance from Mannheim.
FRANKFURT
33 Hampdens; visibility was poor. 1 aircraft lost.
LA PALLICE
30 Whitleys, Bomb bursts were seen in the dock area. No losses.
Minor Operations: 8 Wellingtons to Le Havre and Ostend, 1 Hampden minelaying in the Frisians, 3 O.T.U. sorties. No losses.
