HAMBURG
791 aircraft - 347 Lancasters, 246 Halifaxes, 125 Stirlings, 73 Wellingtons. 12 aircraft - 4 Halifaxes, 4 Lancasters, 3 Stirlings, 1 Wellington - lost, 1.5 percent of the force.
Window was used for the first time on this night. Conditions over Hamburg were clear with only a gentle wind. The marking - a mixture of H2S and visual - was a little scattered but most of the target indicators fell near enough to the centre of Hamburg for a concentrated raid to develop quickly. 728 aircraft dropped 2,284 tons of bombs in 50 minutes. Bombing photographs showed that less than half of the force bombed within 3 miles of the centre of Hamburg and a creepback 6 miles long developed. But, because Hamburg was such a large city, severe damage was caused in the central and north-western districts, particularly in Altona, Eimsbttel and Hoheluft. The Rathaus, the Nikolaikirche, the main police station, the main telephone exchange and the Hagenbeck Zoo (where 140 animals died) were among the well-known Hamburg landmarks to be hit. Approximately 1,500 people were killed. This was the greatest number of people killed so far in a raid outside the area in which Oboe could be used.
26. The women of Hamburg after a raid.
LEGHORN
33 Lancasters of 5 Group returning from North Africa bombed Leghorn docks but the target was covered by haze and bombing was scattered. No aircraft lost.
Minor Operations: 13 Mosquitoes carried out diversionary and nuisance raids to Bremen, Kiel, Lbeck and Duisburg; 6 Wellingtons laid mines in the River Elbe while the Hamburg raid was in progress and there were 7 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost.
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ESSEN
705 aircraft - 294 Lancasters, 221 Halifaxes, 104 Stirlings, 67 Wellingtons, 19 Mosquitoes. 26 aircraft - 10 Halifaxes, 7 Stirlings, 5 Lancasters, 4 Wellingtons - lost, 3.7 percent of the force. The commander of the American VIII Bomber Command, Brigadier-General Fred Anderson, observed this raid as a passenger in an 83 Squadron Lancaster.
This was an attempt to achieve a good raid on this major target while the effects of Window were still fresh. The raid was successful, with particular damage being recorded in Essen's industrial areas in the eastern half of the city. The Krupps works suffered what was probably its most damaging raid of the war. The next morning, Doktor Gustav Krupp had a stroke from which he never recovered; this saved him from being charged with war crimes after the war. 51 other industrial buildings were destroyed and 83 seriously damaged. 2,852 houses were destroyed. 500 people were killed, 12 were missing and 1,208 were injured. The 500 dead are recorded as follows: 165 civilian men, 118 women, 22 children, 22 servicemen, 131 foreign workers and 42 prisoners of war.
Minor Operations: 6 Mosquitoes to Hamburg and 3 each to Cologne and Gelsenkirchen, 17 aircraft minelaying in the Frisians, 7 O.T.U. sorties. No losses.
