SAARBRCKEN
531 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitoes of 1, 3 and 8 Groups on the first major R.A.F. raid to this target since September 1942. 3 Lancasters lost.
The raid was made at the request of the American Third Army which was advancing in this direction; the intention was to cut the railways and block supply routes generally through the town. The bombing was accurate and severe damage was caused in the main town area north of the River Saar, the area through which the main railway lines ran. Damage was particularly severe in the Altstadt and Malstatt districts. 5,882 houses were destroyed and 1,141 were seriously damaged. 344 people were killed, a figure which suggests that much of the population may have been evacuated from this town, which was situated right on the Siegfried Line.
Minor Operations: 20 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 26 to 5 other German targets, 36 R.C.M. sorties, 47 Mosquito patrols, 10 Halifaxes minelaying off Heligoland and 9 Mosquitoes of 8 Group minelaying in the Kiel Canal. No aircraft lost.
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SYNTHETIC-OIL PLANTS
320 aircraft - 254 Halifaxes of 4 Group and 46 Lancasters and 20 Mosquitoes of 8 Group - attacked the plants at Sterkrade and Scholven/Buer. Both raids took place in clear conditions and the bombing was considered to be accurate. 9 aircraft were lost - 4 Halifaxes and 2 Lancasters at Scholven and 3 Halifaxes at Sterkrade.
4 Liberators and 3 Wellingtons flew signals investigation patrols without loss.
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DORTMUND
523 aircraft - 248 Halifaxes, 247 Lancasters, 28 Mosquitoes - of 3, 6 and 8 Groups. 6 Group provided 293 aircraft - 248 Halifaxes and 45 Lancasters, the greatest effort by the Canadian group in the war. This raid opened a phase which some works refer to as 'The Second Battle of the Ruhr'. 5 aircraft - 2 Halifaxes (of 6 Group), 2 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito - lost, less than 1 percent of the force raiding this Ruhr target on a clear night.
The Pathfinder marking and the bombing were both accurate and severe damage was caused, particularly to the industrial and transportation areas of the city, although residential areas also suffered badly. Civilian casualties were 191 dead, 38 missing and 418 injured.
BREMEN
246 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitoes of 1 and 5 Groups carried out the last of 32 major Bomber Command raids on this target during the war. 5 Lancasters lost.
The raid, based on the 5 Group marking method, was an outstanding success. 1,021 tons of bombs were dropped, of which 868 tons were incendiaries. A detailed local report is available. The local official who compiled this report after the war writes that the night was so clear, with a three-quarters-full moon, that, 'Bremen lay before the bombers like a presentation dish … the bomb aimers could not have wished for better conditions to carry out their task'. A huge fire area was started throughout the town centre and the surrounding areas but the effects of this were lessened by the extensive property damage caused in this area by the Bomber Command raid of 18/19 August. Classed as destroyed or seriously damaged were: 4,859 houses, 5 churches, 1 hospital, 18 schools and 16 public and historic buildings. Casualties were: 65 killed - a figure which again suggests many evacuations - 766 injured and 37,724 bombed out. Severe damage was also caused to the A.G. Weser shipyard, the two Focke-Wulf factories, the Siemens Schuckert electrical works and other important war industries. The 'transport network' was described as being seriously disrupted. (It is interesting to note the increased efficiency and hence destructive power of Bomber Command at this time. Bremen - with its shipyards and aircraft factories - had been the target for many carefully planned Bomber Command raids earlier in the war and was the target for one of the much publicized 1942 1,000-bomber raids. Now this raid by no more than a quarter of the total strength of Bomber Command, hardly mentioned in the history books, had finished off Bremen and this city need not be attacked by Bomber Command again.)
Two days later the Bremer Zeitung published this passage in typical German propaganda style: 'But we know that we must bear all misfortunes with courage, since this is the best way we can contribute to a speedy victory, a victory which will repay us for the blows we have suffered. A victory which will also see the walls of Bremen duly rebuilt providing us with a future in freedom within a new abode.'
Minor Operations: 22 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 11 to Ludwigshafen and 2 to Saarbrcken, 35 R.C.M. sorties, 76 Mosquito patrols, 19 aircraft minelaying off Texel and Heligoland and in the River Weser, 6 aircraft on Resistance operations. 2 Mosquitoes were lost - 1 from the Berlin raid and 1 Serrate aircraft.
Total effort for the night: 947 sorties, 12 aircraft (1.3 percent) lost.
