MOSQUITO OPERATIONS
57 Mosquitoes to Cologne and 4 to Stuttgart. No aircraft lost. A report from Cologne shows that bombs were scattered across the city, causing mostly minor damage. 32 people were killed, however, most of them in an old persons' home which sustained a direct hit.
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DUISBURG
This raid was part of a special operation which has received little mention in the history books. On 13 October, Sir Arthur Harris received the directive for Operation Hurricane: 'In order to demonstrate to the enemy in Germany generally the overwhelming superiority of the Allied Air Forces in this theatre … the intention is to apply within the shortest practical period the maximum effort of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command and the VIIIth United States Bomber Command against objectives in the densely populated Ruhr.' Bomber Command had probably been forewarned of the directive because it was able to mount the first part of the operation soon after first light on 14 October. No heavy bombers had flown on operations for 48 hours and 1,013 aircraft - 519 Lancasters, 474 Halifaxes and 20 Mosquitoes - were dispatched to Duisburg with R.A.F. fighters providing an escort. 957 bombers dropped 3,574 tons of high explosive and 820 tons of incendiaries on Duisburg. 14 aircraft were lost - 13 Lancasters and 1 Halifax; it is probable that the Lancasters provided the early waves of the raid and drew the attention of the German Flak before the Flak positions were overwhelmed by the bombing.
For their part in Operation Hurricane, the American Eighth Air Force dispatched 1,251 heavy bombers escorted by 749 fighters. More than 1,000 of the American heavies bombed targets in the Cologne area. American casualties were 5 heavy bombers and 1 fighter. No Luftwaffe aircraft were seen.
2 Bomber Command R.C.M. sorties and 2 Resistance operations were also flown on this day.
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DUISBURG
Bomber Command continued Operation Hurricane by dispatching 1,005 aircraft - 498 Lancasters, 468 Halifaxes, 39 Mosquitoes - to attack Duisburg again in 2 forces, 2 hours apart. 941 aircraft dropped 4,040 tons of high explosive and 500 tons of incendiaries during the night. 5 Lancasters and 2 Halifaxes were lost.
Nearly 9,000 tons of bombs had thus fallen on Duisburg in less than 48 hours. Local reports are difficult to obtain. The Duisburg Stadtarchiv does not have the important Endbericht - the final report. Small comments are available: 'Heavy casualties must be expected.' 'Very serious property damage. A large number of people buried.' 'Thyssen Mines III and IV: About 8 days loss of production.' 'Duisburg-Hamborn: All mines and coke ovens lay silent.'
BRUNSWICK
Not only could Bomber Command dispatch more than 2,000 sorties to Duisburg in less than 24 hours, but there was still effort to spare for 5 Group to attack Brunswick with 233 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitoes. The various diversions and fighter support operations laid on by Bomber Command were so successful that only 1 Lancaster was lost from this raid.
Bomber Command had attempted to destroy Brunswick 4 times so far in 1944 and 5 Group finally achieved that aim on this night, using their own marking methods. It was Brunswick's worst raid of the war and the old centre was completely destroyed. A local report says 'the whole town, even the smaller districts, was particularly hard hit'. It was estimated by the local officials that 1,000 bombers had carried out the raid. Reliable statistics on damage are sparse; instead of quoting the normal number of buildings destroyed, the destruction was measured by hectares (150 hectares of the historic town area is mentioned). 561 people are believed to have died but there were near miraculous escapes when, 4 hours after the raid, firemen reached the first of 8 large public shelters which had been cut off in the 'sea of fire' in the centre of the town. An estimated 23,000 people were in these shelters and all but about 200 of them were rescued. Among the relief which arrived to help the 80,000 people bombed out was the Hilfzug Bayern, a train from far-away Bavaria equipped with technical help and kitchens for mass-feeding arrangements.
Brunswick was not raided again in strength by Bomber Command.
SUPPORT AND MINOR OPERATIONS
141 training aircraft on a diversionary sweep to Heligoland, 20 Mosquitoes to Hamburg, 16 to Berlin, 8 to Mannheim and 2 to DÜSSELDORF, 132 aircraft of 100 Group on R.C.M., Serrate and Intruder flights (no sub-totals are available), 8 aircraft on Resistance operations. 1 Halifax was lost on the diversionary sweep - it was seen to dive into the sea in flames - and 1 Mosquito was lost from the Berlin raid.
Total effort for the night: 1,572 sorties, 10 aircraft (0.6 percent) lost. Total effort for the 24 hours: 2,589 sorties, 24 aircraft (0.9 percent) lost. Total tonnage of bombs dropped in 24 hours: approximately 10,050 tons. These record totals would never be exceeded in the war.
