CHANNEL PORTS
95 Blenheims, Hampdens and Wellingtons to Channel ports; all bombed. 9 Whitleys to an aluminium factory at Lauta, near Dresden.
There were no losses on any of these operations.
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12 Blenheims on uneventful sea and coastal sweeps.
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BERLIN
In a unique raid for this period of the war, Bomber Command decided to concentrate its main strength of bombers for an attack on targets in just one German city. 129 Hampdens, Wellingtons and Whitleys were dispatched to 18 separate targets in Berlin. These targets were: 7 railway yards, 6 electrical power-stations, 3 gasworks and 2 factories making aero engines or aircraft components. 112 aircraft reported having bombed in a 3-hour period and from heights between 4,500 and 16,000 ft. Many searchlights and a ground mist made identification of targets very difficult. 3 aircraft, 1 of each type, were lost.
Unfortunately the relevant pages for this raid are missing from Berlin's air-raid records, possibly being removed immediately after the raid so that a record of it should not remain available to any civilian official. It is believed that most bombs fell in the Moabit area of the city where a power-station was one of the selected targets. The famous Schloss Charlottenburg was slightly damaged. No other details are available.
CHANNEL PORTS
71 aircraft - 46 Blenheims and 12 Battles, with 8 Wellingtons and 5 Whitleys probably manned by new, 'freshman' crews - attacked Boulogne, Calais and Flushing, and 9 O.T.U. crews operated over France and the Channel Islands, all without loss.
The total number of aircraft dispatched on this night - 209 - was another new record and it was the first time that the 200 figure was exceeded.
