MUNICH
645 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitoes of 1, 3, 5, 6 and 8 Groups. 11 Lancasters lost and 4 more crashed in France.
Bomber Command claimed a successful area raid, with the central and some industrial areas being severely damaged. No local details are available. This was the last major raid on Munich.
Minor Operations: 54 Mosquitoes to Hannover, 18 to Nuremberg and 12 to Hanau, 39 R.C.M. sorties, 45 Mosquito patrols. 2 Mosquitoes lost - 1 from the Hannover raid and a 100 Group aircraft.
The last Bomber Command Wellington operation was flown on this night by Flying Officer B. H. Stevens and his crew of 192 Squadron. The Wellington was on an R.C.M. flight over the North Sea 'to investigate enemy beam signals connected with the launching of flying bombs and believed to emanate from marker buoys'. Bad weather over the North Sea caused the flight to be curtailed but the Wellington landed safely, the last of more than 47,000 sorties carried out by this type of aircraft in Bomber Command.
Total effort for the night: 822 sorties, 17 aircraft (2.1 percent) lost.
