BENZOL PLANTS
195 Lancasters and 32 Mosquitoes of 1 and 8 Groups attacked plants at Herne and Gelsenkirchen. The Gelsenkirchen attack was successful but not the Herne raid. 1 Lancaster lost from the Gelsenkirchen raid.
Minor Operations: 50 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 26 to Bremen and 6 to Erfurt, 58 R.C.M. sorties, 37 Mosquito patrols. 1 Mosquito from the Berlin raid crashed in Belgium and 1 Halifax R.C.M. aircraft in France.
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BENZOL PLANTS
169 Lancasters of 3 Group carried out G-H attacks through cloud on plants at Datteln and Hattingen (near Bochum). Both attacks appeared to be accurate but no results were seen. 1 Lancaster lost from the Hattingen raid.
RAILWAY VIADUCTS
32 Lancasters and 1 Mosquito of 5 Group, with 4 Oboe Mosquitoes of 8 Group, to attack the Bielefeld and Arnsberg viaducts. 28 Lancasters dropped Tallboy bombs and the 617 Squadron Lancaster of Squadron Leader C. C. Calder dropped the first 22,000-lb bomb, named the Grand Slam, at Bielefeld. The Arnsberg viaduct, 9 Squadron's target, was later found to be undamaged but more than 100 yards of the Bielefeld viaduct collapsed through the 'earthquake effect' of the Grand Slam and Tallboys of 617 Squadron. No aircraft lost.
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LTZKENDORF
244 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitoes of 5 Group attacked the Wintershall synthetic-oil refinery at this distant target. Photographic reconnaissance showed that 'moderate damage' was caused. 18 Lancasters were lost, 7.4 percent of the Lancaster force.
ZWEIBRCKEN
230 aircraft - 121 Lancasters, 98 Halifaxes, 11 Mosquitoes - of 6 and 8 Groups. No aircraft lost.
This attack was directed on to the town area to block the passage through it of German troops and stores to the nearby front line. The raid took place in good visibility and was very effective. The local report shows that every public building and inn and 80 percent of the houses in the town were destroyed or damaged. Most of the civilian population had been evacuated; those remaining took shelter in 2 large caves in the north and south of the town or in the normal basement shelters of their houses. The people in the caves all survived but 192 bodies had been removed from the basement shelters by the time the local report was prepared on
