KIEL
This was the first major raid on a German city for two months. 629 aircraft - 519 Lancasters, 100 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitoes - were dispatched. The elaborate deception and R.C.M. operations combined with the surprise return to a German target completely confused the German fighter force and only 4 aircraft - all Lancasters - were lost, a rate of 0.6 percent.
Kiel suffered heavily in this first R.A.F. raid since April 1943 and its heaviest R.A.F. raid of the war. The bombing force appeared suddenly from behind a Mandrel jamming screen and the local radio warning system only reported it as being a force of minelaying aircraft. 612 aircraft then bombed in a raid lasting only 25 minutes. All parts of Kiel were hit but the bombing was particularly heavy in the port areas and all of the important U-boat yards and naval facilities were hit. 315 people were killed and 439 injured. The presence of around 500 delayed-action bombs or unexploded duds caused severe problems for the rescue and repair services. There was no water for 3 days; trains and buses did not run for 8 days and there was no gas for cooking for 3 weeks.
DONGES
119 aircraft - 100 Halifaxes, 14 Lancasters, 5 Mosquitoes - of 6 and 8 Groups attacked an oil refinery and storage depot at Donges, near the mouth of the River Loire. This was the start of a new campaign against oil targets in the occupied countries. The bombing took place in good visibility. The target was severely damaged and a tanker was hit and capsized. No aircraft lost.
FLYING-BOMB SITES
116 aircraft - 102 Halifaxes, 12 Mosquitoes, 2 Lancasters - of 4 and 8 Groups attacked 2 sites with accurate bombing. 1 Halifax lost from the raid on the Les Hauts Buissons site.
SUPPORT AND MINOR OPERATIONS
180 aircraft of training units on diversionary sweep over the North Sea, 27 Mosquitoes to Berlin and 5 to Dren, 39 R.C.M. sorties, 45 Mosquito patrols, 6 Lancasters minelaying off Kiel and 2 Stirlings off Brest, 12 aircraft on Resistance operations, 8 O.T.U. sorties. 1 Lancaster lost while minelaying near Kiel.
Total effort for the night: 1,188 sorties, 5 aircraft (0.4 percent) lost.
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FLYING-BOMB SITES
28 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes of 3 and 8 Groups bombed sites at Acquet and Prouville without loss.
3 Mosquitoes flew Ranger patrols to Northern Germany and attacked trains but 1 Mosquito was lost.
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STUTTGART
461 Lancasters and 153 Halifaxes. 17 Lancasters and 4 Halifaxes lost, 4.6 percent of the force.
This was the first of 3 heavy raids on Stuttgart in 5 nights and the only report available is a composite one for the 3 raids. The 3 raids caused the most serious damage of the war in the central districts of Stuttgart which, being situated in a series of narrow valleys, had eluded Bomber Command for several years. They were now devastated and most of Stuttgart's public and cultural buildings were destroyed. The second of the 3 raids, on the night of 25/26 July, was the most successful. Total casualties in Stuttgart during this series of raids were 1,171 people killed and 1,600 injured.
DONGES
104 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitoes of 5 and 8 Groups attacked the oil depot again and, according to reports, the target was 'devastated'. 3 Lancasters lost.
FERFAY
112 aircraft - 100 Halifaxes, 10 Mosquitoes, 2 Lancasters - of 6 and 8 Groups attacked a flying-bomb site but the Master Bomber allowed only 73 aircraft to bomb. 1 Halifax lost.
SUPPORT AND MINOR OPERATIONS
107 aircraft from training units on diversionary sweep, 27 Mosquitoes to Berlin, 8 to Frankfurt and 5 to Aachen, 36 R.C.M. sorties, 46 Mosquito patrols, 4 Halifaxes minelaying off Brest and Lorient, 12 aircraft on Resistance operations, 4 O.T.U. sorties. No aircraft lost.
Total effort for the night: 1,088 sorties, 25 aircraft (23 percent) lost.
