The story
1 Mosquito to Frankfurt bombed a town believed to be Siegen and returned safely.
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AACHEN
257 aircraft - 101 Wellingtons, 74 Lancasters, 59 Halifaxes, 23 Stirlings. 10 aircraft - 5 Halifaxes, 2 Stirlings, 2 Wellingtons, 1 Lancaster - lost, 3.9 percent of the force. A further 6 aircraft crashed in England, possibly in thunderstorms which were present when some squadrons took off for the raid.
The weather continued to be bad over Germany. There was little Pathfinder marking at Aachen and most of the bombing fell in other areas. Aachen reports that the raid on this night was carried out by an estimated 10 aircraft and that the centre of the attack appeared to be in the southern suburb of Burtscheid, where a 4,000-lb bomb severely damaged a hospital and 2 nearby churches. 34 fires were started, 5 of them being classified as large. A moderate amount of housing was hit and, rather surprisingly, 22 industrial buildings were damaged. 5 people were killed and 39 injured.
Many of the bombs intended for Aachen fell in the small Dutch town of Lutterade, 17 miles away from Aachen, and it seems that most of the Pathfinder marking was over this place. The Mayor of Geleen, the Dutch district in which Lutterade is now situated, reports heavy bombing and much damage in Lutterade on that night. More than 800 houses were seriously damaged; 83 people were killed, 22 were injured and 3,000 were made homeless.
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You have arrived at just one small part of Back to Normandy — a personal project dedicated to preserving stories, images, music and memories of the Second World War.
Every record is a doorway to a larger story. Explore Back to Normandy to discover more, or visit Fred Vogels' personal website to learn about the person and the projects behind it.