The story
BERLIN, HAMBURG, AIRFIELDS
82 Hampdens, Wellingtons and Whitleys; the largest raid to Berlin by 50 aircraft, but only 25 of these reported reaching the city. The raids on the airfields - Schiphol and Soesterberg - were also to frustrate the suspected German bombing raid on England. 3 Hampdens were sent minelaying off Brest and Lorient.
10 aircraft - 4 Hampdens, 4 Whitleys, 2 Wellingtons - were lost from the bombing raids, the heaviest night loss of the war so far.
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1 Blenheim to Lorient turned back.
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HAMBURG, AIRFIELDS
67 Hampdens, Wellingtons and Whitleys to Hamburg in 2 separate waves 8 hours apart. Returning crews reported good bombing conditions. Hamburg records show that 68 fires were started and that heavy damage - for this period of the war - was caused at the Blohm & Voss shipyard. 26 people were killed, 102 injured and 1,625 bombed out. This was almost certainly the most successful Bomber Command raid of the war so far.
56 Blenheims, Wellingtons and Whitleys - mostly Blenheims - continued the raids on Luftwaffe bomber airfields in the occupied countries.
All operations on this night were free from loss.
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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.