The story
VEGESACK
99 4-engined aircraft - 40 Halifaxes, 31 Stirlings, 28 Lancasters. 3 Halifaxes lost.
The force had orders to bomb the Vulkan U-boat yard visually or, if that was not possible, to bomb the town by Gee. The target area was found to be cloud-covered and all the aircraft bombed by Gee. Later photographs showed that no bombs fell in Vegesack. A report from Bremen, a few miles up river from Vegesack, describes how 2 storehouses of military equipment were bombed and completely burnt out, the cost of the lost material being estimated at 1 million Reichsmarks (£100,000). Further damage in Bremen included a wooden-hutted military camp. The number of casualties is not mentioned.
19 Wellingtons were minelaying off Lorient, St-Nazaire and La Pallice. 1 aircraft lost.
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12 Wellingtons on a cloud-cover raid to Bremen; only 3 aircraft bombed scattered locations. 4 Bostons bombed targets at Lille. No aircraft lost.
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1 Stirling on a leaflet flight to Belgium returned safely.
There's more to discover
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.