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Bomber Command raid - night of 23/24 October 1941

Kiel · Germany

The story

KIEL
114 aircraft - 43 Wellingtons, 38 Hampdens, 27 Whitleys, 6 Manchesters - to attack shipyards. 1 Hampden lost.
Only 69 crews reached the target area. Kiel reports a raid in two widely separated waves. The second attack caused the most damage, with hits on the Deutsche Werke U-boat yard, the naval base, a bakery, a dance-hall and several houses. 4 people were killed - one on a ship in the harbour - and 5 people injured. The diarist, Detlef Boelck, records his great satisfaction and confidence in the local defences when 3 bombers were caught in searchlights at the same time and 1 was shot down while trying to dive out of the beams.
Minor Operations: 13 aircraft to Le Havre, 9 Stirlings to Brest, 4 aircraft to Cherbourg. 1 Hampden lost on the Le Havre raid.

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18 Blenheims on uneventful sweeps off the Dutch coast.

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FRANKFURT
70 aircraft; only 8 reported reaching the target area, in difficult weather conditions, 57 aircraft bombed elsewhere. 4 aircraft - 2 Wellingtons, 1 Hampden, 1 Whitley - lost.
Minor Operations: 12 Wellingtons to Emden, 6 Stirlings to Brest, 1 Wellington to Cherbourg. No losses.

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