The story
BERLIN
80 aircraft - 36 Wellingtons, 24 Hampdens, 17 Whitleys, 3 Stirlings. 5 aircraft - 3 Wellingtons, 1 Stirling, 1 Whitley - lost.
Minor Operations: 9 aircraft to Vegesack, 7 to Emden and 3 Hampdens minelaying in the East Frisians. 2 Wellingtons lost from the Vegesack raid and 1 Wellington from the Emden raid. The Wellington lost on the Emden raid was from 12 Squadron, which was flying its first operation with Wellingtons on this night; the pilot was the squadron commander, Wing Commander V. Q. Blackden, who was killed and is buried at Lemsterland in Holland.
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21 Blenheims on coastal raids in the Frisians and the German Bight. Several targets were attacked. 1 aircraft lost.
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BREST
53 aircraft - 36 Wellingtons, 12 Blenheims, 5 Manchesters - reported good bombing. It was later established that 4 bombs hit the Gneisenau, recently damaged by a Coastal Command torpedo bomber, during this raid and 50 Germans were killed and 90 injured. 1 Wellington lost.
DÜSSELDORF
29 Hampdens and 24 Whitleys. 5 Hampdens lost.
Minor Operations: 11 Wellingtons to Bordeaux/Mrignac airfield and claimed hits there, 3 Wellingtons to Rotterdam. 1 aircraft lost from the Mrignac raid.
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.