Stuttgart
{{webimage,wardiaries.jpg,float:right;width:150px;,Book no longer in print}}494 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos of 1,3,5, and 8 Groups in the last raid of the current series on the target. German fighters intercepted the bomber stream while over France on the outward flight; there was a bright moon and 39 Lancasters were shot down. 7.9% of the force.
6 Bomber Group July 28/29, 1944
46 Lancasters from 408, 419, and 428 Squadron were joined by 186 Halifaxes from 408, 415, 420, 424, 425, 425, 427, 429, 431, 432, 433, and 434 Squadrons on an attack at Hamburg. The crews were over the target at between 16,000 and 22,000 feet, releasing 2,019,000 lbs of high explosives. According to reports, some bombing fell into the port area, otherwise the attack was scattered. On this attack, 6 Group suffered their highest losses. 22 crews failed to return.
As well as the crews that went to Hamburg, 5 Halifaxes from424 Squadron were ordered on a mining operation to Heligoland. The crews were over the garden at between 12,000 and 15,000 feet, sowing 20@1500 lb mines. Richard Koval (6bombergroup.ca)
307 aircraft - 187 Halifaxes, ro6 Lancasters, 14 Mosquitoes - from 1, 6 and 8 Groups. German fighters again appeared, this time on the homeward flight, and 18 Halifaxes and 4 Lancasters were lost, 7·2 per cent of the force. The Halifax casualties were 9·6 per cent; 431 (Canadian) Squadron, flying from Croft airfield in Co. Durham, lost 5 of its 17 aircraft on the raid.
·This was the first heavy raid on Hamburg since the Battle of Hamburg just a year earlier. The bombing on this raid was not well concentrated. The Germans estimated that only 120 aircraft bombed in the city area, with no recognizable aiming point, though western and harbour areas received the most bombs. A large proportion of the attack fell on areas devastated in 1943 but 265 people were killed and more than 17,000 had to be evacuated from homes damaged in this raid, many of which were probably only temporary wooden accommodation at this stage of the war. Brunswig (p. 339) describes how a panic developed at the large Reeperbahn air-raid shelter when a lone aircraft came in to bomb after the all clear had sounded and nearby Flak guns opened fire. 2 women were trampled to death and others were badly hurt.
source: The Bomber Command War Diaries, Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt
Halifax BIII aircraft LV 997 QB-E was shot down during an operation to Hamburg, Germany by night fighter crew of Oberleutnant Schmidt, Fw Schönfeld & Fw Schlosser of the 8/NJG 1, who had taken off from Twente airfield in the Netherlands in Bf 110 G-4 G9+AS. The Halifax crashed onto the mud flats at Hillgroven, near Wesselburen, Schleswig-Holstein, GermanyPilot Officer JR Power (RCAF) and Squadron Commanding Officer W/C JD Blane (RCAF) were killed in action
Warrant Officer Class 2 JD Burns (RCAF), Flying Officer RV Smyth (RCAF), FS WE Mylchreest (RCAF), Flight Lieutenant CG Kerr DFC (RCAF) and Sergeant W McAlpine (RAF) survived to be taken as Prisoners of War
On VE Day, 1945-05-08, Squadron Leader A. Ross Dawson, the Chief Technical Officer with 424/433 Sqds at Skipton on Swale, went to Brussels as part of a fleet of 26 aircraft to pick up released POW's. He wrote in his diary: "The war is definitely over now with complete surrender all round " cease fire is at 1 minute after midnight tonight. . . Got everything organised for the other kites to take off at 12:40 & we got airborne at 10:30 am . . we finally found our aerodrome B58 at a little town called Melsbrock . . . We reached our parking strip & got out to be confronted with approx.. 3000 POWs of all nationalities. . . There were Assies & New Zealanders, Canadians & Americans, English, Poles, Russians etc. Several Canadians came up to speak to us having recognised our a/c letters. Even some from our own Sqdn were there with a Nav [Navigator] from G/C Wray's crew [HX282} & a F/Eng from W/C Blane's crew [LV997]. Also one from 433 "M" which was shot down in February when I was there. . . The POWs all had marvellous experiences to relate."
Diary of A Ross Dawson, courtesy CWMTwenty-two 6 Group aircraft and crews failed to return from this bombing raid
Daily Operations 6bombergroup.ca