6 Group Unavailable
458 aircraft - 425 Lancasters, r8 Mosquitoes, 15 Halifaxes. There were no major diversions and the bombers took an absolutely direct route across the North Sea and Holland and then on to Berlin
. The Germans identified Berlin as the target 19 minutes before Zero Hour and many fighters were waiting there. Incorrectly forecast winds scattered the bomber stream, particularly on the return flight, and German fighters scored further victories here. A total of 40 bombers - 37 Lancasters, 2 Halifaxes, I Mosquito-were lost, 8·7 per cent of the force. 460 (Australian) Squadron lost 5 of its 25 Lancasters on this raid, including the aircraft in which two newspaper reporters were flying. These were Captain Grieg of the Daily Mail and Norman Stockton of the Sydney Sun. The body of Mr Stockton is buried in the Berlin War Cemetery.
The inaccurate wind forecast caused great difficulties for the Pathfinders, who were not able to establish their positions correctly. The bombing photographs of the Main Force suggested that the attack was scattered over a wide area of southern Berlin and the countryside south of the city. The Berlin report confirms this but adds damage was caused in industrial areas of the eastern and western districts, with two more of the Siemens factories, a ball-bearing factory and several railway installations being badly hit. Damage elsewhere was light, only 136 building: being destroyed. 36 people were killed and a further 105 were classed as 'missing'. (I is noticed again and again that, as the war progressed, German reports become mon erratic or incomplete. The 'final report' - Schlussbericht -for this raid is missing from the Berlin archives.)
source: The Bomber Command War Diaries, Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt
Lancaster aircraft LL 618 missing from night operations over Berlin, Germany. Flight Lieutenant S.W. Baker, WOs G.P. Lowle, A.R. Morgan, FS J.R. Goodwin, A.E.Slegg, Sergeants W.H. Green, WE Stinson, and J. Wadsworth (RAF) were kilted. There were two pilots on board for this trip.
