6 Bomber Group June 24/25, 1943
37 Halifaxes from 408, 419, 427, and 428 Squadrons were joined by 38 Wellingtons from 429, 431, and 432 Squadrons on an attack at Wuppertal. The crews were over the target at between 12,000 and 20,000 feet, releasing 96,000 lbs of high explosives and 188,000 lbs of incendiaries. According to reports, bombing was accurate and severe damage was caused. Richard Koval (6bombergroup.ca)
630 aircraft - 251 Lancasters, 171 Halifaxes, IOI Wellingtons, 98 Stirlings, 9 Mos-quitoes. 34 aircraft- IO Halifaxes, IO Stirlings, 8 Lancasters, 6 Wellingtons- lost, 5'4 per cent of the force.
This attack was aimed at the Elberfeld half of Wuppertal, the Barmen half of the town having been devastated at the end of May. The Pathfinder marking was accurate and the Main Force bombing started well but the creep back became more pronounced than usual. 30 aircraft bombed targets in more western parts of the Ruhr; Wuppertal was at the eastern end of the area. These bombing failures were probably a result of the recent run of intensive operations incurring casualties at a high level: However, much serious damage was again caused to this medium-sized Ruhr town. The post-war British survey estimated that 94 per cent of the Elberfeld part of Wuppertal was destroyed on this night and Wuppertal's own records show that more bombs fell in Elberfeld than had fallen in Barmen on the last raid. 171 industrial premises and approximately J;OOO houses were destroyed; 53 industrial premises and 2,500 houses were severely damaged. Approximately ·1,800 people were killed and 2,400 injured.
There was a dramatic incident in Gelsenkirchen, 20 miles north of Wuppertal, when an R.A.F. 4-engined bomber crashed into the hall of a building which had been taken over by the Wehrmacht. The bomber blew up 'with a terrific explosion'. A German officer, 13 soldiers, the caretaker of the building and 5 Dutch trainee postal workers were killed and 2 more soldiers died later.
source: The Bomber Command War Diaries, Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt
Wellington X aircraft HZ 518 QO-O crashed into the North Sea 10 km west of Den Haag, Zuid-Holland during an operation to Wuppertal, Germany. The Wellington was shot down by night fighter pilot Hauptmann Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein of the Stab IV/NJG 5 (detached to 1/NJG 1), flying a Ju 88 C-6 from Gilze-Rijen airfield., Netherlands
FS JMC Lagace (RCAF), FS MR Deverell (RCAF), FS JJ.Mercier (RCAF), Flying Officer JR Gingras (RCAF), and Sgt. MP Tobin (RAFVR) were initially missing presumed killed
FS Lagace's body washed ashore 1943-07-10
Flying Officer Gingras's body washed ashore 1943-08-29
FS Deverell's body washed ashore near Ouddorp, Netherlands, date unknown
All three are buried in cemeteries in the Netherlands
FS Mercier and Sergeant Tobin remain missing and are commemorated on the Runnymede War Memorial
There was a second 432 Squadron Wellington aircraft lost on this operation. Please see Sparrow, W for information on Wellington HF 572 QO-J
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