6 Bomber Group July 29/30, 1943
59 Halifaxes from 408, 419, 427, and 428 Squadrons were joined by 23 Wellingtons from 429 and 432 Squadrons on an attack at Hamburg. The crews were over the target at between 16,000 and 22,000 feet, releasing 138,000 lbs of high explosives and 256,000 lbs of incendiaries. According to reports, bombing was accurate with severe damage to the city. Richard Koval (6bombergroup.ca)
177 aircraft - 340 Lancasters, 244 Halifaxes, 119 Stirlings, 70 Wellingtons, 4 Mos¬[uitoes, 28aircraft-11 Halifaxes, 11 Lancasters, 4 Stirlings, 2 Wellingtons -lost, 3·6 per cent of the force.
The marking for this raid was again all by H2S. The intention was to approach Hamburg from almost due north and bomb those northern and north-eastern districts which had so far not been bombed, 't'he Pathfinders actually came In more than 2 miles too far to the east and marked an area just south of the devastated firestorm area. The Main Force bombing crept buck about 4 miles, through the devastated urea, but then produced very heavy bombing in the Wandsbek and Barmbek districts and parts of the Uhlenhorst and Winterhude districts. These were all residential areas. 707 aircraft dropped 2,318 tons of bombs. There was a widespread fire area - though no firestorm - which the exhausted Hamburg fire units could do little to check. The worst incident was in the shelter of a large department store in Wandsbek. The building collapsed and blocked the exits from the shelter which was in the basement of the store. 370 people died, poisoned by carbon monoxide fumes from a burning coke store near by.
source: The Bomber Command War Diaries, Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt
Wellington aircraft LN 294 was shot down by a night fighter. twenty-six miles south-east of the target at Lunenburg, Germany during a night raid against Hamburg, Germany. 4 were killed and one POW.
