Wellington BK270 B. Mk. III - Bombing Cologne Germany - 1942-10-15 to 1942-10-15
Squadron: 419 (B) Sqn (RCAF)
Start Date: 1942-10-15
Completion Date: 1942-10-15
Mission: Bombing
Operation: unspecified
Target City: Cologne Germany
Target Specific:
Base: Croft
Take Off Time: 18.56
Squadron Code:
Radio Code:
Return Base:
Return Time:
Crash City: Monchen-Gladbach, Germany
Crash Specifics:
Crash Latitude: 0.00000000
Crash Longitude: 0.00000000
Crash Reason:
Flak Battery:
Enemy Claim:
War Diary Unavailable
6 Group Unavailable

289 aircraft - 109 Wellingtons, 74 Halifaxes, 62 Lancasters, 44 Stirlings. 18 aircraft - 6 Wellingtons, 5 Halifaxes, 5 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings - lost, 6·2 per cent of the force.

This was not a successful raid. Winds were different from those forecast and the Pathfinders had difficulty in establishing their position and marking the target suffi¬ciently to attract the Main Force away from a large decoy fire site which received most of the bombs. Cologne reports I 'Luftmine' (out of 71 4,000-pounders carried by the bombing force), 3 other high-explosive bombs (out of 231) and 210 incendiary bombs (out of 68,590). 226 houses were damaged but only 2 of these received what was classed as 'serious damage'; 4 people were injured.

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