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T H I S D O C U M E N T IS T H E P R O P E R T Y OF H I S B R I T A N N I C M A J E S T Y ' S G O V E R N M E N T
Printed
for the War Cabinet.
August
1944.
S E C R E T .
W.P.
Copy No.
(44) 478.
2Qth August,
1944.
/
-
V
WAR CABINET.
S U M M A R Y OF O P E R A T I O N S OF B O M B E R C O M M A N D
F O U R W E E K S E N D I N G 13TH A U G U S T , 1944.
MEMORANDUM BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
FOR
AIR.
A . — A detailed summary of operations is appended.
B.—Results of Operations.
1. Oil Plants.
A large number of attacks were made during the period on oil plants in
Germany and German-occupied territory. Outstanding successes were achieved
in the daylight attack on the 4th August on Pauillac I (see P r i n t No. 1) and
Bee cFAmbes (see P r i n t No. 2). The plant at Homberg (Meerbeck) was severely
damaged on the 20th/'21st J u l y (see P r i n t No. 3) and P r i n t No. 4 shows the
extensive damage throughout the plant at Wesseling. A t Dugny (Paris) three
out of the four storage tanks were completely destroyed (see P r i n t No. 5). Among
other plants damaged were Scholven, Brier, Bottrop Welheim, where severe damage
was caused to the north half of the target, Pauillac I I , where all the five main
buildings were completely destroyed, Donges (see P r i n t No. 6) and Bordeaux
Bassans w here smoke was still rising from the target 24 hours after the attack.
I n addition well concentrated attacks were made on four storage depots situated
in the forests of Chatellerault (see P r i n t No. 7), Chantilly, Lucheux and Mormal.
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2. Railway
Centres.
Successful attacks were made on railway centres in France.
Vaires,
attacked on the 18th July, suffered severe damage and all lines w e r e blocked ( s e e
P r i n t No. 8), the trans-shipment shed and much rolling-stock were destroyed
a t Courtrai on the 20th/21st July (see P r i n t No. 9). I n the railway yards at
L a Roche, about one-third of the locomotive depot was destroyed and tracks A v e r e
severed in several places (see P r i n t No. 10). The attack on Culmont-Chalindrey
A v a s very successful (see P r i n t No. 11) and at NeA ers, as P r i n t No. 12 SIIOAVS, many
of the tracks A v e r e obliterated and severe damage caused throughout the yard.
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3. Shijyping and submarine pens.
Considerable damage A v a s caused to dockside buildings at Le Havre by two
attacks on the 31st J u l y and the 2nd August. The U-boat pens at Brest were
attacked on the 5th and the 12th August with 12,000-lb. bombs, six of A v h i c h
penetrated the roof, one making an opening nearly 50 feet across. Other near
misses must have clone considerable damage to the foundations. A direct h i t
on the S.E. corner of the U-boat pens at La Pallice caused an area of about
240 feet by 120 feet of the roof to break away (see P r i n t No. 13). H i t s were
also obtained on the U-boat pens at Lorient.
4. Enemy 'positions and other military targets in France.
On the 18th J u l y before the major assault by divisions of 21 Army Group,
3 groups of targets were very successfully attacked to the east and south-east
of Caen (see P r i n t s Nos. 14 and 15). Three aiming points in the enemy's positions
to the south-east of Caumont A v e r e selected for attack by Bomber Command on
the 30th J u l y before an assault by Army units.
A good concentration Avas
[28094]
2
achieved and photographs show large numbers of craters round the aiming points.
On the night of the 7 t h / 8 t h August a heavy force of bombers attacked five areas
north of Bretteville with the object of destroying the main enemy defensive
localities and tank harbours in order to facilitate a. break through by the First
Canadian Army along the Caen/Falaise road. The attacks were carried out
accurately and according to plan. P r i n t No. 16 shows the destruction of a p a r t
of the Signals Depot at St. Cyr.
5. Large sites and -flying-bomb sites in France.
P r i n t No. 17 shows the results of a successful attack made on the large site
at Wizernes on the 21st July. An excellent concentration was achieved on the
flying-bomb supply depot at Nucourt in two attacks on the 15th and 15th / 16th July
(see P r i n t No. 18) and the roof of the chamber beneath the plateau collapsed in
several places burying considerable quantities of flying bombs. Other supply
depots successfully attacked include Trossy, the Bois de Cassan and St. Leu
cLEsserent, where further areas of subsidence were caused around the southern
entrance to the caves and roads blocked at both the north and south entrances.
Areas in the Foret de Nieppe w ere attacked several times and many storage units
were destroyed or seriously damaged. Attacks were also made on a large number
of flying-bomb launching sites, among them St. Philibert Ferme (see P r i n t No. 19).
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6. German towns.
Three heavy attacks were made on S t u t t g a r t and extensive damage was
caused (see P r i n t No. 20), Kiel, Hamburg and Berlin were also attacked.
C.—Sea Mining.
Minelaying during the later p a r t of the period was planned to interfere w ith
the evacuation of enenry U-boats from the ports threatened by the Americans..
Brest, Lorient and St. Nazaire, to bases further south, La Pailice and Bordeaux.
A large number of mines w ere laid in the approaches to these five ports. Mines
were laid by Mosquitoes in the Dortmund-Ems Canal on the night of the
9th/10th August and the Holtenau entrance to the Kiel Canal was mined by
Lancasters on the 23rcl/24th July.
A. H . M. S.
Air
Ministry,
26th August, 1944. r
7
APPENDIX.
Summary of Operations.
Date.
J u l y 16
16/17
17
17/18
18
18/19
Target.
I.F.B. launching site
...
...
Homberg (Meerbeck), oil plant
Wizernes, large site
...
...
2 F.B. launching sites
...
...
Berlin
- Enemy positions to E. and S.E. of Caen
Vaires, railway centre
...
...
Wesseling, oil plant
Buer Scholven, oil plant ...
...
Aulnoye, railway centre
...
...
Revignv-sur-Ornain, railway centre
1 F.B. launching site
...
...
Berlin
Cologne
...
...
...
...
2 F.B. launching sites
Thiverny, F.B. supply depot
...
Bremen'
7 F.B. launching sites
Wizernes, large site
...
...
7
19
19/20
20
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
A ircraft
Despatched.
...
35
38
...
18
...
114
31
... 1,056
...
110
194
...
170
...
148
...
115
...
62
22
..."
6
35
...
Ill
36
316
...
109
Date.
July 20/21
21/22 22 23 23/24 24 24/25 25 25/26
26/27
27 27/28 28 28/29
Target.
Courtrai, railway centre
Bottrop, oil plant
Homberg (Meerbeck), oil plant
Alost ...
Berlin
5 F.B. launching sites
2 F.B. launching sites
Kiel
Berlin
Donges, oil plant
Duren. steel works ...
2 F.B. launching sites
2 F.B. launching sites
Stuttgart
Berlin
Frankfurt
Aachen
Donges, oil plant
2 F.B. launching sites
St. Cyr. signals equipment depot .
2 F.B. launching sites
Watten, large site
Stuttgart
Berlin
Mannheim
W a n n e Eikel, oil plant
Somain, railway centre
3 F.B. launching sites
Givors, railway centre
Somain, railway centre
Hamburg
Saarbrueken
4 F.B. launching sites
Stuttgart
Foret de Nieppe, F.B. supply depot
2 F.B. launching sites
Stuttgart
I-1 m L Aircraft
Despatched.
320 166 157 11 33 60 60 629 27 119 5
116 36 614 27 8
5
113 114 100 75 18 550 21 15 135 6
114 187 11 30 2
72 30 179 20 496 .i
- L J . a i l l U L l . - l
"t?—Af
30 31 July 3 1 / A u g . 1
Aug.
1 2
3
4
"\Ti
4. is c U VJV.y.
Fi: r a nLvUk f u r t
...
...
Foret de Nieppe, F.B. supply depot
Frankfurt
St. Trond/Brustheim, airfield
Coulommiers, airfield
Villers Bocage, Caumont, Jurques, troop concen
trations ...
L a Roche, railway centre
Rilly la Montagne. F.B. supply depot
Le Havre, shipping ... , ...
Foret de Nieppe, F.B. supply depot
3 F.B. launching sites
F.B. launching sites ...
Trossy and Bois de Cassan, F.B. supply depot
7 F.B. launching sites
Le Havre, shipping ...
Foret de Nieppe, F.B. supply depot
Bois de Cassan, F.B. supply depot
Trossy, F.B. supply depot ...
Foret de Nieppe, F.B. supply depot
Foret de Nieppe, F.B. supply depot
Etaples, railway bridge
Bois de Cassan, F.B. supply depot
Trossy, F.B. supply depot ...
Pauillac I, oil plant...
Bee d'Ambes, oil plant
W I
29 29/30 Ap,
VIL
119 ^13 76 30 9
4
693 121 103 57 105 97 777 207 116 59 71 410 384 320 3
30 225 66 181 107 Bate.
Aug. 5
5/6
6
6/7
7/8
8
9
9/10
10 10/11
11 11/12 12 12/13
Aircraft
Despatched.
Target.
286 Foret de Nieppe, F.B. supply depot
456 St. Leu d'Esserent, F.B. supply depot
36 F.B. launching sites ...
18 Brest, submarine pens
14 Etaples, railway bridge
96 Blaye, oil plant
96 Pauillac I I , oil plant
114 Bordeaux, oil plant ...
36 Wanne Eikel, oil plant
118 Foret de Nieppe, F.B. supply depot
105 Bois de Cassan. F.B. supply depot
62 Hazebrouck, railway centre ...
31 Lorient, submarine pens
40 Castrop-Rauxel, oil plant ...
7
Cologne
4
Foret de Nieppe, F.B. supply depot
Normandy, troop concentrations ...
1.019 Coulommiers, airfield
4
Foret de Lucheux, oil storage depot
124 Aire stir la Lys, oil storage depot
56 Cologne
34 160 Foret de Monmal, oil storage depot
172 7 F.B. launching sites
...
...
--.
31 La Pallice, submarine pens and oil storage tanl
190 Foret de Chatellerault, oil storage depot
124 Foret d'Englos, oil storage depot
126 Foret de Nieppe, F.B. supply depot
82 3 F.B. launching sites
103 Dugny, oil storage depot
40 2 F.B. launching sites
40 2 targets in France ...
124 Dijon, railway centre
159 La Pallice. oil storage
67 Bordeaux, oil storage
32 Berlin
3
Bremen
41 Bordeaux, submarine pens ...
15 La Pallice, submarine pens
135 Douai, railway centre
135 Lens, railway centre
142 Somain, railway centre
60 4 F.B. launching "sites
49
Etaples, railway bridge
189 Givors, railway bridge
33 Berlin
2
Trossy, F.B. supply depot ...
12 Brest, submarine pens
24 L a Pallice, submarine pens ...
34 Bordeaux, submarine pens ...
117 Foret de Montrichard, ammunition dump
379 Brunswick
...
...
...
297 Russelsheim
144 Falaise, road junction
50 2 F.B. launching sites
21 Kiel
:.
10 Frankfurt
3
Juvincourt, airfield ...
3
Coulommiers, airfield
2
Trossy, F.B. supply depot ...
The p h o t o " T r p h on the l e f t t a k e n "before the a t t a c k , and en the r i g h t t a k e n
on 2 1 s t J u l y . 1 9 4 4 a f t e r another a t t a c k w i t h 12,OCOlb."ccribs.
These o b l i q u e s
she.: c l e a r l y ( A ) a l a r g e s u b s i d e n c e underneath t h e c o n c r e t e r i r . o f the done
and t h e crane h a s d i s a p p e a r e d .
( B ) a c o n c r e t e c e n s t r u c t i o n s l i p p i n g dorm
the quarry f a c e .
RESERVED
C R O W N GOPYRjGH i
A/N COPY RIG HI
RES cRV fcU
RESERVED
RESERVED
RESERVED
RES? RVED