Berlin – 28/29 January 1944
The Battle of Berlin commenced on the 18/19th November 1943 was barely a week old when the German defences began to deplete Harris' force in a way that had not been anticipated by the Bomber Command planners. First the Stirlings were withdrawn and later Mk II and Mk V Halifaxes. Despite the severe setback caused by the introduction of Window the German night fighter force was now entering its peak performance phase of the war and Bomber Command would lose heavily in the developing battles in the night skies over Germany.
Harris had estimated that he could devastate Berlin with a series of heavy raids but it was a serious, almost uncharacteristic miscalculation. Hamburg, some 27 times smaller than Berlin, had succumbed to 7000 tons of bombs. A similar tonnage dropped during the first four Berlin attacks was easily absorbed. Time and distance were also apparently ignored in the equation with 16 major attacks being spread over 3 months, far too long for an accumulated effect. The long route required for the long nights of winter to cover the bombers. Winter produced freezing temperatures for the crews, bad weather along the route and cloud over there target. In addition to this the long distance require the aircraft up to carry more fuel at the expense of bomb tonnage.
The main offensive ran from November 1943 to the end of January 1944 during which 14 major attacks were carried out at the cost of 384 aircraft. Damage estimates were for once conservative but even with that taken into account the final result this was a significant defeat for Bomber Command and a complete waste of valuable crews and resources.
On the 28/29th January 677 bombers were sent to a attack yet again. At 2225 hrs six Mosquitoes of the Light Night Striking Force made a spoof raid on of a capital dropping Window and a few bombs. Four hours later they Main Force arrived to find broken cloud over the target which allowed some accurate ground marking and good backing up throughout the attack. Because of these conditions crews were able to deliver the most concentrated attack of the current series. The western districts had been hit and also the southern ones and extensive fires started.
A number of other supporting operations had been flown to take the pressure off the Main Force. 5 hours before 63 Stirlings guided by a four Pathfinder Halifaxes had dropped mines in Kiel Bay, the first time Pathfinder assistance had been given to such secondary duties. Target Indicators and flares had been dropped so that timed runs could be made by the Stirlings. This force had flown along the route to be taken by the Main Force to draw up the night fighters. This left the fighters at the end of their duration or back on the ground refuelling when the Berlin Force passed through. This plan worked. Four Mosquitoes attacked Hanover at 0215 hours dropping Window along the route before bombing. At 0312 hours six more attacked by Berlin again dropping Window along the main force route as well as dropping flares and spoof route markers 40 miles south west of the city.
Despite these elaborate deceptions the night fighters found their way into the bomber stream and accounted for many of the 46 which failed to return, 6.8 per cent of the force. 12 went down before reaching Berlin, six more over the city where 27 engagements were reported, and three more as they left the target. In addition two of the mine laying force were lost along with an intruder Mosquito.
The cloud over Berlin was broken and some ground-marking was possible but the Bomber Command claim that this was the most concentrated attack of this period is not quite fully confirmed by German records. The western and southern districts were hit but so too were 77 places outside the city. The cost had been very high which was more than the Command could sustain. With steadily increasing casualties Harris was forced to rely even more on inexperienced crews brought in from the training units to fill the gaps in his squadrons.
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103 Squadron – 11 aircraft detailed. First up – F/O J Hart and crew at 0033. Weather clear for take off but cloudy over the target. Bombing was done on sky markers. The raid appeared to have been most successful with a large explosion noted which covered everything for a few seconds. F/O Hiscock was followed on his bombing run by a fighter which did not attack and the rear gunner did not fire in order that the run should not be spoiled. All aircraft returned to base. First down – P/O B B Lydon and crew JB518 at 0739.
576 Squadron - 10 aircraft detailed. First up – S/L Attwater and crew JA868 and Sgt Bodger and crew LL748 at 2325. Sgt Puttock and crew failed to take off due to unserviceability of aircraft while F/O Shearer returned early due to engine trouble. First down – Sgt Bodger and crew at 0725. F/S Hart and crew are missing from this operation. All other crews returned safely to base. Only cloud and fire tracks were recorded on the bombing photos due to cloud over the target.
Compiled by David Fell mostly from 103 and 576 Squadron ORBs, 1 Group ORB, By Day and by Night: Bomber War in Europe, 1939-45. Ken Merrick, Middlebrook's Bomber Command War Diaries. Also Alan CVooper’s The Berlin Raids
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