The story
ESSEN
251 aircraft - 171 Wellingtons, 31 Hampdens, 27 Stirlings, 13 Halifaxes, 9 Manchesters. 10 aircraft - 7 Wellingtons, 2 Hampdens, 1 Halifax - lost.
173 aircraft claimed to have bombed Essen but their bombing photographs showed many localities of the Ruhr. Essen's records show a slight improvement in the bombing. 5 high-explosive and 200 incendiary bombs hit the Krupps factory and a large fire was started there. 28 private dwellings were destroyed and 50 seriously damaged. 27 people were killed, 36 injured and 9 were missing.
This raid concluded a disappointing series of raids on this target, which was judged to be the heart of the German armaments industry. There had been 8 heavy raids since the first Gee raid on 8/9 March. These are the conclusions:
Essen's records show that industrial damage was caused on only 2 occasions - a fire in the Krupps factory and a few bombs on some nearby railway lines - that 63 civilians were killed and that a modest amount of residential property had been hit.
Minor Operations: 27 aircraft to Le Havre, 18 Whitleys to Genoa (the target was cloud-covered), 4 Blenheim Intruders to Holland, 20 aircraft minelaying in the German Bight, 7 leaflet flights to France. No losses.
Total effort for the night: 327 sorties, 10 aircraft (3.1 percent) lost.
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Minor Operations
4 Wellingtons to Boulogne, 47 aircraft minelaying in the Frisians and the German Bight, 3 leaflet flights. 1 Stirling minelayer was lost.
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