Detachment 6: Donna Nook - 1,000 Bomber Raid

The Detachment to Donna Nook was of great importance, just prior to this on the 9th of June, U-Boats are first mentioned in the Log-book.

'U-Boat Hunt - No Result'

The Donna Nook Detachment commenced on the 24th of June. It was on the 25th of June that Ken took part in the 1,000 Bomber Raid over Bremen. Ken left Donna Nook with Rattery, Sgt Liptrott and Sgt W.M.Miller. The orders were:

• Bomb Primary Target: Bremen
• Bomb Secondary Target: Duisburg

The 'Thousand Force' was reassembled for this 3rd raid, although only 960 aircraft became available for Bomber Command use. Every type of aircraft in Bomber Command was included. The force was composed of the following:

• 472 Wellingtons
• 124 Halifaxs
• 96 Lancasters
• 69 Stirlings
• 51 Blenheims
• 50 Hampdens
• 50 Whitleys
• 24 Bostons
• 20 Manchesters
• 4 Mosquitos
• 102 Hudsons & Wellingtons of Coastal Command (Ken was piloting one of these)

Parts of the force were allocated specific targets in Bremen:

• The entire of 5 Group effort (142 aircraft) were ordered to bomb the Focke Wolfe Factory (see photo below).
• 20 Blenheims were ordered to bomb the A.G Weser shipyard
• Coastal Command was ordered to bomb the Deschimag Shipyard
• All other aircraft to carry out area attacks on the town and docks

The tactics were based on the earlier bomber raids except that the bombing period was now only 65 minutes. Bremen is on the wide River Weser and should have been an easy target to find. There were doubts about a band of cloud that lay across the Bremem area that day, but this was being pushed steadily eastwards by a strong wind. Unfortunately the wind dropped in the evening and the bomber crews found the area completely covered for the whole period of the raid. The limited success that was gained was entirely due to the use of leading crews' bombs, creating fires, onto the glow of which many aircraft of later waves bombed. 696 Bomber Command aircraft were able to claim attacks on Bremen with damage as follows...

• 572 houses destroyed
• 6,108 houses damaged
• 85 people killed
• 497 people injured
• 2,378 people bombed out
• Assembly shop within Focke Wolfe factory flattened
• 6 buildings within Focke Wolfe factory seriously damaged
• 11 buildings within Focke Wolfe factory damaged
• 4 important industrial firms damaged
• 2 large dockside warehouses damaged

Focke Wolfe Factory

Extract from Log-book: June 25th

'Raid on Bremen'

The actual losses of Bomber Command involved in the raid were 48 aircraft which included 4 that came down in the sea near England, from which all but 2 crew members were rescued. This was a new record loss and it represented exactly 5% of the Bomber Command aircraft dispatched.  5 of the 102 Coastal Command aircraft were lost.

Newspapers

Daily Express: 27th June 1942

Daily Telegraph: 27th June 1942