Does anyone have a list of all the aircraft types that took part in Harris’s famous 1000 bomber raid, it’s all this talk of PA474 thats got me going.
From my limited knowledge, Wellingtons, Halifaxes, Stirlings, Manchesters, Lancasters? Blenheims? Mosquitos? My old man always insisted that they were so desperate to aquire the numbers as a propoganda exercise, that even Sunderlands were involved.
I would be interested to know the percentage of each type too, I guess that Wellingtons may have been the majority of the a/c involved. Over to the experts.
By: G-ASEA - 27th April 2007 at 18:07
My father’s cousin was the pilot (J.B. Underwood) of the only lancaster lost on the first 1000 raid on Cologne. 61 sdqn lanc R5561. I have never found out what its code letter was. Last year his log books turn up, they had been put in a skip, then to the local RAFA inturn passing them on to the Bexley archive centre. Years of trying to do research paid of in the end! I never thought they would have survived.
Dave
By: Tony C - 27th April 2007 at 14:03
30/31 May 1942 – Cologne
602 Wellingtons – 29 lost
131 Halifaxes – 3 lost
88 Stirlings – 2 lost
79 Hampdens – 1 lost
73 Lancasters – 1 lost
46 Manchesters – 4 lost
28 Whitleys – 1 lost
1/2 June 1942 – Essen
545 Wellingtons – 15 lost
127 Halifaxes – 8 lost
77 Stirlings – 1 lost
71 Hampdens – 1 lost
74 Lancasters – 4 lost
33 Manchesters – 1 lost
29 Whitleys – 1 lost
25/26 June 1942 – Bremen
472 Wellingtons
124 Halifaxes
69 Stirlings
50 Hampdens
96 Lancasters
20 Manchesters
50 Whitleys
51 Blenhiems
24 Bostons
4 Mosquitoes
Individual losses are not highlighted in the book but total losses for the night were officially stated as being 50 aircraft
Figures from The Bomber Command War Diaries
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April 27, 2007 at 9:42 am