115 Squadron

3/4 March 1943

Wellington Mk III - Z1620 - KO-T

T/O East Wretham 1845 - Target Hamburg, Germany.

Source: 115 Squadron Roll of Honour by D. Bruce, W. R. Chorley, J. G. J. de Haan.

417 aircraft - 149 Lancasters, 123 Wellingtons, 83 Halifaxes, 62 Stirlings despatched.

Visibility was clear over the target but the Pathfinders made a mistake, possibly thinking that the H2S indications
of mudbanks in the Elbe which had been uncovered by the low tides were sections of the Hamburg docks.
Most of the Main Force bombing thus fell 13 miles downstream from the centre of Hamburg, around the small town of Wedel.
Even so, a proportion of the bombing force did hit Hamburg which suffered 27 people killed and 95 injured
and whose fire brigade had to put out 100 fires before devoting all its energies to helping the town of Wedel, which suffered so heavily.
The damage at Wedel included a large naval-clothing store burnt out as well as several important industrial
concerns destroyed in Wedel's harbour area and this illustrated another Bomber Command view:
that bombing could usually be useful even if the wrong target was hit.

10 aircraft - 4 Lancasters, 2 Wellingtons, 2 Halifaxes, 2 Stirlings - lost, 2.4 per cent of the force.

Source: nationalarchives.gov.uk - Bomber Command - Campaign Diary March 1943.

ORB. 3rd March, 1943.
6 aircraft took off between 18.30 hours & 18.45 hours to attack target HAMBURG.
4 aircraft successfully located the target by means of Pathfinder markers flares,
which they bombed from heights ranging between 12,000 & 13,000 feet.
Town was observed to be well ablaze and concentrated debris was blown very high,
black smoke belching up to 1,500 feet.
Photos were attempted.
1 of these aircraft (A/C. F.B.J.832 - Captain Sgt. SMALL. J.) landed at DOCKING on return.
1 aircraft (A/C. W.B.J.965 - Captain F/O. J. F. ANDREWS) was forced to abandon the sortie
due to overheating of port engine and defective oxygen supply and returned to base early after jettisoning its bombs safe
1 aircraft failed to return from operations.

00.35. 5 aircraft had returned safely to base.