Page 16 - Donald Bernard Graham

Fourth Operation

th
11 March 1945 Take off: 11.50 am Return: 17.00pm.

Essen – Area bombing Lancaster PD 271 T - Tare
1,079 aircraft - 750 Lancasters, 293 Halifaxes, 36 Mosquitos – from all Groups
attacked Essen. This was the largest number of aircraft sent to a target so far in the
war. 3 Lancasters lost. 4,661 tons of bombs were dropped on Oboe-directed
skymarkers through complete cloud cover. The attack was accurate and this great
blow virtually paralysed Essen until the American troops entered the city some time
later. This was the last RAF raid on Essen, which had been attacked so many times,
though often in the early years of the war with such disappointing and costly results.
Most of the city was now in ruins. 7,000 people had died in air raids. The pre-war
population of 648,000 had fallen to 310,000 by the end of April 1945; the rest had left
for quieter places in Germany.