Page 31 - John Musgrove

The German fortified island of Heligoland

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On the 16 April 1945 the crew’s on board camera took this picture from 17,500 feet. The
Lancasters war load consisted of 10 x 1, 000 lb general purpose bombs, 6 x 500 lb medium
capacity bombs and 4 x 250 lb general purpose bombs. 969 aircraft consisting of 617 Lancasters,
332 Halifaxes, and 20 Mosquitos of all Groups attacked the German naval base at Heligoland, the
airfield and the town on this small island. The bombing was accurate and the target areas were
turned almost into crater pitted moonscapes. 3 Halifaxes were lost. The island was subsequently
evacuated of all civilian and military personnel. Post war the surviving defence structures were
demolished by the British army using captured German munitions. This was the biggest
conventional explosion to date and the demolitions destroyed large parts of the island.