1. 6 Nov 44. Gelsenkirchen. PA161 ‘X’. 1214-1619. Large daylight raid (748 Halifaxes, Lancasters and Mosquitos, of which 3 Lancaster and 2 Halifax lost) on the Nordstern synthetic oil plant. Attacked from 17000’ in good vis @1404. Target identified by fire & smoke. 1 x 4000lb + incendiaries. At 1403 the crew sighted a 4 engined ac one mile South burst into flames and explode. Debris, inc undercarriage seen falling. Crew reported slight to moderate flak, mainly predicted and accurate, bursting 18-22000’. One of 11 300 Sqn ac on the raid, one of which failed to return.
2. 9 Nov 44. Wanne. ME744 ‘V’. 0755-1314. Oil refinery target (256 Lancasters, 21 Mosquitos of which 2 Lancasters lost). Sky markers dropped by Oboe Mosquitos obscured by solid cloud to 21-22000’. Crew bombed from 20000’ at 1046 on ETA. German records indicate little damage. 11 ac from 300 Sqn, all returned.
3. 16 Nov 44. Duren. Lancaster I NG265 ‘V’. 1305-1735. Duren was one of 3 towns attacked and destroyed in support of the advancing American Army. 1188 aircraft were involved, 498 of which (485 Lancaster and 13 Mosquitos, of which 3 Lancasters were lost) attacked Duren. 3127 casualties in Duren, but the American advance was slow due to wet ground, preventing the use of tanks, while artillery was short of ammunition. Crew bombed from 11000’ at 1532 with 1 x 4000lb bomb plus other GP bombs, including time delay. The target was identified by the town, river and TIs; bombing ‘concentrated and accurate’.
4. 21 Nov 44. Aschaffenburg. NG265 ‘V’. 1553-2227. 274 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitoes attacked railway yards and lines, with much damage caused to marshalling yards and workshops, with much damage to old buildings including a church and the local castle. Crew bombed from 14000’ at 1921, bombing on red Tis and a red glow. Moderate flak. 2 Lancasters lost, neither of which was from the 11 sent by 300 Sqn.
5. 27/28 Nov 44. Freiburg. NG265 ‘V’. 1623-2247. American and French troops were advancing in the Vosges, 35 miles to the West. Not previously attacked, Freiburg was a minor railway centre and many German troops were believed to be in the town. 341 Lancasters and 10 Mosquitos attacked, marking based on Oboe from caravans situated in France. An unusually high casualty rate suggests that the town was taken by surprize and was unprepared for air attack. The crew bombed from 13500’ at 2003 on TIs. No searchlights but Flak moderate to intense.
6. 6/7 Dec 44. Leuna, near Merseburg, just W of Leipzig. NG265 ‘V’. 1703-0018. The RAF’s first major attack on an oil target in Eastern Germany; 475 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitos, of which 5 Lancasters were lost. Considerable damage caused to the synthetic oil plant. Crew bombed on TIs from 18000’ at 2046. 2 minutes earlier, the fuselage was damaged by heavy flak, one of three 300 Sqn aircraft to be damaged of the 13 which took part in the raid, all of which returned.
7. 12/13 Dec 44. Essen. NG265 ‘V’. 1640-2217. The last heavy night raid of the War on Essen (540 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitoes, of which 6 Lancasters were lost) and mentioned specifically by Albert Speer during his post-war interrogation on account of its accuracy. Crew bombed from 20000’ at 1941 on flares.
8. 22/23 Dec 44. Koblenz. NG265 ‘V’. 1530 – 2105. 166 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos attacked the Mosel railway yards, but most bombs fell in farmland and villages to the West. Crew bombed from 20000’on TIs at 1851. All 300 Sqn aircraft diverted to airfields with FIDO due to fog at Faldingworth.
9. 28 Dec 44. Bonn. NG265 ‘V’. 1542-2110. 162 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitoes attacked railway installations. Crew bombed on TIs from 16000’ at 1843.
10. 29 Dec 44. Scholven Oil Refinery. NG265 ‘V’. 1520-2103. 324 Lancasters and 22 Mosquitoes attacked, causing substantial damage to the oil refinery; 4 Lancasters lost. Crew bombed from 20000’ at 1904, with concentrated flak up to 16000’. 300 Sqn despatched 15 aircraft, one of which aborted due to engine failure; the remaining 14 completed the mission successfully.
11. 2 Jan 45. Nuremburg. NG265 ‘V’. 1518-2314. 514 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitos attacked in a near-perfect example of area bombing in which 4 Lancasters were lost; substantial damage was caused, including severe damage to important factories in the Southern part of the City, while the centre of the City was destroyed. Crew bombed on TIs from 17000’ at 1938. Fires seen in the town and the glow from the fire visible for 150 miles during the return journey. 300 Sqn contributed 18 aircraft, one of which aborted due to intercom failure and one of which did not return.
12. 5 Jan 45. Royan. PB854 ‘I’. 0232-0900. This was a controversial raid on a German garrison in a French town; many French civilians were killed. Crew bombed on TIs from 8000’ at 0529, but 6 of their bombs hung up. 300 Sqn contributed 14 aircraft, 2 of which did not take off due to departing the perimeter track; the remaining 12 bombed and returned.
13. 6 Jan 45. Neuss. NG265 ‘V’. 1601-2040. 147 Lancasters attacked the town, an important junction in the German railway system. Crew bombed from 19000’ at 1846 on TIs. Fires seen from 30 miles during the return. 300 Sqn had intended to contribute 15 aircraft but two had not been loaded with bombs in time for the raid.
14. 7 Jan 45. Munich. NG265 ‘V’. 1843-0257. 645 Lancasters and 9 Mosquitos attacked in the last major raid on Munich; 11 Lancasters were lost and 4 more crashed in France. Crew bombed on flares from 20000’ at 2231 in poor visibility. Crew reported that flares were scattered and no results observed.
9-12 Jan – poor weather with all 300 Sqn personnel involved in clearing snow from the runway. 14/15 Jan – Ilnicki’s crew and one other were unable to take part in that night’s raid against Messeburg? due to an accident while taxying.
16/17 Jan 45. Zeitz. NG265 ‘V’. The target was the Braunkohle-Benzin synthetic oil plant near Leipzig. Ilnicki did not take off due to an unserviceable compass. One 300 Sqn aircraft did not return from this mission, one of 10 lost from the 328 which took part in the raid.
15. 28/29 Jan 45. Stuttgart. NG265 ‘V’. 602 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitoes attacked in the last major raid of the War on this city; bombing was scattered, with much damage to nearby towns and villages. 6 Lancasters, 4 Halifaxes and one Mosquito were lost. Crew bombed on flares from 18000’ at 2339, with fires seen in the target area. One of four 300 Sqn aircraft, one of which aborted due to unserviceable ‘Gee’ and one of which did not return.
16. 1 Feb 45. Ludwigshafen. NG265 ‘V’. 1604-2237. 382 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitoes attacked, of which 6 Lancasters were lost. Crew bombed from 15000’ at 1921, identifying the target by flares and bombing on the glow of fire.
17. 2 Feb 45. Wiesbaden. NG265 ‘V’. 2130-0305. 495 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitoes attacked in the RAF’s only major raid of the War on this target. 3 Lancasters crashed in France; War industries on the banks of the Rhine undamaged, but the railway station was damaged. The crew bombed from 20000’ at 2349 in poor visibility, using Gee homing and the glow of fires. Bombing appeared scattered and no TIs seen. 300 Sqn contributed 12 aircraft, one of which did not return.
18. 8/9 Feb 45. Politz. NG265 ‘V’. 1938-0350. 475 Lancasters – of which 12 were lost - and 7 Mosquitoes attacked the synthetic oil plant, causing sufficient damage to preclude it producing oil from this time. Speer mentioned this raid as a big setback to Germany’s war effort during his post-war interrogation. The crew bombed from 12000’ at 2316 and reported both TIs and bombing very concentrated. Evasive action taken to avoid falling bombs. 300 Sqn contributed 12 aircraft, all of which returned.
19. 14/15 Feb 45. Chemnitz. NG265 ‘V’. 2026-0445. 499 Lancasters and 218 Halifaxes attacked as part of Operation THUNDERCLAP, which had started the previous night with the famous raid on Dresden. Total cloud cover led to the employment of sky marking only, with post-raid reconnaissance showing that most bombing was in open country. The crew bombed from 19000’ at 0032, bombing on the flares.
20. 20/21 Feb 45. Dortmund. Lancaster I SW279 ‘E’. 2156-0350. 514 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos attacked with the aim of destroying the southern half of the City in the last large raid of the war on Dortmund; 14 Lancasters were lost. The crew bombed on TIs from 19000’. 300 Sqn contributed 15 aircraft, one of which did not return.
21. 21/22 Feb 45. Duisburg. SW279 ‘E’. 1959-0137. 362 Lancasters and 11 Mosquitoes in the last major raid on Duisburg; 7 Lancasters lost. Crew bombed on TIs from 18000’ at 2306: “Good Bombing”.
5 Mar was due to be Chemnitz in NG283 ‘W’, but Ilnicki cancelled before take off due to unserviceable intercom.
22. 7/8 Mar 45. Dessau. NG265 ‘V’. 1721-0217. 526 Lancasters and 5 Mosquitos against a new target in Eastern Germany. 18 Lancasters (3.4%) lost. Crew bombed from 13000’ at 2158; bombing “rather good”.
23. 8/9 Mar 45. Kassel. NG265 ‘V’. 1745-0033. 262 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos on the first large raid to Kassel since October 1943; this was also the last major raid on Kassel. The crew bombed on sky markers from 21000’ at 2130 and saw fires from 100 miles during thee return journey.
24. 11 Mar 45. Essen. NG265 ‘V’. 1203-1700. 1079 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitos – the largest number of aircraft sent on a raid thus far; an accurate attack which paralyzed the City until the arrival of American troops some days later. The crew bombed from 19000’ at 1505.
25. 12 Mar 45. Dortmund. NG265 ‘V’. 1323-1851. 1108 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitoes – the largest number of aircraft to any single target of the War; 2 Lancasters lost. Post-War study showed this to be a raid that would have halted all production for months. The crew bombed from 16000’ at 1635 in very good visibility, using smoke puffs as the aiming point. Cloud tops were at 6-7000’, with smoke rising 200’ above that.
26. 21/22 Mar 45. Bruchstrasse. Lancaster I PD379 ‘S’. 0107-0655. 131 Lancasters and 12 Mosquitoes attacked the Benzol oil plant in Langendreer, eastern Bochum. The crew attacked from 17500’ on TIs at 0415; TIs and bombing appeared well concentrated with fires visible for 60 miles on the return journey.
27. 23 Mar 45. Bremen Bridge. NG265 ‘V’. 0709-1159. 117 Lancasters against railway bridge. The crew bombed from 18000’ at 1005, bombing visually on the estimated position of the bridge as it was obscured by smoke; bombing appeared “rather accurate”.
28. 27 Mar 45. Paderborn. NG265 ‘V’. 1518-1955. 268 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos to attack the town, where American troops were attempting to complete the encirclement of the Ruhr; town destroyed in less than 15 minutes without loss. The crew bombed from 17000’ at 1735 in good visibility.
29. 3 Apr 45. Nordhausen. NG265 ‘V’. 1340-1942. 247 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos attacked what was thought to be military barracks, but housed forced workers for secret weapons programmes in a complex built after the 1943 attack on Peenemunde. Bombing was accurate with many casualties. The crew bombed from 13000’ at 1618, using an H2S fix.
30. 4 Apr 45. Lutzkendorf. NG265 ‘V’. 2131-0513. 258 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos against the oil refinery; 6 Lancasters lost. The crew bombed on TIs from 14000’ at 0129.
31. 9/10 Apr 45. Kiel. 591 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitoes against the harbour area. The U-boat yard was severely damaged, the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer was capsized, the Admiral Hipper and Emden badly damaged. All 3 shipyards hit. The crew bombed on TIs from 19000’ on 2232; bombing appeared “really good”.
32. 10/11 Apr 45. Plauen. NG265 ‘V’. 1853-1259. 307 Lancasters and 8 Mosquitos against railway yards. The crew bombed from 18500’ at 2312 on TIs; bombing appeared concentrated with smoke rising to 10000’ and glow visible from 0ver 100 miles away during the return journey.
