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marked tendency to disperse on being intercepted by our fighters, and generally have dropped their bombs indiscriminately over a wide area, principally in Kent and Sussex. Enemy aircraft also appear to be disinclined to press home their attacks in the face of the heavy anti-aircraft barrage. During the week Fighter Command have flown an average of approximately 40 sorties each night and a total of 904 patrols, involving 5,230 sorties, by day. Details of casualties are given in Appendix VI.

Enemy Territory in Europe.

34. While the weather conditions throughout the week have not generally been favourable for either day or night attacks, the scale of operations has not been greatly reduced; Bomber Command flew 71 day and 653 night sorties. Numerous marshalling yards, oil, shipping and industrial targets have been attacked in Germany, and the Berlin area has been visited on three occasions, while a heavy scale of attack has been maintained against the Channel ports. Successful daylight attacks were made on Calais, Ostend and Dunkirk, and a number of small ships were bombed off the Dutch coast.

35. The operations against the Channel ports, in which Coastal Command also took part, were principally directed against Calais, Dunkirk, Boulogne, Havre and Ostend, a lighter scale of attack being made against Flushing, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Fécamp and Cherbourg. On the nights of the 26th/27th and 27th/28th September particularly heavy attacks were made against Havre, many violent explosions being caused and large fires started; three aircraft reported further explosions when they were 60 or 70 miles on their return journey. Further operations against Havre and the attacks on the other ports were also very successful; although in some cases results could not be observed it is considered that very extensive damage was done. A heavy attack was made against the submarine base at Lorient, thirty heavy bombers taking part; many large fires were caused and explosions were seen among buildings and on the docks. On a number of occasions the gun emplacements at Cap Gris Nez were attacked.

36. The largest operation against targets in the Berlin area was made on the night of the 30th/1st, when forty-two heavy bombers were despatched; a military objective in central Berlin was heavily attacked and many direct hits were reported on this target. On the same night the power stations at Klingen- berg and Charlottenburg, the B.M.W. factory at Spandau, a central railway station and the yards at Schoneberg were located and attacked. On two other occasions attacks were made on industrial targets in the Berlin area, but on a lighter scale.

In an attack on warships at Kiel it is believed that Scharnhorst was hit, and an attack was also made on Tirpitz at Wilhelmshaven, but results were not observed. Attacks on communications included both the old and new aqueducts on the Dortmund-Ems Canal and most of the principal marshalling yards in Western Germany. It is believed that at Mannheim an ammunition train was blown up; but in many cases, on account of intense darkness and low cloud, results could not be observed. A number of synthetic oil plants, including those at Leuna, Gelsenkirchen, Misburg, Sterkradeholten and Stettin, were successfully attacked. The Bosch factory at Stuttgart, the aluminium works at Bitterfeld, the nickel works at Hanau, near Frankfort, the Fokker factory at Amsterdam, Krupps works at Essen, and numerous other industrial targets and aerodromes were also successfully located and attacked.

North Sea and Coastal.

37.

During the week 352 anti-invasion and anti-submarine patrols and photographic and offensive reconnaissances, involving 634 sorties, were flown, and escorts were provided for 132 convoys. During these operations eleven of our aircraft had encounters with the enemy, resulting in two enemy aircraft being destroyed. Bomber Command flew daily a North Sea Sweep, destroying one and probably two Do. 18 flying boats. On the 25th September a lifeboat from the City of Benares was sighted by a Sunderland, resulting in the survivors being rescued. Minelaying continued during the week, on one occasion flares being

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