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The

56. Hurricane bombers and Spitfires attacked a variety of targets in Northern France and in Holland including aerodromes, factories and communi- cations. Spitfires attacked six Me. 109's on the ground at Calais-Marck aerodrome, destroying one, probably destroying a second and damaging a further three. They also machine-gunned personnel on Le Touquet aerodrome. storage tanks of an alcohol factory at Fontaine-le-Dun, near Fecamp, were attacked by Spitfires, and a factory near St. Omer was bombed by Hurricanes, which registered several hits. Other targets attacked include motor transport near Le Touquet, a goods train, a power station and barges near St. Omer, and a meteorological station and gun positions on Schouwen Island in Holland.

57. During these operations our fighters destroyed in combat six enemy aircraft, probably destroyed one and damaged seven. Our losses were nine fighters, but one pilot was rescued.

Night.

58. The activities of the three Commands were again considerably restricted by continued bad weather. All bomber operations were cancelled on four nights of the week. Two hundred and fifty-eight sorties were flown, the principal targets being the naval bases at Brest and Lorient and the docks at Emden, Ostend, Dunkirk and Cherbourg. A total of 193 tons of H.E. bombs and 13,384 incendiaries were dropped.

59. Naval targets at Brest and Lorient were attacked on two nights by a total of 25 heavy bombers which dropped 107 tons of H.E. bombs. On the first night observation was difficult owing to thick cloud, but on the second there was bright moonlight with good visibility. The docks were seen clearly, but the battle cruisers were obscured by a smoke screen. It is believed that a large proportion of the bombs dropped close to the battle cruisers. Forty- five tons of H.E. bombs were dropped on Lorient Bursts were seen in the dock area and fires were started in the vicinity of the Southern Dry Docks.

60. A heavy attack was made on Emden on which a total of 87 tons of H.E. bombs and 11,000 incendiaries were dropped. Owing to thick cloud results could not be observed. At Cherbourg, where visibility was good, 23 tons of H.E. bombs were dropped in the dock area and bombs were seen to burst across the docks and on quays and wharves. A total of 20 tons of H.E. bombs was dropped on the docks at Dunkirk and Ostend. At the latter many bursts were seen in the dock area, where a number of fires were started.

61. Pamphlets were dropped in the Paris, Orleans, Dunkirk and Brest areas.

Havocs and Hurricanes of Fighter Command bombed aerodromes in Northern France.

62.

United Kingdom.

63. Fighter Command flew 1,737 sorties by day and 429 sorties by night. 64. Enemy operations by day were very limited. A few bombs were dropped in coastal areas.

65. At night no concentrated attack developed, although individual aircraft dropped bombs or parachute mines on several nights in the East and South-West coastal areas. Three enemy aircraft were destroyed by night during the week, and a Ju. 88 which got lost was captured intact.

Coastal Operations.

66. Unfavourable weather again hampered operations against enemy shipping. Coastal Command flew 173 patrols (291 sorties) and provided 26 convoy escorts (49 additional sorties). Shipping protection patrols by Fighter Command totalled 505 (1,314 sorties).

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