Raid on Cologne: 20 March 1945

858 aircraft - 531 Lancasters, 303 Halifaxes, 24 Mosquitos - raided Cologne in 2 waves. 6 Lancasters and 2 Halifaxes were lost and 1 Halifax crashed in Belgium. The first raid was carried out by 703 aircraft and the second by 155 Lancasters of No 3 Group. In the second raid, however, only 15 aircraft bombed, because the G-H station in England was not working correctly. The main raid was highly destructive, with the Pathfinders marking in clear weather conditions. This was the last RAF raid on Cologne, which was captured by American troops 4 days later.

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