Operation Veracity l, 18 Dec 1941, BC claims compared to Lufwaffe losses

[phasselgren]

Hi,

On the 18th December 1941 Bomber Command made a daylight attack on Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen in Brest involving Stirling (18), Halifax (18) and Manchester (11) bombers. 7 bombers were lost. 5 fell to Bf 109s of these were 4 Stirlings shot down before the escorting fighters had time to interfere.

Escorting Spitfires claimed 4 destroyed and 1 damaged Bf109 (306 and 317 Sqns) and the Stirlings claimed 3 destroyed, 3 probables and 9 damaged (7 and 15 Sqns). The Stirlings started their bomb runs at 1230 and they were attacked by the fighters at this time. Stirling claims are from The Stirling Story by Michael J.F. Bowyer and these seems to match the claims in the ORBs of 7 and 15 Sqns. I have not seen any claims made by the Halifax or Manchester units.

Were there any losses on this date that can be identified as caused by the bombers? I hope this is not an impossible question to answer. Did any of the Luftwaffe pilots make any comments about the efficiency of the bombers fire?

Thanks in advance,
Peter