Extract from bomber command summary of operations, Le Havre E-boat pens - effect of 12,000 lb bombs

MCheshireGL72021-181210-020011.jpg

Title

Extract from bomber command summary of operations, Le Havre E-boat pens - effect of 12,000 lb bombs

Description

Mentions two or three direct hits which penetrated the roof as well as some near misses. Describes damage to roof and foundations and subsequent collapse of the roof.

Temporal Coverage

Spatial Coverage

Language

Format

One-page typewritten document

Rights

This content is property of the Leonard Cheshire Archive which has kindly granted the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive a royalty-free permission to publish it. Please note that it was digitised by a third-party which used technical specifications that may differ from those used by International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive. It has been published here ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre.

Contributor

Identifier

MCheshireGL72021-181210-020011

Transcription

[underlined] EXTRACT FROM BOMBER COMMAND SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS.
LE HAVRE E-BOAT PENS – EFFECT OF 12,000 LB BOMBS. [/underlined]
During the attack, two or possibly three direct hits were scored, which in fact penetrated the roof and from examination of the general pattern obtained, it is evident that near misses were also achieved.
As a result of the attack, some 20,000 tons of the roof gave way some days later and crashed into the pens beneath. This would be in accordance with expectation, the process by which the destruction was caused being in all probability as follows.
The two direct hits which went deep amongst the foundations of the pens would, as designed, have secured the effect of blasting away the soil under the foundations of the immensely thick concrete dividing walls upon which the roofs of the pens rest. The shock wave and subsoil removal effect of the other bombs which fell nearby in the water would tend to undermine the whole building, and this coupled with the damage done by the direct hits would be likely to, as in fact it did, cause the collapse of the roof which was holed and cracked by the direct hits and left largely unsupported by the damage underneath the foundations.

Collection

Citation

“Extract from bomber command summary of operations, Le Havre E-boat pens - effect of 12,000 lb bombs,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed March 29, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/16541.

Item Relations

This Item dcterms:relation Item: Royal Air Force file cover - Le Havre 14/15 June 1944