Twentieth and twenty first operations, Brux and Siegen

Twentieth and twenty first operations, Brux and Siegen

Handwritten notes giving brief description of the operations, two relevant newspaper clippings titled 'R.A.F send out 1200 bombers. 1600 mile raid by 200 Lancasters' and '1,000 RAF bombers help the Russians'.

Two handwritten notes and three newspaper cuttings on an album page

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PPopeKMJ18010063

[underlined]
Twentieth Operation
BRUX or MOST
Tuesday Night. January 16th 1945
Airborne 9hrs 25mins
[/underlined]

R.A.F. SEND OUT 1200 BOMBERS
1600 Mile Raid by 200 Lancasters
United States Eigth Air Force heavy bombers, with fighter escort, were over Germany again to-day.
R.A.F. Bomber Command sent out more than 1200 aircraft last night. They hit three synthetic oil plants in Germany and Czecho-Slovakia.
About 200 Lancasters made a round trip of over 1600 miles to drop a great weight of bombs in a concentrated attack on the synthetic oil plant [inserted] X [/inserted] [underlined] Brux [/underlined] [inserted] X [/inserted] in the Sudetenland of Czecho-Slovakia.
This is the first time this target has been hit from England, but it has previously been attacked by United States heavies from the Mediterranean – the most recent blow being on Christmas day.
A second large force of Lancasters attacked the smaller synthetic oil plant at Zeitz, near Leipzig, 530 miles from London. All crews agree that the attack went according to plan.
Others attacked the oil plant at Wanne Eickel, the fifth largest oil plant in the Ruhr.
And nearly 400 Halifaxes bombed the industrial town of Magdeburg, 500 miles from London, the largest town in Saxony.
Objectives in Mannheim and Hamburg were also bombed, and mines were laid in enemy waters.
From these operations 28 of our aircraft are missing.

1,000 RAF BOMBERS HELP THE RUSSIANS
More than a thousand RAF bombers went out from England to help the Russians on the Eastern Front.
Announcing this, the Air Ministry said the raid was to “prevent the Germans sending large bodies of troops and equipment to the Eastern Front.”
Three main railway centres were heavily attacked – Mainz, Ludwigshaven and Siegen. Berlin was also bombed.

[underlined]
Twenty First Operation.
SIEGEN
Thursday Night. February 1st 1945.
Airborne 7hrs 30mins
[/underlined]