page_title: Bombardment of Mailly-le-Camp
section_title: Marking the western end
hierarchical_section_title: Bombardment of Mailly-le-Camp / The raid / Marking the western end
caption_attribution_description: English: Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Vertical photograph taken during the night attack on the German tank and lorry depot near Mailly-le-Camp, France, by 346 Avro Lancasters of Nos. 1 and 5 Groups. A Lancaster, silhouetted by the large explosion, clears the target area during the raid which, although successful in the destruction caused, was costly in terms of aircraft losses, 42 being shot down by Luftwaffe night fighters.
context_page_description: The Bombardment of Mailly-le-Camp was an RAF raid against a German panzer training center located in northern France undertaken during the night of 3/4 May 1944. The mission was a part of the "softening up" campaign Bomber Command conducted prior to the D-Day invasion. The operation was assigned to No. 5 Group, which was joined by No. 1 Group. Estimated a lightly defended target, confusion in the mission plan and communication problems led to the force being held up at the assembly point, where German night fighters slipped in among the bombers. Though the bombers succeeded in destroying the training camp, the victory was achieved at a heavy price.
context_section_description: As the time for the second marking approached Fawke and Keane maneuvered their Mosquitos to make their run. Not realizing there was a second marking point to be illuminated, Deane took this moment to attempt to refresh the original red markers. Flying his Lancaster across the target area at 2,000 feet, he believed there would be a pause in the bombing to allow the remarking of the east end. Unfortunately, no real pause occurred. He soon found his aircraft being tossed about mercilessly. "Never have I had such a rough flight in a Lancaster. It did everything but stand upright on its tail as each stick of bombs exploded underneath us. I discovered later that the aircraft of 1 Group were carrying 4,000 pounders, for which the safe height was 4,000 feet." It would seem Deane was unfamiliar with the bomb loads detailed for the mission. Every aircraft in both Groups assigned to bomb the target carried a 4,000-pound blockbuster, along with 15 or 16 HE bombs. The only exceptions were those in the marker squadrons, Deane's own 83 Squadron and 97 Squadron.
  Observing the destruction going on at the assembly point, Cheshire wanted the whole force to just drop their bombs upon the east end markers. However, he was unable to raise Deane, so Cheshire ordered Kearns and Fawke to drop their secondary markers on the west end of the target as originally planned. Diving in from 5,000 feet, the two Mosquitos were soon buffeted by the ongoing explosions underneath them. At a quarter the weight of a Lancaster, the Mosquitos were tossed about much more violently. Fawke abandoned any thought of attempting a low level marking and released his flares at 2,000 feet, while Kearns let go at 3,000 feet. Even so, Kearns barely made it out. "I had just released my markers, checked 'bombs gone' and bomb-doors closed, when a bomb load exploded right in front of me. I don't even recall the next few seconds clearly, other than bright flashes, severe turbulence and the Mosquito being thrown all over the sky." After a few dicey moments he managed to regain control. Finding his navigator was uninjured, he pointed his aircraft for Woodhall Spa and home.
caption: A low flying Lancaster is seen through the glare of a burning Mailly-le-Camp
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