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'Saint-Leu-d'Esserent' is a small town and commune situated on the banks of the river Oise, in France. During World War II, the mushroom caves of 'Saint Leu' were one of three major underground Luftwaffe bases -- Nucourt and Rilly La Montange also were bombed during Operation Crossbow. In addition to the caves, the Saint-Leu-d'Esserent facility included blockhouses, bunkers, flak emplacements and railway links.

Contents

Bombing of Saint-Leu-d'Esserent during World War II

List of V-1 storage depots

References & Notes

Bombing of Saint-Leu-d'Esserent during World War II

Allied intelligence firmly identified late in June 1944 that Nucourt and 'Saint-Leu-d'Esserent' were V-1 flying bomb storage depots, The Battle of the V-Weapons, 1944-1945, , Basil, Collier, The Emfield Press, 1976, and Saint-Leu-d'Esserent was initially bombed by the US Army Air Force on June 27. Leopold
On July 4/5, Bomber Command No. 5 Group used Tallboy bombs in an attempt to collapse the limestone roof of the caves. The Mare's Nest, , David, Irving, William Kimber and Co, 1964, The bombing started on July 4 by 17 Avro Lancasters, 1 de Havilland Mosquito and 1 P-51 Mustang of No 617 Squadron and was accurate and without loss. After the No 617 Squadron bombing, No 5 Group attacked St Leu d'Esserent immediately (Bomber Command records show the No 617 Squadron operation as a day raid and the later operation as a night raid.) The second wave continue to July 5 and was accurate, but 13 Lancasters were lost to German fighters. Campaign Diary '1944': June, July, August, September, October, November, December '1945': January, February, March, April
A raid on the evening of July 7 by 208 Lancasters and 13 Mosquitos (mainly No 5 Group but with some Pathfinders) successfully blocked the tunnels. 31 planes were shot down by German night-fighters. The Hardest Victory - RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War, , Denis, Richards, , 1994,

List of V-1 storage depots

To supply World War II V-1 flying bombs to launch sites in the Calais region, Germany began construction on several storage depots in August 1943: Hitler’s Rocket Sites, , , Heashall, St Martin's Press, 1985,
:
★ Renescure near St Omer (finished November 1943, bombed June 16, 1944) 8th Air Force 1944 Chronicles '1944': January, February, June, July, August, September
:
★ Sautricourt near Saint-Pol (bombed June 16, 1944)
:
★ Domléger near Abbeville (bombed June 14 & 16, 1944)[1]
:
★ Neuville-au-Bois in the Somme ''département'' (bombed June 21, 1944, never completed)
:
★ St Martin l'Hortier (bombed June 21, 1944, never completed)
:
★ Biennais (never completed)
For serving the 10 launch sites planned for Normandy, a depot was constructed at
:
★ Beauvais (bombed June 14, 15 & 16, 1944)
A depot to serve Cherbourg launches was near
:
★ Valognes
By February/March 1944, a plan for three new underground V-1 storage sites was put into effect for
:
★ Nucourt between Pontoise and Gisons (bombed June 22 1944)
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★ 'St Leu-d'Esserent'
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★ Rilly-la-Montagne railway tunnel (near Reims).
A larger bunker was built at
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★ Siracourt, between Calais and the river Somme, The Rocket Team, , Frederick I, III, Ordway, Thomas Y. Crowell, ,
as a V-1 storage depot. The Siracourt and Equeurdreville sites were completed as V-1 bunkers, but a bunker at Lottinghen never progressed beyond site clearance. Hitler’s Rocket Sites, , , Heashall, St Martin's Press, 1985, Circa October 1943, Allied photographic intelligence reported the Siracourt V-1 site, and bombing of the "Heavy Crossbow" installations at Siracourt, Éperlecques, La Coupole and Mimoyecques was extensive:^[1]

Operation Crossbow bombing of 'Siracourt' (25 dates)
Mission	Date	Result
Mission 203	January 31, 1944	74 of 74 B-24's hit V-weapon site construction at St. Pol/'Siracourt', France; 2 aircraft are damaged beyond repair; no losses. The B-24's are escorted by 114 P-47's)
Mission 212	February 6, 1944[2][3]	150 B-24s are dispatched to St Pol/'Siracourt' V-weapon site but 37 hit Chateaudun Airfield
Mission 214	February 8, 1944	53 of 54 B-24s hit the V-weapon site at 'Siracourt'
Mission 218	February 11, 1944	94 of 201 B-24s bomb the 'Siracourt' V-weapon site in France with PFF equipment
Mission 220	February 12, 1944	97 of 99 B-24s hit the V-weapon site at St Pol/'Siracourt', France; 29 B-24s are damaged; no losses or casualties; escort is provided by 84 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-47's and 41 P-51s; no claims, losses or casualties.
	February 13, 1944	453rd Bombardment Group[4]
Mission 223	February 15, 1944[5]	52 of 54 B-24s hit V-weapon sites at St Pol/'Siracourt', France; 29 B-24s are damaged; no losses or casualties.
Mission 256	March 12, 1944[6]	46 of 52 B-24s dispatched hit a V-weapon site at St Pol/'Siracourt', France and 6 hit targets of opportunity, all using blind-bombing techniques; 1 B-24 is lost and 26 damaged; casualties are 1 WIA.
	April 20, 1944	466th Bombardment Group[7]
	April 27, 1944	466th Bombardment Group[8]
Mission 288	April 5, 1944[9]	21 of 50 B-24s dispatched hit V-weapon sites at St Pol/'Siracourt', France without loss; heavy clouds and the failure of blind-bombing equipment cause other B-24s to return to base without bombing. 50 P-47s escort the B-24s without loss.
Mission 329	April 30, 1944[10]	52 of 55 B-24s bomb V-weapon sites at 'Siracourt'; 3 B-24s are damaged; 1 airman is WIA. Escort is provided by 128 P-38s, 268 P-47s and 248 Eighth and Ninth Air Force P-51s
	May 2, 1944	453rd Bombardment Group[11]
Mission 340	May 6,1944	168 bombers and 185 fighters are dispatched to hit NOBALL (V-weapon) targets in France; 90 B-17s dispatched to the Pas de Calais area return to base with bombs due to cloud cover over the target; 70 of 78 B-24s hit 'Siracourt'; 48 B-17s are damaged. Escort is provided by 57 Ninth Air Force P-38s, 47 P-47s and 81 P-51s without loss.
Mission 356	May 15,1944[12]	166 bombers and 104 fighters hit V-weapon sites in France with 1 fighter lost; 38 of 58 B-17s bomb Marquise/Mimoyecques with 5 B-17s damaged; 90 of 108 B-24s bomb 'Siracourt' with 8 B-24s damaged; escort is provided by 104 P-51s with 1 lost (pilot is MIA).
Mission 360	May 21,1944[13]	150 bombers and 48 fighters hit V-weapon sites in France without loss; 25 of 40 B-17s hit Marquise/Mimoyecques and 13 B-17s are damaged; 99 of 110 B-24s hit 'Siracourt' and 1 B-24 is damaged. Escort is provided by 48 P-47s without loss.
Mission 361	May 22,1944[14]	94 of 96 B-24s hit V-weapon sites at 'Siracourt', France; 1 B-24 is damaged. Escort is provided by 145 P-38s, 95 P-47s and 328 P-51s; P-38s claim 8-1-5 Luftwaffe aircraft, P-47s claim 12-1-2 and P-51s claim 2-2-1; 3 P-38s, 3 P-47s and a P-51 are lost; 1 P-38 and 2 P-47s are damaged beyond repair; 1 P-38, 2 P-47s and a P-51 are damaged; 6 pilots are MIA.
	May 30, 1944	447th Bombardment Group[15]
Mission 429	June 21, 1944[16]	In the late afternoon, 31 B-24s bomb CROSSBOW (V-weapon) supply sites at Oisemont/Neuville and Saint-Martin-L'Hortier and 39 bomb a rocket site at 'Siracourt', France. AA fire shoots down 1 B-24; escort is provided by 99 P-47s, meeting no enemy aircraft, but 1 group strafes railroad and canal targets.
	June 22,1944	234 aircraft - 119 Lancasters, 102 Halifaxes, 13 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 5 and 8 Groups to special V-weapon sites and stores. The sites at Mimoyecques and 'Siracourt' were accurately bombed by 1 and No 4 Group forces with Pathfinder marking but the No 617 Squadron force attacking Wizernes failed to find its target because of cloud and returned without dropping its bombs. 1 Halifax lost from the Siracourt raid.
	June 25, 1944[17]	323 aircraft - 202 Halifaxes, 106 Lancasters, 15 Mosquitos - of Nos 1, 4, 6 and No 8 Group attacked 3 flying bomb sites. The weather was clear and it was believed that all 3 raids were accurate. 2 Halifaxes of No 4 Group were lost from the raid on the Montorgueil site. No 617 Squadron sent 17 Lancasters, 2 Mosquitos and 1 Mustang to bomb the 'Siracourt' flying-bomb store.
	June 29,1944	286 Lancasters and 19 Mosquitos of Nos 1, 5 and 8 Groups attacked 2 flying-bomb launching sites and a store. There was partial cloud cover over all the targets; some bombing was accurate but some was scattered. 5 aircraft - 3 Lancasters and 2 Mosquitos - lost, including the aircraft of the Master Bomber on the raid to the 'Siracourt' site.
	July 6, 1944	551 aircraft - 314 Halifaxes, 210 Lancasters, 26 Mosquitos, 1 Mustang - attacked 5 V-weapon targets. Only 1 aircraft was lost, a No 6 Group Halifax from a raid on 'siracourt' flying-bomb store. Four of the targets were clear of cloud and were believed to have been bombed accurately but no results were seen at the Forêt de Croc launching site. There was a spectacular collapse after a direct hit from a Tallboy bomb.
	August 1, 1944	No. 617 Squadron RAF[18]
Mission 515	August 4,1944	The first Operation Aphrodite mission is flown using 4 radio-controlled war weary B-17s as flying bombs; targets are Mimoyecques, 'Siracourt', Watten, and Wizernes V-weapon sites but none are hit; 1 drone B-17 crashes killing 1 crew. Escort is provided by 16 P-47s and 16 P-51s.

References & Notes

1. Investigations of the "Heavy Crossbow" installations in Northern France.