To Warmtoast re aiming points
Thank you for your kind remarks but Bravery....! We were all scared witless but knew that the consequences of not doing anything could not be contemplated so "Pressed on , regardless" as we used to say. No, I never bombed Munchen Gladbach but, in any case as we grew more accurate with the Pathdinder Force leading the way we bombed on their various coloured markers and the aimimg points were prechosen by the Pathfinders and then the Master Bomber would take over and direct the oncoming crews to bomb at different points and, above all stopped the notorious "creep back" caused by later waves bombing early on the already blazing targets. I doubt very much whether the water tower would have been chosen as an aiming point because, although it would stand out when viewed from ground level it would just be a very small circle viewed from above. Large prominent factories, junctions of large Railway yards, Railway staions, Reservoirs, River bends in populated areas were the types of aiming points chosen and the colours of the flares would be changed as the targets were saturated...All this over the R/T in a cool calm voice from people such as Leonard Cheshire VC and Guy Gibson VC who would stooge around the Hell raging below and above like a fussy hen gathering their chicks together. That was bravery ! All the very best, Regle