Icare9Raid procedure
Very sketchily and remember, it was a long time ago.
A briefing for all designated crews would take place any time after midday on the day. The Target and the route would be disclosed and the position of the Squadron in the attack. ie. First Wave of X waves with a time bracket of X minutes . Specific point of attack on target for the Squadron ( Always subject to Master Bomber Corrections later as the PFF got better and better ).Specific Altitudes to be flown and adhered to . Separation was always your own responsibility so constant vigilance was the price of safety. There was NO formation flying and your gunners were your eyes. There was also "Monica" which gave a constant Sqwauk" if something got close to you and was such a b....dy nuisance it was often switched off.
As the organisation got better, various turning points were shown by flares dropped by the PFF and the times over these points had to be strictly kept to the point of slowing down or speeding up where neccessary.. NOte. NEVER circuiting as this was asking for collisions and there were many, believe me.
It took the average loaded bomber an average of 500ft, per minute to climb to the designated cruising altitude. Obviously this differed from target to target and from Station to Station. There was absolutely no R/T allowed between aircraft. Crew cooperation was vital and don't forget that "corkscrewing " and evasion manoeuvres were tantamount and contributed to an Almighty mass of weaving and twisting flock of aercraft, usually from four hundred to seven hundred strong making their tortuous way there and back over times ranging from five to nine hours.
You can imagine the dilemma of aircraft caught up in searchlights or engaged in a battle with nightfighters. They had to try and stay with the stream for safety and , many times, this was impossible. Very often the way chosen by these unfortunates was to get down as low as possible and try and make their way back by the shortest route.
Finally as an example of the concentration that was achieved I take , from my logbook, Nov.3rd.1943 Target. Dusseldorf. Bombed from 19,000ft. 650 aircraft concentrated over 20 minutes of attack I also note that there were hundreds of searchlights. How many of the casualties were from collisions or avoiding collisions or even from bombs from other aircraft I can only guess.. but it was not pleasant, I can assure you.
I do hope that the decription of organised chaos helps in a search for what it was like. I hope that none of you ever have to go through anything like it. Reg.