| Ever since March, when the German battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau entered the harbor at Brest to refuel after a raiding expedition in the Atlantic, these ships had been repeatedly attacked by the R.A.F., and several direct hits scored. In May they were rejoined by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen which had managed to reach port after the action in which the Bismarck was sunk. Attacks on these three valuable ships continued throughout the year, and the fact that they were unable to put to sea showed that they had suffered considerable damage. On December 18 a particularly heavy daylight attack was made on these ships by Sterling, Halifax and Manchester bombers, strongly escorted by Spitfire and Hurricane squadrons. A great weight of bombs was dropped and direct hits were scored on the dry docks in which the ships were berthed. Five British bombers and one fighter were lost against an enemy loss of eight fighters. Above, bombers are seen over the target during the raid.
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