Source : National Archives UK – WP (42) 284

Damage sustained by Industrial Targets in Occupied France.

The following is believed to be substantially true, but allowance should be made for possible exaggeration for propaganda purposes :— A private report, dated the 15th June, 1942, states that the disastrous scale of destruction by the R.A.F. in France is shown by the computations for the assessment of insurance claims and estimates of the cost of reconstruction listed in French technical publications or mentioned in official communications. A preliminary estimate of the damage on the Renault works amounts to 400 million francs. The total damage to French dockyards between the 7th and 21st May is given as 300 million francs. The R.A.F. attack on the docks at Nantes, including the Chantiers de Bretagne,- on the 8th May resulted in 20 million francs damage; this includes the ” ateliers des pompes d’alimentation et de reparations de locomotives,” the “ateliers de tracage des croquis,'” the ” bureau des etudes,” and the ” prise d’eau dans la Loire,” ; the resumption of work before the beginning of J u l y is unlikely. Other conspicuous destructions include the Gnome-et-Rhone works at Gennevilliers and the Fonderie Sautee Lorraine. The Dietrich works are entirely destroyed, the Ericsson makers of navigation apparatus were gutted by fire. At Goodrich, all “depots and halls containing spares and reserves w-ere destroyed. The Amiot aeroplane works were entirely destroyed. Matford at Poissy was entirely destroyed. At the Worms submarine factory at Tray-sur-Seine, about half the works were destroyed, including three submarines under construction. Between 150 and 200 workmen were killed.