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Gardening Operation
53 archive reports
During the Second World War "gardening" was the RAF term given to the dropping of mines from bomber aircraft into the sea. The mines were "sown" near ports and harbours, inland waterways, estuaries (as in the Gironde in western France) and in busy shipping lanes. Throughout Europe the coastline was split into various targets and also given distinct code names; the majority (but not all) were given names of trees and plants. The regular mining of the coastline forced the Germans to deploy upwards of 20,000 military personnel to deal with the mines. The German navy - the Kriegsmarine - was responsible for mine-sweeping duties, but there was also the placement of searchlights and anti-aircraft batteries to engage bombers attempting to drop mineGardening ops were often used as the first operation for a new crew on a squadron. It's often conveyed that these operations were not all that hazardous but a number of bombers were lost undertaking them. The key issue was that to successfully place the mines in the correct position, a bomber would have to fly considerably lower than a usual bombing sortie over, say, a German city. Accuracy was essential and the bomber would generally fly under 1500 feet. This would make them an obvious target for flak. Bombers would generally drop several mines on a single bomb run. The navigator and pilot would get the aircraft positioned for the bomb aimer to reduce each mine over the designated area. The crucial part was to ensure the mines landed in an area that was being used as a shipping lane. This would necessitate mine-sweeping and cause considerable delays to shipping either entering or leaving ports. (Courtesy https://www.lancaster-ed559.co.uk)
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