bombing

Mar

2

1943

The Rose Street protest in central Berlin

The Nazi propaganda Minister Goebbels visiting the burnt out remains of Hedwigs cathedral, hit by the bombing raid of 1st March 1943.

When the officials said that the people could not yet be released, the women suggested that they wanted to stay with their husbands in jail. The officials answered that it was not allowed because the men are under arrest. The women replied that Rose Street was not a prison, and they had the right to enter the building. The Fuhrer would certainly not approve of such an unlawful practice …

Mar

1

1943

Bomber Command revisit Berlin

Handley Page Halifax B Mark II Series 1A, HR952 'MH-X', of No. 51 Squadron RAF receiving a mixed load of 500-lb MC bombs and incendiaries in its dispersal at Snaith, Yorkshire, for a night raid on Germany.

By this time we are entering the Berlin defensive ring – about 80 miles across. So long as we are only subject to barrage fire, the best bet is to grit one’s teeth and fly straight to get through as quickly as possible, but this time we are unlucky. A searchlight picks us out and almost at once we are at the dazzling centre of a cone with predicted flak coming up at us. Dropping 2,000 feet to keep clear ofthe incoming bomber stream, I turn through 180 degrees and fly north out of range of the defences. Then I swing south again to join the tail end of the attack and try again.

Feb

15

1943

Bombed by own aircraft as RAF attack Milan

Lancasters awaiting takeoff at Scampton.

At that point my job was to stand on the step ahead of the main spar and put my head up into the astro hatch to assist the gunners in keeping a look out for fighters. For some inexplicable reason, I did something I had never done before; I looked directly above and got the shock of my life. In the glow from the searchlights and target I saw another Lancaster 30 feet above us on exactly the same heading and, like us, his bomb doors were open! The 4,000lb bomb looked enormous and I knew it could be released at any second.

Jan

27

1943

‘U.S. bombs, from U.S. airplanes,’ hit Germany

The B-17 Flying Fortress was the U.S. bomber most closely identified with the bombing campaign against Germany.

Germany, for the first time, was bombed with U.S. bombs, from U.S. airplanes, with U.S. crews. … Ten to fifteen ME-109s were observed by the crews and about 30 encounters ensued. There were many claims for aircraft destroyed, and gunners were credited with one destroyed that crashed into the sea and one damaged. All aircraft returned safely with only a few battle scars.

Jan

17

1943

RAF Bomber Command visits the ‘Big City’

Halifax B Mark II Series 1, R9430 ‘19’, of No. 1658 Heavy Conversion Unit based at Riccall, Yorkshire, being test-flown on the starboard inner engine only by Squadron Leader P Dobson in order to determine the height loss for emergency flights on one engine.

Then I thought about the message from the Chief of Bomber Command which had been addressed to us tonight and read out at Briefing, ‘Go to it, Chaps and show them the red rose of Lancaster in full bloom.’ Someone behind a desk had given an order to a great organization and here we were a few hours later, one of the pawns in the game, sitting up over the North Sea with the temperature at minus 30° Centigrade, wondering if we would ever see England again.

Jan

9

1943

The RAF start blind bombing with ‘Oboe’

Aircraft Navigation and Guidance: The most precise bomber guidance system during the war was called OBOE and was used mostly by De Havilland Mosquitos of RAF Bomber Command. Photo shows: A diagram illustrating Bomber Command's use of OBOE.

All this we discovered after the end of the war, when German records of the meeting became available. Oboe had not only shattered the targets of Germany, but had also shattered German morale, it continued the process for the rest of the war, and was probably the most effective single instrument of warfare in our entire armoury.

Dec

30

1942

‘Nuisance bombing’ ends the holiday week in Britain

Two members of a heavy rescue party help a casualty pick his way over rubble out of a bomb-damaged building, with a third member holding a rope as a handrail. More rescuers guide a stretchered casualty down a ladder from a second storey window, as part of a large-scale Civil Defence training exercise in Fulham. This photograph was taken on Edith Villas.

We once made a low-level attack near EASTBOURNE. When we got there, we saw a large mansion where they seemed to be having a ball or something; in any case we saw a lot of women in fancy-dress, and an orchestra. There were two of us doing long distance reconnaissance. We turned round and flew towards it. The first time we flew past, and then we approached again and machine-gunned them. It was great fun!

Dec

6

1942

Low level daylight attack on the Philips plant, Holland

Low-level photographic-reconnaissance aerial taken over the Stryp Group main plant 30 minutes after the attack, showing extensive damage to the radio assembly shop and fires still burning at several points. Full production of electrical material at the factory was not reached again until 6 months after the raid. The bombers suffered a loss rate of 15 per cent for the whole force.

It was midday, a lovely sunny day, virtually no cloud, so I set off across the Dutch countryside at high speed. I decided not to follow the given route out which was towards the coast of Holland and out into the North Sea. I decided that that’s where the fighters would be and therefore, I turned north, to the Zeider Zee. The fighters would all be directed to the main formation.

Nov

29

1942

Ron Middleton dies saving his crew after Turin raid

Portrait of Rawdon Hume Middleton RAF, awarded the Victoria Cross: Italy, 29 November 1942.

The possibilities of abandoning the aircraft or landing in northern France were discussed but Flight Sergeant Middleton stated his intention to attempt to reach the English coast. After crossing the Channel there was only sufficient fuel for five minutes flying. Flight Sergeant Middleton flew the aircraft parallel with the coast and ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft. Five of the crew left the aircraft and two remained to assist him. The aircraft crashed into the sea and all remaining onboard were killed.

Nov

3

1942

El Alamein – the tide turns against Rommel

A 6-pdr anti-tank gun and its crew in action in the Western Desert, 3 November 1942.

The battle is going very heavily against us. We’re simply being crushed by the enemy weight. I’ve made an attempt to salvage part of the army. I wonder if it will succeed. At night I lie open-eyed, racking my brains for a way out of this plight for my poor troops. We are facing very difficult days, perhaps the most difficult that a man can undergo. The dead are lucky, it’s all over for them.

← Earlier in the war

Later in the war →