Bombing of Cologne in World War II facts for kids

Cologne looked like this in 1945 after many bombings.

The German city of Cologne was bombed many times by the Allied forces during World War II. The Royal Air Force (RAF) from Britain carried out all 262 air raids. They dropped over 34,711 tons of bombs on the city. Sadly, 20,000 civilians in Cologne died because of these bombings.

The first air raid alarms in Cologne happened in early 1940. British bombers flew overhead, but the first actual bombing was on May 12, 1940. A very big attack on May 30/31, 1942, was the first time 1,000 bombers were used in one raid.

The First 1,000 Bomber Raid

The city center of Cologne in 1945.

This British war painting shows a bombing raid on Cologne. You can clearly see the city's cathedral. It was hit many times but survived the war.

The RAF's first ever "1,000 bomber raid" happened over Cologne on the night of May 30/31, 1942. This huge attack was called Operation Millennium. It had two main goals:

• The Allies hoped that such a massive attack would cause enough damage to make Germany stop fighting. They also wanted to hurt German morale, which means their spirit and confidence.
• These raids were also good for propaganda. They showed the Allies were strong. The head of RAF Bomber Command, Arthur Harris, believed in using many bombers to attack Germany. In 1941, Bomber Command wasn't very accurate. Some people wanted to break up the force. Harris wanted to prove to the War Cabinet (the government leaders) that Bomber Command could help win the war.

At that time, Bomber Command only had about 400 planes ready for battle. They were also changing from older, two-engine planes to newer, more powerful four-engine planes. These new planes included the Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster. To get 1,000 planes, Harris used planes and pilots from training units. He also asked for 250 planes from RAF Coastal Command and Flying Training Command.

However, just before the raid, the Royal Navy said no to letting Coastal Command planes join. The Navy leaders felt that showing off was not as important as fighting German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic. Harris quickly found 49 more planes with student pilots and instructors. In the end, 1,047 bombers took part. This was two and a half times more planes than any previous RAF raid. 58 of these bombers were from Polish units. Besides the bombers attacking Cologne, 113 other planes flew "intruder" missions. They bothered German night-fighter airfields.

Cologne was not Harris's first choice. He wanted to bomb Hamburg. But bad weather made Hamburg a poor choice. A scientist named Basil Dickins suggested Cologne instead. It was within range of a new navigation system called GEE.

This is an RAF bomber's H2S radar screen from an October 1944 attack on Cologne. It shows notes added after the attack.

This raid was the first time the "bomber stream" tactic was used. Many of the methods used in this raid became standard for Bomber Command for the next two years. Some parts of it were even used until the end of the war. The idea was that so many bombers flying close together would overwhelm German night fighters. The German system for guiding their fighters from the ground, called ground-controlled interception, would not be able to handle them all. This would keep the number of bombers shot down low.

The new GEE navigation system allowed bombers to fly a set path at a specific time and height. British night bombing had been going on for months. Experts could guess how many bombers would be lost to enemy night fighters and flak (anti-aircraft guns). They also knew how many would crash into each other. To lose fewer planes, the bombers flew in a tight group. German night fighter controllers could only direct a few attacks per hour. Flak gunners could not focus on all targets at once.

Earlier in the war, a four-hour mission was normal. For this raid, all the bombers flew over Cologne and dropped their bombs within 90 minutes. The first plane arrived at 12:47 AM on May 31. The goal was to drop so many bombs so quickly that Cologne's fire brigades would be overwhelmed. This would cause huge fires, like those in London during the Blitz by the Luftwaffe.

Hermann Claasen (1946–47). The ruins of Great St. Martin Church in Cologne's old market.

During the raid, 868 planes bombed the main target. Another 15 planes bombed other places. They dropped a total of 1,455 tons of bombs. Two-thirds of these were incendiary bombs, which start fires. Two and a half thousand separate fires began. German firefighters called 1,700 of them "large." Firefighters and wide streets stopped the fires from joining into a firestorm. However, most of the damage came from fire, not from the explosions themselves.

Many buildings were damaged. 3,330 non-residential buildings were destroyed. 2,090 were badly damaged, and 7,420 were slightly damaged. This made a total of 12,840 damaged buildings. 2,560 of these were factories or businesses. Buildings completely destroyed included: 7 government buildings, 14 public buildings, 7 banks, 9 hospitals, 17 churches, 16 schools, 4 university buildings, 10 postal and railway buildings, 10 historic buildings, 2 newspaper offices, 4 hotels, 2 cinemas, and 6 department stores. The only military place damaged was the flak barracks.

Homes were also badly hit. 13,010 homes were destroyed, 6,360 were badly damaged, and 22,270 were slightly damaged. Most of these were apartments in larger buildings. A photographer named Hermann Claasen recorded the destruction from 1942 until the end of the war. He showed his photos in an exhibition and a book in 1947.

The RAF lost 43 planes during the raid. This was 3.9% of the 1,103 bombers sent. 22 planes were lost over or near Cologne. 16 were shot down by flak, four by night fighters, and two crashed into each other. Two Bristol Blenheim light bombers were lost attacking night fighter airfields. Flying Officer Leslie Thomas Manser was given a special medal, the Victoria Cross, after he died. He sacrificed himself so his crew could escape the plane.

Timeline of Bombings

See also

• The Blitz – German air raids on British cities. At least 40,000 people died, including 57 nights of raids on London.
• Baedeker Blitz – Air raids on English cities important for their culture or history, not military targets.
• German bombing of Rotterdam
• Bombing of Dresden in World War II
• Bombing of Guernica – A German/Italian air raid that caused international anger.
• Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945) – The "Operation Meetinghouse" firebombing raid on Tokyo on March 9/10, 1945.