List of strategic bombing over Germany in World War II facts for kids
A list of cities and towns in Germany that were bombed during World War II. These attacks were carried out by the RAF Bomber Command (from Britain) and the Eighth Air Force (from the United States). This list shows some of the places that faced these powerful air raids.
History of the Bombing Campaigns
Defending Germany from Air Attacks
During World War II, Germany had a special defense system called the Defence of the Reich. Its job was to protect Germany and nearby occupied countries from air attacks.
In February 1944, the RAF and USAAF launched a series of big air raids known as Big Week. These attacks greatly weakened the German air force, called the Luftwaffe. It never fully recovered after this. On the first day of Big Week, 127 German fighter planes were shot down. In February 1944, 434 German fighter pilots were killed. Many of these were experienced pilots.
Germany's air defense system had advanced radar. It was often very hard to get through. Only special planes like the de Havilland Mosquito could usually get past these defenses. The Mosquito was very fast and hard to shoot down.
About fifteen German cities were hit by "firebombing." This caused huge fires, called firestorms, that destroyed almost everything. The heat from these fires was incredibly intense. Many cities in northwestern Germany were bombed in late 1943 during the Battle of the Ruhr.
The Impact of the Bombing
Around 410,000 German civilians (people who were not soldiers) were killed during these bombing campaigns. Interestingly, even with all the bombing, Germany's ability to make things (its industrial capacity) was actually greater at the end of the war than at the start.
British and American planes often aimed for the older parts of cities. These areas had many old buildings that caught fire easily. These parts of the cities usually had no military importance. The bombings became even more intense in the last months of the war, when it was clear that Germany would lose.
Strategic Bombing of German Cities
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- Bombing of Berlin in World War II: The RAF lost about 1,000 planes in the first four months of its campaign against Berlin. The USAAF joined the Berlin attacks from March 1944, with fighter planes called Mustangs. German pilots were very worried by the large number of Mustangs. The biggest USAAF raid on Berlin happened on February 3, 1945. About 1,500 bombers caused a huge firestorm.
- Bombing of Braunschweig (October 1944): The main attack on Braunschweig was on October 14/15, 1944. It was part of a 24-hour operation called Operation Hurricane. About 10,000 tons of bombs were dropped during this time.
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- Bombing of Darmstadt in World War II: The raid on September 11/12, 1944, caused a terrible firestorm in the city.
- Bombing of Dresden in World War II
- Bombing of Duisburg in World War II
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- Bombing of Essen in World War II
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- Bombing of Hamburg in World War II
- Bombings of Heilbronn in World War II
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- Bombing of Kassel in World War II: During the raid on October 22, 1943, a special plan called Operation Corona was used for the first time. German speakers would send confusing messages to German fighter pilots from a place in England. This raid caused a firestorm that destroyed 23 square miles of the city. The "Kassel Mission" by the USAAF on September 27, 1944, was one of the biggest air battles between the German and American air forces. 118 American aircrew members were killed.
- Bombing of Konigsberg
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- Bombing of Munich in World War II: The main raid on Munich happened on April 24/25, 1944.
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- Bombing of Stuttgart in World War II
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- Bombing of Wuppertal in World War II: The raid on May 29–30, 1943, caused a firestorm in Wuppertal.
See also
- Category:World War II strategic bombing units
- List of strategic bombing over the United Kingdom in World War II
- Civilian casualties of strategic bombing
- List of air operations during the Battle of Europe
- Lists of World War II topics
