Royal Air Force daylight raids, 1940–1944 facts for kids
The Royal Air Force (RAF) had a big job during World War II: bombing Germany. Most of these bombing flights happened at night. At first, the RAF tried bombing during the day, but they lost many planes over places like the Heligoland islands and France in 1940. Because of these losses, they mostly stopped daylight attacks.
However, the RAF's Bomber Command still sometimes risked daylight missions. These were usually for very specific targets that needed bombs dropped with great accuracy. Examples included warships or small factories. They also attacked industries in countries that Germany had taken over. This careful bombing helped avoid hurting innocent people living there.
After winning the Battle of Britain, the RAF's Fighter Command started going on the attack. They called these missions "Circus" operations. These were fighter flights over northern France and Belgium, designed to find and fight German planes (the Luftwaffe). One type of "Circus" mission was called a "Ramrod" raid. This involved a small number of bombers flying to a target with a very large group of fighter planes protecting them.
Bomber Command helped with these efforts by assigning No. 2 Group to work with Fighter Command. No. 2 Group had faster, easier-to-fly medium bombers. Their main job was to carry out daylight raids on targets that were not too far away. Except for a few times when they created diversions, No. 2 Group did not join the main bombing campaign over Germany.
Famous Daylight Missions
Even though most bombing happened at night, some important daylight missions took place. These were often very risky and needed special skills. Here are some of the notable daylight raids carried out by the RAF:
| Mission Name | Squadrons Involved | Date | Target | Location | What Was the Goal? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operation Margin Augsburg Raid |
44 Squadron 97 Squadron |
17 April 1942 | MAN plant | Augsburg, southern Germany | To destroy the MAN factory that made U-boat diesel engines. |
| Operation Pandemonium | 218 Squadron 15 Squadron |
16 July 1942 | Lubecker Flender Werk AG plant | Lübeck, Germany | To destroy the factory that assembled U-boats. |
| Oslo Raid | No. 105 Squadron | 25 September 1942 | Oslo Gestapo headquarters | Oslo, Norway | To destroy the main office of the Gestapo (German secret police) in Oslo. |
| Operation Robinson | No. 5 Group | 17 October 1942 | Schneider Works | Le Creusot in south central France | To destroy the Schneider factory that made steel and weapons. |
| Operation Oyster | No. 2 Group | 6 December 1942 | Philips Electrical Works | Eindhoven, the Netherlands | To destroy the Philips electronics factory and radar research center. |
| Ramrod No. 16 | No. 107 Squadron RAF 487 (New Zealand) Squadron (plus 5 fighter squadrons) |
3 May 1943 | Steelworks | IJmuiden, the Netherlands | To attack the steelworks, along with a diversionary raid on a power station nearby. |
| Operation Jericho | No. 140 Wing 21 Squadron RAF, 464 (RAAF) Squadron and 487 (RNZAF) Squadron. |
18 February 1944 | Amiens Gestapo Prison | Amiens, France | To bomb the prison walls so French resistance fighters could escape. |
After the Allied forces invaded Europe, they gained much more control of the sky. This meant that daylight raids became much more common for Bomber Command crews. The missions listed above are from earlier in the war, before these later, more frequent daylight attacks.
