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1 day ago · The Allied landings in Europe and the defeat of the Axis powers. World War II - Air Warfare, 1942-43: Early in 1942 the RAF bomber command began an intensification of the Allies' growing strategic air offensive against Germany. These attacks were intended to both destroy Germany's war industries and to deprive its civilian population of their ...
Germany. In February 1945, over 1,200 Allied bombers of the RAF and the US Army Air Forces launched four aerial attacks against Dresden. It was the final months of the war in Europe, and would become one of the most controversial Allied attacks of the Second World War. The raids destroyed 75,000 homes and around 25,000 people were killed.
Apr 18, 2024 · The Allied strategic bombing of Germany during World War II (1939-45) involved British and U.S. bomber planes attacking industrial cities, factories, railways, airfields, and dams. Over 600,000 civilians died as a consequence. The campaign aims included destroying Germany's capacity to produce weapons; disrupting transport networks and oil ...
- Mark Cartwright
Nov 10, 2022 · In terms of the USAAF/RAF strategic aims, the joint offensive did come close to destroying the German economy by the end of the war. They had drawn the Luftwaffe away from supporting its fighting forces on the ground, contributing to the Allies’ air supremacy over Europe, and their ultimate victory over Germany.
- 1939. © IWM (CH 17) In 1939 RAF Bomber Command had 23 operational bomber squadrons, with 280 aircraft. This modest force gave Britain the means to immediately strike back at Nazi Germany, but only against strictly military targets at first.
- 1940. © IWM (CH 364) In 1940, after Hitler's invasion of France, the RAF began a night-time bombing campaign against German industry, especially synthetic oil production.
- 1941. © IWM (CH 3175) In 1941 Bomber Command grew in strength, but navigation over blacked-out Europe was still a major problem. Setbacks in the Battle of the Atlantic meant a major effort was needed against German warships and U-boats.
- 1942. © IWM (CH 6071) In 1942 Bomber Command received a new aircraft – the Avro Lancaster – and a new leader – Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris. Accepting that precision bombing was proving impossible, the War Cabinet sanctioned 'area bombing' – the targeting of whole cities to destroy both factories and their workers.
Airpower advocates believed that strategic bombing could win wars—at the start of World War II, however, the theory was unproven. In Europe, the USAAF conducted a daytime precision strategic bombing campaign targeting the enemy’s economic resources, while the British Royal Air Force (RAF) carried out a nighttime area-bombing campaign.
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Day-by-Day Timeline of Events. Wednesday, May 15th, 1940. The RAF sends up its first night-time bombing raid against Germany. Of the 99 aircraft sent, only one fails to return home. Monday, August 26th, 1940. The first RAF attack on the German capital of Berlin takes place. Some 81 aircraft are part of the airborne raid.
