Royal Air Force daylight raids, 1940 through 1944
The Royal Air Force strategic bombing campaign against Germany was waged by Bomber Command for five years. The vast majority of these sorties were flown at night. After suffering heavy losses attempting daylight bombing raids over the Heligoland islands in the North Sea and over France during the first half of 1940, Bomber Command had largely withdrawn its aircraft from daylight attacks.[1][2] Bomber Command, however, was still willing to risk aircraft to attack targets in daylight on occasion. These were usually targets that required highly precise delivery of bombs, such as warships or small factories. Industries located in occupied territories were another group of targets that required a high degree of accuracy when attacked to avoid casualties among the civilians of the occupied country.
In addition, after winning the Battle of Britain, Fighter Command went over onto the offensive. Fighter Command conducted provocative missions in what they termed the Circus offensive.[3] These missions were various fighter sweeps over northern France and Belgium conducted to engage the Luftwaffe. The Ramrod type raid was a Circus offensive operation were a small number of bombers were escorted to a target with a very large fighter escort. Bomber Command supported the effort by assigning No. 2 Group to work with Fighter Command. No. 2 Group squadrons were equipped with faster, more maneuverable medium bombers, and as a group it was set apart for conducting daylight raids against near targets. Except for occasional diversionary efforts, No. 2 Group did not participate in the Bomber Offensive over Germany.
The following is a short list of a few of the daylight raids conducted from 1940 through 1944. Such raids were highly hazardous to the aircrews carrying them out.
Missions
| Name of mission | Squadrons involved | Date of mission | Target | Location of target | Objective |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augsburg Raid | 44 Squadron 97 Squadron | 17 April 1942 | MAN plant | Augsburg, southern Germany | Destroy the MAN U-boat diesel engine factory |
| Operation Pandemonium | 218 Squadron 15 Squadron | 16 July 1942 | Lubecker Flender werk AG plant | Lübeck, Germany | Destroy the U-boat assembly plant |
| Oslo Raid | No. 105 Squadron | 25 September 1942 | Oslo Gestapo headquarters | Oslo, Norway | Destroy the Gestapo headquarters in Oslo |
| Operation Robinson | No. 5 Group | 17 October 1942 | Schneider Works | Le Creusot in south central France | Destroy the Schneider steel and armaments plant |
| Operation Oyster | No. 2 Group | 6 December 1942 | Philips Electrical Works | Eindhoven, the Netherlands | Destroy the Philips electronics factory and radar research center in Eindhoven |
| Operation Ramrod 16 | 487 (New Zealand) Squadron | 3 May 1943 | Philips Electrical Works | Amsterdam, the Netherlands | Destroy the Philips electronics factory in Amsterdam |
| Operation Jericho | No. 140 Wing | 18 February 1944 | Amiens Gestapo Prison | Amiens, France | Breach the prison walls to allow French resistance fighters to escape |
After the Allied invasion of the continent Allied control of the airspace over Europe was widespread, and daylight raids became much more common for Bomber Command crews. These later missions are not included in the above list.
References
- Citations
- ↑ Ashworth 1995, pp. 24-26.
- ↑ Maynard 1996, pp. 22-23.
- ↑ Murray 1989, p. 128.
- Bibliography
- Ashworth, Chris RAF Bomber Command 1936–1968 Somerset, UK: Haynes Publishing (1995). ISBN 1 85260 308 9
- Maynard, John Bennett and the pathfinders London: Arms and Armour, (1996).
- Murray, Williamson Strategy for defeat: the Luftwaffe, 1933–1945 Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. : Air University Press, (1989)[1983]. ISBN 978 0 933852 45 7.