FIRST TOPIC

Martin,

do you think it was the first 1,000 bomber`s case by then at all? Just asking to confirm the deed?!Nothing to do with Berlin.

May 1943 - the first 1000-bomber raid, on Cologne - 2000 tons dropped on Dortmund May 23-24, the heaviest raid so far.



The pics from march 1944:





[ 16. November 2002, 11:52 AM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]

 

The first 'Thousand-bomber' raid was to Cologne on 30/31 May, 1942, with a follow-up to Essen two nights later after which the '1000 force' was dispersed.

After this the 'maximum effort' number for Bomber Command was in the region of 700-800 aircraft.826 aircraft went to Dortmund on 23/24 May 1943. 805 went to the notorious Dresden raid on 13/14 February 1945 and 'only' 380 aircraft delivered the devastating attack on Pforzheim later that month. Then on 11 March 1945 a record 1,079 aircraft attacked Essen ; a record broken the following night at Dortmund with 1,108 aircraft - Bomber Command's biggest effort ever.

I believe the 8th USAAF's February 1945 '1000 bomber' Berlin raid was their biggest and certainly their first of this number - but maybe someone else knows more than me about this...?

 

Thanx Martin!!



[ 17. November 2002, 11:01 AM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]

 

I agree in a 100% with everyone of these words. The USSR win the war in some 85% scale.

And yeah... the first and only raid with 1.000 bombers was against the most important industrial city in Germany. My dear Cologne... And it was not the only raid against it. The city was almost abandoned by 1944...

 

During the British retreat to Dunkirk in May of 1940, Capt. John Churchill, an officer with a sense of history, had the distinction of doing in a member of a German patrol with a longbow.

Well.. stores were hard to come by...