The Battle of Britain

The Strategic Bomber Offensive

Crews from the US 96th Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force, fraternise with their RAF counterparts in No. 622 Squadron at Mildenhall, 1944; In early 1943, RAF and USAAF strategic bombing policy was unified with a single overall objective - 'the progressive destruction and dislocation of the German military, industrial and economic system, and the undermining of the morale of the German people to a point where their capacity for armed resistance is fatally weakened.' But only in the last year of the war would their contribution be of decisive importance to the outcome.

Crews from the US 96th Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force, fraternise with their RAF counterparts in No. 622 Squadron at Mildenhall, 1944

photographs

In early 1943, RAF and USAAF strategic bombing policy was unified with a single overall objective - 'the progressive destruction and dislocation of the German military, industrial and economic system, and the undermining of the morale of the German people to a point where their capacity for armed resistance is fatally weakened.' But only in the last year of the war would their contribution be of decisive importance to the outcome.

Licensing

Click through to the Collections item to see licencing options

After the fall of France in 1940, Britain was in no position to take on the German Army in Europe. RAF Bomber Command offered the only way to hit back at the enemy, and it embarked on a long and costly campaign against German war industry.

The...

After the fall of France in 1940, Britain was in no position to take on the German Army in Europe. RAF Bomber Command offered the only way to hit back at the enemy, and it embarked on a long and costly campaign against German war industry.

The early years of the bomber offensive were a failure. Forced to fly at night for protection, aircrews struggled to find their targets over blacked-out Europe. Plans developed before the war to hit specific factories proved impossible. Out of necessity, the cities themselves became objectives and 'area bombing' against civilian morale became policy.

In 1942 Air Marshal Arthur Harris assumed command of Bomber Command. New aircraft, notably the Avro Lancaster, the advent of radar navigation aids and improved tactics gradually revitalised the force. Harris's spectacular 'Thousand Bomber' raid on Cologne was a major success.

By 1943 the US Eighth Air Force had joined the assault, flying daylight precision bombing operations from the UK. Its main objective was to destroy the German fighter force and its supporting industry in preparation for the planned invasion of Europe. Meanwhile, the RAF continued its night assault on German industrial centres, focusing on the Ruhr, Hamburg and Berlin in turn. Losses to German 'flak' and fighters were heavy.

American escort fighters won air superiority over the Luftwaffe in early 1944. Both bomber forces then flew operations in support of D-Day before resuming full-scale attacks on Germany. Harris controversially continued his city attacks to the end, but it was the combined offensive against Germany's synthetic oil industry that proved decisive. With production halted and fuel stocks exhausted, Germany's armed forces ground to a halt.

Read more

  • Vickers Wellingtons of No. 9 Squadron

    photographs

    Vickers Wellingtons of No. 9 Squadron; Vickers Wellingtons of No. 9 Squadron practise formation flying before the war. RAF planners had hoped that the combined defensive firepower of the bombers would enable them to penetrate the enemy defences in daylight, but early raids against German warships had proved a disaster in the face of fighter opposition. Bomber Command was forced to operate at night, which made the job of finding its targets infinitely more difficult.

  • A Handley Page Hampden of No. 49 Squadron

    photographs

    A Handley Page Hampden of No. 49 Squadron; A Handley Page Hampden of No. 49 Squadron being 'bombed up' at Scampton, June 1940. Germany's synthetic oil industry, based on the nation's plentiful supplies of coal, was already a priority objective, but Bomber Command lacked the strength to do any serious damage. Early RAF raids involved small numbers of aircraft being despatched against several targets over the space of a night. The majority missed their objectives by miles. On the night of 16-17 August this aircraft failed to return from a raid against the Leuna petroleum works at Merseburg.

  • Air Marshal Arthur Harris

    photographs

    Air Marshal Arthur Harris; Air Marshal Arthur Harris at his desk at RAF Bomber Command Headquarters, June 1943. Harris became Commander-in-Chief in February 1942 and held the post for the rest of the war. His faith in strategic bombing as a war-winning weapon never wavered, and he resisted all attempts to divert his force from area attacks on Germany's industrial cities. He was especially opposed to selective attacks on a succession of what he called 'panacea targets', such as the ball-bearing industry, but later accepted the decisive importance of the campaign against synthetic oil.

  • Bombs rain down from B-17 Flying Fortresses

    photographs

    Bombs rain down from B-17 Flying Fortresses; Bombs rain down from B-17 Flying Fortresses of the US 390th Bombardment Group, 1943. The cloudy conditions found over Europe had a major impact on American operations, and ideal opportunities for visual precision bombing were few and far between. Like their RAF counterparts seeking to locate their targets at night, the US bombers often had to rely on 'blind' radar bombing aids to beat the weather. In such conditions entire formations would release or 'toggle' their loads on a signal from the lead aircraft.

  • A 4,000 lb blast bomb or 'Cookie'

    photographs

    A 4,000 lb blast bomb or 'Cookie'; A 4,000 lb blast bomb or 'Cookie' surrounded by canisters of incendiaries in the bomb bay of a No. 57 Squadron Lancaster at Scampton, March 1943. This was a typical area bombing load employed by RAF Bomber Command. The high-explosive 'Cookie' was designed to blow in doors, windows and roofs, enabling fires created by incendiaries to take hold faster. The combination worked with terrible effect, especially in the densely packed, medieval centres of many target towns and cities. Hamburg, Dresden and Pforzheim suffered the worst conflagrations of the war, with firestorms consuming at least 110,000 people.

  • B-17 Flying Fortresses surrounded by 'flak' bursts over Berlin, 6 March 1944

    photographs

    B-17 Flying Fortresses surrounded by 'flak' bursts over Berlin, 6 March 1944; This was the first major Eighth Air Force attack on the Nazi capital itself. The prime objective was to bring the Luftwaffe up to be destroyed by the escort fighters. The ensuing air battle was the bloodiest of the war for the Americans, with 69 bombers and 11 fighters being lost. In return, they shot down 66 German fighters and scored a major propaganda coup by appearing over Berlin in broad daylight.

  • A No. 44 Squadron Lancaster crew

    photographs

    A No. 44 Squadron Lancaster crew; A No. 44 Squadron Lancaster crew wait apprehensively for transport to take them to their aircraft at the start of another 'op', Waddington, October 1942. RAF bomber crews suffered the worst casualty rate of any group of Allied servicemen. Of approximately 125,000 aircrew who saw service, 55,500 were killed. Statistically, by 1943 only one in six would survive his first tour of 30 operations. US Eighth Air Force aircrew casualties were lower, reflecting their shorter war, but just as terrible: 26,000 out of a total 350,000 lost their lives.

  • A Lancaster and Halifax over Essen, 25 October 1944

    photographs

    A Lancaster and Halifax over Essen, 25 October 1944; The Ruhr district in north-west Germany, containing the major industrial cities of Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Dortmund, was the centre of German steel and armaments production. Its hub was the vast Krupp works in Essen, a key objective much-visited by Bomber Command throughout the war. This raid by 771 aircraft, which followed an even heavier attack the night before, effectively ended steel production there.

  • A Lancaster of No. 300 (Polish) Squadron

    photographs

    A Lancaster of No. 300 (Polish) Squadron; A Lancaster of No. 300 (Polish) Squadron over the Deutsche Vacuum Oil company's refinery at Bremen, 21 March 1945. Germany's dependence on its synthetic oil industry ensured its downfall, especially after the loss of natural Romanian supplies in August 1944. The Allied bombing campaign against oil plants which began in May 1944 had a catastrophic effect on Hitler's war machine. Aviation fuel production fell from 175,000 tons in April 1944 to 5,000 tons in September 1944, and the Luftwaffe was virtually grounded. Meanwhile, German troops lacked the means to conduct mobile operations.

  • The railway yards of Münster, April 1945

    photographs

    The railway yards of Münster, April 1945; As well as industrial cities and oil targets, a major part of the Allied bombing effort in the last year of the war was directed at Germany's transport infrastructure. Railways, canals, bridges and viaducts were all targeted. The result was the gradual strangulation of German war production, especially as much of it had been moved to dispersed locations and was dependent on a functioning rail and canal network.