Bomber command losses pdf

As soon as possible after its arrival in france, the raf took part in operations which brought it in contact with german aircraft. This is the fourth volume in the series which deals with the losses sustained by the raf bomber command during the 2nd world war. From 1942 onward, the british bombing campaign against germany became less restrictive and increasingly targeted industrial sites and the civilian manpower base essential for german war production. The royal australian air force in bomber command defense. In january 1940 it was decided to unite the air component and the advanced air striking force under the command of the air officer commandinginchief british air forces in france, air marshal barratt. To bring this about, harris proposed to skirmish acrossthewidestpossiblefront. Early in the war, german fighter production had been dispersed and it was thought that marienburg was. For more information, please contactscholarscommons. The information recorded includes servicing carried out and flight times, but there are few details of individual flights. Raf bomber command losses of the second world war 1944 v 5 available for download. Download pdf raf bomber command losses of the second world war 1944 v 5 book full free. The crews were men from the united kingdom, other commonwealth countries, and occupied europe, especially poland, france, czechoslovakia and norway, as well as other. Us for the complete ww2 period and beyond from 1939 1947.

The bomber offensive and electronic warfare the 20 defence white paper includes an. Raf bomber command losses of the second world war by wr chorley amendments and additions, to be used in conjunction with the royal air force bomber command losses of the second world war 9 volume series from ian allan publishing. A brilliant study of the rafs bomber command and their campaign in world war ii. Among the strongest images of world war ii is that of waves of allied bombers striking at the heart of germany, reducing german cities to rubble and destroying the german will to fight. Raf bomber command controlled the rafs bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. The aircrews of raf bomber command during world war ii operated a fleet of bomber aircraft carried strategic bombing operations from september 1939 to may 1945, on behalf of the allied powers. The highest sortie loss rate for the xxi bomber command was 20 percent, experienced on mission 153 may 7, a mission with only 10 planes.

Bomber command 1939 t0 1945 the story of bomber command. Operation pointblank united states air force academy. The unprecedented success of both the battle of the bismarck sea and the wewak raid illustrate how airpower became the dominant force in the southwest pacific. Pdf raf bomber command losses of the second world war. Of bomber command s total losses for the war, around seven per cent were incurred during the berlin raids. The strategic bombing campaign against germany during world war ii a thesis submitted to the graduate faculty of the louisiana state university and agricultural and mechanical college in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of masters of arts in liberal arts in the interdepartmental program in liberal arts by julius a. Bomber command s air offensive against the cities of nazi germany was one of the most epic campaigns of world war ii. Bomber command losses world war 2 max hastings inti. Covers lancaster finishing schools, ferry flights and many others. More than 56,000 british and commonwealth aircrew and 600,000 germans died in the course of the rafs attempt to win the war by bombing. Chorley cahs journal canadian aviation historical society journal ccl coastal command losses, r. The primary portion of the cbo was against luftwaffe targets which was the highest priority from june 1943 to 1 april 1944. During wwii, more than a million men and women served, or supported, bomber command.

Download bomber command loss card key adobe pdf aircraft logs. The bombing of germany 19401945 exhibition contents. Bomber command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a. Royal navy warship losses in world war 2 naval history.

Bomber command and the usaaf suffered very high rates of loss. This current page is one of a number of listing pages which our system creates automatically to help you find relevant material by showing all pages that are linked in some. Raf bomber command offensive over germany from late 1944 to the wars end in may 1945. If my memory serves me right the two sorties mentioned above were the only operations flown by bomber command on this date.

Bomber command continued its area bombing campaign against a list of industrial cities, while the eighth was directed to attack a range of vital industries. On the most difficult missions mission 181 and 183, on may 2324 and may 2526, respectively the xxi bomber command flew 1,056. Rafcommands aircraft losses database proof of concept. The air ministry had to pay for the feeding, clothing and accommodating of these men and women. It covers the organisation, equipment, men, machines, technology and tactics of the rafs bomber offensive.

But viii bomber command s mistaken estimate was accepted in washington. Another contentious debate at the summit, which remained unsettled, had been whether allied air bombardment alone would win the war against germany. Bomber command s most useful purpose would be to divert resources from germanys offensive war effort to the defence of her own cities. The aluminum is from halifax bomber lw682, which was shot down in belgium in may 1944. But of late the issue of the effectiveness of strategic bombing has become a contested one in britain, and journalist hastings contribution to the debate is a crippling blow to the carefully. Mcneill ccma chronology of canadian military aviation, h.

Us heavy conversion units and other miscellaneous units the 8th book in bills series detailing losses incurred by bomber command h. Air forces bomber command sustained combat casualties which approached sixty. Viii bomber command mission number 1 was an attack by nearly 100 american heavy bombers on the fockewulf flugzeugbau ag aircraft factory at marienburg, east prussia malbork, poland, where the luftwaffes fw 190 fighter was being built. The central focus of the study is the large and largely unrecognized contribution to the success of bomber command made by scientists of the ors. A list of all known allied losses and aviation incidents from all nations organized within the raf structure including all commands and all theatres of war, and including lsses and incidents to usaaf forces. Estimate crop losses due to bomber command airfields 244. From the unimaginable losses of the daylight raids in 1939 and 1940, through to the controversial nighttime area bombing campaign that followed, the manual chronicles the evolution of bomber command through the second world war. The museum has a small number of aircraft servicing records raf form 700 mostly relating to aircraft in its collection. Fifth air force light and medium bomber operations during. Originating in 60 nations across the world, they were united in their efforts to protect the freedom we enjoy today. The overall loss rate for bomber command operations was 2. A major reason why arnold and lemay decided on night incendiary raids was due to the unacceptable losses taken on daylight precision raids. This book examines the contribution of raf bomber command s operational research section to the strategic bombing offensive. Army air force field manual 115, tactics and technique of air fight ing, 10 april 1942.

Halliday cjca headline headlines from war diary 19391946. Along with the united states army air forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of germany in world war ii. Air university press, 2006 part v 1945 grayling, a. The luftwaffe, according to its basic operational manual l. The strategic bombing campaign against germany during. Royal air force bomber command losses of the second world.

Raf bomber command was created in and comprised the rafs light and bomber aircraft were easy targets for enemy fighters and losses were heavy. Full text of bombig of berlin in ww 2 internet archive. American psychiatric association, diagnostic and statistical manual of. A historical digest of the combined bomber offensive 19391 945. List of pages relating to 19391945 aircrew remembered site. Strategy for defeat the luftwaffe 19331945 by williamson murray. A pdf file on with comprehensive research into this loss has been compiled by a dutch student, mr. The basic problem for cherwells argumentation was that bomber command was already suffering serious losses at night, while other theaters were making demands on bomber production. For example, the germans could have been dealt a crushing blow had the schwinefurt ballbearing raid with another immediate raid. The raid of november 7, 1941, underscored the damage that the reichs night defenses could inflict on british bombers. But as bomber command fought off its critics, and most especially the demands of the royal navy for transfer of aircraft. If you are new to this site, you may want to start your journey at our homepage.

Of the 55, aircrew who failed to return or were missing air operations during world war ii, were australians of bomber command. The service included aircrew, ground crew, womens auxiliary air force, auxiliary air transport, auxiliary transport services, naafi and others. Midland counties publications, 1996 aircraft accidents 494 pages. From 1942 onward, the british bombing campaign against germany became less restrictive and increasingly targeted industrial sites and the civilian manpower base essential. Bomber command had switched to night bombing, but 2 group was tasked to. These losses were originally researched at the naval historical branch of the ministry of defence in the 1980s. Australian air power in the european theatre, 194245. Adoption of night operations and area bombing, 19391941. History of bomber command international bomber command. More troubling, secondly, are the casualties that bomber command inflicted. Raf bomber command losses of the second world war, wr.

They have since been expanded with further information on commanding officers, loss locations and casualties, courtesy of don kindell, and submarine loss information updated and corrected, courtesy of the rn. Loss rate varied considerably by mission and by bomb group. Raf bomber command aircrew of world war ii wikipedia. Pdf royal air force bomber command losses of the second. Those three battles all took place in the skies over germany during world war ii and were fought by the men of the royal air forces bomber command, some 11,500 of whom were members of the royal australian air force raaf. Noteworthy are the intelligence failures of both bomber command and the u. Between june 1940 and february 1941 the average bomber command loss rate was under 2%.

The combined bomber offensive cbo was an angloamerican offensive of strategic bombing during world war ii in europe. Aircraft lost on allied forces special duty operations. Huizenga available for download, please contact us. Royal air force bomber command losses of the secon. Fifth air force light and medium bomber operations during 1942 and 1943 are textbook examples of doctrinal flexibility and extraordinary innovation. Download pdf royal air force bomber command losses of the second world war 1939 40 2nd edition volume 1 book full free. Warera bomber to be part of new rcaf flying badges. Although a number of german machines were shot down, raf losses. Bombing the european axis powers a historical digest of the combined bomber offensive 19391945. Currently only the south east asia command losses will be listed in this database, with focus on the single engined combat aircraft losses.