Bombing of Bremen in World War II
Encyclopedia
The Bombing of Bremen in World War II by the Royal Air Force
and the Eighth Air Force targeted strategic targets
in the state of Bremen
, which had heavy anti-aircraft artillery but only 35 fighter aircraft in the area. In addition to Wesermünde/Bremerhaven, targets were also in Farge
and Vegesack
. Bremen
also included concentration camps such as Bremen-Farge
and Bremen-Vegesack. The city of Bremen was captured in April 1945.
In June 1942, Bremen was the target for the RAF's third "thousand bomber raid".
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and the Eighth Air Force targeted strategic targets
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
in the state of Bremen
Bremen (state)
The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is the smallest of Germany's 16 states. A more informal name, but used in some official contexts, is Land Bremen .-Geography:...
, which had heavy anti-aircraft artillery but only 35 fighter aircraft in the area. In addition to Wesermünde/Bremerhaven, targets were also in Farge
Farge
Farge is a small port on the Weser River in the City of Bremen. The bombing of Bremen in World War II attacked Farge targets, including the oil storage and the Valentin submarine pens.-Bremen-Farge concentration camp:...
and Vegesack
Bremen-Vegesack
-Geography:Vegesack is located at the mouth of the river Lesum, beside the Weser River . Abutting the district of Vegesack to the northwest is the district of Blumenthal, in the southeast the district of Burglesum...
. Bremen
Bremen (state)
The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is the smallest of Germany's 16 states. A more informal name, but used in some official contexts, is Land Bremen .-Geography:...
also included concentration camps such as Bremen-Farge
Farge
Farge is a small port on the Weser River in the City of Bremen. The bombing of Bremen in World War II attacked Farge targets, including the oil storage and the Valentin submarine pens.-Bremen-Farge concentration camp:...
and Bremen-Vegesack. The city of Bremen was captured in April 1945.
| Atlas Werke Atlas Werke Atlas Werke was a German shipbuilding company, located in Bremen. It was founded in 1911.During World War I Atlas Werke built one single U 151 U-boat for the Kaiserliche Marine, the U-156.... shipbuilding company Bremen-Oslebshausen railway station Bremen-Oslebshausen railway station Bremen-Oslebshausen is a railway station located on the Vegesack-Bremen and Bremen-Bremerhaven railway lines. Only services on the Vegesack-Bremen line call at the station, services to and from Bremerhaven pass through without stopping.... Bremer Vulkan Bremer Vulkan Bremer Vulkan AG was a great German shipbuilding company located at the Weser river in Bremen-Vegesack. It was founded in 1893 and closed in 1997 because of financial problems and mismanagement.... shipyard DeSchiMAG Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945... (AG Weser AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships... ) shipyard Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:... aircraft factory Borgward Borgward Borgward was a German automobile manufacturer founded by Carl F. W. Borgward . The company was based in Bremen... motor transport plants Korff AG oil refinery Oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where crude oil is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas... Norddeutsche Hütte AG steel mill Valentin submarine pens Valentin submarine pens The Valentin submarine pens are a protective shelter built to construct German U-boats during World War II at Farge, a small port on the Weser River in Bremen. The pens were under construction from 1943 to March 1945 using forced labour, but were damaged by air-raids and unfinished by the end of... , - protective shelters built for building U-boat U-boat U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II... s |
In June 1942, Bremen was the target for the RAF's third "thousand bomber raid".
Timeline of bombing raids
| Date | Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental... |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
| RAF RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...  |
24 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Armstrong Whitworth Whitley The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three British twin-engine, front line medium bomber types in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War... bombers attacked Bremen oil installations Oil Campaign of World War II The Allied Oil Campaign of World War II was directed at facilities supplying Nazi Germany with petroleum, oil, and lubrication products... . |
|
| RAF | No. 15 Squadron RAF used converted Wellingtons for the first time to bomb the dockyards at Bremen | |
| January 1/2 2/3 3/4, 1941 | RAF | 141 aircraft bombed the aircraft factory in the south of the city. Smaller Bremen attacks are made on the following 2 nights. |
| March 12/13, 1941 | RAF | Heavy bombing raids were conducted on Hamburg, Bremen and Berlin |
| July 4, 1941 | RAF | 12 Bristol Blenheim Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter... bombed an aircraft factory and a minesweeper. |
| RAF | 8 of 83 dispatched aircraft bombed the primary target at Bremen. Some of the aircraft attacking alternative targets reached Hamburg, which reports 11 fires and casualties of 5 dead and 12 injured. 3 Wellingtons were lost and 1 Stirling crashed England after being fired at and damaged by a British convoy. | |
| RAF | During the Bremen raid, Wing Commander Ken Wallis Ken Wallis Wing Commander Kenneth Horatio Wallis MBE, DEng , CEng, FRAeS, FSETP, PhD , RAF , is one of the leading exponents of autogyros. He has held 34 records relating to them.-Early life:... experimented with marker flares later used by Pathfinder Forces (PFF) Pathfinder (RAF) The Pathfinders were elite squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing... . |
|
| April 8/9, 1942 | RAF | Following a Hamburg Bombing of Hamburg in World War II The Allied bombing of Hamburg during World War II included numerous strategic bombing missions and diversion/nuisance raids. As a large port and industrial center, Hamburg's shipyards, U-boat pens, and the Hamburg-Harburg area oil refineries were attacked throughout the war... raid, Bremen reports a load of incendiaries dropped very accurately on the Bremer Vulkan Bremer Vulkan Bremer Vulkan AG was a great German shipbuilding company located at the Weser river in Bremen-Vegesack. It was founded in 1893 and closed in 1997 because of financial problems and mismanagement.... shipyard where 4 U-boats and several surrounding buildings were damaged by fire. |
| June 3/4, 1942 | RAF | 170 aircraft attacked on the first large raid to Bremen since October 1941. 11 aircraft - 4 Wellingtons, 2 Halifaxes, 2 Lancasters, 2 Stirlings, 1 Manchester - lost. Bremen recorded this as a heavy attack, the results of which exceeded all previous raids. Housing areas were heavily hit with 6 streets affected by serious fires. Damage to the U-boat construction yards and the Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:... factory is described as 'of no importance' but there were hits in the harbour area which damaged a pier, some warehouses and the destroyer Z-25. 83 people dead, 29 seriously and 229 slightly injured (Bremen's third heaviest casualty toll in the war). |
| June 25/26, 1942 | RAF | Using every available aircraft in RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental... and some of other commands, a thousand bomber raid was mounted against Bremen. 1,067 aircraft (472 Wellingtons, 124 Halifaxes, 96 Lancasters, 69 Stirlings, 51 Blenheims, 50 Hampdens, 50 Whitleys, 24 Bostons, 20 Manchesters and 4 Mosquitos), 102 Hudsons and Wellingtons of RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive... , and 5 RAF Army Cooperation Command RAF Army Cooperation Command RAF Army Cooperation Command was a short-lived major command of the Royal Air Force during World War II, comprising the army cooperation units of the RAF.The command was formed on 1 December 1940 when No... . Those of No. 5 Group RAF No. 5 Group RAF No. 5 Group was a Royal Air Force bomber group of the Second World War, led during the latter part by AVM Sir Ralph Cochrane.-History:The Group was formed on 1 September 1937 with headquarters at RAF Mildenhall.... - 142 aircraft bombed the Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:... factory; 20 Blenheims were allocated to the AG Weser AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships... shipyard; the RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive... aircraft were to bomb the DeSchiMAG Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945... shipyard; all other aircraft were to carry out an area attack on the "town and docks". The limited success was entirely due to the use of GEE GEE (navigation) Gee was the code name given to a radio navigation system used by the Royal Air Force during World War II.Different sources record the name as GEE or Gee. The naming supposedly comes from "Grid", so the lower case form is more correct, and is the form used in Drippy's publications. See Drippy 1946.... , which enabled the leading crews to start marker fires through the cloud cover. 696 Bomber Command aircraft were able to claim attacks on Bremen. 572 houses were completely destroyed and 6,108 damaged. 85 people were killed, 497 injured and 2,378 bombed out. At the Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:... factory, an assembly shop was completely flattened, 6 buildings were seriously damaged and 11 buildings lightly so. The Atlas Werke Atlas Werke Atlas Werke was a German shipbuilding company, located in Bremen. It was founded in 1911.During World War I Atlas Werke built one single U 151 U-boat for the Kaiserliche Marine, the U-156.... , the Bremer Vulkan Bremer Vulkan Bremer Vulkan AG was a great German shipbuilding company located at the Weser river in Bremen-Vegesack. It was founded in 1893 and closed in 1997 because of financial problems and mismanagement.... shipyard, the Norddeutsche Hütte, the Korff refinery, and two large dockside warehouses were also damaged. 48 Bomber Command aircraft were lost (a new record 5% of those dispatched), including 4 which came down in the sea near England from which all but 2 crew members were rescued. This time, the heaviest casualties were suffered by the OTUs of No. 91 Group RAF, which lost 23 of the 198 Whitleys and Wellingtons provided by that group, a loss of 11.6 per cent. 5 of the 102 Coastal Command aircraft were also lost. |
| June 27/28, 1942 | RAF | 144 aircraft - 55 Wellingtons, 39 Halifaxes, 26 Stirlings, 24 Lancasters. 9 aircraft - 4 Wellingtons, 2 Halifaxes, 2 Lancasters, 1 Stirling - lost. 119 aircraft bombed blindly through cloud after obtaining GEE fixes. Bremen records that two of the large firms hit in the recent Thousand raid - the Atlas Werke Atlas Werke Atlas Werke was a German shipbuilding company, located in Bremen. It was founded in 1911.During World War I Atlas Werke built one single U 151 U-boat for the Kaiserliche Marine, the U-156.... and the Korff refinery - were damaged again, as well as several smaller firms and dockside warehouses. A hospital and an unrecorded number of houses were also hit. Seven people were killed and eighty injured. |
| Bremen was added to the USAAF target list. | ||
| April 17, 1943 | VIII VIII Bomber Command The VIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit that is better known as the later appellation Eighth Air Force, as was popularized in post-World War II filmsand is frequently called the First Eighth Air Force by its veterans and successors in the services.The command was...  |
Mission Number 52:http://www.amazon.ca/Air-War-Against-Hitlers-Germany/dp/0743493303 115 B-17's were dispatched on the Eighth Air Force's largest mission to that date. 63-15-17 Luftwaffe aircraft claimed; 15 B-17s downed by fighters, 1 by flak, 39 damaged; 2 killed in action , 4 wounded in action and 159 missing in action. Bombs destroyed at least half of the Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:... factory buildings. |
| October 8, 1943 | VIII | The 381st Bombardment Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its performance for bombing the Bremen shipyards accurately in spite of persistent Luftwaffe fighter attacks and extremely heavy and accurate flak.http://www.gulfcoastwing.org/381.htmhttp://www.web-birds.com/8th/100/100.html One B-17 had two bombs that failed to release and received a flak hit which caused them to explode (8 KIA, 2 POW).http://www.100thbg.com/mainpages/crews/crews5/meadows.htm 30 bombers were lost. |
| November 13, 1943 | VIII | Mission 130: 79 of 159 B-17's, 61 of 109 B-24's and 3 of 4 B-17 PFF aircraft hit the port area at Bremen and targets of opportunity in the Kiel Kiel Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the... -Flensburg Flensburg Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig... area at 1120-1145 hours; 100+ aircraft abort the mission due to weather; they claim 20-14-13 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 B-17's and 13 B-24's are lost; 3 B-17's and 3 B-24's are damaged beyond repair and 12 B-17's and 10 B-24's are damaged; casualties are 21 KIA, 26 WIA and 162 MIA. The bombers are escorted by 45 P-38's (all the way to the target) and 345 P-47's; they claim 10-3-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 P-38's and 3 P-47's are lost; 2 P-38's are damaged beyond repair; 5 P-38's and 2 P-47's are damaged; casualties are 9 MIA. |
| November 26, 1943 | VIII | Mission 138: 350 of 390 B-17's, 77 of 101 B-24's and 13 of 14 B-17 PFF aircraft attack the port area of Bremen at 1145-1228 hours; they claim 16-3-10 Luftwaffe aircraft; 22 B-17's and 3 B-24's are lost; 3 B-17's and 1 B-24 are damaged beyond repair and 139 B-17's, 19 B-24's and 7 PFF B-17's are damaged; casualties are 10 KIA, 35 WIA and 215 MIA. |
| November 29, 1943 | VIII | Mission 140: 154 of 360 B-17's hit the port of Bremen and targets of opportunity in the area at 1429-1450 hours; unfavorable cloud conditions and malfunction of blindbombing equipment cause 200+ B-17's to abort; they claim 15-11-10 Luftwaffe aircraft; 13 B-17's are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 43 damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 13 WIA and 131 MIA. The B-17's are escorted by 38 P-38's and 314 P-47's; they claim 15-4-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 P-38's and 9 P-47's are lost; 1 P-47 is damage beyond repair and another damaged; casualties are 1 WIA and 16 MIA. |
| June 18, 1944 | VIII | Mission 421: 18 B-17 Flying Fortresses hit Bremen-Oslebshausen Bremen-Oslebshausen railway station Bremen-Oslebshausen is a railway station located on the Vegesack-Bremen and Bremen-Bremerhaven railway lines. Only services on the Vegesack-Bremen line call at the station, services to and from Bremerhaven pass through without stopping.... ; 107 B-24 Liberator B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber... s bomb Bremerhaven Bremerhaven Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham... |
| June 24, 1944 | VIII | Mission 438: Of 340 B-17s, 213 hit oil industry targets in Bremen, 53 hit an aircraft factory at Wesermünde and 40 attack Bremen; 1 B-17 is lost and 105 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA and 9 MIA. Escort is provided by 6 fighter groups (185 P-38s and 85 P-47s); 1 group strafes an airfield and rail transport in the Munster and Hamm areas and claims 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; no losses. |
| June 29/30, 1944 | RAF | 253 aircraft - 108 Wellingtons, 64 Lancasters, 47 Stirlings, 34 Halifaxes - dispatched, the first time that 4-engined bombers provided more than half of the force on a major raid. 11 aircraft - 4 Stirlings, 4 Wellingtons, 3 Halifaxes - were lost. Bremen reported that 48 houses were destroyed and 934 damaged, mostly lightly. Extensive damage occurred in 5 important war industries, including the Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:... factory and the AG Weser AG Weser Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships... U-boat construction yard, and at the local gasworks, a museum and a merchant-navy college, mostly fire. |
| July 29, 1944 | RAF | During Mission 503 to the Bremen/Oslebshausen oil refinery, Torpedo boat T2 (type 35) was bombed and sunk at Bremen |
| VIII | As part of Mission 635, P-47s and 149 P-51s bomb and strafe the Bremen area. | |
| VIII | As part of Mission 648, 381 B-17s bomb the armoured vehicle factories at Bremen, another 13 bombed Bremerhaven and one hit another target. Of the 420 B-17 sent on the mission four B-17s were lost and 208 damaged. 10 airmen were wounded and a further were 21 were reported as missing in action. The escort was provided by 133 P-51s, one was lost with the pilot reported missing in action and two were damaged beyond repair. Schichau Seebeckwerft Schichau Seebeckwerft Schichau Seebeckwerft is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Bremerhaven. The name comes from the 1988 merger of Schichau with Seebeckwerft.-History:... Unterseeboot 3509 was damaged during a Bremerhaven Bremerhaven Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham... bombing raid.http://www.uboat.net/boats/u3509.htm |
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| October 12, 1944 | VIII | Mission 674: 262 Eighth Air Force B-17s bomb two Karl Borgward plants producing armored fighting vehicles and the Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:... 190 components plant. 267 bombing visually; 1 other hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 59 damaged. 7 airmen are KIA, 1 WIA and 9 MIA. Escort is provided by 273 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 17-2-1 aircraft; 5 P-51s are lost (pilots MIA).. |
| VIII | As part of Mission 845, 200 B-17s were sent to bomb the Deschimag U-boat yards at Bremen and another 134 to bomb the Bremen W rail bridge. Of the total of 383 sent on the mission one B-17 was lost, one damaged beyond repair and a further 162 damaged; seven airmen were wounded and nine were reported missing in action. The bombers were escorted by 93 P-51s. The fighters claim they destroyed one and damaged three German aircraft on the ground, for the loss of two P-51s with their pilots missing in action. | |
| VIII | As part of Mission 881, 406 of 413 B-17s bombed the Deschimag U-boat yard at Bremen. Nine B-17s were damaged, and one of the 255 P-51 escorting fighters was lost. | |
| March 27, 1945 | RAF | 115 Lancasters of No. 5 Group RAF No. 5 Group RAF No. 5 Group was a Royal Air Force bomber group of the Second World War, led during the latter part by AVM Sir Ralph Cochrane.-History:The Group was formed on 1 September 1937 with headquarters at RAF Mildenhall.... attacked an oil-storage depot (95 aircraft) and a U-boat shelter (20 aircraft of No. 617 Squadron RAF No. 617 Squadron RAF No. 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland. It currently operates the Tornado GR4 in the ground attack and reconnaissance role... ) at Farge. Two Grand Slam bomb Grand Slam bomb The Grand Slam was a 22,000 lb earthquake bomb used by RAF Bomber Command against strategic targets during the Second World War.Known officially as the Bomb, Medium Capacity, 22,000 lb, it was a scaled up version of the Tallboy bomb and closer to the original size that the bombs' inventor,... s penetrated two metres and detonated, which rendered the shelter unusable. No aircraft were lost. |
| March 30, 1945 | VIII | 303rd BG (H) Combat Mission No. 348: 38 aircraft were dispatched to bomb Bremen. The submarine building yards were the first priority target |