Bombing of Bucharest in World War II

The Bucharest World War II bombings were primarily Allied

Allies of World War II

The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

bombings of railroad targets and those of the Oil Campaign of World War II

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...

, but included a bombing by Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

after the royal coup. Bucharest stored and distributed much of Ploiești

Ploiesti

Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest....

's refined oil products.

valign=top| **Chronology**
Date	Target/Topic
1944-04-04	Railroad targets	28 B-24s of the 449 BG 449th Air Expeditionary Group The 449th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the 17th Air Force supporting United States Africa Command. It was last known to be stationed at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti.... from Grottaglie Grottaglie Grottaglie is a town and comune in the province of Taranto, Puglia, southern Italy.-Geography:Grottaglie is located in the Salento peninsula, a whole rock of limestone dividing Adriatic sea from Ionian sea. The countryside around the city is scattered with vast and deep ravines that open the ground... , after taking the usual route past Turnu Severin Drobeta-Turnu Severin Drobeta-Turnu Severin is a city in Mehedinţi County, Oltenia, Romania, on the left bank of the Danube, below the Iron Gates.The city administers three villages: Dudaşu Schelei, Gura Văii, and Schela Cladovei... , across the Southern Carpathians Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians or the Transylvanian Alps are a group of mountain ranges which divide central and southern Romania, on one side, and Serbia, on the other side. They cover part of the Carpathian Mountains that is located between the Prahova River in the east and the Timiș and Cerna Rivers... , and up to Târgoviște Târgoviste Târgoviște is a city in the Dâmbovița county of Romania. It is situated on the right bank of the Ialomiţa River. , it had an estimated population of 89,000. One village, Priseaca, is administered by the city.-Name:... and Snagov Snagov Snagov is a commune, located 40 km north of Bucharest in Ilfov County, Romania. According to the 2002 census, 99.2% of the population is ethnic Romanian and 0.4% are Roma... , bombed for two hours at mid day. The principal target was the Bucharest marshalling yard Classification yard A classification yard or marshalling yard is a railroad yard found at some freight train stations, used to separate railroad cars on to one of several tracks. First the cars are taken to a track, sometimes called a lead or a drill... , Gara de Nord Gara de Nord București Gara de Nord is the main railway station in Bucharest and the largest railway station in Romania... (tracks were destroyed). Warm weather and strong wind deflected bombs which landed on Calea Griviţei Grivita Griviţa is an area of Bucharest, Romania, centered on the Griviţa Railway Yards , which were and still are an important landmark within the manufacturing landscape of the city... and Giulești Giulesti Giuleşti is a neighbourhood in northwestern Bucharest, in Sector 6. The Giuleşti Stadium, Giuleşti Theatre, Podul Grant are located in Giuleşti... and western/north-western Bucharest was severely hit, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing/injuring over 5,000. Bombs fell on Calea Victoriei Calea Victoriei Calea Victoriei is a major avenue in central Bucharest. It leads from Splaiul Independenţei to the north and then northwest up to Piaţa Victoriei, where Şoseaua Kiseleff continues north.... , on the Splendid and Athénée Palace Athénée Palace The Athénée Palace hotel in Bucharest, Romania, now a Hilton, may have been Europe's most notorious den of spies in the years leading up to World War II, and only slightly less so during the Cold War. Located in the heart of Bucharest on Str... Hotels; on the German Military Mission; near Cathedral of St. Joseph (destroying its stained-glass windows); and on Cotroceni Cotroceni Cotroceni is a neighbourhood in western Bucharest, Romania located around the Cotroceni hill, in Bucharest's Sector 6.The Hill of Cotroceni was once covered by the forest of Vlăsia, which covered most of today's Bucharest... , uprooting poplar Poplar Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar , aspen, and cottonwood.... s in the Botanical Garden of Bucharest Botanical Garden of Bucharest The Bucharest Botanical Garden , now named after its founder, Dimitrie Brândză, is located in the Cotroceni neighbourhood of Bucharest, Romania. It has a surface of 17.5 hectares , and has more than 10,000 species of plants.... . One bomb shelter Bunker A military bunker is a hardened shelter, often buried partly or fully underground, designed to protect the inhabitants from falling bombs or other attacks... was also destroyed. Seven B-24s were lost from enemy aircraft (flak was slight and inaccurate over the target), and 13 B-24s were damaged and returned. 717 BS losses included Reluctant Liz, Miasis Dragon, and from the 719th BS, Consolidated Mess, Dixie Belle, Paper Doll, Born to Lose, and B-24 #41-28655. Destroyed/probable/damaged Luftwaffe aircraft were 32/6/5 ME-109, 6/5/1 FW-190, 1/0/0 HE-113 Heinkel He 113 The Heinkel He 113 was a supposed Luftwaffe fighter aircraft of World War II, but which existed only as a propaganda and/or disinformation strategy.... , 1/0/0 Me-210, and 0/2/0 JU-88.
1944-04-15	Railroad targets	15th US Air Force 461st Bombardment Group B-24s targeted Chitila Marshalling Yard in Bucharest. Nine-tenths cloud coverage over the target prevented the crews from observing the effect of the bombing. Official records do not list the damage. Other sources report that the University of Bucharest University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-Presentation:... was damaged and the adjacent Cartea Românească building was destroyed in bombing raid.
1944-06-10		After escorting B-24s, P-51s and P-38s strafed targets between Bucharest and the Danube River.
1944-06-28	Oil refineries	The 464 BG bombed the " Petrolul" refinery and the 485 BG bombed the "Titan Oil Refinery".
1944-08-17/18	Oil refineries	RAF 37 Sqn No. 37 Squadron RAF -History:No. 37 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Orfordness, Suffolk, on 15 April 1916 but ceased to exist a month later. In September of that year, it was re-formed, with headquarters at Woodham Mortimer, in Essex. It responsibilities included defending London against aerial attack... and other 205 Gp Sqn's No. 205 Group RAF No. 205 Group was a long-range, heavy bomber group of the Royal Air Force established on October 23, 1941 by boosting No. 257 Wing to Group status.... . Raid was aimed at destroying remaining intact refineries. Original target for the raid was the Standard Oil Refinery, but this had been successfully attacked during the day by American Forces and at 16:00 the attack was changed to the Xenia refinery. Raid was conducted by 63 Wellingtons from 231, 236, and 330 Wings, 9 Liberators from 2 SAAF Wing and 6 Halifaxes from 614 Sqn. 22 aircraft returned to bases because of mechanical failures, 3 performed emergency landings en route and 3 were reported missing. Remaining aircraft reached the target but AA defences were very active as was the smoke screen resulting in no aircraft being able to pinpoint the target. Bombers were attacked by Ju 88 Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early... and Me 109's Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s... . 86 tons of bombs dropped but the raid was considered as unsuccessful.
1944-07-31	Oil refineries	Two oil refineries at Bucharest, one at Doicești, and oil storage at Târgoviște Târgoviste Târgoviște is a city in the Dâmbovița county of Romania. It is situated on the right bank of the Ialomiţa River. , it had an estimated population of 89,000. One village, Priseaca, is administered by the city.-Name:... were bombed.http://www.milhist.net/usaaf/ploesti.html
1944-08-06	Railroad targets	60 fighters from Operation FRANTIC bases in the USSR attacked the Craiova Craiova Craiova , Romania's 6th largest city and capital of Dolj County, is situated near the east bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians and the River Danube . Craiova is the chief... marshalling yard and other railroad targets in the Bucharest-Ploești, Romania area, and landed at Italian bases.
1944-08-23/24 & 24/25		Luftwaffe bombers based in Otopeni Otopeni Otopeni is a town in Ilfov County, Romania, some north of Bucharest along the road to Ploieşti. It has 10,215 inhabitants, of which 99.0% are Romanians. One village, Odăile, is administered by the town.... attacked Bucharest on two consecutive nights until their bases were bombed by the Allies. The National Theatre Bucharest National Theatre Bucharest The National Theatre Bucharest is one of the national theatres of Romania, located in the capital city of Bucharest.-Founding:It was founded as the Teatrul cel Mare din Bucureşti in 1852, its first director being Costache Caragiale... and several other downtown buildings were destroyed while the Royal Palace National Museum of Art of Romania The National Museum of Art of Romania is located in the former royal palace in Revolution Square, central Bucharest, Romania, completed in 1937... , the Victoria Palace Victoria Palace Victoria Palace is a palace in Victory Square, Bucharest, built in 1937, which is the headquarters of the Prime Minister of Romania and his cabinet.-See also:*Government of Romania... , and the Romanian Athenaeum Romanian Athenaeum The Romanian Athenaeum is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city's main concert hall and home of the "George Enescu" Philharmonic and of the George Enescu annual international... were seriously damaged.

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