Bombing of Darmstadt in World War II
Encyclopedia
Darmstadt
was bombed a number of times during World War II
. The most devastating air raid on Darmstadt occurred on the night of 11/12 September 1944 when No. 5 Group
the Royal Air Force
(RAF) bombed the city.
Darmstadt had a few industrial targets of note, a Merck chemical factory being one of them. By comparison with other German cities, preparations for bombing raids were less effective and flak defences had been depleted to provide defence for other cities.
s and 8 De Havilland Mosquito
s of No. 8 Group RAF
. Although it was a diversionary raid to draw night fighters away from for the main raid on Mannheim
with 628 aircraft, the small force of bombers caused extensive damage in the university town that had little industry and which had not been seriously bombed before.
On the night of 24/25 April 1944, some RAF planes bombed Darmstadt and other towns when, due to low cloud, they failed to find the main target of the night which was Karlsruhe
.
An attack on the night of 25/26 August 1944 by No. 5 Group RAF was a failure. The Master Bomber had to return to base and his deputies were shot down en route. The pathfinder
"Illuminating Force" flares were dropped too far to the west. As a result, most of the Main Force did not bomb at all, with a number diverting to bomb Russelsheim instead. 95 buildings were hit in Darmstadt and 8 people were killed by the scattered bombs which did hit the town.
After the main raid there was a further diversionary raid to draw night fighters away from the main target of Pforzheim
by 4 RAF Mosquitos on the night of 23/24 February 1945.
The attack started a fierce fire in the centre and in the districts immediately to the south and east. The destruction of dwellings in this area was almost complete. The raid killed an estimated 12,300 inhabitants and rendered 66,000 homeless out of a total of 110,000 inhabitants. The RAF lost 12 Lancasters, 5.3 per cent of the Lancaster force. Darmstadt became one of the German cities with the highest rate of killed civilian population.
Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary Campaign Diary for September 1944 states:
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
was bombed a number of times during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The most devastating air raid on Darmstadt occurred on the night of 11/12 September 1944 when No. 5 Group
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....
the Royal Air Force
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...
(RAF) bombed the city.
Darmstadt had a few industrial targets of note, a Merck chemical factory being one of them. By comparison with other German cities, preparations for bombing raids were less effective and flak defences had been depleted to provide defence for other cities.
Minor raids
On the night of 23/24 September 1943 Darmstadt was bombed by 21 Avro LancasterAvro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
s and 8 De Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
s of No. 8 Group RAF
No. 8 Group RAF
No. 8 Group RAF was a Royal Air Force group which existed during the final year of World War I and during World War II.-Formation in World War II:...
. Although it was a diversionary raid to draw night fighters away from for the main raid on Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
with 628 aircraft, the small force of bombers caused extensive damage in the university town that had little industry and which had not been seriously bombed before.
On the night of 24/25 April 1944, some RAF planes bombed Darmstadt and other towns when, due to low cloud, they failed to find the main target of the night which was Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
.
An attack on the night of 25/26 August 1944 by No. 5 Group RAF was a failure. The Master Bomber had to return to base and his deputies were shot down en route. The pathfinder
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...
"Illuminating Force" flares were dropped too far to the west. As a result, most of the Main Force did not bomb at all, with a number diverting to bomb Russelsheim instead. 95 buildings were hit in Darmstadt and 8 people were killed by the scattered bombs which did hit the town.
After the main raid there was a further diversionary raid to draw night fighters away from the main target of Pforzheim
Bombing of Pforzheim in World War II
During the latter stages of World War II, Pforzheim, a town in southwestern Germany, was bombed a number of times. The largest raid, and one of the most devastating area bombardments of the war was carried out by the Royal Air Force on the evening of February 23, 1945. As many as 17,600 people,...
by 4 RAF Mosquitos on the night of 23/24 February 1945.
Main raid
The main raid on Darmstadt was by No. 5 Group RAF on the night of the 11/12 September 1944, when 226 Lancasters and 14 Mosquitos, was directed to the medieval city centre as houses there were mainly built of wood. The raid was to incorporate a new technique where, instead of bombers flying along a single path across the target, the bombers would bomb along a fan of paths over the city. The intention was to deliberately spread the bombload.The attack started a fierce fire in the centre and in the districts immediately to the south and east. The destruction of dwellings in this area was almost complete. The raid killed an estimated 12,300 inhabitants and rendered 66,000 homeless out of a total of 110,000 inhabitants. The RAF lost 12 Lancasters, 5.3 per cent of the Lancaster force. Darmstadt became one of the German cities with the highest rate of killed civilian population.
Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary Campaign Diary for September 1944 states:
- The Darmstadt raid, with its extensive fire destruction and its heavy casualties, was held by the Germans to be an extreme example of RAF 'terror bombing' and is still a sensitive subject because of the absence of any major industries in the city. Bomber Command defended the raid by pointing out the railway communications passing through Darmstadt; the directive for the offensive against German communications had not yet been issued to Bomber Command, although advance notice of the directive may have been received. Darmstadt was simply one of Germany's medium-sized cities of lesser importance which succumbed to Bomber Command's improving area-attack techniques in the last months of the war when many of the larger cities were no longer worth bombing.