Bombing of Kassel in World War II
Encyclopedia
The Kassel
World War II bombings were a set of Allied
strategic bombing attacks
which took place from February 1942 to March 1945. The fire of the most severe air raid
burned for seven days, at least 10,000 people died, 150,000 inhabitants were bombed-out, and the vast majority of the city center was destroyed. The US First Army captured Kassel
on 3 April 1945, and only 50,000 people were in residence (versus 236,000 in 1939).
, Kassel had some important targets.
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
World War II bombings were a set of 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...
strategic bombing attacks
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...
which took place from February 1942 to March 1945. The fire of the most severe air raid
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
burned for seven days, at least 10,000 people died, 150,000 inhabitants were bombed-out, and the vast majority of the city center was destroyed. The US First Army captured Kassel
Battle of Kassel (1945)
The Battle of Kassel was a four-day struggle between the U.S. Army and the German Army in April 1945 for Kassel, a medium-sized city northeast of Frankfurt am Main. The battle resulted as the U.S. Third Army pushed northeast from the region of Frankfurt and Mainz. The battle opened on April 1,...
on 3 April 1945, and only 50,000 people were in residence (versus 236,000 in 1939).
Targets
As well as being the capital of the provinces of Hesse-Nassau & KurhessenProvince of Kurhessen
The Province of Kurhessen was a province of Prussia within Nazi Germany from 1944-45.Although all German states, including Prussia, had been de facto dissolved since 1933, the Nazi government formally dissolved the Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau into two provinces on 1 April 1944: Kurhessen and...
, Kassel had some important targets.
- FieselerFieselerThe Gerhard Fieseler Werke was a German aircraft manufacturer of the 1930s and 40s. The company is remembered mostly for its military aircraft built for the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.-History:...
aircraft plant - Henschel facilities, maker of the Tiger ITiger ITiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...
and King TigerTiger IITiger II is the common name of a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B,Panzerkampfwagen – abbr: Pz. or Pz.Kfw. Ausführung – abbr: Ausf. .The full titles Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf...
heavy tanks - locomotiveLocomotiveA locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
plant - engine plant
- motor transport plant
- railway works
- Military HQs at Wehrkreis IX, and Bereich Hauptsitz Kassel
- Central Germany HQ, highway & railway construction
- Regional Supreme Court
Bombing raids
| Date | Target/Topic | |
|---|---|---|
 10 Wellingtons and 3 Stirlings to Emden, Hamburg, Kassel and Aachen. |
||
| Henschel | 306 aircraft destroyed/seriously damaged 144/317 buildings, particularly in the city southwest. Three Henschel buildings were seriously damaged, and 43/251 were killed/injured. |
|
| 2/3 October 1943 | The Pathfinder Force (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... was not able to find the center of the city, and most bombs into Ihringshausen and Bettenhausen Bettenhausen -Germany:*Bettenhausen, Thuringia, in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, Hesse*Bettenhausen, Hesse, in the Lich district, Hesse*Bettenhausen, Kassel, district of the city Kassel, Hesse*Bettenhausen, Baden-Württemberg, in the Rottweil district, Baden-Württemberg... . In addition to considerable damage, an ammunition store was hit. |
|
| 3–4 October 1943 | 547 aircraft used H2S radar H2S radar H2S was the first airborne, ground scanning radar system. It was developed in Britain in World War II for the Royal Air Force and was used in various RAF bomber aircraft from 1943 to the 1990s. It was designed to identify targets on the ground for night and all-weather bombing... ; the main weight of bombs fell on the western suburbs and outlying towns and villages. |
|
| 22/23 October 1943 | city square | 569 bombers dropped more than 1,800 tons of bombs (including 460,000 magnesium fire sticks) that started fires which illuminated the entire town. For deception, the attack used Operation Corona Operation Corona Operation 'Corona was a RAF initiative to confuse German night fighters during RAF bomber raids on German cities during WWII. Native German speakers impersonated German Air Defence officers... radio spoofing and a Frankfurt diversionary raid. Damage to the main telephone exchange and the city's water pipes hindered firefighting efforts. |
| 18–19 March 1944 | 11 Mosquitos on a diversionary raid. |
|
| 30–31 March 1944 | 34 Mosquitos on diversionary raids to Aachen, Cologne and Kassel. |
|
| 27–28 September 1944 | 46 Mosquitos on a diversionary raid. |
|
| 1944-09-28 | Henschel motor transport plant |  Mission 652: 243 of 262 dispatched B-24s bombed the Kassel/Henschel motor transport plant. |
| 3–4 October 1944 | 43 Mosquitos. |
|
| 15/16 October 1944 | 2 Mosquitos on a diversionary raid. |
|
| 9/10 November 1944 | 3 Mosquitos. |
|
| 27/28 December 1944 | 7 Mosquitos on Oboe (navigation) Oboe (navigation) Oboe was a British aerial blind bombing targeting system in World War II, based on radio transponder technology. Oboe accurately measured the distance to an aircraft, and gave the pilot guidance on whether or not they were flying along a pre-selected circular route. The route was only 35 yards... trials (some flew over Kassel). |
|
| 6/7 January 1945 | 20 Mosquitos. |
|
| 18/19 January 1945 | 12 Mosquitos. |
|
| 21/22 January 1945 | 76 Mosquitos |
|
| 2/3 March 1945 | 67 Mosquitos on a training raid. |
|
| 8/9 March 1945 | 176 aircraft in the last heavy raid by the RAF on Kassel. |
|
| 18/19 March 1945 | 24 Mosquitos. |
|
| 20/21 March 1945 | 16 Mosquitos on a diversionary raid. |
|