Operation Manna

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Operation Manna took place from 29 April to 8 May 1945, at the end of World War II. Lancaster bombers of the Royal Air Force dropped food into parts of the occupied Netherlands, with the acquiescence of the occupying German forces, to feed people who were in danger of starvation in the Dutch famine. The operation was named after the food which miraculously appeared for the Israelites in the book of Exodus, called Manna. It was arranged in negotitions between Allied agents, including the future Canadian writer Farley Mowat, and the German commander-in-chief General Blaskowitz.

The aircraft taking part were from Groups 1, 3, and 8, and consisted of 145 Mosquitoes and 3,156 Lancasters, flying between them a total of 3,298 sorties.

The first of the two RAF Avro Lancasters chosen for the test flight, the morning of April 29, 1945, was nicknamed "Bad Penny," as in the old expression: "a bad penny always turns up". This bomber, with a crew of 7 young men (five from Ontario, Canada, including pilot Robert Upcott of Windsor, Ontario), took off in bad weather to the Netherlands without a ceasefire agreement by the Nazis. Bad Penny succeeded in dropping her precious cargo and was able to radio back to base, "mission accomplished", allowing Operation Manna to begin in earnest.^[1]

Many Thanks spelt-out on the ground in tulips after Operation Manna

The drop zones were marked by Mosquitoes from Squadrons 105 and 109 and were: Leiden (Valkenburg airfield), The Hague (Duindigt horseracecourse and Ypenburg airfield), Rotterdam (Waalhaven airfield and Kralingsche Plas) and Gouda.

During the operation, Bomber Command delivered 6,680 tons of food. These bombers were used to dropping bombs from 6000 m, but this time they had to do their dropping from a height of 150 m, some even as low as 120 m. The idea was for people to gather and redistribute the food, but some couldn't resist eating straight away, which caused some people to get sick and vomit, a result that fatty food can have in starved bodies. On the other hand, distribution sometimes took as long as ten days, resulting in some getting the food only after the liberation. Nevertheless, many lives were saved and another effect was that it gave hope and the feeling that the war would soon be over.

In addition, 400 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers of the USAAF dropped 800 tons of K-rations during May 1-3, on Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

Earlier, there had been a distribution of white bread made from Swedish flour that was shipped in and baked locally. A popular myth holds that this bread was dropped from airplanes, but that is a mix-up between the two events. Also, the food was not dropped with parachutes, as is often said.