| Bombing of Duisburg during World War II | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Strategic bombing during World War II | |||||
Incendiary (left) and Blockbuster bombs (right) from Avro Lancaster of 101 Sqn |
|||||
|
|||||
| Belligerents | |||||
| United Kingdom United States | Nazi Germany | ||||
| Strength | |||||
| 229 bombing raids | |||||
Duisburg was bombed a number of times by the Allies during World War II. The most devastating air raids on Duisburg occurred during October 1944 when the city was bombed by the Royal Air Force (RAF).
Duisburg was a major logistical centre in the Ruhr Area and location of chemical, steel and iron industries, Duisburg was a primary target of Allied bombers. Not only the industrial areas but also residential areas were attacked by Allied bombs. As an entry to the Ruhr, there were daily warnings of bombing raids in 1943.
Contents |
During the "Battle of the Ruhr" in 1943, 577 British bombers destroyed the old city on 12/13 May, with 1,599 tonnes of bombs: 96,000 people were made homeless.
In October 1944 Duisburg became the main target in Operation Hurricane a joint RAF Bomber Command and the USAAF VIII Bomber Command operation.[1]
On 14 October 1944 in a daylight operation RAF Bomber Command sent 1,013 aircraft, with RAF fighters providing an escort, to bomb Duisburg. 957 bombers dropped 3,574 tonnes of high explosive and 820 tonnes of incendiaries on the city for a loss of 14 aircraft. Later the same day, during the night of 14 October/15 October, 1,005 RAF bombers returned to Duisburg in 2 waves about 2 hours apart, and dropped a further 4,040 tonnes of high explosive and 500 tonnes of incendiaries for the loss of 7 aircraft.
During Operation Hurricane nearly 9,000 tonnes of bombs fell on Duisburg in less than 24 hours, but the damage to Duisburg is difficult to assess because much of the documentation including the final report (Endbericht), is not held by the Duisburg state archive (Stadtarchiv).[1] However the documentation which is available mentions "Very serious property damage. A large number of people buried." and that at the Thyssen Mines III and IV 8 days production was lost.
A total of 299 bombing raids had almost completely destroyed the historic cityscape. 80% of all residential buildings had been destroyed or partly damaged. Almost the whole of the city had to be rebuilt, and most historic landmarks had been lost.
| Date | Air Force | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 12/13 June 1941 | RAF Bomber Command | 445 tonnes of bombs dropped.[2] |
| 5/6 April 1942 | RAF Bomber Command | 263 aircraft.[3] |
| 1943 | As an entry to the Ruhr, there were daily warnings of bombing raids in 1943. | |
| 26/27 March 1943 | RAF Bomber Command | "widely scattered" Battle of the Ruhr bombing due to cloud cover and Oboe problems[4] |
| 12/13 May 1943 | RAF Bomber Command | 577 Battle of the Ruhr bombers destroy the old city with 1,599 tonnes of bombs: 96,000 people are made homeless.[5] |
| 23 November 1944 | U.S. Eighth Air Force | Over 140 B-17’s escorted by 2 fighter groups bombed the benzol manufacturing plant near Gelsenkirchen and Marshalling Yards at Duisburg.[6] |
| 14/15 October 1944 | RAF Bomber Command | During the morning, 957 Operation Hurricane bombers dropped 3,574 tonnes of high explosive and 820 tonnes of incendiaries. In the subsequent night raid, 1,005 bombers in 2 waves about 2 hours apart, dropped a further 4,040 tonnes of high explosive and 500 tonnes of incendiaries.[1] |
| 5 March 1945 | U.S. Ninth Air Force | Among other missions over German the Ninth flew armed reconnaissance sorties over the Hamm-Duisburg area.[7] |
| 12 April 1945 | U.S. Ninth Air Force | Fighters of the Ninth the supported the XVI Corps as it continued fighting in the Duisburg and Dortmund areas during the destruction of the German armies of Army Group B surrounded and contained in the Ruhr pocket[8] |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||