Operation Carthage

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Operation Carthage
Part of World War II

The air raid on the Shellhus
Date 21 March 1945
Location Copenhagen, Denmark
Result British victory
Belligerents
Australia RAAF
United Kingdom Royal Air Force
New Zealand RNZAF 		Gestapo
Kriegsmarine
Strength
20 bombers, 30 fighters Various antiaircraft defences
Casualties and losses
Six aircraft destroyed
Nine crew members killed, One taken prisoner 		The Danish headquarters of the Gestapo destroyed
55 German soldiers and 47 Danish employees of the Gestapo killed
125 Danish civilians killed, including 86 schoolchildren
Eight Danish prisoners of the Gestapo killed

Operation Carthage, on 21 March 1945, was a controversial British air raid on Copenhagen, Denmark, during World War II. The target of the raid was the Shellhus, Gestapo headquarters, in the city centre, a building that had been used for the storage of dossiers and the torture of Danish citizens. A similar raid against the Gestapo headquarters in Aarhus, on 31 October 1944, had been successful.

Background

Shell house before bombing. At the time of the bombing it was painted in camouflage colours

The raid was requested by members of the Danish resistance movement in the hope of freeing imprisoned members and destroying records of the Gestapo. The R.A.F. initially turned down the request as too risky, due to the location in a crowded city centre and the need for low-level bombing, but the raid was approved in early 1945 after repeated requests.

Institut Jeanne d'Arc, a Roman Catholic school in Frederiksberg Allé, Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. Established in 1924, bombed by accident by the RAF 21 March 1945 and demolished.

Once approval had been given, its planning took several weeks. This included producing scale models of the target building, and the surrounding city itself, in preparation for a very low-level attack.

Raid

The attacking force consisted of Royal Air Force de Havilland Mosquito F.B.VI fast bombers of No. 21 Squadron RAF, No. 464 Squadron RAAF, and No. 487 Squadron RNZAF, from the No. 140 Wing RAF. These were organised in three waves of six aircraft with two RAF reconnaissance Mosquito B.IVs to record the effects of the attack. Thirty RAF P-51 Mustang fighters gave air cover from German aircraft, and these also attacked antiaircraft guns during the raid.

The force left RAF Fersfield in the morning and it reached Copenhagen after 11:00. The raid was carried out at rooftop level. In the course of the initial attack, a Mosquito hit a lamp post, damaging its wing, and the plane crashed into the Jeanne d'Arc School, about 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from the target. Several bombers in the second and third wave attacked the burning school, thinking it was their target, and as a result 86 schoolchildren died in the school, along with 18 adults, including many nuns.[1]

The Gestapo headquarters in the Shellhus, Copenhagen, in March 1945 during Operation Carthage. A Mosquito pulling away from its bombing run is visible on the extreme left, centre.

Results

Shell House burning after the bombing raid

On the following day, a reconnaissance plane surveyed the target to assess the results. The damage was heavy, with the west wing of the six-story building reduced to nearly ground level. The Danish underground supplied a photograph showing the building burning from end to end.

The raid had succeeded in destroying Gestapo headquarters and severely disrupting Gestapo operations in Denmark, as well as allowing the escape of 18 prisoners of the Gestapo. Fifty-five German soldiers, 47 Danish employees of the Gestapo, and eight prisoners died in the headquarters itself. Four Mosquito bombers and two Mustang fighters were lost, and nine airmen died on the Allied side.

See also

References

Notes
  1. ↑ http://www.information.dk/296555
Bibliography

External links

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Coordinates: 55°40′40″N 12°33′42″E / 55.6778°N 12.5617°E / 55.6778; 12.5617

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