GERMANY LOSES THE AIR WAR 235
GREATER
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Birmingham
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Bremerhaven
Emden
Wilhelmshaven
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Mainz
Wiesbaden
Bonn
Cologne
München-Gladbach
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Dortmund
Frankfurt
Koblenz
Hanau
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Würzburg
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Mannheim
Stuttgart
Heilbronn
Karlsruhe
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Saarbrücken
Trier
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Ulm
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Chemnitz
Leipzig
Prague
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V-1 launch site areas V-2 launch site areas
CROSSBOW OPERATIONS
APRIL 1944–APRIL 1945
Allied surveillance provided evidence of V-1 launch
sites (see pp.192–193) as early as May 1943. The
first raids against the German long-range V-1 and
V-2 weapons—part of an operation code named
Crossbow—took place later that year and
intensified in April 1944. Of 6,380 V-1s launched
against Britain, 4,380 were brought down by
fighter planes or antiaircraft fire.
1
Oil targets Transportation
target zones
TARGETING OIL AND TRANSPORTATION
MAY 1944–APRIL 1945
As well as targeting the German aircraft industry,
the Allies turned their attention to cutting off oil
supplies to the Luftwaffe. Allied planes flying from
liberated southern Italy attacked refineries at
Ploeşti in Romania, while raids on fuel sites and
transportation infrastructure in Germany and the
occupied lands reduced production by 95 percent.
3
Operational ranges of Allied bombers
EXTENDING THE STRIKE RANGE
JUNE 1944–APRIL 4, 1945
As the war neared its end, the targets of Allied
bombing moved farther east. The improved
design of bombers, such as the US B-24 Liberator,
gave the Allies longer reach, as did the availability
of airfields in continental Europe (after D-Day) and
in southern Italy. In 1944, Stalin allowed the US
to establish bases in Ukraine, but US–Soviet
suspicions quickly limited their effectiveness.
4
Allied air bases attacked on Jan 1, 1945
THE LUFTWAFFE’S LAST OFFENSIVE
JANUARY 1, 1945
By 1945 the Luftwaffe was almost spent, but
managed to stage a last surprise attack, Operation
Bodenplatte (Baseplate), which sought to neutralize
Allied air power in the Low Countries as part of
the Battle of the Bulge offensive (see pp.228–229).
The assault destroyed more than 300 Allied
planes, but German losses were equally heavy,
and the operation brought no lasting gains.
5
AERIAL BOMBARDMENT
UP TO APRIL 1945
Throughout the air war, the RAF’s “Bomber”
Harris pursued his goal of destroying German
morale through aerial attacks on cities. One of the
most devastating was the assault on the historic
center of Dresden (see pp.236–237), previously
unscathed. Four raids over two nights created a
firestorm that killed an estimated 25,000 people
on the night of February 13/14, 1945.
2
Sep 11, 1944
A dogfight over the
Ore Mountains costs
29 German and 50
American lives.
Apr 9, 1945 British bombers
sink the cruiser Admiral Scheer in
Kiel harbor, one of several
missions against the last remnants
of German naval power.
Feb 14, 1945
Prague, still under
German occupation,
is accidentally
bombed by
American aircraft.
Mar 12, 1945 Dortmund
is largely destroyed by
a force of more than
1,100 aircraft.
Mar 3, 1945 RAF bombers targeting
a V-2 missile site mistakenly hit the
Bezuidenhout suburb of The Hague,
killing 500 Dutch civilians.
Feb 23–24, 1945 An RAF
assault on the medieval
city of Pforzheim leaves a
third of the population
dead and over 80 percent
of its buildings destroyed.
German cities suffering 50–100 percent
destruction in raids in 1944–1945
1944–1945 German
air defenses—the
most sophisticated in
the world—cannot
stop Allied bombing.
US_234-235_Germany_loses_the_air_war.indd 235 24/05/19 1:17 PM