Bombing of Cologne in World War II


The German city of Cologne was bombed in 262 separate air raids by the Allies during World War II, all by the Royal Air Force but for a single failed post-capture test of a guided missile by the United States Army Air Forces. A total of 34,711 long tons of bombs were dropped on the city by the RAF. 20,000 people died during the war in Cologne due to aerial bombardments.
While air raid alarms had gone off in the winter/spring of 1940 as British bombers passed overhead, the first bombing took place on 12 May 1940. The 30/31 May 1942 attack on Cologne was the first 1,000 bomber raid.

First 1,000 bomber raid

The first ever 1,000 bomber raid by the RAF was conducted on Cologne on the night of 30/31 May 1942. Codenamed Operation Millennium, the massive raid was launched for two primary reasons:
At this stage of the war Bomber Command only had a regular front line strength of around 400 aircraft, and were in the process of transitioning from the twin engined medium bombers of the pre-war years to the newer more effective four-engined heavy bombers such as the Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster. By using bombers and men from Operational Training Units, 250 from RAF Coastal Command and from Flying Training Command, Harris could easily make up the 1,000 aircraft. However, just before the raid took place, the Royal Navy refused to allow the Coastal Command aircraft to take part in the raid. The Admiralty perceived the propaganda justifications too weak an argument against the real and pressing threat of the U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic. Harris scrambled around and, by crewing 49 more aircraft with pupil pilots and instructors, 1,047 bombers eventually took part in the raid, two and a half times more than any previous raid by the RAF. 58 bombers were from Polish units. In addition to the bombers attacking Cologne, 113 other aircraft on "Intruder" raids harassed German night-fighter airfields.
Cologne was not Harris's first choice; he wanted to bomb Hamburg. Poor weather made Hamburg a poor choice; in addition, Harris was advised by Dr. Basil Dickins, a scientist who was section head of RAF's Bomber Command's Operations research, to choose Cologne, which was within GEE range.
display from the 30/31 October 1944 Cologne attack with post-attack annotations
This was the first time that the "bomber stream" tactic was used and most of the tactics used in this raid remained the basis for standard Bomber Command operations for the next two years and some elements remained in use until the end of the war. It was expected that such a large number of bombers flying in a bomber stream through the Kammhuber line would overwhelm the German night fighters' control system, keeping the number of bombers shot down to an acceptable proportion. The recent introduction of GEE allowed the bombers to fly a given route at a given time and height. The British night bombing campaign had been in operation for some months, and a statistical estimate could be made of the number of bombers likely to be lost to enemy night fighters and flak, and how many would be lost through collisions. Minimising the former demanded a densely packed stream, as the controllers of a night fighter flying a defensive 'box' could only direct a maximum of six potential interceptions per hour, and the flak gunners could not concentrate on all the available targets at once. Earlier in the war four hours had been considered acceptable for a mission; for this raid all the bombers passed over Cologne and bombed in a window of 90 minutes, with the first having arrived at 00:47 of 31 May. It was anticipated that the concentration of bombing over such a short period would overwhelm the Cologne fire brigades and cause conflagrations similar to those inflicted on London by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz.
In the raid, 868 aircraft bombed the main target with 15 aircraft bombing other targets. The total tonnage of bombs dropped was 1,455 tons with two-thirds of that being incendiaries. Two and a half thousand separate fires were started with 1,700 classed by the German fire brigades as "large". The action of fire fighters and the width of the streets stopped the fires combining into a firestorm, but nonetheless most of the damage was done by fire and not directly by the explosive blasts. 3,330 non-residential buildings were destroyed, 2,090 seriously damaged and 7,420 lightly damaged, making a total of 12,840 buildings of which 2,560 were industrial or commercial buildings. Among the buildings classed as totally destroyed were: 7 official administration buildings, 14 public buildings, 7 banks, 9 hospitals, 17 churches, 16 schools, 4 university buildings, 10 postal and railway buildings, 10 buildings of historic interest, 2 newspaper offices, 4 hotels, 2 cinemas and 6 department stores. The only military installation damaged was the flak barracks. The damage to civilian homes, most of them apartments in larger buildings, was considerable: 13,010 destroyed, 6,360 seriously damaged, 22,270 lightly damaged. The devastation was recorded by Hermann Claasen from 1942 until the end of the war, and presented in his exhibition and book of 1947 Singing in the furnace. Cologne – Remains of an old city.
The RAF lost 43 aircraft, 3.9% of the 1,103 bombers sent on the raid. 22 aircraft were lost over or near Cologne, 16 shot down by flak, 4 by night fighters, 2 in a collision, and 2 Bristol Blenheim light bombers lost in attacks on night fighter airfields. A posthumous Victoria Cross was awarded to Flying Officer Leslie Thomas Manser who sacrificed himself so his crew could abandon the aircraft.

Timeline

DateBomber forceNotes
1940-05-1817/18 May 1940RAFSix Wellingtons bomb the railway yards.
1942-02-1413/14 February 1942RAF39 aircraft encountered ice and cloud, poor bombing results reported.
1942-03-1313/14 March 1942RAF135 aircraft involved in the raid. The raid killed 62 and injured a further 84. 237 separate fires were started and the RAF estimated the raid to be five times more effective than average of recent raids on Cologne. This is considered to be the first successful GEE led raid. The RAF lost one Avro Manchester.
1942-04-055/6 April 1942RAF263 aircraft.
1942-04-2222/23 April 1942RAF69 aircraft.
1942-04-2727/28 April 1942RAF97 aircraft.
1942-05-3030/31 May 1942RAF868 aircraft bombed Cologne during the first 1000 bomber raid, laden with over 3 million kg of ordnance.
1942-05-31-0131 May 1942RAFPhoto reconnaissance by 5 de Havilland Mosquitoes of No. 105 Squadron RAF.
1942-05-31-0231 May/1 June 1942RAFTwo aircraft. Conditions were cloudy over Cologne so no bombing was undertaken. Both aircraft returned to base.
1942-06-011 June 1942RAF2 Mosquitoes in a nuisance and diversionary raid.
1942-07-2626 July 1942RAF3 Mosquitoes in a nuisance raid.
1942-08-1010 August 1942RAFSingle Mosquito on a nuisance raid, bombs and returns to base.
1942-08-2525 August 1942RAF4 Mosquitoes to Germany on nuisance raids, one of them to Cologne, three complete their mission and bomb. One lost.
1942-09-022 September 1942RAF1 Mosquito on a nuisance raid, bombs and returns to base.
1942-09-022 September 1942RAF2 Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid, bomb through cloud and return to base.
1942-09-077 September 1942RAF1 Mosquito on a nuisance raid, bomb through cloud and return to base, no record of the bombing on the ground.
1942-11-1515/16 October 1942RAF289 aircraft.
1943-01-2222/23 January 1943RAFThis was the first raid on Cologne using "Oboe" blind bombing radio navigation, two Mosquitoes damaged 55 houses, killing 5 people and 22 injured. This showed that, using electronic aids, a few bombers were able to inflict as much damage as 100-bomber raids in poor weather in the previous years.
1943-02-022/3 February 1943RAF161 aircraft.
1943-02-1414/15 February 1943RAF243 aircraft.
1943-02-2525/26 February 1943RAF6 Mosquitoes to the Ruhr in a diversionary raid, 13 people were killed in Cologne
1943-02-2626/27 February 1943RAF427 aircraft.
1943-05-00May 1943RAF
1943-06-1111/12 June 1943RAFOne Mosquito as part of a diversionary raid
1943-06-1313/14 June 1943RAF2 Mosquitoes bombed Cologne one of several nuisance raid.
1943-06-1616/17 June 1943RAF212 aircraft.
1943-06-1717/18 June 1943RAFTwo Mosquitoes bombed Cologne, one of several nuisance raids.
1943-06-1919/20 June 1943RAFSix Mosquitoes to Cologne, Duisburg and Düsseldorf.
1943-06-2222/23 June 1943RAFFour Mosquitoes as a diversionary raid,.
1943-06-2323/24 June 1943RAFThree Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid.
1943-06-2828/29 June 1943RAF608 aircraft.
1943-07-022/3 July 1943RAFThree Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid.
1943-07-033/4 July 1943RAF653 aircraft attacked Cologne's industrial area on the east bank of the Rhine. A new German unit, Jagdgeschwader 300, used the Wilde Sau tactic in single engined fighters for the first time. The German fighters, taking advantage of the illumination from searchlights, target indicator flares and fires claimed that they shot down 12 aircraft, but had to share their claims with the anti-aircraft batteries who also claimed the downings. To avoid friendly fire losses, anti-aircraft batteries restricted the height of their flak and the fighters operated above that pre-agreed ceiling.
1943-07-055/6 July 1943RAFFour Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid.
1943-07-066/7 July 1943RAFFour Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid.
1943-07-077/8 July 1943RAF4 Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid.
1943-07-088/9 July 1943RAF288 aircraft.
1943-07-1313/14 July 1943RAFTwo Mosquitoes on a diversionary raid drop target indicators.
1943-07-2525/26 July 1943RAF3 Mosquitoes on a diversionary raid.
1943-08-044/5 August 1943RAF5 Mosquitoes Cologne and Duisburg through cloud.
1943-08-044/5 August 1943RAF5 Mosquitoes Cologne and Duisburg through cloud, the only sorties of the night. No losses
1943-08-066/7 August 1943RAF8 Mosquitoes to Cologne and Duisburg, the only sorties over Germany that night. All 8 returned to base
1943-08-077/8 August 1943RAF4 Mosquitoes in a nuisance raid.
1943-08-1111/12 August 1943RAF8 Mosquitoes in a nuisance raid.
1943-08-2929/20 August 1943RAF4 Mosquitoes equipped with OBOE, with another 4 to Duisburg, in a nuisance raids. One Mosquito lost.
1943-09-011 September 1943RAF8 Mosquitoes were sent to Cologne and Duisburg. No Mosquitoes lost.
1943-09-044/5 September 1943RAF8 Mosquitoes were sent to Cologne and Duisburg. No Mosquitoes were lost.
1943-09-1313/14 September 1943RAF5 Mosquitoes equipped with OBOE with another 5 to Duisburg, in a nuisance raids. No Mosquitoes were lost.
1943-09-1918/19 September 1943RAF5 Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid. No Mosquitoes were lost.
1943-09-2424/25 September 1943RAF8 Mosquitoes to Cologne and Düsseldorf on nuisance raids. No Mosquitoes were lost.
1943-09-2626/27 September 1943RAF4 Mosquitoes to Cologne on a nuisance raid. No Mosquitoes were lost.
1943-09-2626/27 September 1943RAF8 Mosquitoes attacked Cologne and Gelsenkirchen on nuisance raids. These were the only Bomber Command sorties of the night. No Mosquitoes were lost.
1943-10-022/3 October 1943RAF8 Mosquitoes to Cologne and Gelsenkirchen on diversionary raids. The main raid was to Munich. No aircraft lost on the diversionary raids.
1943-10-033/4 October 1943RAF12 Mosquitoes equipped with OBOE bombed the Knapsack power-station near Cologne. No aircraft lost.
1943-10-1313/14 October 1943RAF4 Mosquitoes to Cologne on a nuisance raid. No Mosquitoes were lost.
1943-10-2020/21 October 1943RAF28 Mosquitoes to Berlin, Cologne, Brauweiler and Emden. 2 Mosquitoes were lost. The main raid of the night was to Leipzig
1943-12-2222 December 1943USAAFVIII Bomber Command Mission 163: 1 B-17 dropped two 2,000-pound general-purpose bombs and 1 Photoflash at 2020 hours; no casualties.
1944-01-011/2 January 1944RAF1 Mosquito on a diversionary nuisance raid and returned safely to base
1944-01-044/5 January 1944RAF2 Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid, both returned to base.
1944-02-022/3 February 1944RAF3 Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid, all returned to base.
1944-03-1616/17 March 1944RAF8 Mosquitoes on a diversionary nuisance raid, all returned to base
1944-03-1717/18 March 1944RAF28 Mosquitoes bombed Cologne, all returned to base.
1944-03-2121/22 March 1944RAF27 Mosquitoes bombed Cologne, all returned to base.
1944-03-2929/30 March 1944RAF4 Mosquitoes on a diversionary nuisance raid, all returned to base.
1944-03-2929/30 March 1944RAF34 Mosquitoes on diversions to Aachen, Cologne and Kassel, all returned to base,.
1945-03-02April 1944USAAF303rd Bomb Group Failed deployment of GB-1 Glide Bomb
1944-07-1818/19 July 1944RAF6 Mosquitoes on a diversionary raid, part of a night when the RAF made four substantial attacks and a number of small raids like that on Cologne. They attacked the synthetic oil plants at Wesseling and Scholven/Buer, railway junctions at Aulnoye and Revigny and a flying-bomb launching site at Acque.
1944-10-1414 October 1944VIII Bomber CommandMission 677: As part of a round-the-clock bombing operation, PFF attacks were made on Cologne marshaling yards at Gereon, Gremberg, and Eifeltor; as well as Euskirchen 35 km outside Cologne.
1944-10-15The 486 BG bombed Cologne.
8th AFMission 681: 1,338 bombers and 811 fighters are dispatched on PFF attacks in the Cologne, Germany area; 465 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Cologne/Eifeltor and Cologne/Gremberg ; the targets of opportunity were Cologne/Kalk marshalling yard, 453 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Cologne/Gereon and Cologne/Kalk
1945-02-1212/13 February 1945RAF3 Mosquitoes on H2S radar trials. No aircraft lost.
1945-03-022 March 1945RAFIn the last RAF raid on Cologne, 858 aircraft bomb in two waves. Only 15 of the 155 aircraft in the second wave dropped their bombs. A daylight raid in good weather, the bombing was "highly destructive".
1945-03-022 March 1945USAAFA single B-17 bombed Cologne as a target of opportunity.
1945-03-025 March 19459th Tactical U.S. Army Air Force fighters dropped leaflets in the Cologne-Bonn area.
6 March 1945American troops captured Cologne.