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1942–45 Allied strategic bombing of Kassel, Germany
The
Kassel World War II bombings were a set of
Allied
strategic bombing attacks which took place from February 1942 to March 1945. In a single deadliest raid on 22–23 October 1943, 150,000 inhabitants were bombed-out,[
citation needed ] at least 6,000 people died,[
citation needed ] the vast majority of the city center was destroyed, and the fire of the most severe
air raid burned for seven days. The
US First Army
captured Kassel on 3 April 1945, where only 50,000 inhabitants remained, versus 236,000 in 1939.[
citation needed ]
Targets
Bomb damaged buildings in Kassel, Untere Königsstraße
As well as being the capital of the provinces of
Hesse-Nassau and
Kurhessen , Kassel had some important targets:
Fieseler aircraft facility
Henschel & Sohn facilities, maker of the
Tiger I and
King Tiger heavy tanks
The Henschel & Sohn firm's
locomotive plant
engine plant
motor transport plant
railway works
Military HQs at Wehrkreis IX, and Bereich Hauptsitz Kassel
Central Germany HQ, highway & railway construction
Regional Supreme Court
Bombing raids
Bombing raids on Kassel during World War II
Date
Target
17/18 February 1942
[
specify ]
10 Wellingtons and 3 Stirlings to Emden, Hamburg, Kassel and Aachen.
27/28 August 1942
Henschel
306 aircraft destroyed/seriously damaged 144/317 buildings, particularly in the city southwest. Three Henschel buildings were seriously damaged, and 43/251 were killed/injured.
[1]
8/9 September 1942
[
specify ]
Nearly 100 aircraft hit several armament factories, and destroyed the railway station, the Red Palace, and the Museum
Fridericianum , home of the Kassel State Library, along with 350,000 books, seven-eighths of the library's entire book collection.
[2]
2/3 October 1943
[
specify ]
The
Pathfinder Force (PFF) was not able to find the center of the city, and most bombs into
Ihringshausen and
Bettenhausen . In addition to considerable damage, an ammunition store was hit.
3/4 October 1943
[
specify ]
547 aircraft used
H2S radar ; the main weight of bombs fell on the western suburbs and outlying towns and villages.
22/23 October 1943
city centre
569 bombers dropped more than 1,800 tons of bombs (including 460,000 magnesium fire sticks) in a concentrated pattern.
[3] For deception, the attack used
Operation Corona radio spoofing and a
Frankfurt diversionary raid. The blaze caused a minor
firestorm similar in nature to that at
Hamburg . Damage to the main telephone exchange and the city's water pipes hindered firefighting efforts.
18/19 March 1944
[
specify ]
11 Mosquitos on a diversionary raid.
30/31 March 1944
[
specify ]
34 Mosquitos on diversionary raids to Aachen, Cologne and Kassel.
27/28 September 1944
[
specify ]
46 Mosquitos on a diversionary raid.
28 September 1944
Henschel motor transport plant
Mission 652: 243 of 262 dispatched B-24s bombed the Kassel/Henschel motor transport plant.
[4]
3/4 October 1944
[
specify ]
43 Mosquitos.
15/16 October 1944
[
specify ]
2 Mosquitos on a diversionary raid.
9/10 November 1944
[
specify ]
3 Mosquitos.
27/28 December 1944
[
specify ]
7 Mosquitos on
Oboe (navigation) trials (some flew over Kassel).[
citation needed ]
6/7 January 1945
[
specify ]
20 Mosquitos.
18/19 January 1945
[
specify ]
12 Mosquitos.
21/22 January 1945
[
specify ]
76 Mosquitos
2/3 March 1945
[
specify ]
67 Mosquitos on a training raid.
8/9 March 1945
[
specify ]
176 aircraft; the last heavy raid by the RAF on Kassel.
18/19 March 1945
[
specify ]
24 Mosquitos.
20/21 March 1945
[
specify ]
16 Mosquitos on a diversionary raid.
See also
References
^
"Campaign Diary" . Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary . UK Crown. Archived from
the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-03-22 .
February 1942
Archived June 7, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine ,
August 1942
Archived 2007-07-06 at the
UK Government Web Archive ,
October 1943
Archived March 3, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine ,
November 1943
Archived June 11, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine ,
December 1943
Archived March 3, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine
January 1944
Archived 2007-07-06 at the
UK Government Web Archive ,
February 1944
Archived 2007-07-06 at the
UK Government Web Archive
March 1944
Archived 2007-07-06 at the
UK Government Web Archive ,
September 1944
Archived 2004-09-29 at the
Wayback Machine ,
October 1944
Archived 2007-07-06 at the
UK Government Web Archive ,
November 1944
Archived 2007-07-06 at the
UK Government Web Archive ,
December 1944
Archived June 6, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
January 1945
Archived 2007-07-06 at the
UK Government Web Archive ,
February 1945
Archived 2007-07-06 at the
UK Government Web Archive
March 1945
Archived 2007-07-06 at the
UK Government Web Archive ,
April 1945
Archived 2012-07-28 at the
Wayback Machine
^ Popa, Opritsa D. (2003).
Bibliophiles and bibliothieves : the search for the Hildebrandslied and the Willehalm Codex . Berlin: de Gruyter. p. 12.
ISBN
3-11-017730-7 .
^
Bomber Command October 1943
Archived March 3, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine
^
McKillop, Jack.
"Combat Chronology of the USAAF" . usaaf.net. Archived from
the original on 2007-06-10. Retrieved 2009-04-09 . 1942 :
January
Archived 2009-02-04 at the
Wayback Machine ,
February
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
March
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
April
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
May
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
June
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
July
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
August
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
September
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
October
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
November
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
December
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine 1943 :
January
Archived 2012-05-31 at the
Wayback Machine ,
February
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
March
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
April
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
May
Archived 2009-02-28 at the
Wayback Machine ,
June
Archived 2009-02-28 at the
Wayback Machine ,
July
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
August
Archived 2009-02-12 at the
Wayback Machine ,
September
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
October
Archived 2012-05-31 at the
Wayback Machine ,
November
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
December
Archived 2006-10-07 at the
Wayback Machine 1944 :
January
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
February
Archived 2014-12-27 at the
Wayback Machine ,
March
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
April
Archived 2009-02-16 at the
Wayback Machine ,
May
Archived 2012-06-06 at the
Wayback Machine ,
June
Archived 2009-02-16 at the
Wayback Machine ,
July
Archived 2013-05-27 at the
Wayback Machine ,
August
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
September
Archived 2009-02-13 at the
Wayback Machine ,
October
Archived 2010-03-07 at the
Wayback Machine ,
November
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
December
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine 1945 :
January
Archived 2009-02-16 at the
Wayback Machine ,
February
Archived 2013-09-29 at the
Wayback Machine ,
March
Archived 2013-06-02 at the
Wayback Machine ,
April
Archived 2010-03-07 at the
Wayback Machine ,
May
Archived 2010-03-07 at the
Wayback Machine ,
June
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
July
Archived 2010-03-07 at the
Wayback Machine ,
August
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine ,
September
Archived 2009-02-11 at the
Wayback Machine
Sources
Werner Dettmar: Die Zerstörung Kassels im Oktober 1943. Hesse, Fuldabrück 1983,
ISBN
3-924259-00-3
Gebhard Aders: Bombenkrieg/Strategien der Zerstörung. licoverlag 2004
External links
RAF strategic bombing during the Second World War
Overviews Leaders Campaigns Operations Aircraft Technology Tactics Units See also