The Allied Bombing of Hamburg during WW2 included numerous Attacks on Civilians & Civic Infrastructure. As a large City & Industrial Centre, Hamburg’s Shipyards, U-Boat Pens & the Hamburg-Harburg Area Oil Refineries were Attacked throughout the War. The Attack beginning on the 24/25th July 1943, Code Named Operation Gomorrah, created one of the Largest Firestorms raised by the RAF & USAAF in WW2 killing an estimated 58,000 Civilians & wounding 180,000 more in Hamburg, and virtually destroying most of the City.
No.35 Squadron led the Target Marking and as a result of the clear Weather and the Navigation accuracy provided by the H2S the Pathfinders performed very well & their Markers fell very close to the designated Aiming Point. At about 00.57hrs on 24th July the 1st Bombs started to drop, and this Initial RAF Raid lasted almost 1-hr. In all, 791 Bombers were committed to this 1st Phase of ‘Gomorrah’, and of these 728 Bombed for 50-mins. Less than half the Force Bombed within 3-miles (4.8-km) of the City Centre, and the almost inevitable Bomb creep-back was 6-miles (9.6km). Damage was caused in the Centre of the City and the North-western Districts, particularly in Altona, Eimsbüttel & Hoheluft. The Rathaus (Town Hall), St Nikolai Church, Main Police Station, Main Telephone Exchange & Hagenbeck Zoo were among the well-known Landmarks which were Hit. About 1,500 people were killed, and this was the largest death Toll in any Raid to date outside the Range of the ‘Oboe’ Radio Navigation System which helped to concentrate the Bombing Pattern.
‘Window’, an early form of Chaff, was successfully used for the 1st time by the RAF, the Clouds of shredded Tinfoil dropped by the Pathfinders as well as the initial Bomber Stream producing Millions of false Radar Echoes which saturated the German Radar Screens and made it impossible for Controllers to supervise the anti-Aircraft Artillery & Night-Fighter Defences effectively. As a result, the Raids inflicted severe damage to German Armaments Production in Hamburg.
Hamburg was an interesting Raid. On 24th July 1943 a Flight Log reads ‘Hamburg – Aircraft damaged by Flak, we got a few Splinters and a few Shell holes in us but we got back. We went back again, on 27th – Hamburg was well Alight, still Burning and then on 29th we went back again, Hamburg was still burning.’
Hamburg 27/28th July 1943 158 Squadron Halifax NP-F Pilor Sgt A V Hardy with Bob Gill as Rear Gunner.
787 Aircraft
353 Lancasters, 244 Halifax’s, 116 Stirlings, 74 Wellingtons – returned to Hamburg. Brigadier-General Frederick L Anderson’s 8th Bomber Command (later became Major General Ira C Eaker’s US 8th USAAF), again Flew in a Lancaster & watched this Raid.
The Centre of the Pathfinder Marking – all carried out by H2S on this Night (H2S Scanner, Housed in a Ventral Blister below the RAF Roundel)- was about 2-miles East of the planned Aiming Point in the centre of the City, but the Marking was particularly well concentrated and the Main Force Bombing ‘crept back‘ only slightly.
In June of 1940, Eric Stanley Megaw, based on experiments with General Electric Company E821 Glass Magnetron, had designed a Cavity Magnetron in England which worked on 10-cm and became available for Aircraft Interception. This Magnetron was Air Cooled & Randall & Boot turned it into a Water Cooled Unit. The Magnetron became the heart of the H2S Radar which also used a PPI CRT (Plan Position Indicator – CRT – Cathode Ray Tube) installed in British Bombers. The Cavity Magnetron had a substantial increase in performance over other Magnetrons of its time and it played a substantial role in the History of Radar (RAdio Detection And Ranging). Unlike the disclosure of the German Radar Secrets, the British worked in the strictest of Confidence & Secrecy during WW2 and developed the H2S Airborne Radar which used a Magnetron and a PPI-scope. This Unit worked well and could identify Targets on the Ground for Night & all-Weather Bombing. In February 1943, a Stirling Bomber with the H2S Radar was Shot Down near Rotterdam and the Radar Unit was found by the Germans. The Germans Tested this Radar. They built a improved Unit by June of 1943 called the LMS10 “Berlin.”
This was the Night of the Firestorm, which started through an unusual & unexpected chain of Events. The Temperature was particularly High (30°C at 6-pm) and the Humidity was only 30%, compared with an average of 40-50% for this time of the year. There had been no Rain for some time and everything was very Dry. The concentrated Bombing caused a large number of Fires in the densely built-up Working-class Districts of Hammerbrook, Hamm & Borgfeld. Most of Hamburg’s Fire Vehicles had been in the Western parts of the City, damping down the Fires still smouldering there from the Raid of 3-Nights earlier, and only a few Units were able to pass through Roads which were blocked by the rubble of Buildings Destroyed by High-explosive Bombs early in this Raid. About half-way through the Raid, the Fires in Hammerbrook started joining together & competing with each other for the Oxygen in the surrounding Air. Suddenly, the whole area became one big Fire with Air being drawn into it with the Force of a Storm creating a Vortex & Whirling Updraft of Super-heated Air which created a 460M high Tornado of Fire.. The Bombing continued for another 30-mins, spreading the Firestorm area gradually Eastwards. It is estimated that 550-600 Bomb Loads fell into an area measuring only 2 x 1-miles. The Firestorm raged for about 3-hrs and only subsided when all combustible material was Consumed. The Burnt-out area was almost entirely Residential. Approximately 16,000 multi-Storeyed Apartment Buildings were Destroyed. There were few Survivors from the Firestorm area and approximately 40,000 People died, most of them by Carbon Monoxide poisoning when all the Air was drawn out of their Basement Shelters. In the period immediately following this Raid, approximately 1.2M People – 2/3rds of Hamburg’s Population – Fled the City in fear of further Raids.
Hamburg 29/30th July 1943 35 Squadron Halifax Pilot A V Hardy, Bob Gill Rear Gunner
The Battle of Hamburg continued
777 Aircraft – 340 Lancasters, 244 Halifaxes, 119 Stirlings, 70 Wellingtons, 4 Mosquitos being despatched.
The Marking for this Raid was again all by H2S. The intention was to approach Hamburg from almost due North & Bomb those Northern & North-eastern Districts which had so far not been Bombed. The Pathfinders actually came in more than 2-miles too far to the East & Marked an area just South of the devastated Firestorm area. The Main Force Bombing crept back about 4-miles, through the Devastated area, but then produced very Heavy Bombing in the Wandsbek & Barmbek Districts and parts of the Uhlenhorst & Winterhude Districts. These were all Residential areas. There was a widespread Fire area – Some 707 Aircraft dropped 2,318 Tons of Bombs, though no Firestorm – which the exhausted Hamburg Fire Units could do little to check. The worst incident was in the Shelter of a large Department Store in Wandsbek: the Building Collapsed & Blocked the Exits from the Shelter in the Store’s Basement, and 370 persons died, poisoned by Carbon Monoxide fumes from a nearby burning Coke Store.
28 Aircraft – 11 Halifax’s, 11 Lancasters, 4 Stirlings, 2 Wellingtons – Lost, 3.6% of the Force.
29th July 1943 Operation Hamburg 51 Sqdn Pilot Sgt Morris 5hrs-40mins.
On the way back, we could still see the Fires of Hamburg Raging 180-Miles from the City. (28 Planes lost.)
The Term ‘H2S‘ seemingly had no real meaning, and so could not give away its purpose to German Spies. (Many German Codenames could, with a little lateral thinking, easily give away the purpose of Secret Equipment). However, when asked what ‘H2S‘ stood for, the Scientists responsible for the Equipment replied “Home Sweet Home“. After the Initial Trials of H2S had gone badly during 1942, many, who knew their Chemistry commented ‘It stinks!’. For those that don’t, H2S is the Formula for Hydrogen Sulphide.
Hamburg 2/3rd August 1943 35 Squadron Halifax Bob Gill as Rear Gunner
“Very severe Electrical Storms & Icing” – written in Log Book
740 Aircraft
329 Lancasters, 235 Halifax’s, 105 Stirlings, 66 Wellingtons, 5 Mosquitos despatched on a Failed Raid to Hamburg. The Bombing Force encountered a large Thunderstorm area over Germany and many Crews turned back early or Bombed alternative Targets. At least 4 Aircraft, probably more, were Lost because of Icing, Turbulence or were struck by Lightning. No Pathfinder Marking was possible at Hamburg and only scattered Bombing took place there. Many other Towns in a 100-mile area of Northern Germany received a few Bombs. A sizeable Raid developed on the small Town of Elmshorn, 12-miles from Hamburg. It is believed that a Flash of Lightning set a house on Fire here & Bomber Crews saw this through a gap in the Storm Clouds and started to Bomb the Fire. Some 254 Dwellings were destroyed in Elmshorn and 57 people were killed, some of them Refugees from recent Raids on Hamburg.
30 Aircraft – 13 Lancasters, 10 Halifax’s, 4 Wellingtons, 3 Stirlings – Lost, 4.1% of the Force.
‘Gomorrah’ killed 42,600 people, left 37,000 wounded and caused about 1M Civilians to Flee the City. The City’s Labour Force was reduced permanently by some 10%. The Allies had deployed about 3,000 Aircraft and dropped, 9,000 Tons of Bombs. No later City Raid shook Germany as greatly as did that on Hamburg and Documents reveal that German Officials were thoroughly Armed and there is some indication from later Allied Interrogations of Nazi Officials that Adolf Hitler stated that further Raids of similar weight would Force Germany out of the War. The Industrial Losses were severe and Hamburg did not recover to full Production except in the essential Armaments Industries, where a maximum effort was made. German Figures indicate that 183 of 524 large Factories were destroyed, and 4,118 of 9,068 smaller Factories. Other losses included damage to or destruction of 580 Industrial Concerns & Armaments Works, 299 of which were important enough to be listed by name. Local Transport Systems were completely disrupted and did not return to normal for some time. Some 214,350 or 414,500 Dwellings were destroyed.
2/3rd August 1943 Operation Hamburg. 51 Squadron Pilot Sgt Morris 5-hrs 45-mins.
This Raid was somewhat of a Disaster owing to the Weather. Terrible Electric Storms were encountered over Hamburg, caused, by the Fires caused by this Series of Raids. Some 5 in all by the RAF within a week & Daytime Raids by the USAAF. The Weather was more terrifying than any Enemy Action. We were literally hurled 30 or 40-ft into the Air at frequent intervals by the vast currents of Air in the totally solid Thunder Cloud. Lightning flashed all around us continually and Static Electricity called St Elmos Fire (luminous plasma) covered the whole of the Aircraft, making it appear that We were actually on Fire. This Static Blue Flame leapt from all the Propeller Blades covering the Wings in Blue Flame and dancing all around the Cockpit & the Fuselage. Just as terrifying as the vast Up-Currents & the Static Fire was the Bombardment of the Fuselage by huge Chunks of Ice being hurled from the Propeller Blades, hunks of Ice the size of a Leg of Mutton. We could not get out of this vast Cloud. We tried climbing above it but couldn’t because of the ever increasing weight of Ice on the Wings & Props. We also tried to get Beneath it but couldn’t; it was too vast in Depth. In desperation we Flew in all directions to get free of the Cloud & the Ice, having dropped our Bombs on ETA, which was all we could do, not having the slightest clue of our true Position, especially as the Magnetic Compass was totally useless owing to the huge amounts of Electrical Energy in the Cloud. All this was a total Disaster for me, the Navigator. I had to make guesses about our Position (my experience was repeated in all the other Bombers). I assumed a position somewhere to the North East of the Target and when we finally got into slightly improved conditions, we set Course for Home from this assumed Position. The whole Force was requesting QDMs (Wireless Position Lines) 2 or 3 of which would Fix your Position. However, the demand was so great that Priority was given to only those in Dire Trouble. SOS Cases etc. of which there were many. All others had to wait their turn. We eventually got a Fix and were able to find our way more or less in the right Direction. Once we got within “Gee” Range all our Troubles were over.
I think without doubt this was our most Frightening Trip. The force of nature could out do anything man might attempt. The vast proportion of Losses that Night (30 in all) were due to the Weather and I have no doubt, many Collisions in that impenetrable Cloud. It was on this Series of Hamburg Raids that we 1st used “Window”, Strips of aluminium foil dropped from the Flare Chute by the Wireless Operator at regular Intervals. One or 2 bundles a minute generally, whilst over Enemy Territory and 2 to 4 bundles a minute in the Target area. Each of these Strips of Foil showed up on the German Radar Screens as an Aircraft creating complete Chaos for the Jerry Fighter Control people. Especially as Diversion Raids were made on other Targets at the same time, also using “Window” to create even more Chaos. It would appear to the Germans on the Radar Screens that there were countless 1,000s of Planes being used and it was impossible to distinguish the difference between the False & the True Signals. It made Interception impossible except by sheer chance. Altogether a great Innovation as far as we were concerned.
Another Combat Report for the Target Nuremburg, 30/31st March 1944 reads:
‘The Rear Gunner saw a Single Engine Fighter later identified as a 19o Focke-Wulf approximately 700-yds on the Port-quarter up, he ordered Pilot to Corkscrew Port and immediately Lost the Fighter. I could scream up to the Pilot ’Corkscrew, Port, Go!’ – it means instead of Flying Level he goes Port, turns over & Dives to Port, gets in to the bottom, turns, comes back up again like a Corkscrew. Then that gets the old Fighter a Devil of a job trying to get us. Finally, if you’re lucky, you lose him or you Shoot him down before he Shoots you Down. But the Combat Report goes on: ‘30th of March 1944 Nuremburg, Damaged by a Fighter.’ We got Shot-up pretty badly with a Fighter but I think between the Mid Upper Gunner & me, we finished him off. But he made a bit of a Mess of us and we Crash-landed at RAF Station Ford. The Aircraft was still Serviceable and we Flew back from Ford to Base again the next day. That was so close, one of those Shells, that it nicked me, cut the Earpiece right out of my Helmet, damn near strangled me and then went right up the Fuselage & exploded halfway up the Aircraft. My Rear Turret had many Holes made by Cannon Shells from that Fighter.
Hamburg was hit by Air Raids another 69 Times before the end of WW2.
To mark the 60th Anniversary of the start of the Battle of Hamburg a commemorative Cover to mark these Raids and also to mark the 1st Operational use of ‘Window’ which saved many of the Allied Aircraft & Aircrew by confusing the German Radar sets used by the Luftwaffe Night-Fighters & Radar Controlled Flak Guns. The Artwork shows Lancasters of No.12 Squadron dropping their Bombs over the Targets whilst also dropping ‘Window’ from both the Flare Chute & the Bomb Bay. Bomber Command went on to carry out 4-Raids on Hamburg within 10-days and the 1st 2 were followed by Daylight Raids by the USAAF in a effort to disrupt one of German’s largest Cities and vital Navy Dockyard. The 2nd Raid was to be the Night that a fierce Firestorm broke out caused by high temperatures & low humidity in a very built up area, added to which ‘Window’ had completely confused the German Radar and the Bombing was accurate & concentrated by a Bomber Force of nearly 800 Aircraft, the result being an important Allied Victory.
Signed by Flight Lieutenant Herbert Hoey DFM AE who joined No.12 Squadron on the 4th May 1943 and took part in the Raids on Hamburg on the 24/25th July 1943 as the Navigator on Lancaster DV187 ‘PH-A’ and on the 27/28th July 1943 on Lancaster DV168 ‘PH-F’. He completed his 1rst Tour in January 1944 and after Instructing at 28 OTU he went on to join Transport Command as an Instructor.
The 2nd Special is signed by Squadron Leader David Butler DFC who joined No.12 Squadron on 19th June 1943 and took part in the Raid on Hamburg on the 24/25th July 1943 as Rear Gunner on Lancaster ‘PH-K’. Having completed his 1st Tour in February 1944 he was awarded the DFC. He went on to complete a 2nd Tour with No.171 Squadron equipped with Halifax Aircraft.
The 3rd Special is signed by Squadron Leader Jim Heyworth DFC FRAeS who took part in the Hamburg Raids on the 24/25th July, 29/30th July & 2/3rd August 1943 Flying Lancaster W4991 ‘PH-Q’ whilst on his 2nd Tour with No.12 Squadron. He was awarded a Bar to his DFC at the end of his 2nd Tour. He then became a Test Pilot for Rolls Royce, being promoted to Chief Test Pilot in 1955 through until he retired in 1962.
The Final Special is signed by Squadron Leader Walter Snell DFC joined No.12 Squadron on the 22nd June 1943 and took part in the Raid on Hamburg on the 24/25th July 1943 Flying Lancaster ‘PH-V’. He took part in the 2nd & 3rd Hamburg Raids Flying Lancaster ‘PH-S’ on the 27/28th July & 29/30th July 1943. He completed his Tour in January 1944 and was Awarded the DFC. A 5th Variant signed by Flight Lieutenant Les Smith, who was Snell’s Flight Engineer for 29 Operations including the 3 Hamburg Raids listed above.
Air Gunner Bob Gill DFM 