Battle of Berlin (RAF campaign)
The Battle of Berlin was a bombing campaign against Berlin by RAF Bomber Command along with raids on other German cities to keep German defences dispersed. Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) Bomber Command, believed that "We can wreck Berlin from end to end if the USAAF come in with us. It will cost us between 400 and 500 aircraft. It will cost Germany the war".
The ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church which was hit on 23 November 1943
GEE airborne equipment, with the R1355 receiver on the left and the Indicator Unit Type 62A on the right.
Diagram of the operation of the Oboe system
German searchlights and a Target Indicator (on the right) light up Berlin
RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bombing campaign against Germany became less restrictive and increasingly targeted industrial sites and the civilian manpower base essential for German war production. In total 364,514 operational sorties were flown, 1,030,500 tons of bombs were dropped and 8,325 aircraft lost in action. Bomber Command crews also suffered a high casualty rate: 55,573 were killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew, a 44.4% death rate. A further 8,403 men were wounded in action, and 9,838 became prisoners of war.
Bomber Command badge
A photograph taken during a typical RAF night attack with Avro Lancasters far below
97 percent of Wesel was destroyed before it was taken by Allied troops.
Operations Room Conference, Bomber Command, October 1943