Operation Oyster was a bombing raid made by the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 6 December 1942 upon the Philips works at Eindhoven, Netherlands. The Philips company was a major producer of electronics equipment, including vacuum tubes for radio communication. Prior to the Battle of the Netherlands in 1940, Philips was known to be a leading research firm in infrared and radar technology. To ensure accuracy and minimise casualties among the Dutch citizens, the raid had to be undertaken during the day.
Bostons fly past the burning Philips Emmasingel plant during the Eindhoven raid
Philips Strijp works in Eindhoven, mid 1930s
A Lockheed Ventura being tested at Boscombe Down
Training flight over England for a pair of Douglas Bostons
Koninklijke Philips N.V., commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is still in Eindhoven. Philips was formerly one of the largest electronics companies in the world, but is currently focused on the area of health technology, having divested its other divisions.
Headquarters in Amsterdam, 2009
Gerard Philips (1858–1942), founder
The first Philips factory in Eindhoven, now a public museum
Share of the Philips Gloeilampenfabrieken, issued 14 December 1928