Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankieS
Quote:
Originally Posted by tekenaar
. . . does anyone here know who flew - RAF or USAAF - a bombing mission to Kiel, Germany (U-boot harbor) on the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 7th 1942?
Always assumed it was likely the USAAF since the RAF had pretty much ceased daylight precision bombing by then. If possible, some details . . . bomber groups involved, where based in England, personnel and results. Thanks from an admitted newbie here.
Otto
|
Hi tekenaar !
You're sure about the date?
The USAAF Chronology gives FRIDAY, 14 MAY 1943
as the first U.S. raid onto Kiel.
EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS (Eighth Air Force)
VIII Bomber Command Mission Number 56: A maximum force is put in the air
as part of a combined offensive against the Wehrmacht. 154 B-17's, 21 B-
24's and 12 B-26's are dispatched against 4 targets. The principal attack
is against submarine yards and naval installations at Kiel, Germany; 136
B-17's and 21 B-24's are dispatched with 126 B-17's and 17 B-24's hitting
the target at 1200-1203 hours local. We claim 62-24-27 Luftwaffe aircraft;
we lose 5 B-24's and 3 B-17's with 1 B-24 damaged beyond repair and 9
B-24's and 27 B-17's damaged. Casualties are 3 KIA, 17 WIA and 81 MIA. |
First, thanks for the quick reply, Frankie, but that's precisely why I asked whether it was the
Brits or
Amis who
bombed Kiel on
that date's afternoon! I could not confirm any
USAAF mission on that date based on Theo Boiten's excellent, very detailed book on the
1942-1945 Airwar focused on
the Luftwaffe vs. the USAAF!
As to my curiosity in that particular place and time? . . . well, rumor has it that I was born in a "
Bunker" during a "
Bombenangriff" in Kiel at that precise place and time and I don't think either "Bomber Command" took any "weekends off", do you?!
It is interesting to note that the time in your later "earliest USAAF raid on Kiel" example coincides exactly with the time of my birth there on 7 November 1942. This would precisely support either of the England-based,
RAF/USAAF bomber groups' arrival times over the Kiel target!
Hmmm . . .