Two updates in 2 days! Holy crap!
Man essays are fun. Oh, and also I got my tax rebate cheque today. Woo! If you have a minute to read over my essay and critique it that would be greatly appreciated. I haven't written a conclusion yet, but yeah.. dats ok.
13. Describe the Allied destruction of Hamburg in the summer of 1943
Among the many new methods of warfare introduced in World War II, the extensive targeting of civilian populations through prolonged long range bombing campaigns is certainly one of the most controversial. Although the Luftwaffe introduced this method of destruction into the European theatre of war, it was Britain's Royal Air Force who practiced it most often and with the most devastating effects. The greatest of these attacks was executed against the city of Hamburg during the summer of 1943, and was only surpassed in its carnage by the atomic blasts over Japan nearly two years later. Called "Operation Gomorrah", its goal was the complete destruction of Hamburg as an economic and military center, vital to the overall Bomber Command goal of bombing Germany into submission. This assault was an incredibly complex, and involved four major nighttime attacks over a ten-day period, combined with a smaller number of American bombers attacking twice during the daytime. In this fashion, over three thousand sorties were sent against Hamburg, killing more than 40,000 people and sending another million fleeing from their homes.
The attack on Hamburg was the brainchild of Sir Arthur Harris, the wartime Chief of Bomber Command. An extremely controversial figure to this day, to the Germans Harris was the most hated figure in the entire British military. A strong proponent of strategic bombing, he was the man most responsible for the campaigns that took the lives of an estimated 400,000 German civilians and wounded countless more. Also involved was the US 8th Air Force, under the command of Lieutenant-General I.C. Eaker, Commander-in-the-Field. While this would be the first ever joint bombing campaign between the two Allies, they differed significantly on strategy. The British, with years of experience under their belt, felt that while night bombing was not particularly accurate, it was the most effective way at striking at the enemy while keeping their casualties minimal. On the other hand, the American stance was that a smaller force of planes could do significant damage by attacking in much more accurate daytime conditions. The two allies agreed to disagree, and attacked Hamburg regardless, it being such an important target. Hamburg had long been a choice target for the Allies for several reasons. Its multiple shipbuilding ports made it Germany's greatest naval construction center, as they were responsible for the manufacture of two hundred U-boats in addition to the infamous battleship Bismarck. Hamburg also lay in relatively easy reach of the Allied bombers, being situated in a location appropriate for the use of the Allied navigational and targeting aids. In fact the city had been planned as a target as early as Operation Millennium in May 1942, but an assault at that date had to be called off due to poor weather. By the time another opportunity to strike at the city came around, the aircraft, flight crews and techniques of Bomber Command had been greatly improved, and allowed for an assault the likes of which had never before been witnessed.
In order to destroy Hamburg, Bomber Command utilized a wide array of aircraft. For example, the attack on the night of July 27-28 included 353 Lancasters, 244 Halifaxes, 116 Sterlings, and 74 Wellingtons. In addition to these aircraft, the American daytime raids were accomplished using B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. Also present were the Mosquito "Wooden Wonder" light bombers that attacked in nuisance sorties on the nights when no major bomber offensive was planned, in addition to providing target marking as the Pathfinder planes. The navigation of this many planes to their target was no easy task, and Bomber Command utilized two key technologies to this end. The first of these, known as OBOE, was designed to direct the Pathfinder planes over their target in the most accurate manner possible. It involved the use of two base stations located in Britain, known as "Cat" and "Mouse." By triangulating the location of the aircraft from these two stations, it was possible to make fairly accurate attacks, even when cloud cover obscured the target. Although the city of Hamburg itself was beyond the range of OBOE, it was still a very useful guide over much of the flight as it gave the navigator a far more accurate tool than the astro-fixes, dead reckoning and radio bearings of the past. The second technology used by the British to target Hamburg was called H2S, and although it was not as accurate as OBOE, it was useful in large bomber raids such as this when OBOE could not guide more than a handful of planes. H2S consisted of a 9-centimeter radar located on the bottom of the aircraft's fuselage. This pointed at the ground and reflected different signals depending on what sort of terrain the plane was flying above. For example, over open fields or water there was little for the radar to reflect off of, and thus few signals returned to the bomber. However, when the plane was over a densely built up area, such as an urban center, there were far more reflective surfaces that would show up to the navigator as a much stronger signal. In this respect, H2S was perfectly suited for Hamburg as the coastline gave a clear response on the navigator's cathode ray tube. In fact, the first time H2S had been used in combat was against Hamburg, in a smaller raid on January 30, 1943. Another key technology that that Allies used in this bombing campaign was called Window, something that Bomber Command Chief Harris had been fighting for the chance to use as early as the summer of 1942. However, his superiors were worried that the enemy would take their idea and use it against Britain, making the defense of their island much more difficult. Finally in 1943, with the Allies in a much more aggressive position, Harris received permission to use it in the assault on Hamburg. Known today as chafe, Window was the dispersal of large amounts of metallic strips by a bomber force, released in an effort to confuse the German radar. Since these strips reflected the enemy radar in a very chaotic way, it appeared to the radar that the sky was filled with thousands upon thousands of Allied planes, when in fact it was only several hundred. It was so effective that the German radar-controlled spotlights waved aimlessly around the sky, unable to find a real target. One operator was overheard saying, "I cannot follow any of the hostiles - they are very cunning." (Harris, 175) Through the combined use of these technologies, the attack on Hamburg was both accurately targeted and suffered very few losses. Out of over three thousand sorties sent against the city, only eighty-six aircraft were shot down, an extremely low 2.8%.
The attack itself was initiated on the night of July 24th, and began what will forever be remembered by the citizens of Hamburg as the destruction of their city. The first raid involved 791 aircraft, of which 728 found their objectives and dropped their bombs. In only 50 minutes, numerous major targets such as the main police station and the telephone exchange had been demolished, and many fires had been started - some of which would last for weeks. In addition, the dockyards and several industrial installations were severely damaged. It is estimated that 1,500 people were killed in this initial attack. The sortie was so destructive that American bombers had trouble finding their targets when they attacked the next day, as a giant cloud of smoke and dust hung over the city, obscuring all views of the carnage below. Although this was an incredibly powerful attack, the worst was yet to come. Following the first raid, the US 8th Army Air Force attacked the ports and industrial areas of the city with 252 sorties over the next two days, and then the British returned in full force. On the night of July 27th, 729 aircraft from Bomber Command dropped 4,417 tons of bombs on Hamburg, approximately half of which were high explosive 8,000 lb "block busters" and the other half incendiary and phosphorous bombs. A number of factors contributed to the horrific events of that night. First, Hamburg was in the middle of a heat wave. The temperature at 6 PM on the evening of the 27th was recorded at 30
13. Describe the Allied destruction of Hamburg in the summer of 1943
Among the many new methods of warfare introduced in World War II, the extensive targeting of civilian populations through prolonged long range bombing campaigns is certainly one of the most controversial. Although the Luftwaffe introduced this method of destruction into the European theatre of war, it was Britain's Royal Air Force who practiced it most often and with the most devastating effects. The greatest of these attacks was executed against the city of Hamburg during the summer of 1943, and was only surpassed in its carnage by the atomic blasts over Japan nearly two years later. Called "Operation Gomorrah", its goal was the complete destruction of Hamburg as an economic and military center, vital to the overall Bomber Command goal of bombing Germany into submission. This assault was an incredibly complex, and involved four major nighttime attacks over a ten-day period, combined with a smaller number of American bombers attacking twice during the daytime. In this fashion, over three thousand sorties were sent against Hamburg, killing more than 40,000 people and sending another million fleeing from their homes.
The attack on Hamburg was the brainchild of Sir Arthur Harris, the wartime Chief of Bomber Command. An extremely controversial figure to this day, to the Germans Harris was the most hated figure in the entire British military. A strong proponent of strategic bombing, he was the man most responsible for the campaigns that took the lives of an estimated 400,000 German civilians and wounded countless more. Also involved was the US 8th Air Force, under the command of Lieutenant-General I.C. Eaker, Commander-in-the-Field. While this would be the first ever joint bombing campaign between the two Allies, they differed significantly on strategy. The British, with years of experience under their belt, felt that while night bombing was not particularly accurate, it was the most effective way at striking at the enemy while keeping their casualties minimal. On the other hand, the American stance was that a smaller force of planes could do significant damage by attacking in much more accurate daytime conditions. The two allies agreed to disagree, and attacked Hamburg regardless, it being such an important target. Hamburg had long been a choice target for the Allies for several reasons. Its multiple shipbuilding ports made it Germany's greatest naval construction center, as they were responsible for the manufacture of two hundred U-boats in addition to the infamous battleship Bismarck. Hamburg also lay in relatively easy reach of the Allied bombers, being situated in a location appropriate for the use of the Allied navigational and targeting aids. In fact the city had been planned as a target as early as Operation Millennium in May 1942, but an assault at that date had to be called off due to poor weather. By the time another opportunity to strike at the city came around, the aircraft, flight crews and techniques of Bomber Command had been greatly improved, and allowed for an assault the likes of which had never before been witnessed.
In order to destroy Hamburg, Bomber Command utilized a wide array of aircraft. For example, the attack on the night of July 27-28 included 353 Lancasters, 244 Halifaxes, 116 Sterlings, and 74 Wellingtons. In addition to these aircraft, the American daytime raids were accomplished using B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. Also present were the Mosquito "Wooden Wonder" light bombers that attacked in nuisance sorties on the nights when no major bomber offensive was planned, in addition to providing target marking as the Pathfinder planes. The navigation of this many planes to their target was no easy task, and Bomber Command utilized two key technologies to this end. The first of these, known as OBOE, was designed to direct the Pathfinder planes over their target in the most accurate manner possible. It involved the use of two base stations located in Britain, known as "Cat" and "Mouse." By triangulating the location of the aircraft from these two stations, it was possible to make fairly accurate attacks, even when cloud cover obscured the target. Although the city of Hamburg itself was beyond the range of OBOE, it was still a very useful guide over much of the flight as it gave the navigator a far more accurate tool than the astro-fixes, dead reckoning and radio bearings of the past. The second technology used by the British to target Hamburg was called H2S, and although it was not as accurate as OBOE, it was useful in large bomber raids such as this when OBOE could not guide more than a handful of planes. H2S consisted of a 9-centimeter radar located on the bottom of the aircraft's fuselage. This pointed at the ground and reflected different signals depending on what sort of terrain the plane was flying above. For example, over open fields or water there was little for the radar to reflect off of, and thus few signals returned to the bomber. However, when the plane was over a densely built up area, such as an urban center, there were far more reflective surfaces that would show up to the navigator as a much stronger signal. In this respect, H2S was perfectly suited for Hamburg as the coastline gave a clear response on the navigator's cathode ray tube. In fact, the first time H2S had been used in combat was against Hamburg, in a smaller raid on January 30, 1943. Another key technology that that Allies used in this bombing campaign was called Window, something that Bomber Command Chief Harris had been fighting for the chance to use as early as the summer of 1942. However, his superiors were worried that the enemy would take their idea and use it against Britain, making the defense of their island much more difficult. Finally in 1943, with the Allies in a much more aggressive position, Harris received permission to use it in the assault on Hamburg. Known today as chafe, Window was the dispersal of large amounts of metallic strips by a bomber force, released in an effort to confuse the German radar. Since these strips reflected the enemy radar in a very chaotic way, it appeared to the radar that the sky was filled with thousands upon thousands of Allied planes, when in fact it was only several hundred. It was so effective that the German radar-controlled spotlights waved aimlessly around the sky, unable to find a real target. One operator was overheard saying, "I cannot follow any of the hostiles - they are very cunning." (Harris, 175) Through the combined use of these technologies, the attack on Hamburg was both accurately targeted and suffered very few losses. Out of over three thousand sorties sent against the city, only eighty-six aircraft were shot down, an extremely low 2.8%.
The attack itself was initiated on the night of July 24th, and began what will forever be remembered by the citizens of Hamburg as the destruction of their city. The first raid involved 791 aircraft, of which 728 found their objectives and dropped their bombs. In only 50 minutes, numerous major targets such as the main police station and the telephone exchange had been demolished, and many fires had been started - some of which would last for weeks. In addition, the dockyards and several industrial installations were severely damaged. It is estimated that 1,500 people were killed in this initial attack. The sortie was so destructive that American bombers had trouble finding their targets when they attacked the next day, as a giant cloud of smoke and dust hung over the city, obscuring all views of the carnage below. Although this was an incredibly powerful attack, the worst was yet to come. Following the first raid, the US 8th Army Air Force attacked the ports and industrial areas of the city with 252 sorties over the next two days, and then the British returned in full force. On the night of July 27th, 729 aircraft from Bomber Command dropped 4,417 tons of bombs on Hamburg, approximately half of which were high explosive 8,000 lb "block busters" and the other half incendiary and phosphorous bombs. A number of factors contributed to the horrific events of that night. First, Hamburg was in the middle of a heat wave. The temperature at 6 PM on the evening of the 27th was recorded at 30