On this day in military history…
On the night of 30–31 March 1944 the Royal Air Force carried out a massive bombing raid on the German city of Nuremberg. The operation turned into the worst single night of the entire war for RAF Bomber Command. Out of a force of 795 bombers that took off from bases across Britain, about 96 aircraft failed to return. More than 600 aircrew were killed, wounded or captured, making it one of the most tragic missions ever flown by the RAF.
The raid was part of the wider bombing offensive against Germany known as the Battle of Berlin. This campaign had begun in November 1943 under the leadership of Air Chief Marshal Arthur “Bomber” Harris, who was the commander of RAF Bomber Command. Harris believed that large-scale night bombing of German cities could destroy war industries, disrupt transport systems and weaken German morale. By early 1944 many German cities had already been attacked, but the German air defence system was becoming stronger and more organised.
Nuremberg was chosen as the target partly because of its industrial importance and partly because of its symbolic value to Nazi Germany. Before the war the city had hosted the huge annual Nazi Party rallies and it was closely associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi movement. In military terms the city also contained factories producing military equipment and important railway marshalling yards that handled supplies and troop movements across southern Germany. Destroying these facilities was expected to disrupt German industry and transport while also striking at an important Nazi symbol.
A very large bomber force was assembled for the attack. The raid included 572 Avro Lancaster bombers and 214 Handley Page Halifax bombers, along with a small number of fast Mosquito aircraft used as pathfinders. The pathfinders were responsible for flying ahead of the main bomber force and marking the target with coloured flares so that the following aircraft could aim their bombs more accurately.
Each bomber carried a mixture of high explosive and incendiary bombs. The high explosive bombs were designed to blast open buildings and break roofs and water pipes, while the incendiary bombs were intended to start fires across the city once buildings had been damaged. Altogether more than 2,000 tons of bombs were dropped during the raid, including around 910 tons of high explosive bombs and more than 1,100 tons of incendiaries.
The bombers were organised into a long “bomber stream”, a tactic used by Bomber Command to overwhelm German air defences by sending hundreds of aircraft through the same route within a short period of time. In theory this made it difficult for German fighters and anti-aircraft guns to deal with such a large number of targets. Unfortunately on this night several things went badly wrong.
One of the biggest problems was the weather. The planners had expected cloud cover to hide the bombers as they crossed Europe. Instead the sky was clear and bright with a strong moonlight. These conditions made it much easier for German radar stations and night fighter crews to spot the bomber stream approaching.
Another problem was the route chosen for the raid. The bomber stream flew a fairly direct path across occupied Europe towards southern Germany. This route passed through several German night-fighter control zones. Once German radar detected the bombers, the Luftwaffe was able to concentrate large numbers of night fighters along the bomber stream’s path.
German night fighter units flying aircraft such as the Junkers Ju 88 and Messerschmitt Bf 110 were directed by ground radar controllers to intercept the RAF bombers. The clear skies allowed the German crews to see the bombers clearly against the moonlit sky. Many German aircraft were also equipped with upward-firing guns, known as “Schräge Musik”, which allowed them to approach unseen from below and fire directly into the bombers’ fuel tanks or wings.
The attacks began even before the bombers reached Germany. By the time the bomber stream crossed Belgium, German fighters were already intercepting them. Aircraft were shot down one after another as the bombers continued towards the target. The long stream of aircraft also made it easier for German pilots to move from one bomber to another.
Losses continued to rise as the bombers approached Nuremberg. Dozens of aircraft were destroyed before they even reached the target area. Some bombers were set on fire, others exploded in mid-air, and several collided while trying to avoid attacks. In total around 82 bombers were lost before or during the bombing run itself.
When the surviving bombers reached Nuremberg the bombing did not go as planned. Strong winds and navigation problems caused difficulties for the pathfinder aircraft trying to mark the city accurately. Some bombers dropped their bombs on the wrong locations, and a large number accidentally bombed the nearby city of Schweinfurt instead. Because of these problems the damage inflicted on Nuremberg itself was far less than expected.
After releasing their bombs the remaining aircraft turned back toward England, but the danger was not over. German night fighters continued attacking the bomber stream on the return journey until they had to land for fuel. Several more aircraft were shot down during this stage of the mission.
By the time the raid was over, 96 RAF bombers had been lost. This represented nearly 12 percent of the entire attacking force, a loss rate far higher than Bomber Command could safely sustain. Each bomber normally carried a crew of seven men, and the loss of so many aircraft meant that hundreds of airmen were killed or captured in just a few hours.
One of the most remarkable acts of bravery during the raid came from Pilot Officer Cyril Barton of No. 578 Squadron. His Halifax bomber was badly damaged by a German night fighter and caught fire. Despite the damage he continued the mission and successfully dropped his bombs on the target. On the return journey Barton kept the burning aircraft under control long enough for his crew to parachute to safety. He died in the crash but his actions saved the lives of the other crew members. He was later awarded the Victoria Cross for his courage.
The disaster over Nuremberg had a major impact on RAF strategy. The heavy losses shocked Bomber Command and showed how effective the German night-fighter defence system had become. After this mission the large-scale attacks on Berlin and southern Germany were reduced, and Bomber Command began focusing more on targets connected with the upcoming Allied invasion of Europe.
The raid on Nuremberg is still remembered as the worst night of the war for RAF Bomber Command. In only a few hours nearly one hundred aircraft and hundreds of experienced aircrew were lost. Although the city itself was not heavily damaged compared with other bombed cities in Germany, the cost to the RAF was devastating and it marked a turning point in the air war over Europe.
