Bomber Command

Striking by Night - History of Bomber Command 1942-1945

From March 1941 there was a gradual build-up of Australians in Bomber Command in Britain. Australian medium bomber squadrons began flying regular operations from September. No.460 squadron, the first Australian heavy bomber squadron, commenced operations with Lancaster Heavy Bombers in late 1942. Australians also served in RAF squadrons, and there were mixed nationality crews in all units.

The expansion of the RAAF numbers within Bomber Command coincided with the development of the bombing offensive of 1943. Australians played a significant role in the main attacks on enemy cities and installations. Casualties were very high. At the height of the bomber offensive crews could hold little expectation of survival.

The number of RAAF aircrew reached a peak after the allies’ invasion of Europe in June 1944. It is estimated that 10,000 Australians eventually served with Bomber Command.

Bomber Command Operations

Bomber Command undertook a variety of tasks, from precision and selective target attacks to area bombing of cities. Short operations involved dropping sea mines off the European coast, and attacks on targets in France and western parts of Germany. Long flights could exceed eight hours, and take the bombers across Belgium, France, Netherlands, and Denmark to distant targets in Germany, and even over Italy.

All bombing operations were dangerous as most flights were over hostile and enemy occupied territory. The Germans responded with aggressive and effective defences. Collisions were common and, over the target, there was the danger from falling bombs. Mechanical malfunctions and weather conditions added to the problems.

The three great bomber battles – The Ruhr, Hamburg, and Berlin – were all concentrated on large German industrial centres with the object of destroying built-up areas, communications and production. The main Ruhr targets were Duisburg, Essen, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Dortmund, and Bochum. Through these battles, Bomber Command still attacked other targets.

Even before the 1944 D-Day landings, the Germans had recorded 42 towns and cities that required substantial rebuilding as a result of concentrated allied bombing. Berlin and Hamburg had lost around 200,000 houses and many more suffered heavy damage. Cologne, Aachen, Hamburg, Kassel, Essen, and some others had total or heavy damage to over 50% of houses. For some cities worse was yet to come; in attacks on 13/15 February 1945, Dresden was almost destroyed and estimates of 30,000 to 100,000 people were killed.

Area bombing still required accuracy in marking the target. There were other places where pin-point precision was essential, such as the successful attacks on the Mohne and Eder dams, against the battleship Tirpitz and the rocket development facilities at Peenemunde.

“G” for George

"G" for George was delivered to No. 460 RAAF Squadron in October 1942. It’s first of its 90 operations was on the night of 5/6 December 1942 to Mannheim. During its sixteen months of operations, it was flown by 29 different pilots and with the various crews, carried some 200 different men, mostly Australians. It flew 664 flying hours with the Squadron. Several crews completed their tours on this machine.

In the air "G" for George was damaged over twenty times by enemy action and once when on the last day of August 1943, over Munchen Gladbach, by an incendiary dropped from another bomber. On April 22nd,

The survival story of George was a morale booster. Just as the Spitfire became the symbol of defiance in the Battle of Britain, the Lancaster came to represent the allies’ will to win by taking the war to the heart of Germany. In October 1944 “G” for George was flown to Australia to promote the war effort.

Pathfinders

In mid-1942 Bomber Command espied the need for a special target finding and marking unit – the Pathfinder Force (PFF). An Australian was appointed to command. Pathfinders would use target indicator bombs. The bombers would concentrate on these markers. They could also be used along the route for navigation.

In some operations a PFF Master Bomber would remain over the target broadcasting advice to the other aircraft. Pathfinders became essential to the bombing campaign.