RAF Bombing Campaign Timeline

Britain went on the offensive in May of 1940, sending some 99 RAF bombers over the Ruhr - the industrial heart of the Third Reich - in their first night time assault against German-held territory. Only one aircraft was lost in the ensuing action. Subsequent actions in 1941 and 1942 would reveal some ugly truths about the bombing campaign, however, such as how only one-in-three bombers were actually hitting their mark within 5 miles of their target. Additionally, through the deliberate and controversial "Area Bombing Directive", German-held civilian areas were now open to British bomber raids (brought about in retaliation for the civilian deaths incurred by England through German bomber raids themselves). Lubeck now joined Cologne, Dusseldorf and Hamburg in such actions. But perhaps the most publicized assault would be in the leveling of Dresden by fire-bombing, resulting in the deaths of 130,000 of its citizens, and ultimately becoming a very controversial action both in England itself and around the world.

By 1943, Operation Torch - the Allied invasion of North Africa - changed everything by involving American industrial might and numbers to the mix. As the American USAAF heavy and medium bombers took the fight to Germany through a relentless and brazen daylight bombing campaign, the British used their expertise in radar and night actions to keep the fight going during the critical night-time hours. The German capital city of Berlin was a revisited target by British bombers equipped for night sorties, making heroes out of such mounts as the legendary Avro Lancaster. Despite heavy and accurate ground-based flak and German interceptors developed specifically for the nightfighting role, the British achieved success in the night skies. This was, however, not without excessive losses to their own ranks - for a defensive-minded Germany was just as lethal as an offensive-minded one.

As the campaign rolled on, tactics and technology evolved. Radar systems progressed and newly-developed navigational aids were instituted. Foil strips were dropped by British aircraft to scramble German radar signals. Fast-moving British DH 98 Mosquitos were utilized in the "Pathfinder" role to help mark targets ahead of the bomber formations through the use of incendiary ordnance or marking flares. Thousands of sorties by brave RAF crews finally began taking their toll on the industrial infrastructure of the mighty Reich.

By the end of it all, the Luftwaffe - kings of the skies in the early years of the war - were more or less grounded due to a lack of fuel, spare parts and, perhaps most importantly, oil - the lifeblood of the modern army.