View source for Bombing of Cologne in World War II

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{{citation style |reason=articles uses inline citations predominantly and some sfns |date=November 2024}}
{{Use Oxford spelling |date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
[[File:Koeln 1945.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|right|A ruined Cologne in 1945]]
The [[Nazi Germany|German]] city of [[Cologne]] was bombed in 262 separate [[Strategic bombing during World War II|air raids]]<ref name="koelnarchitektur">[http://www.koelnarchitektur.de/pages/de/home/news_archiv/823.htm Stadtlandschaften versus Hochstadt] at www.koelnarchitektur.de "Internet portal for the architecture of Cologne". (In German).</ref> by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] during [[World War II]], all by the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF).  A total of {{cvt|34,711|LT}} of bombs were dropped on the city<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1945/1945%20-%201571.html |title=Target Analysis |magazine=Flight |date=9 August 1945  |page= 154 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110193407/http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1945/1945%20-%201571.html |archive-date=2015-01-10}} </ref> causing 20,000 civilian casualties.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cologne Museum: NS-DOK|url=https://museenkoeln.de/ns-dokumentationszentrum/default.aspx?s=784|access-date=16 June 2023|lang=German}}</ref>

While air raid alarms had gone off in the winter and spring of 1940 as British bombers passed overhead, the first bombing took place on 12 May 1940.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bilderbuch-koeln.de/Themen/Kriegserinnerungen%201940 |title=Kriegserinnerungen 1940 |access-date=1 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203031012/http://www.bilderbuch-koeln.de/Themen/Kriegserinnerungen%201940 |archive-date=3 December 2012  }}</ref> The attack on Cologne during the night from 30 to 31 May 1942 was the first [[Thousand-bomber raids|thousand-bomber raid]].

==First thousand-bomber raid==
[[File:Cologne 1945 5.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|right|[[Innenstadt, Cologne]] in 1945]]
[[File:Mass bomber raid on Cologne.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Official British war art imagining a bombing raid on Cologne. The city's [[Cologne Cathedral|cathedral]] is clearly visible. It survived the war, despite being hit dozens of times by Allied bombs.]]

The first ever thousand-bomber raid by the RAF was conducted on Cologne during the night of 30–31 May 1942. Codenamed '''Operation Millennium''', the massive raid was launched for two primary reasons:
* It was expected that the devastation from such raids might be enough to knock Germany out of the war or at least severely damage German [[morale]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bishop|first1=Patrick|title=Wings: The RAF at War, 1912–2012 |date=1 October 2012 |publisher=Atlantic Books Ltd |isbn=978-1-84887-892-1 |page=24}}{{citation |title=The Bomber Command Offensive: Army, Part 11 |author=Terry Copp |work=Legion Magazine |date=September 1996 |url=https://legionmagazine.com/en/1996/09/the-bomber-command-offensive/|access-date=9 November 2016|quote=Mr Justice Singleton concluded that Germany would not be able to "stand 12 or 18 months' continued, intensified and increased bombing..."}}</ref>
* The raids were useful [[propaganda]] for the Allies and particularly for [[RAF Bomber Command]] head [[Arthur Harris]]'s concept of a Strategic Bombing Offensive. Bomber Command's poor performance in bombing accuracy during 1941 had led to calls for the force to be split up and diverted to other urgent theatres, such as the [[Battle of the Atlantic]]. A headline-grabbing heavy raid on Germany was a way for Harris to demonstrate to the [[War Cabinet]] that given the investment in numbers and technology Bomber Command could make a vital contribution to victory.

At this stage of the war Bomber Command only had a regular front line strength of around 400 aircraft, and were in the process of transitioning from the twin engined [[medium bomber]]s of the pre-war years to the newer more effective four-engined [[heavy bomber]]s such as the [[Short Stirling]], [[Handley Page Halifax]] and [[Avro Lancaster]]. By using bombers and men from [[List of Royal Air Force Operational Training Units|Operational Training Units]] (OTUs), 250 from [[RAF Coastal Command]] and from [[RAF Training Command|Flying Training Command]], Harris could easily make up the 1,000 aircraft. However, just before the raid took place, the [[Royal Navy]] refused to allow the Coastal Command aircraft to take part in the raid.<ref name=RAF-2005-Thouand>{{cite web |title=The Thousand Bomber raids, 30/31 May (Cologne) to 17 August 1942 |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/thousands.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/thousands.html |archive-date=6 July 2007 |date=2005|work=Bomber Command 60th Anniversary}}</ref> The [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] perceived the propaganda justifications too weak an argument against the real and pressing threat of the [[U-boats]] in the [[Battle of the Atlantic]]. Harris scrambled around and, by crewing 49 more aircraft with pupil pilots and instructors, 1,047 bombers eventually took part in the raid, two and a half times more than any previous raid by the RAF. 58 bombers were from Polish units.<ref>{{cite book |last= Hodyra|first=Piotr |title=301 Dywizjon Bombowy 1940–1943 |year= 2016|publisher=Oficyna Wydawnicza Alma-Press|location=Warsaw |isbn=978-83-7020-664-2 |pages=67|language=pl}}</ref> In addition to the bombers attacking Cologne, 113 other aircraft on "[[Intruder (air combat)|intruder]]" raids harassed German [[night-fighter]] airfields.{{cn |date=December 2023}}

Cologne was not Harris's first choice; he wanted to bomb [[Hamburg]]. However, poor weather made Hamburg a poor choice,<ref name=RAF-2005-Thouand/> and, in addition, Harris was advised by Basil Dickins, a scientist who was section head of RAF's [[Bomber Command]]'s [[Operations research]], to choose Cologne, which was within range for use of the [[Gee (navigation)|GEE navigation system]].<ref name="Wakelam">{{cite book|last=Wakelam|first=Randall Thomas|title=The Science of Bombing: Operational Research in RAF Bomber Command|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ctAkrMcUiVsC&pg=PT86|year=2009|publisher=U of Toronto P|isbn=9781442693432|page=86}}</ref>

[[File:H2S Display Cologne.jpg|thumb|right|RAF bomber [[H2S radar]] display from the 30/31 October 1944 Cologne attack with post-attack annotations]]
This was the first time that the "[[bomber stream]]" tactic was used and most of the tactics used in this raid remained the basis for standard Bomber Command operations for the next two years, with some elements remaining in use until the end of the war. It was expected that such a large number of bombers flying in a bomber stream through the [[Kammhuber Line]] would overwhelm the German night fighters' [[ground-controlled interception]] system, keeping the number of bombers shot down to an acceptable proportion. The recent introduction of GEE allowed the bombers to fly a given route at a given time and height. The British night bombing campaign had been in operation for some months, and a statistical estimate could be made of the number of bombers likely to be lost to enemy night fighters and anti-aircraft guns ([[Anti-aircraft warfare|flak]]), and how many would be lost through collisions. Minimising the former demanded a densely packed stream, as the controllers of a night fighter flying a defensive 'box' could only direct a maximum of six potential interceptions per hour, and the flak gunners could not concentrate on all the available targets at once. Earlier in the war, four hours had been considered acceptable for a mission; for this raid all the bombers passed over Cologne and bombed it in a window of 90 minutes, with the first having arrived at 0:47{{nbsp}}am on 31 May. It was anticipated that the concentration of bombing over such a short period would overwhelm the Cologne [[fire brigade]]s and cause conflagrations similar to those inflicted on [[London]] by the [[Luftwaffe]] during [[the Blitz]].

[[File:Truemmer koeln alter markt u gross stmartin194647.jpg|upright|thumb|Ruins of [[Great St. Martin Church, Cologne|Great St. Martin Church]] at Cologne old market photographed by Hermann Claasen ({{circa|1946–47}}); it has since been rebuilt]]
In the raid, 868 aircraft bombed the main target with 15 aircraft bombing other targets. The total tonnage of bombs dropped was {{convert|1,455|LT|t e6lb|order=out|abbr=off}} with two-thirds of that being [[incendiary bomb|incendiaries]]. Two and a half thousand separate fires were started with 1,700 classed by the German fire brigades as "large". The action of fire fighters and the width of the streets stopped the fires combining into a [[firestorm]], but nonetheless most of the damage was done by fire and not directly by the explosive blasts. 3,330 non-residential buildings were destroyed, 2,090 seriously damaged and 7,420 lightly damaged, making a total of 12,840 buildings of which 2,560 were industrial or commercial buildings. Among the buildings classed as totally destroyed were: 7 official administration buildings, 14 public buildings, 7 banks, 9 hospitals, 17 churches, 16 schools, 4 university buildings, 10 postal and railway buildings, 10 buildings of historic interest, 2 newspaper offices, 4 hotels, 2 cinemas and 6 department stores. The only military installation damaged was the flak barracks. The damage to civilian homes, most of them apartments in larger buildings, was considerable: 13,010 destroyed, 6,360 seriously damaged, 22,270 lightly damaged. The devastation was recorded by [[Hermann Claasen]] from 1942 until the end of the war, and presented in his exhibition and book of 1947 ''Singing in the furnace. Cologne – Remains of an old city''.<ref>{{Citation | last1=Claasen |first1= Hermann | last2=Hoyer |first2= Franz A | title=Gesang im feuerofen : Köln; überreste einer alten deutschen stadt | date=1949 | publisher=L. Schwann | edition= [2. aufl.] | url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/14736437}}</ref>

The RAF lost 43 aircraft (German sources claimed 44<ref>{{cite web |last=Winkelnkemper |first=Toni |trans-title=The Attack on Cologne |url=http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/cologne.htm |via=German Propaganda Archive at Calvin University |date=1942 |title=Der Großangriff auf Köln  |access-date=20 March 2009}}</ref>), 3.9% of the 1,103 bombers sent on the raid; 22 aircraft were lost over or near Cologne, 16 shot down by flak, four by night fighters, two in a collision, and two [[Bristol Blenheim]] light bombers lost in attacks on night fighter airfields. A posthumous [[Victoria Cross]] was awarded to Flying Officer [[Leslie Manser]] who sacrificed himself so his crew could abandon the [[Avro Manchester]] aircraft.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Resources committed<ref>{{citation|language=fr |first= Patrick|last=Facon |title=Opération Millénium |periodical=Le Fana de l'Aviation  |number= 510|date=May 2012 |page=43 |issn=0757-4169}}</ref><ref name=RAF-2005-Thouand/>
|-
! scope=col colspan=1 |
! scope=col colspan=1 | No. and type of aircraft
! scope=col colspan=1 | Number of aircraft
|-
|[[No. 1 Group RAF]]
|156 [[Vickers Wellington]] medium bombers
|156
|-
|[[No. 3 Group RAF]]
|134 Wellington<br />88 [[Short Stirling]] heavy bombers
|222
|-
|[[No. 4 Group RAF]]
|131 [[Handley Page Halifax]] heavy bombers<br />9 Wellington<br />7 [[Armstrong Whitworth Whitley]] medium bombers
|147
|-
|[[No. 5 Group RAF]]
|73 [[Avro Lancaster]] heavy bombers<br />46 [[Avro Manchester]] medium{{efn |Although produced to a specification for a "medium bomber", the Manchester used two powerful engines and was closer to a heavy bomber. The design was developed with four engines to replace the two and became the Lancaster.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20070706051830/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/manchester.html |title=Avro Manchester |work=Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |via=National Archives}}</ref>}} bombers<br />34 [[Handley Page Hampden]] medium bombers
|153
|-
|No. 91 (Operational Training) Group
|236 Wellington<br />21 Whitley
|257
|-
|No. 92 (Operational Training) Group
|63 Wellington<br />45 Hampden
|108
|-
|Flying Training Command
|4 Wellington
|4
|}

==Subsequent raids==
{{expand section|date=August 2024}}

==Effects==
{{expand section|date=August 2024}}

==Timeline==
{{clear}}
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+valign=top| Timeline<!--Title of table consistent with section title-->
! width=12% | Date{{efn |Dates such as 5/6 April denote a night raid, the mission starting on the first date and ending on the following date.}}

! Bomber<br>force
! class="unsortable"| Notes
|-
|<span style="display:none">1940-05-18</span>17/18 May 1940
| RAF
| Six Wellingtons bomb the railway yards.<ref>{{cite Q |Q131329002 |mode=cs1 |access-date=2024-11-26 }}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-02-14</span>13/14 February 1942
|RAF
|39 aircraft encountered ice and cloud, poor bombing results reported.<ref name=diary>{{harvnb|Campaign Diary|2005}}<br />'''1942''':
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/feb42.html February],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/mar42.html March],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/apr42.html April],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/may42.html May],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jun42.html June],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jul42.html July],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/aug42.html August],
[https://web.archive.org/web/20040929002140/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/sep42.html September],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/oct42.html October],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/nov42.html November],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/dec42.html December]<br />
'''1943''':
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jan43.html January],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/feb43.html February],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/mar43.html March],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/apr43.html April],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/may43.html May],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jun43.html June],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jul43.html July],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/aug43.html August],
[https://web.archive.org/web/20040929002241/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/sep43.html September],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/oct43.html October],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/dec43.html December]<br />
'''1944''':
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/apr44.html April],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jul44.html July],
[https://web.archive.org/web/20040929001716/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/sep44.html September],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/oct44.html October],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/nov44.html November 1944],
[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/dec44.html December 1944]<br />
</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-03-13</span>13/14 March 1942
|RAF
|135 aircraft involved in the raid.  The raid killed 62 and injured a further 84. 237 separate fires were started and the RAF estimated the raid to be five times more effective than average of recent raids on Cologne. This is considered to be the first successful [[GEE (navigation)|GEE]] raid. The RAF lost one [[Avro Manchester]].<ref name=March42>{{cite web |title=March 1942 |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/mar42.html |url-status=dead  |work=Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/mar42.html |archive-date=6 July 2007 |date=2005}}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-04-05</span>5/6 April 1942
|RAF
|263 aircraft. 179 Wellingtons, 44 Hampdens, 29 Stirlings, and 11 Manchesters against Humboldt works. 4 Wellingtons and 1 Hampden lost. Bombing photographs showed five miles from target.<ref name=diaryApril>RAF Bomber Command Campaign Diary [http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/apr42.html April 1942],</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-04-22</span>22/23 April 1942
|RAF
|69 aircraft (64 Wellingtons and 5 Stirlings) on experimental raid. All aircraft were using Gee as blind-bombing aid. Two Wellingtons lost.<ref name=diaryApril/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-04-27</span>27/28 April 1942
|RAF
|97 aircraft (76 Wellingtons, 19 Stirlings, 2 Halifaxes). 6 Wellingtons and 1 Halifax lost. "Considerable number of bombs" landed outside city to east. "150 hectares of the Tannenwald destroyed by fire"<ref name=diaryApril/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-05-30</span>30/31 May 1942
|RAF
|868 aircraft bombed Cologne during the first 1000 bomber raid (1,047 aircraft),<ref name=diary/> laden with over 3,000 tonnes of ordnance.
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-05-31-01<!--indicates first of several raids on that date--></span>31 May 1942
|RAF
|Photo reconnaissance by 5 [[de Havilland Mosquito]]es of [[No. 105 Squadron RAF]].<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-05-31-02</span>31 May/1 June 1942
|RAF
|Two aircraft. Conditions were cloudy over Cologne so no bombing was undertaken. Both aircraft returned to base.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-06-01</span>1 June 1942
|RAF
|2 Mosquitoes in a nuisance and diversionary raid.{{efn|Nuisance raids forced the population into air raid shelters and activated other defence measures at little cost to the RAF.{{cn |date=December 2023}}}}<ref name=diary/>{{efn |Sending bombers to different places was intended to confuse the German defences and so helped to make it more difficult for the defenders to direct fighters onto the main attack.{{cn|date=December 2023}}}}
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-07-26</span>26 July 1942
|RAF
|3 Mosquitoes in a nuisance raid.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-08-10</span>10 August 1942
|RAF
|Single Mosquito on a nuisance raid, bombs and returns to base.<ref name=diaryAug42>Campaign Diary [http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/aug42.html August 1942]</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-08-25</span>25 August 1942
|RAF
|4 Mosquitoes to Germany on nuisance raids, one of them to Cologne, three complete their mission and bomb, one lost.<ref name=diaryAug42/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-09-02</span>2 September 1942
|RAF
|1 Mosquito on a nuisance raid, bombs and returns to base.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-09-02</span>2 September 1942
|RAF
|2 Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid, bomb through cloud and return to base.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-09-07</span>7 September 1942
|RAF
|1 Mosquito on a nuisance raid, bomb through cloud and return to base, no record of the bombing on the ground.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1942-11-15</span>15/16 October 1942
|RAF
|289 aircraft.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-01-22</span>22/23 January 1943
|RAF
|This was the first raid on Cologne using [[Oboe (navigation)|Oboe blind bombing radio navigation]], two Mosquitoes damaged 55 houses, killing 5 people and 22 injured. This showed that, using electronic aids, a few bombers were able to inflict as much damage as 100-bomber raids in poor weather in the previous years.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-02-02</span>2/3 February 1943
|RAF
|161 aircraft.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-02-14</span>14/15 February 1943
|RAF
|243 aircraft.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-02-25</span>25/26 February 1943
|RAF
|6 Mosquitoes to the Ruhr in a diversionary raid (the main attack was against Nuremberg), 13 people were killed in Cologne<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-02-26</span>26/27 February 1943
|RAF
|427 aircraft.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-05-00</span>May 1943
|RAF
|<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-06-11</span>11/12 June 1943
|RAF
|One Mosquito as part of a diversionary raid (the main attack was against [[Düsseldorf]])<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-06-13</span>13/14 June 1943
|RAF
|2 Mosquitoes bombed Cologne one of several nuisance raid.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-06-16</span>16/17 June 1943
|RAF
|212 aircraft.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-06-17</span>17/18 June 1943
|RAF
|Two Mosquitoes bombed Cologne, one of several nuisance raids.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-06-19</span>19/20 June 1943
|RAF
|Six Mosquitoes to Cologne, Duisburg and Düsseldorf (the main attack was against [[Le Creusot]]).<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-06-22</span>22/23 June 1943
|RAF
|Four Mosquitoes as a diversionary raid, (the main attack was against [[Mülheim]]).<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-06-23</span>23/24 June 1943
|RAF
|Three Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-06-28</span>28/29 June 1943
|RAF
|608 aircraft.<ref name=diary/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-07-02</span>2/3 July 1943
|RAF
|Three Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Jul-43>{{cite web |title=Campaign Diary: July 1943 |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jul43.html |url-status=dead  |work=Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jul43.html |archive-date=6 July 2007 |date=2005}}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-07-03</span>3/4 July 1943
|RAF
|653 aircraft attacked Cologne's industrial area on the east bank of the [[Rhine]]. A new German unit, [[Jagdgeschwader 300]], used the {{lang|de|[[Wilde Sau]]}} tactic with single-engined fighters for the first time. The German fighters, taking advantage of the illumination from searchlights, target indicator flares and fires claimed that they shot down 12 aircraft, but had to share their claims with the [[Anti-aircraft artillery]] who also claimed the bombers. To avoid [[friendly fire]], anti-aircraft batteries restricted the height of their flak and the fighters operated above that ceiling.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Jul-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-07-05</span>5/6 July 1943
|RAF
|4 Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Jul-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-07-06</span>6/7 July 1943
|RAF
|4 Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Jul-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-07-07</span>7/8 July 1943
|RAF
|4 Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Jul-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-07-08</span>8/9 July 1943
|RAF
|288 aircraft.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Jul-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-07-13</span>13/14 July 1943
|RAF
|Two Mosquitoes on a diversionary raid drop target indicators (the main raid was on Aachen).<ref name=Bomber-Command-Jul-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-07-25</span>25/26 July 1943
|RAF
|3 Mosquitoes on a diversionary raid (the main raid was on Essen).<ref name=Bomber-Command-Jul-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-08-04</span>4/5 August 1943
|RAF
|5 Mosquitoes Cologne and Duisburg through cloud.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Aug-43>{{cite web |url= http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/aug43.html |work= Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/aug43.html |archive-date=6 July 2007 |title= Campaign Diary: August 1943 |access-date= 18 July 2008}}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-08-04</span>4/5 August 1943
|RAF
|5 Mosquitoes Cologne and Duisburg through cloud, the only sorties of the night. No losses<ref name=Bomber-Command-Aug-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-08-06</span>6/7 August 1943
|RAF
|8 Mosquitoes to Cologne and Duisburg, the only sorties over Germany that night. All 8 returned to base<ref name=Bomber-Command-Aug-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-08-07</span>7/8 August 1943
|RAF
|4 Mosquitoes in a nuisance raid.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Aug-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-08-11</span>11/12 August 1943
|RAF
|8 Mosquitoes in a nuisance raid.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Aug-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-08-29</span>29/20 August 1943
|RAF
|Four Mosquitoes equipped with Oboe, with another four to Duisburg, in a nuisance raids. One Mosquito lost.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Aug-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-09-01</span>1 September 1943
|RAF
|8 Mosquitoes were sent to Cologne and Duisburg. No Mosquitoes lost.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Sep-43>{{cite web |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/Sep43.html |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/Sep43.html
|url-status=dead |archive-date=6 July 2007 |work=Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |title=Campaign Diary September 1943 |access-date= 18 July 2008}}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-09-04</span>4/5 September 1943
|RAF
|8 Mosquitoes were sent to Cologne and Duisburg. No Mosquitoes were lost.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Sep-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-09-13</span>13/14 September 1943
|RAF
|5 Mosquitoes equipped with Oboe with another 5 to Duisburg, in a nuisance raids. No Mosquitoes were lost.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Sep-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-09-19</span>18/19 September 1943
|RAF
|5 Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid. No Mosquitoes were lost.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Sep-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-09-24</span>24/25 September 1943
|RAF
|8 Mosquitoes to Cologne and Düsseldorf on nuisance raids. No Mosquitoes were lost.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Sep-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-09-26</span>26/27 September 1943
|RAF
|4 Mosquitoes to Cologne on a nuisance raid. No Mosquitoes were lost.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Sep-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-09-26</span>26/27 September 1943
|RAF
|8 Mosquitoes attacked Cologne and Gelsenkirchen on nuisance raids. These were the only Bomber Command sorties of the night. No Mosquitoes were lost.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Sep-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-10-02</span>2/3 October 1943
|RAF
|8 Mosquitoes to Cologne and Gelsenkirchen on diversionary raids. The main raid was to Munich. No aircraft lost on the diversionary raids.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Oct-43>{{cite web |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/oct43.html  |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/oct43.html  |url-status=dead  |archive-date=6 July 2007  |work=Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |title=Campaign Diary: October 1943 |access-date=18 July 2008}}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-10-03</span>3/4 October 1943
|RAF
|12 Oboe Mosquitoes bombed the [[Knapsack, Germany|Knapsack]] power-station near Cologne. No aircraft lost.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Oct-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-10-13</span>13/14 October 1943
|RAF
|4 Mosquitoes to Cologne on a nuisance raid. No Mosquitoes were lost.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Oct-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-10-20</span>20/21 October 1943
|RAF
|28 Mosquitoes to Berlin, Cologne, Brauweiler and Emden, 2 Mosquitoes lost. The main raid of the night was to Leipzig.<ref name=Bomber-Command-Oct-43/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1943-12-22</span>22 December 1943
|USAAF
|[[VIII Bomber Command]] Mission 163: 1 B-17 dropped two 2,000-pound (907 kF) general-purpose bombs and 1 photo-flash at 2020 hours; no casualties.{{cn|date=December 2023}}
|-
|<span style="display:none">1944-01-01</span>1/2 January 1944
|RAF
|1 Mosquito on a diversionary nuisance raid and returned safely to base (main raid to Berlin)<ref name=diaryJan44>{{citation |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/Jan44.html |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/Jan44.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 July 2007 |work=Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |title=Campaign Diary January 1944 }}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1944-01-04</span>4/5 January 1944
|RAF
|2 Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid, both returned to base.<ref name=diaryJan44/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1944-02-02</span>2/3 February 1944
|RAF
|3 Mosquitoes on a nuisance raid, all returned to base.<ref name=diaryFeb44>{{citation |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/Feb44.html |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/Feb44.html
|url-status=dead |archive-date=6 July 2007 |work=Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |title=Campaign Diary February 1944 }}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1944-03-16</span>16/17 March 1944
|RAF
|8 Mosquitoes on a diversionary nuisance raid, all returned to base (main raid Amiens)<ref name=diaryMarch44>{{citation |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/Mar44.html |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/Mar44.html
|url-status=dead |archive-date=6 July 2007 |work=Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |title=Campaign Diary March 1944 }}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1944-03-17</span>17/18 March 1944
|RAF
|28 Mosquitoes bombed Cologne, all returned to base.<ref name=diaryMarch44/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1944-03-21</span>21/22 March 1944
|RAF
|27 Mosquitoes bombed Cologne, all returned to base.<ref name=diaryMarch44/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1944-03-29</span>29/30 March 1944
|RAF
|4 Mosquitoes on a diversionary nuisance raid, all returned to base (main raids Vaires, near Paris, and Lyons).<ref name=diaryMarch44/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1944-03-29</span>29/30 March 1944
|RAF
|34 Mosquitoes on diversions to Aachen, Cologne and Kassel, all returned to base, (but the main raid to Nuremberg resulted in the biggest Bomber Command loss of the war).<ref name=diaryMarch44/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1945-03-02</span>April 1944
| USAAF
|[[303rd Bomb Group]] Failed deployment of GB-1 Glide Bomb{{efn|"[The GB-1 Glide Bomb] was made from a M34-2000lb bomb fixed to a 12-foot span glider unit and attached to a B-17 underwing shackle." Two could be carried per plane. "Essentially free fall, the bomb had a stabilizing device that allowed control of direction. The bomb proved to be unreliable on the only occasion it was used on Cologne in April 1944."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.303rdbg.com/bombs.html |title=Bombs |access-date=15 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206173107/http://www.303rdbg.com/bombs.html |website=303rdbg.com |archive-date=6 February 2012 }}</ref> }}
|-
|<span style="display:none">1944-07-18</span>18/19 July 1944
|RAF
|6 Mosquitoes on a diversionary raid, part of a night when the RAF made four substantial attacks and a number of small raids like that on Cologne. They attacked the synthetic oil plants at [[Wesseling]] and [[Gelsenkirchen|Scholven]]/[[Buer, Germany|Buer]], railway junctions at Aulnoye and Revigny and a flying-bomb launching site at Acque.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/Jul44.html |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/Jul44.html
|url-status=dead |archive-date=6 July 2007 |work=Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |title=Campaign Diary July 1944 }}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1944-10-14</span>14 October 1944
| [[VIII Bomber Command]]
| Mission 677:  As part of [[Operation Hurricane (1944)]] a round-the-clock bombing operation, [[Pathfinder (RAF)|PFF]] attacks were made on Cologne marshaling yards at [[Gereon]], Gremberg, and Eifeltor; as well as [[Euskirchen]] {{cvt|35|km|mi|order=flip}} outside Cologne.<ref name=McKillop>

{{cite web |last=McKillop |first=Jack |title=8th Air Force 1944 Chronicles |url=http://www.airwarweb.net/usaaf/8af_1944-10.php |access-date=27 January 2009|publisher=airwarweb.net}}<br />
'''1944''':
[http://www.airwarweb.net/usaaf/8af_1944-10.php October],
[http://www.airwarweb.net/usaaf/8af_1944-11.php November],
[http://www.airwarweb.net/usaaf/8af_1944-12.php December]<br />
'''1945''':
[http://www.airwarweb.net/usaaf/8af_1945-01.php January],
[http://www.airwarweb.net/usaaf/8af_1945-02.php February],
[http://www.airwarweb.net/usaaf/8af_1945-03.php March]</ref>
|-
| 1944-10-15
|
| The 486 BG bombed Cologne.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.486th.org/Mssn/M051t100/Missions2.htm|title=Missions 51-100}}</ref>
|-
| {{sort|1944-10-17|17 October 1944}}
| [[Eighth Air Force|8th AF]]{{efn |The VIII Bomber Command had been redesignated as the US Eighth Air Force.}}
| Mission 681: 1,338 bombers and 811 fighters are dispatched on PFF attacks in the Cologne, Germany area; 465 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Cologne/Eifeltor (216) and Cologne/Gremberg (34); the targets of opportunity were Cologne/Kalk marshalling yard (151), 453 B-17s are dispatched to hit marshalling yards at Cologne/Gereon (295) and Cologne/Kalk (142)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mueller |first1=Robert |last2=Carter |first2=Kit |title=The Army Air Forces in World War II: Combat Chronology, 1941-1945|date=1975 |publisher=Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center |page=475}}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1945-02-12</span>12/13 February 1945
|RAF
|3 Mosquitoes on [[H2S radar]] trials. No aircraft lost.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/Feb45.html |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20070706011932/http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/Feb45.html
|url-status=dead |archive-date=6 July 2007 |work=Bomber Command 60th Anniversary |title=Campaign Diary February 1945 }}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1945-03-02</span>2 March 1945
|RAF
| In the last RAF raid on Cologne, 858 aircraft bomb in two waves. Only 15 of the 155 aircraft in the second wave dropped their bombs. A daylight raid in good weather, the bombing was "highly destructive".<ref>{{cite Q |Q131329044 |mode=cs1 |access-date=2024-11-26 }}</ref>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1945-03-02</span>2 March 1945
| USAAF
| A single B-17 bombed Cologne as a target of opportunity.<ref name=McKillop/>
|-
|<span style="display:none">1945-03-02</span>5 March 1945
|
|[[Ninth Air Force|9th Tactical US Army Air Force]] fighters dropped leaflets in the Cologne-Bonn area.<ref name=McKillop/>
|-
| 6 March 1945
|
| American troops captured Cologne.<ref name=diary/>
|}

==See also==
* [[The Blitz]] – German air raids on British cities in which at least 40,000 died, including 57 consecutive nights of air raids just over London
* [[Baedeker Blitz]] – Air raids on English cities of cultural/historical importance, rather than military significance
* [[German bombing of Rotterdam]]
* [[Bombing of Dresden in World War II]]
* [[Bombing of Guernica]] – German/Italian air raid that sparked international outrage
* [[Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)]], the codenamed-''Operation Meetinghouse'' firebombing raid on Tokyo on 9/10 March 1945

==Notes==
{{notelist}}{{reflist |group=nb}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Citation |last=Sebald |first=W. G. |author-link=W. G. Sebald |title=On the Natural History of Destruction   |orig-year=1999 |year=2003}}
* {{Citation |last=Bishop |first=Chris |year=2005 |author-link=Chris Bishop (historian) |title=The Military Atlas of World War II |publisher=Amber Books |isbn=1-904687-43-1 |page = 30}}
* {{cite Q |Q131324214 |mode=cs2 |ref={{SfnRef |Campaign Diary |2005}} |access-date=2024-11-26 }}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Cooper |first=M. |title=The German Air Force 1933–1945: An Anatomy of Failure |year=1981 |publisher=Jane's |location=London |isbn=07106-0071-2}}
* {{cite book |last1=Middlebrook |first1=Martin |last2=Everitt |first2=Chris |author-link=Martin Middlebrook |year=1985 |title=The Bomber Command Diaries: An Operational Reference Book, 1939–1945 |publisher=Viking |location=New York |edition=1st |isbn=978-185780-033-3}}
* {{cite book |last=Tooze |first=Adam |author-link=Adam Tooze |title=The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy |title-link=The Wages of Destruction  |year=2006 |publisher=Allen Lane |location=London |isbn=978-0-7139-9566-4}}
* {{cite book |first1=C. K. |last1=Webster |author-link1=Charles Webster (historian) |first2=Noble |last2=Frankland |author-link2=Noble Frankland |editor-last=Butler |editor-first=J. R. M. |editor-link=J. R. M. Butler |year=1961 |title=The Strategic Air Offensive Against Germany: 1939–1945 |volume=II |series=History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series |publisher=[[HMSO]] |location=London |oclc=163349860}}
* {{cite book |last1=Webster |first1=C. |last2=Frankland |first2=N. |editor-last=Butler |editor-first=James |series=History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series |title=The Strategic Air Offensive against Germany 1939–1945: Annexes and Appendices |volume=IV |year=2006 |orig-year=1961 |publisher=HMSO |location=London |edition=facs. pbk. repr. Naval & Military Press, Uckfield |isbn=978-1-84574-350-5}}

==External links==
* [http://www.anicursor.com/colpicwar.html Pictures of bomb-damaged Cologne]

{{RAF WWII Strategic Bombing}}

{{WWII city bombing}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cologne, Bombing of}}
[[Category:1940s in Cologne]]
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving Germany]]
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving the United States]]
[[Category:World War II strategic bombing by populated place|Cologne]]
[[Category:World War II strategic bombing of Germany]]
[[Category:Firebombings]]
[[Category:Germany–United Kingdom military relations]]
[[Category:Military history of Cologne|Bombing]]