|
|
|
The commander of the 535th Fighter Squadron of the USAAF imparts the last instructions to the pilots prior to a mission over
Germany.
Desolated appearance of a German city after one of the terrible Allied bombings. To counteract this new aerial threat, the
Luftwaffe developed with particular effectiveness a new speciality: the night fight.
The German city of Koln after being devastated by numerous Allied bombings. From May 1942 and until the end of
the war Koln was a prime target for the Allied aviation, which bombed 264 times the Gothic cathedral and the surrounding
area.
The towers of the cathedral of Koln, miraculously undamaged after the aerial bombings. Along with Lubeck, Koln was one of the
"experimental cities" of the British Bomber Command.
Simultaneously with the landing operations in Normandy, the Allies triggered a very hard aerial offensive against Germany. The
most sought targets were, naturally, the railroads.
Three Short Stirling heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force, photographed during the last stages of the war.
The crewmen of a British heavy bomber Short Stirling enjoy the last moments on land while the ground personnel loads bombs on the
aircraft.
The gunners of an American 155-millimeter howitzer, cleverly camouflaged, get prepared to open fire upon the fortifications of
the Siegfried Line.
|
This is the image that the German city of Darmstadt offered after reiterated British bombings. The acerb with which the British
Bomber Command attacked several important German cities is one of the most controversial aspects of the war.
The terrorist bombings over Germany would be actually a serious mistake. They not only did not manage to paralize the German
industry, but impulsed the people to truly resist to the end, feeding a logical sentiment of hatred and rancor towards the Allies.
Another view of Koln after being devastated by Allied bombings, this time taken from one of the towers of the cathedral.
Destruction and ruins upon the German cities in increasing rates. Only during the bombing of Hamburg, which lasted for four
consecutive nights, there was among the civilian population 50000 dead and over 40000 wounded.
The increase of bombing missions over Germany worsened the situation of many German cities which, as Lubeck, had endured during
years the Allied aerial offensive. In the photograph, the remainings of the cathedral.
A herd of reindeer grazes with indiferency next to an improvised runway in Karelia, where a German liaison aircraft
Focke Wulf 58C Weihe waits to begin its next travel. Finland was a loyal ally of Germany until
its small forces could not resist anymore the agressions from the Soviet Union, which had begun with the illegitimate and
failed invasion of 1939-40.
Ground personnel inspects the engines of an Armstrong Whitworth AW 38 Whitley medium bomber of the
Royal Air Force, before leaving for a raid against a German city. The monumental city of Dresde suffered the most brutal bombing
of the whole European conflict, in which probably more than 150000 people were killed by the bombs. Only the incendiary bombings
effectuated by the Americans over Tokyo could be compared to this episode of devastation.
|
|
