RAF Lancaster bomber during Operation Gomorrah

A British RAF Lancaster bomber over the German city of Hamburg in the Summer of 1943, during Operation Gomorrah.

Operation Gomorrah was carried out by the US Air Force and British Royal Air Force, lasting for 8 days starting with July 24th 1943. It was the heaviest aerial assault in history at that time and was later described as “The Hiroshima of Germany”.

The raids saw 9.000 tons of bombs being dropped and over 250.000 homes destroyed. Around 2.4% of Hamburg’s population (~37.000) perished during the eight days of raids and the city never recovered to full production.

Hamburg, a large city and industrial center, was bombed heavily not only during Operation Gomorrah, but over the entire duration of World War Two.

Book suggestion ⤵️

📖 Inferno: The Fiery Destruction of Hamburg, 1943 (Keith Lowe, 2007)