Aerial bombing of Gujranwala (1919)

Aerial bombing of Gujranwala
Date April 1919 Location Gujranwalla, British India

On 14 April 1919, the day after the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in Amritsar, three Royal Air Force aircraft, piloted by Douglas Carbery, Oddie, and Vincent, equipped with bombs and machine guns, flew from Lahore to Gujranwala, Punjab. ^{[1] [2]} In total, during the 40 minute operation, Carbery reported firing 200 rounds and dropping eight bombs, four of which failed to detonate. ^[1] Bombing and firing was aimed at people in a farm, on a village road, in a school courtyard and boarding house, and in the town itself. ^[1] He acknowledged making no distinction between agitators and bystanders and said he often kept firing into crowds as they ran for cover, intending "to do more damage". ^{[1] [3] [4] [5]}

References

1. George, Joppan (1 December 2024). "Gujranwala, 14 April 1919: Terror from air and airmindedness in late colonial India" . The Journal of Transport History. 45 (3): 445–467. doi:10.1177/00225266241262473. ISSN   0022-5266.
2. Raghaven, Srinath (1 September 2005). "Protecting the Raj: The Army in India and Internal Security, c. 1919–39" . Small Wars & Insurgencies. 16 (3): 253–279. doi:10.1080/09592310500220528. ISSN   0959-2318.
3. Smith, Brian (2022). "3.7. Interwar approaches to bombing". A History of Military Morals: Killing the Innocent. BRILL. p. 347. ISBN   978-90-04-51548-2.
4. Lloyd, Nick (1 December 2010). Sir Michael O'Dwyer and ‘Imperial Terrorism’ in the Punjab, 1919 . Taylor & Francis. pp. 363–380.
5. "7. Courts under Martial Law". Report of the Committee Appointed by the Government of India to Investigate the Disturbances in the Punjab. H.M. Stationery Office. 1920. pp. 134–138.

Further reading

• "Bombing by aeroplanes". api.parliament.uk. Hansard. 8 May 1919. Retrieved 15 September 2025.