The Dornier Do 335Pfeil (Arrow) is a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The Pfeil's performance was predicted to be better than other twin-engine designs due to its unusual push-pull configuration and the lower aerodynamic drag of the in-line alignment of the two engines. It was Nazi Germany's fastest piston-engined aircraft of World War II. The Luftwaffe was desperate to get the design into operational use, but delays in engine deliveries meant that only a handful were delivered before the war ended.
Berlin, the capital of Germany, was subject to 363 air raids during the Second World War. It was bombed by the RAF Bomber Command between 1940 and 1945, the United States Army Air Forces' Eighth Air Force between 1943 and 1945, and the French Air Force in 1940 and between 1944 and 1945 as part of the Allied campaign of strategic bombing of Germany. It was also attacked by aircraft of the Red Air Force in 1941 and particularly in 1945, as Soviet forces closed on the city. British bombers dropped 45,517 tons of bombs, while American aircraft dropped 22,090.3 tons. As the bombings continued, more and more people fled the city. By May 1945, 1.7 million people had fled.
During the latter stages of World War II, Pforzheim, a town in southwestern Germany, was bombed several times. The largest raid, one of the most devastating area bombardments of the war, was carried out by the Royal Air Force (RAF) on the evening of February 23, 1945. Some 17,600 people, or 31.4% of the town's population, were killed. About 83% of the town's buildings were destroyed, two-thirds of the complete area of Pforzheim and between 80% and 100% of the inner city.
In the early hours of 15 October 1944, No. 5 Group of the Royal Air Force (RAF) carried out the most destructive of 42 attacks on Braunschweig (Brunswick) during World War II. The attack was a part of Operation Hurricane, which was designed to demonstrate the capabilities of the Allied bombing campaign. It caused a massive conflagration that developed into a firestorm, and resulted in Braunschweig, the city of Henry the Lion, burning continuously for two and a half days from 15 to 17 October. More than 90 percent of the medieval city centre was destroyed.
Darmstadt was bombed a number of times during World War II. The most devastating air raid on Darmstadt occurred on the night of 11/12 September 1944 when No. 5 Group of the Royal Air Force (RAF) bombed the city. 66,000 of the 110,000 inhabitants of Darmstadt at the time became homeless. Darmstadt lost between 12,500 and 13,500 inhabitants during World War II. The calligraphic memorial Darmstädter Brandnamen lists about 4,000 names. Darmstadt had several major industrial targets including Merck and Rohm and Haas chemical works as well as military communications networks.
The bombing of Stuttgart in World War II was a series of 53 air raids that formed part of the strategic air offensive of the Allies against Germany. The first bombing occurred on August 25, 1940, and resulted in the destruction of 17 buildings. The city was repeatedly attacked over the next four and one-half years by both the RAF and the 8th Air Force as it had significant industrial capacity and several military bases, and was also a center of rail transportation in southwestern Germany. Stuttgart endured 18 large-scale attacks by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the war, during which 21,016 long tons (21,353 t) of bombs were dropped on the city, but the RAF concluded that its attacks against Stuttgart were not as effective as they could have been:
Stuttgart's experience was not as severe as other German cities. Its location, spread out in a series of deep valleys, had consistently frustrated the Pathfinders and the shelters dug into the sides of the surrounding hills had saved many lives.
The German city of Hildesheim, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Hanover, was the target of eight Allied air raids in 1944 and 1945 and suffered considerable bomb damage.
Innsbruck, an Austrian city, was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938. It was bombed 22 times by the Allies in World War II, suffering heavy damage.
The Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia, was the air force of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH), a puppet state established with the support of the Axis Powers on the territory of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia during World War II. The ZNDH was founded under German authority in April 1941, following the German-led Axis invasion of Yugoslavia.
Kampfgeschwader 2Holzhammer was a Luftwaffe bomber unit during the Second World War. The unit was formed in May 1939. The unit operated the Dornier Do 17 light bomber, Dornier Do 217 and Junkers Ju 188 heavy bombers. During the course of the Second World War KG 2 lost 767 aircraft destroyed and 158 damaged. According to H.L. de Zeng at al, it suffered 1,908 personnel killed in action or missing in action and 214 as prisoners of war. Broken down further, for the duration of the war KG 2 lost 1,228 killed, 688 missing, 656 wounded and with 214 captured, for a total of 2,786 in both combat and non-combat operations.
Sint-Truiden / Brustem Airfield is an airfield located in Brustem, 1.5 nautical miles southeast of Sint-Truiden (Limburg) and approximately 37 mi (60 km) east of Brussels. Formerly known as Sint-Truiden Air Base or Brustem Air Base, the aerodrome was deactivated as a Belgian Air Component base in 1996.
Hermann Staiger was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Staiger was credited with 63 aerial victories during World War II, 49 on the Western Front and 14 on the Eastern Front.
Operation Tigerfish was the military code name in World War II for the air raid on Freiburg in the evening of 27 November 1944 by the Royal Air Force with about 2,800 dead.
The German city of Freiburg was bombed erroneously on 10 May 1940 by the Luftwaffe, killing 57 inhabitants.
The aerial bombings of Hanover are a series of eighty-eight air raids by Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) on the German city of Hanover during World War II. Collectively these air raids killed 6,782 persons, predominantly civilian residents. Around 1,000 aerial mines, 34,000 high explosive bombs, 900,000 incendiary bombs and 50,000 fire bombs were dropped. The most destructive and deadly air raid on Hanover was conducted by the RAF on the night beginning 8 October 1943, killing 1,245 persons, and is an example of carpet bombing of suburban and residential civilian targets laid out in the Area Bombing Directive of 14 February 1942.
The house Zweibrückenstraße 8, in the district of Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt in Munich, was built in 1903. The residential and commercial building is a historically protected architectural building.
The bombing of Nuremberg was a series of air raids carried out by allied forces of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) that caused heavy damage throughout the city from 1940 through 1945. Nuremberg was a favored point of attack for allied bombers in World War II even though it was only later included into the radius of action due to its location in the south of Germany. Because Nuremberg was a strong economic and infrastructural hub and had symbolic importance as the "City of the Nuremberg Rally" it was singled out by the Allies as an important target.
The bombing of Göttingen were a series of British and American aerial bombing attacks on the city of Göttingen during World War II. A total of eight air raids were carried out by the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces between 1944 and 1945 as part of the Allied campaign of strategic bombing of Germany. However, unlike nearby Kassel and Hanover, the city itself escaped major damage.
