Ready...
Royal Air Force logo
On Febraury 13, 1945, the USAAF (United States Army Air Forces) Eighth Air Force made it's move. Though they were meant to make the initial strikes against Dresden, bad weather forced them to retreat. Instead, the RAF (Royal Air Force) Bomber Command was forced to carry out the first raid. First, the Bomber Command created several, smaller raids on the cities of Bonn, Magdeburg, Nuremburg, and Misburg to confuse German air defences. Then, the Bomber Command implemented a double strike; a second strike would occur three hours after the first, just when rescue teams were trying to put out the fires.
Aim...
Targeted areas were brightly lit
The first aircraft to lift off were the British 83 Squadron, No.5 Group, at 5:20 P.M.(CET). Their job as 'Pathfinders' was to locate Dresden, then drop magnesium parachute flares (known as 'Christmas trees' to the Germans) to light up the area. Then marker planes dropped 1,000 pounds of target markers, which glowed bright red and created targets for bombers to aim at. These target markers were concentrated by the Ostragehege sports stadium and beside Altstadt (old town) since buildings in it were made of highly combustible tinder. The main bombing force, dubbed the 'Plate Rock' entered Germany near Cologne soon after the markers planes. Plate Rock consisted of 254 Lancaster planes carrying 500 tons of explosives and 375 tons of fire bombs. The biggest explosives were called 'cookies' and they were known to be able to destroy entire city blocks. The explosives were intended to blow off roofs, rupture water pipes, and create firestorms. Firestorms were created when hundreds of smaller fires joined together, and grew so large that it required a massive amount of air to sustain itself. The amount of air being sucked into the fire would create a small tornado, which people often got sucked into.
Fire
Victims of the bombings with facial features melted off
When the first alarms signaled the beginning of the bombings, people were not very alarmed. Because they didn't believe that their city could be attacked through air, they thought it was simply a drill. Because of the slow pace of the citizens, barely anyone managed to reach the shelters before the first bombs dropped, at 10:09 P.M. Though the attack lasted only 24 minutes, and all but one aircraft unloaded all their explosives within the first two minutes, the effects were immediate and devastating. The unluckiest ones were sucked into the firestorms, ones who seeked refuge underground suffocated as the oxygen was pulled out of their lungs, and others simply melted-temperatures reached up to 1800 F, enough
to easily melt human flesh. The carnage was truly horrific- one survivor told of seeing "young women carrying babies running up and down the streets, their dresses and hair on fire, screaming until they fell down, or the collapsing buildings fell on top of them."
The second attack started only three hours later, when people were tricked into believing that the worst was over and were returning to the streets. Though sirens did go off at 1:05 A.M, it was all from handheld sirens due to the lack of electricity, and most people did not hear them. At 1:22 A.M, twice as many bombers came back to the city and dropped over 1,800 tons of explosives over Dresden. Though much of the city was already destroyed, it was decided that they would expand the targeted area to Hauptbahnhof, the main train station, and Groser Garten park. A convoy sent on a rescue mission described the scene like this: "The detonation shook the cellar walls. The sound of the explosions mingled with a new, stranger sound which seemed to come closer and closer, the sound of a thundering waterfall; it was the sound of the mighty tornado howling in the inner city."
By the time the double strikes were finished over 12,000 buildings were leveled, more than 3,300 tons of explosives were dropped, and 25,000- 135,000 (estimates vary greatly depending on source, plus it was difficult to determine the total casualties when there were so many refugees in Dresden at the time) people died. But it still wasn't over.
to easily melt human flesh. The carnage was truly horrific- one survivor told of seeing "young women carrying babies running up and down the streets, their dresses and hair on fire, screaming until they fell down, or the collapsing buildings fell on top of them."
The second attack started only three hours later, when people were tricked into believing that the worst was over and were returning to the streets. Though sirens did go off at 1:05 A.M, it was all from handheld sirens due to the lack of electricity, and most people did not hear them. At 1:22 A.M, twice as many bombers came back to the city and dropped over 1,800 tons of explosives over Dresden. Though much of the city was already destroyed, it was decided that they would expand the targeted area to Hauptbahnhof, the main train station, and Groser Garten park. A convoy sent on a rescue mission described the scene like this: "The detonation shook the cellar walls. The sound of the explosions mingled with a new, stranger sound which seemed to come closer and closer, the sound of a thundering waterfall; it was the sound of the mighty tornado howling in the inner city."
By the time the double strikes were finished over 12,000 buildings were leveled, more than 3,300 tons of explosives were dropped, and 25,000- 135,000 (estimates vary greatly depending on source, plus it was difficult to determine the total casualties when there were so many refugees in Dresden at the time) people died. But it still wasn't over.
Aftermath
Cities in Czechoslovakia were accidentally bombed
On the morning of February 14, 431 bombers of the US 1st Bombardment division were scheduled to do one last sweep on Dresden, to wipe out the last of the city. 316 planes began bombing the city again just before midday, dropping over 771 tons of bombs. The rest missed the city and accidentally entered Czechoslovakia and bombed Prague, Brux, and Pilsen and other cities. Other bombardment divisions ( 92nd, 303rd, 306th, 379th, 384th and 457th) soon followed. Though they were supposed to aim at the marshaling yards just west of the city centre, most of the area was completely covered in smoke, forcing them to locate their target with a still unadvanced radar. As a result, bombs were inaccurate and dispersed all over the city. The last bomb dropped on the city on February 14 was by the 306th division, at
12:30 P.M.
On February 15, the 1st Bombardment Division was supposed to target a synthetic oil plant in Leipzig, but it was obscured by clouds. So instead, they went to their secondary target-Dresden. Like the raid on the 14th, many of their bombs were off target because they were forced to use radars. Many bombs landed in suburban neighborhoods like Meissen and Pirna, and they again failed to hit the marshaling yards.
The bombing on Dresden finally stopped on February 15, 12:10 P.M. By the time it was completely over, more than 4,000 tons of explosives and firebombs were dropped, more than 1,300 bomber planes had participated, up to 135,000 had died, and of the 28,410 houses in central Dresden, 24,866 were destroyed. Overall, over 15 km2 of the city was completely demolished- in this area was 72 schools, 22 hospitals, 19 churches, 5 theatres, 50 banks, 31 department stores, 31 hotels, and 62 administrative buildings.
12:30 P.M.
On February 15, the 1st Bombardment Division was supposed to target a synthetic oil plant in Leipzig, but it was obscured by clouds. So instead, they went to their secondary target-Dresden. Like the raid on the 14th, many of their bombs were off target because they were forced to use radars. Many bombs landed in suburban neighborhoods like Meissen and Pirna, and they again failed to hit the marshaling yards.
The bombing on Dresden finally stopped on February 15, 12:10 P.M. By the time it was completely over, more than 4,000 tons of explosives and firebombs were dropped, more than 1,300 bomber planes had participated, up to 135,000 had died, and of the 28,410 houses in central Dresden, 24,866 were destroyed. Overall, over 15 km2 of the city was completely demolished- in this area was 72 schools, 22 hospitals, 19 churches, 5 theatres, 50 banks, 31 department stores, 31 hotels, and 62 administrative buildings.
Breaking it down...
February 13
- Royal Air Force Bomber Command sends smaller attacks to confuse German Air Force
- Pathfinders drop magnesium flares to light up area
- Marker planes create targets with dropped target markers
- Main bombing force (called Plate Rock) begins bombing
- First wave of attack at 10:09 P.M, lasted only 24 minutes
- Second wave of attack at 1:22 A.M, dropped over 1,800 tons of explosives
- 316 planes continue to drop 771 tons of bombs on Dresden
- Other planes accidentally bomb Czech republic
- Synthetic oil plant in Leipzig was supposed to be bombed, but because of cloudy weather, they bombed Dresden
- The last bomb was finally dropped on February 15, 12:10 P.M.