Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary

January

The year began after a 10-day break without any operations in much the same way as 1939 had ended. 'Nickelling', anti-shipping and armed recce flights formed a large part of Bomber Command's operations with occasional bombing sorties being flown.

February

A particularly severe period of winter weather meant that no night operations were flown for a month and even daylight missions for two weeks at the start of February were cancelled.

March

Following a German attack on British warships in Scapa Flow during the night of 17/18 March, when 1 civilian was killed and 7 injured, a reprisal raid was ordered against German seaplane bases for the night of 19/20 March. Such was the concern that civilian casualties were to be avoided (still a major consideration when any bombing operations were planned) that the remote base at Hörnum of the island of Sylt was chosen. 30 Whitleys and 20 Hampdens were allocated 6 hours to carry out the attack (the bomber stream was a thing of the future) and over 40 crews claimed to have hit the target and only 1 Whitley was lost. Photographic evidence of the target, although not obtained until 6th April, showed otherwise.

April

Recce flights in the first week of April showed that the Germans were massing an invasion fleet - possibly bound for Norway. This proved to be correct as they invaded at dawn on the 9th. Denmark was also occupied within hours. Bomber Command was ordered to halt the German advance through southern Norway, but with round trips of over 1,000 miles entirely over sea, support for ground forces (who landed in the north at Narvik) was very non-existent. On the 12th, 6 Hampdens and 3 Wellingtons were lost during an attack on Stavangar, this proving to be the end of daylight raids for these aircraft. During the night of 13/14th April, Hampdens carried out the first minelaying ('Gardening') sorties of the war and these operations were carried out almost nightly for many months. Bomber Command paid particular attention to the airfields in its reach, notably those at Stavangar, Trondheim and Oslo in an effort to deny their use by the Luftwaffe. These appear to have had little success as by the end of the month photos showed over 150 German aircraft at Stavangar alone. The night of 25/26th April saw the probable loss of the first Bomber Command aircraft to a German fighter when a Hampden of No 49 Squadron was engaged near Sylt.

May

Blenheim operations over Norway ceased on the 2nd as they were withdrawn in preparation for the imminent invasion of France. Limited operations by the medium bombers (Whitleys, Wellingtons and Hampdens) continued airfields and seaplane bases until allied forces were withdrawn from the country by the middle of May.

But it was to the south that the Germans now looked. The borders of Holland and Belgium were crossed with little opposition, and the famous Maginot Line was outflanked by airborne assault. In the face of these attacks, Bomber Command carried out remarkably few bombing missions, but Battle and Blenheim light bombers, under the control of the Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF), did attempt to halt the invasion. Both of these aircraft types suffered heavily in the daylight raids they were tasked with. Bridges, airfields and troop columns were their primary targets and the night operations were often carried out by single aircraft from their bases back in Britain. The second half of the month saw the first true attacks on German industrial targets, the Ruhr and oil installations being uppermost in the minds of the planners. But these raids were carried out by relatively small numbers of aircraft to multiple targets in the same night and damage was negligible.

Full details of the Battle of France can be found HERE.

June

With the German Blitzkrieg in full flow, British forces were forced onto the retreat. This culminated in the epic evacuation of Dunkirk during the period 26 May - 3 June. Bomber Command aircraft supported ground troops surrounded at Dunkirk with day and night-time operations but the crews were hampered by poor weather and as a result could not always complete their briefed missions. During the Battle of France, the Blenheims of No 2 Group flew 956 sorties and lost 57 aircraft - the equivalent of 4 complete squadrons. With the inevitable entry of Italy into the war, a special force ('Haddock Force') is created in preparation for immediate attacks on that country. Two squadrons of Wellingtons from Nos 99 and 149 were detached to airfields near Marseilles in the south of France and were ready for operations from the 11th of June. There were, however, strong objections about the use of the Wellingtons from the local French civilian and military authorities who feared a reprisal attack from the Germans - one which they felt they could not defend. Despite assurances from the RAF commander (again, it was Air Marshal Barratt) that the planned attacks had the full support of the French Government, the locals protested. It was left to Prime Minister Churchill to contact the French Premier, Reynaud, who confirmed his support. But this failed to convince the authorities in the south. That night, as the aircraft began their take-off run, French soldiers positioned themselves on the runway under orders to stop the British aircraft from leaving. Despite negotiations between senior British and French commanders to allow the raids, 'Haddock Force' was disbanded and returned home the following day. During the night of 11th/12th, the first Bomber Command raids on Italy did occur when 36 Whitleys were ordered to attack industrial targets in Turin. After refuelling the in the Channel Isles the aircraft set of for Italy, but 23 encountered problems over the Alps and turned back. In the end, only 9 aircraft reached Turin, and most bombed railway yards. Two other aircraft bombed Genoa.

Crews of No 50 Squadron, RAF Waddington, April 1940
'Nickelling' sortie with No 102 Squadron, Leeming, February 1940
No 110 Squadron, RAF Wattisham, June 1940
German seaplane base, Sylt

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