X-Nico

28 unusual facts about RAF Bomber Command


36th Bombardment Squadron

The radar countermeasure effort came under RAF Bomber Command where they performed a variety of special operations activities.

In addition, the 36th BS flew night missions with the Royal Air Force Bomber Command 100 Group at RAF Sculthorpe.

532d Training Squadron

At that time, the Eighth Air Force and the Royal Air Force Bomber Command were engaged in a combined bomber offensive against strategic targets in Nazi Germany and Occupied Europe.

Aughnacloy, County Tyrone

James Young Malley, the son of an Aughnacloy farmer and merchant, was the eldest of three brothers to fly with RAF Bomber Command.

Bas Pease

During WWII he joined RAF Bomber Command's Operational Research section, where he was the expert in charge of the use of a precision navigation system called G-H.

Bomber Command

RAF Bomber Command was formed in 1936 to be responsible for all bombing activities of the RAF.

Charles Cundall

He completed his Admiralty canvases whilst starting work on Bomber Command and Coastal Command subjects.

Charlottenburg Town Hall

Severely damaged during the bombing of Berlin in World War II by an RAF air raid in the night of 22 November 1943, it was gradually rebuilt by the West Berlin authorities until the 1960s.

Chedburgh

On 7 September 1942 South of the Bury Road, RAF Chedburgh opened, in No. 3 Group RAF Bomber Command.

Elan Valley Reservoirs

The lessons learned from the destruction of the Nant-y-Gro dam culminated in the 1943 Dam Busters raid when RAF Bomber Command used the same principles to breach the dams in the Ruhr Valley.

Ellough

Ellough Airfield was completed in 1943 and served as a RAF Bomber Command and RAF Coastal Command airfield during the Second World War as RAF Beccles.

Haddenham, Cambridgeshire

During the Second World War, Haddenham was a Starfish bombing decoy site, both K-type (day) and Q-type (night), which were used to divert Axis bombing away from RAF Bomber Command's nearby airfields.

Harris baronets

The Harris Baronetcy, of Chepping Wycombe in the County of Buckingham, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 24 January 1953 for the Second World War commander of RAF Bomber Command Sir Arthur Harris.

Kroll Opera House

However, the Krolloper itself was devastated by a RAF Bomber Command attack on 22 November 1943.

Langar, Nottinghamshire

The airfield was used for bombing operations over Germany by RAF Bomber Command.

Langley Hall Primary Academy

During World War II it served as a Group Headquarters of RAF Bomber Command.

Mailly-le-Camp

During preparations for the Normandy invasion (Operation Overlord), 346 British Avro Lancasters and 14 de Havilland Mosquitoes of RAF Bomber Command attacked the German military camp situated near the village of Mailly-le-Camp.

PGM-17 Thor

Thor was deployed to the UK starting in August 1958, operated by 20 squadrons of RAF Bomber Command under US-UK dual key control.

Reginald Sutcliffe

Later in the war he worked for Bomber Command, playing an important role in forecasting for air raids over Germany.

River Kyle

During the Second World War, RAF Bomber Command operated an airfield near the start of the River Kyle at RAF Tholthorpe.

Ryhope

In March 1944 Ryhope was the scene of the conclusion of the epic last flight of LK797 from the RAF Bomber Command's offensive against the III Reich, which crash landed there, resulting in Pilot Officer Cyril Barton being awarded the Victoria Cross.

Steeple Ashton

The village abuts Keevil Airfield, an active military aerodrome which served throughout World War Two as home to squadrons of Bomber Command, and also as a launch site for gliders taking part in Operation Market Garden, made famous in A Bridge Too Far.

Stefan Adam Zamoyski

Zamoyski wrote to the head of RAF Bomber Command, requesting that the German concentration camp Auschwitz be bombed to allow the Polish political prisoners there at the time to escape; the RAF declined to act.

Thomas Dewar Weldon

He then served as Rhodes travelling fellow in 1930, a civil servant in London from 1939 to 1942, and PA to Arthur Harris in RAF Bomber Command at High Wycombe from 1942 to 1945.

Waterbeach

A Royal Air Force station, RAF Waterbeach, was built on the northern edge of the village in 1940, operating under RAF Bomber Command.

Willem Jacob van Stockum

Finally, he was able to transfer to the Dutch Air Force (in exile), and in 1944 became the only Dutch officer posted to No. 10 Sq­ron of the RAF Bomber Command, which was stationed in Yorkshire and flew combat missions in the Halifax heavy bomber over Europe before and after the Normandy invasion.

William Farr School

The school was opened as a secondary modern in 1952 on the site of RAF Dunholme Lodge, a WW2 Bomber Command station, which had been bought for £600 in 1946 by Rev William Farr, the vicar of Welton.

Witchford

The village was once the home to RAF Witchford, an RAF Bomber Command base that was built in 1942 and closed and broken up in 1946.


427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron

427 Squadron started as a bomber squadron formed at Croft, England on 7 November 1942 and spent its wartime entirely in England as a part of No. 6 Group RCAF, RAF Bomber Command.

Bombing of Cologne in World War II

At this stage of the war RAF Bomber Command only had a regular front line strength of around 400 aircraft, and were in the process of transitioning from the twin engined medium bombers of the pre-war years to the newer more effective four-engined 'heavies' such as the Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster.

Campaigns of World War II

After initial heavy losses and inaccurate bombings, RAF Bomber Command air raids against German military targets evolved to adopt nighttime attacks as their primary tactic in conjunction with a strategy of area bombardment against Nazi Germany morale.

George Salaman

He was transferred to RAF Bomber Command HQ at High Wycombe and planned the infamous Operation Millennium bombing raid on Cologne.

Operation Tigerfish

Saundby was the deputy of Air Chief Marshal Arthur Harris, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command.

RAF Binbrook

Royal Air Force Station Binbrook or RAF Binbrook is a former Royal Air Force station near Brookenby, Lincolnshire, England, that was primarily used by Bomber Command.

RAF Ridgewell

The airfield was opened in December 1942 and was first used by No. 90 Squadron of RAF Bomber Command, equipped with Short Stirling Bombers until May 1943, the station being at that time a satellite of RAF Stradishall.

Second Raid on Schweinfurt

Arthur Harris, Air Officer Commanding RAF Bomber Command refused to cooperate with the Americans, believing ball bearing targets to be a false "panacea".