Bombing of Friedrichshafen in World War II

  1. Pages with script errors
  2. Pages with broken file links
  3. Articles containing German language text
  4. Oil Campaign of World War II
  5. World War II strategic bombing lists


Friedrichshafen World War II bombings
Part of Strategic bombing campaign in Europe
300px
Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen
Date 1944-1945
Location Lake Constance district
Belligerents
22x20px Fifteenth Air Force

22x20px RAF Bomber Command

22x20px Luftwaffe
(Defence of the Reich)
Commanders and leaders
Carl Spaatz

Arthur Harris

See also: Operation Pointblank and Operation Crossbow

Friedrichshafen was bombed during World War II as part of the Allied strategic bombing campaign against German war material industry, particularly in the targeting of German fighter aircraft production and that against long range missiles.

Background

Friedrichshafen lies in the Bodenseekreis district, on Lake Constance in the extreme south of Germany, and at the time it was at the edge of the German nightfighter defences. Targets included the Dornier Flugzeugwerke aircraft works at Manzell, the Maybach tank engine factory, the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin aircraft works and its Oberraderach test facility near Raderach, and the Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen (Literally "gearwheel factory Friedrichshafen") tank gearbox factory.

In February 1944 an underground factory at Immenstaad near Friedrichshafen was suspected of being a synthetic oil and/or liquid oxygen plant.[1] |1944-10[2] Near [[Überlingen| [2] forced labor of KZ-Häftlinge im Goldbacher Stollen,[2] KZ Nebenlager Raderach[3] and the Aufkirch subcamp of Dachau concentration camp was used for constructing a underground facility for armament manufacturing (code name "Magnesit"[2]) safe from Allied air raids.

Attacks

Chronology
Date Target Notes
1942-08-17 Zeppelin Works Allied intelligence had suspected the Zeppelin Works (German: Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH) was involved with the V-2 rocket.[4]
1943-06-20 Zeppelin Works 12px Operation Bellicose targeted suspected Würzburg radar production at Friedrichshafen.[5] (In early June, a CIU photo interpreter (Claude Wavell) had identified a stack of ribbed baskets--Würzburg radar reflectors—at the Zeppelin Works, Winston Churchill had reviewed the photos on June 14, and No. 5 Group RAF received attack orders on June 16.)[6] The bombing hit the Zeppelin Works' V-2 production which had only produced a few V-2 tanks and fuselage sections by June 20.[7]:143
1944-04-2727/28 April 1944 ZF Friedrichshafen A night attack by 322 heavy bombers damaged several factories and destroyed the factory producing tank gearboxes. 1,234 tons of bombs were dropped causing (an estimated) 67 per cent of the town's built-up area to be destroyed.[8]
1944-07-20 Zeppelin Works 12px The 485 BG bombed Luftschiffbau Zeppelin.[9] V-2 production planned for Zeppelin had already been moved to the Mittelwerk after the 1943 British bombing raid on the Peenemünde Army Research Center.[7]:193
1944-07-28 Dornier Flugzeugwerke 12px The 464 BG bombed the Manzell aircraft works.
1944-08-03 Oberraderach & ZF Friedrichshafen 12px Oberraderach (primary target) and the Zahnradfabrik secondary target were bombed.[10][11] As early as September 20, 1942, Albert Speer had warned Hitler of the critical importance of Friedrichshafen tank plants and Schweinfurt ball-bearing plants.[12]
1944-08-16 Oberraderach 12px The 485 BG bombed the Ober chemical works.
1945-02-25 Maybach tank factory 12px Mission 847: 377 B-17s are sent to hit the Maybach tank factory at Friedrichshafen (63) using Gee-H.[13] Maybach Motorenbau (Freidrichshafen) and Norddeutsche Motorenbau (Berlin) produced nearly all tank engines.[14]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Minutes of Meeting No. 45/6" (pdf: document starts - p 19). Enemy Oil Intelligence Committee. February 6, 1945. http://www.fischer-tropsch.org/Tom%20Reels/Linked/B1870/B1870-0073-0208%20Item%204.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 http://www.stollen-ueberlingen.de/lng/england.htm (Google translation)
  3. ↑ "KZ Nebenlager Raderach" (in German). V2Werk-Oberraderach.com. http://www.v2werk-oberraderach.de/DON/KZ.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-27. (Google translation)
  4. ↑ Script error
  5. ↑ "Campaign Diary June 1943". Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary. UK Crown. http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/jun43.html. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  6. ↑ Script error
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Script error
  8. ↑ "Campaign Diary April 1944". Royal Air Force Bomber Command 60th Anniversary. UK Crown. http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/apr44.html. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  9. ↑ "485th Missions". 485th Bomb Group Association. http://www.485thbg.org/485th_Missions.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  10. ↑ "August 1944". 461st Bombardment Group (H). http://www.15thaf.org/49th_BW/461st_BG//Missions/August1944.htm. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  11. ↑ Glantzberg, Hughes. "Missions". 461st Bomb Group (H) "The LibeRaiders". 461st.org. http://www.461st.org/Missions/Missions.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  12. ↑ Script error
  13. ↑ McKillop, Jack. "Combat Chronology of the USAAF". http://www.usaaf.net/chron/index.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-25. February 1945
  14. ↑ Script error
Bibliography

External links

30px External media
16px Operation Bellicose map
16px ZF Friedrichshafen damage


...