*** World War II air war bombing city targets








World War II Bombing Targets: Cities

British cities
Figure 1.--Countries varied in their vulnerability to strategic bombing. Japan was the most vulnetavle, but was protected by the vat diatances of the Pacific Ocean. Germany was vulnerable because of its densly packed cities dominated by large-multi-storied apartment buildings. Ironically, the two most vulnerable countries (Jaoab and Germany) were the countries that began bombing other cities. As Air Marshal Harris pointed out, "The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everybody else and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw, and half a hundred other places, they put that rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind and now they are going to reap the whirlwind." The German Blitz on London and other cities was closely followed as it took place. The British developed the first integrated air defense systen, but they had a huge advantage. London and other British cities built out instead of up. Multi-story apartment blocks were realtively rare. In the city, two story terrrace (connected row) houses were standard. Meaning the population density was lower than in Germany. As a result the Luftwaff in the nattle of Brirain expended valuable and hard to replace combat power to destroy British houses. This was a terrible human cost, but it did not impact Britain's ability to make war. It did affect the strength of the German force that invaded the Soviet Union. Here we see a British suburban family in the 1930s. A bomb droped here might destroy a home. A bomb dropped on a German apartment block would destroy the homes of dozens of families, hundreds of peopole. A bomb dropped in British cities, both the sunburbs and inner-city teraced homes would have much less impact.

Strategic bombing theory from the beginning in World War I involved the targeting of enemy war industries to destroy the country's ability to make war. This inevitably meant bombing enemy cities as this is where industrial manufacturing plants were located. And as the Germans found out in World War I with Zeppelin and Gotha bombers, the technology did not exist to hit just industrial plants and not the surronding residential areas. This did not stop the Germans from contining to bomb London and other cities. Technology advanced by the time of World War II, targeting devices were improved like the Nordon bomb site. But so did anti-aircraft defenses, so World War II bombers were designed to bomb at great alditudes when rendered prcission bombing impossible in combat conditions which would take World War II airforces some time to learn, especially the Americans. The U.S. Army Air Corps developed in strategic bombing doctrine in the clear desert skies of the Southwest againsdt no enemy defenses. The skies over nprthern Europe and Japan would prove very different. There were significant differences between cities rendering different countries more or less susceptable to strategic bombing. American cities were beyond the reach of Axis bombers. Japanese cities were beyond the reach of enememy bombers when the War began (1939), but they were by far the most vulnmeravle. British cities were different than much of Europe. The British built out insterad of up. There were apartmnt building, but fewer than on the continent. The British, both the poor and middle class, lived in single or two story dwelings. There were row houses (teraces) in the city. And free standing homes in the suburbs, often two stories. This meant that population denisty was lower than on the continent. French cities had mnany apartment buildings, but as France surended to the NAZIs wa not significantly involved in the startegic bombing campaign, except for the U-boat ports which were targeted by the British. German cities except for the largely wooden Baltic ports were built in stone and brick. But much of the population lived in multi-story apartments meaning a much higher population density than British cities. Japan was one of the most densly populated country in the world. Certainly the most densly populted of the major beligernt countties. Japanese citiies were not only densly populated, but largely constructed out of wood and paper--essentially kindling for great bonfires. Soviet cities had many large apartmernt blocks. This was the Soviet answer to low-cost hosing for the masses. Cina was heanily bombed by Japan beginning nearly a decade before the outbreak of World War II. The country was, however, nit hughly urbnized not undustrislized. Thus the Jpananese bombing while creating a humanitarian dusasrer in the cities, did not did not significantly impact the Chinese war effort. Most of the important Soviet cities were located in the western Soviet Union which made them vulnerable to Germany's fleet of medium, tactical bombers. And as part of Generralplan Ost, the NAZI objective in the East was to destroy industrial cities and create a vast agricultural colony.

Theory

Strategic bombing theory from the beginning when initiated by the Germans in World War I involved the targeting of enemy war industries to destroy the country's ability to make war. This is how thevGrerman genertals sild the videa to the Kaiser. This inevitably meant bombing enemy cities as this is where industrial manufacturing plants were located. And as the Germans found out in World War I with Zeppelin and Gotha bombers, the technology did not exist to hit just industrial plants and not the surronding residential areas. This did not stop the Germans from contining to bomb London and other cities. As the idea of terror bbombung was seena s nenbeficial for vthev German war effort. Technology advanced by the time of World War II, targeting devices were improved like the Nordon bomb site. But so did anti-aircraft defenses, so World War II bombers were designed to bomb at great alditudes when rendered percission bombing impossible in combat conditions which would take World War II airforces some time to learn. The British lerned it first. There answer was area bombing, esentilly to destroy while cities. The Americans would learn in 1943. The U.S. Army Air Corps developed in strategic bombing doctrine in the clear desert skies of the Southwest against no enemy defenses. The skies over northern Europe and Japan would prove very different. There were significant differences between cities rendering different countries more or less susceptable to strategic bombing. The Chimese did not hve sihnificnt industril ciyies and warvindustries. Thus Japnese bombing of Chinese cities was essengislly terror bombing from the beginning. It is notable that Japanese pritestay=tions toward Allied boming ignores the many Chuinese cities they bombed vurtually unopposed for nearly 15 years.

Country Vulnerability

Countries and cities varied in vulnerability to aerial bombardment. Early in the War, this depended largely on distance from German or Japanese territory or areas occupied by the Axis poweers. The Luftwaffe was the most powerful air force in the world at the outbrak of the War, but its aircraft, especially the fighters, had only a short range and the bombers had small pay loads. his would prove crucial in the Battle off Britain. German bombers could attack virtually any where in Britain, but its fighers had difficulty protecting their bombers even as far as London. London was easy to fimd because of the Thames estuary, but it was an impossible targety to destroy with the force at hand. The British tended to build their cities out into the suburbs instrad of up. This made them less vulneable to aerrial bombardment. London was a huge, but sprawling target. Easy to hit, more difficult to cripple. A single bomb could often only destroy a house or two. Even in London, many dwelings were only two stories. The Germans wound up expending scarce military assetts to destroy British houses--not a path to victory. (This would affect the available Luftwaffe force whem Hitler launched Barbarossa in 1941.) Little danage was done to vital ritish targets and infrastructure. British manufacture of aircraft actually increased during the Blitz. The Germans were able to design long range bombers, but as the war raged, they were unable to build any numbr of them. And they focused on fighters because of the the need to protect their cities increased. The Battle of Britain seemed like a minor defeat with Hitler controlling much of Europe, but it would mean that the Allies had an unsinkable aircraft carriers off the coast of norther Europe and the Allies did begin building long-range havy (four engine) aircraft i nlarge nimbers. This would eventuallky bring every German city with in the range of aerial bombardment. Berlin and other German cities did not have sky scrapers, but they did have large numbers of multi-story apartment complexes. This made Gernmany especially vulnerable to aerial bombing. A single bomb could do a lot of damage. Of all countries, Japanese cities with their wood and paper construction were the most vulneavbe of all. Japnese laeders were not initially worried because no plane in the world could reach Japan, except from the Sovirt Union and they negotiated a non-aggression pact with the Soviets (1941). Within only a few months after Pearl Harbor, however, Americam aviation engineerrs were busy designing the B-29 Superfortress which could fly much longer distances than existing bombers at the time the Japanese launched the Paufic War. The poorly educated Japaanese military leaders did not believe that aviation technology would increase significantly during what they believed would be a short war.







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Created: 10:41 PM 1/27/2021
Last updated: 11:12 AM 2/27/2022