Bombing of Bremen in World War II


The Bombing of Bremen in World War II by the British Royal Air Force and US Eighth Air Force targeted strategic targets in the state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, which had heavy anti-aircraft artillery but only 35 fighter aircraft in the area. In addition to Wesermünde/Bremerhaven, targets were also in Farge and Vegesack. Bremen also included concentration camps such as Bremen-Farge and Bremen-Vegesack. The city of Bremen was captured in April 1945.
In the 1939-45 period the RAF dropped 12,831 long tons of bombs on Bremen.

Targets in Bremen during World War II

In June 1942, Bremen was the target for the RAF's third "thousand bomber raid".

Timeline of bombing raids

DateAir forceNotes
RAF24 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers attacked Bremen oil installations.
RAFNo. 15 Squadron RAF used converted Vickers Wellingtons for the first time to bomb the dockyards at Bremen
1941-01-011-2, 2-3, 3–4 January 1941RAF141 aircraft bombed the aircraft factory in the south of the city. Smaller Bremen attacks are made on the following two nights.
1941-03-1212-13 March 1941RAFHeavy bombing raids were conducted on Hamburg, Bremen and Berlin
1941-07-044 July 1941RAF12 Bristol Blenheim bombed an aircraft factory and a minesweeper.
RAF8 of 83 dispatched aircraft bombed the primary target at Bremen. Some of the aircraft attacking alternative targets reached Hamburg, which reports 11 fires and casualties of 5 dead and 12 injured. 3 Wellingtons were lost and one Short Stirling crashed England after being fired at and damaged by a British convoy.
RAFDuring the Bremen raid, Wing Commander Ken Wallis experimented with marker flares later used by Pathfinder Forces.
1942-04-088-9 April 1942RAFFollowing a Hamburg raid, Bremen reports a load of incendiaries dropped very accurately on the Bremer Vulkan shipyard where 4 U-boats and several surrounding buildings were damaged by fire.
1942-06-043-4 June 1942RAF170 aircraft attacked on the first large raid to Bremen since October 1941. 11 aircraft - 4 Wellingtons, 2 Handley Page Halifaxes, 2 Avro Lancasters, 2 Stirlings, 1 Avro Manchester - lost. Bremen recorded this as a heavy attack, the results of which exceeded all previous raids. Housing areas were heavily hit with 6 streets affected by serious fires. Damage to the U-boat construction yards and the Focke-Wulf factory is described as 'of no importance' but there were hits in the harbour area which damaged a pier, some warehouses and the destroyer Z25. 83 people dead, 29 seriously and 229 slightly injured.
1942-06-2625-26 June 1942RAFUsing every available aircraft in RAF Bomber Command and some of other commands, a thousand-bomber raid was mounted against Bremen. 1,067 aircraft, 102 Lockheed Hudsons and Wellingtons of RAF Coastal Command, and 5 RAF Army Cooperation Command. Those of No. 5 Group RAF - 142 aircraftbombed the Focke-Wulf factory; 20 Blenheims were allocated to the AG Weser shipyard; the RAF Coastal Command aircraft were to bomb the DeSchiMAG shipyard; all other aircraft were to carry out an area attack on the "town and docks". The limited success was entirely due to the use of GEE, which enabled the leading crews to start marker fires through the cloud cover. 696 Bomber Command aircraft were able to claim attacks on Bremen.
572 houses were completely destroyed and 6,108 damaged. 85 people were killed, 497 injured and 2,378 bombed out. At the Focke-Wulf factory, an assembly shop was completely flattened, 6 buildings were seriously damaged and 11 buildings lightly so. The Atlas Werke, the Bremer Vulkan shipyard, the Norddeutsche Hütte, the Korff refinery, and two large dockside warehouses were also damaged. 48 Bomber Command aircraft were lost, including 4 which came down in the sea near England from which all but 2 crew members were rescued. This time, the heaviest casualties were suffered by the OTUs of No. 91 Group RAF, which lost 23 of the 198 Whitleys and Wellingtons provided by that group, a loss of 11.6 per cent. 5 of the 102 Coastal Command aircraft were also lost.
1942-06-2827-28 June 1942RAF144 aircraft - 55 Wellingtons, 39 Halifaxes, 26 Stirlings, 24 Lancasters. 9 aircraft - 4 Wellingtons, 2 Halifaxes, 2 Lancasters, 1 Stirling - lost. 119 aircraft bombed blindly through cloud after obtaining GEE fixes. Bremen records that two of the large firms hit in the recent Thousand raid - the Atlas Werke and the Korff refinery - were damaged again, as well as several smaller firms and dockside warehouses. A hospital and an unrecorded number of houses were also hit. Seven people were killed and eighty injured.
Bremen was added to the USAAF target list.
1943-04-1717 April 1943VIIIMission Number 52: 115 B-17's were dispatched on the Eighth Air Force's largest mission to that date. 63-15-17 Luftwaffe aircraft claimed; 15 B-17s downed by fighters, 1 by flak, 39 damaged; 2 killed in action, 4 wounded in action and 159 missing in action. Bombs destroyed at least half of the Focke-Wulf factory buildings.
1943-10-088 October 1943VIIIThe 381st Bombardment Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation for its performance for bombing the Bremen shipyards accurately in spite of persistent Luftwaffe fighter attacks and extremely heavy and accurate flak. One B-17 had two bombs that failed to release and received a flak hit which caused them to explode. 30 bombers were lost.
1943-11-1713 November 1943VIIIMission 130: 79 of 159 B-17's, 61 of 109 B-24's and 3 of 4 B-17 PFF aircraft hit the port area at Bremen and targets of opportunity in the Kiel-Flensburg area at 1120–1145 hours; 100+ aircraft abort the mission due to weather; they claim 20-14-13 Luftwaffe aircraft; 3 B-17's and 13 B-24's are lost; 3 B-17's and 3 B-24's are damaged beyond repair and 12 B-17's and 10 B-24's are damaged; casualties are 21 KIA, 26 WIA and 162 MIA. The bombers are escorted by 45 P-38's and 345 P-47's; they claim 10-3-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 P-38's and 3 P-47's are lost; 2 P-38's are damaged beyond repair; 5 P-38's and 2 P-47's are damaged; casualties are 9 MIA.
1943-11-2626 November 1943VIIIMission 138: 350 of 390 B-17's, 77 of 101 B-24's and 13 of 14 B-17 PFF aircraft attack the port area of Bremen at 1145–1228 hours; they claim 16-3-10 Luftwaffe aircraft; 22 B-17's and 3 B-24's are lost; 3 B-17's and 1 B-24 are damaged beyond repair and 139 B-17's, 19 B-24's and 7 PFF B-17's are damaged; casualties are 10 KIA, 35 WIA and 215 MIA.
1943-11-2929 November 1943VIIIMission 140: 154 of 360 B-17's hit the port of Bremen and targets of opportunity in the area at 1429–1450 hours; unfavorable cloud conditions and malfunction of blindbombing equipment cause 200+ B-17's to abort; they claim 15-11-10 Luftwaffe aircraft; 13 B-17's are lost, 3 damaged beyond repair and 43 damaged; casualties are 2 KIA, 13 WIA and 131 MIA. The B-17's are escorted by 38 P-38's and 314 P-47's; they claim 15-4-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; 7 P-38's and 9 P-47's are lost; 1 P-47 is damage beyond repair and another damaged; casualties are 1 WIA and 16 MIA.
1944-06-1818 June 1944VIIIMission 421: 18 B-17 Flying Fortresses hit Bremen-Oslebshausen railway station; 107 Consolidated B-24 Liberators bomb Bremerhaven
1944-06-2424 June 1944VIIIMission 438: Of 340 B-17s, 213 hit oil industry targets in Bremen, 53 hit an aircraft factory at Wesermünde and 40 attack Bremen; 1 B-17 is lost and 105 damaged; 2 airmen are WIA and 9 MIA. Escort is provided by 6 fighter groups ; 1 group strafes an airfield and rail transport in the Munster and Hamm areas and claims 2-0-0 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground; no losses.
1944-06-2929-30 June 1944RAF253 aircraft - 108 Wellingtons, 64 Lancasters, 47 Stirlings, 34 Halifaxes - dispatched, the first time that 4-engined bombers provided more than half of the force on a major raid. 11 aircraft - 4 Stirlings, 4 Wellingtons, 3 Halifaxes - were lost. Bremen reported that 48 houses were destroyed and 934 damaged, mostly lightly. Extensive damage occurred in 5 important war industries, including the Focke-Wulf factory and the AG Weser U-boat construction yard, and at the local gasworks, a museum and a merchant-navy college, mostly fire.
1944-07-2929 July 1944RAFDuring Mission 503 to the Bremen/Oslebshausen oil refinery, Torpedo boat T2 was bombed and sunk at Bremen
VIIIAs part of Mission 635, P-47s and 149 P-51s bomb and strafe the Bremen area.
1944-09-1818-19 September 1944RAFOf a force of 213 dispatched, 208 Lancasters of No. 5 Group and a number of Mosquitoes dropped 863 tons of bombs, including 420,000 4lb incendiaries, on Bremerhaven, destroying 297 acres of the port's total built up acreage of 375. One Lancaster and one Mosquito were lost
VIIIAs part of Mission 648, 381 B-17s bomb the armoured vehicle factories at Bremen, another 13 bombed Bremerhaven and one hit another target. Of the 420 B-17 sent on the mission four B-17s were lost and 208 damaged. 10 airmen were wounded and a further were 21 were reported as missing in action. The escort was provided by 133 P-51s, one was lost with the pilot reported missing in action and two were damaged beyond repair. Schichau Seebeckwerft Unterseeboot 3509 was damaged during a Bremerhaven bombing raid.
1944-10-1212 October 1944VIIIMission 674: 262 Eighth Air Force B-17s bomb Borgward and Goliath plants producing armored fighting vehicles and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 components plant. 267 bombing visually; 1 other hits a target of opportunity; 1 B-17 is lost, 1 damaged beyond repair and 59 damaged. 7 airmen are KIA, 1 WIA and 9 MIA. Escort is provided by 273 P-47s and P-51s; they claim 17-2-1 aircraft; 5 P-51s are lost.
VIIIAs part of Mission 845, 200 B-17s were sent to bomb the Deschimag U-boat yards at Bremen and another 134 to bomb the Bremen W rail bridge. Of the total of 383 sent on the mission one B-17 was lost, one damaged beyond repair and a further 162 damaged; seven airmen were wounded and nine were reported missing in action. The bombers were escorted by 93 P-51s. The fighters claim they destroyed one and damaged three German aircraft on the ground, for the loss of two P-51s with their pilots missing in action.
VIIIAs part of Mission 881, 406 of 413 B-17s bombed the Deschimag U-boat yard at Bremen. Nine B-17s were damaged, and one of the 255 P-51 escorting fighters was lost.
1945-03-2727 March 1945RAF115 Lancasters of No. 5 Group RAF attacked an oil-storage depot and a U-boat shelter at Farge. Two Grand Slam bombs penetrated two metres and detonated, which rendered the shelter unusable. No aircraft were lost.
1945-03-3030 March 1945VIII303rd BG Combat Mission No. 348: 38 aircraft were dispatched to bomb Bremen. The submarine building yards were the first priority target