Bombing Of Vienna In World War II

The city of Vienna in Austria was bombed 52 times during World War II, and 37,000 houses of the city were lost, 20% of the entire city. Only 41 civilian vehicles survived the raids, and more than 3,000 bomb craters were counted.

History

After a lone Soviet air raid conducted on 4 September 1942,Bremen, Vienna, Budapest get fierce mass air raid
by William Dickinson, British United Press, 5 September 1942 Vienna was reached by western Allied bombers in 1944, when the Allied invasion of Italy allowed them to establish an air base at Foggia. Following the Normandy Invasion the greater part of the German Air Force (''Luftwaffe'') was transferred to the West. Remaining ''Luftwaffe'' shot down one-tenth of 550 bombers in June 1944.

The air defences of Vienna were aided by a ring of anti-aircraft batteries set up around the city and three pairs of Flak towers. These were large anti-aircraft gun blockhouses built in the city. Due to the increasing lack of fuel, by autumn 1944, artillery on the ground was the only defence against air raids. It typically took some 5,000 small-calibre and 3,400 large-calibre shells to bring down one bomber. During the day, one out of 125 planes was shot down on average. During the night, this dropped to only one out of 145. However, roughly one-third of the bombers and escorts suffered heavy damage. Some Vienna factories were moved to bomb-proof sites such as caves (e.g. the Seegrotte near Hinterbrühl) or hidden in other ways. The military industry boosted its production, also by use of forced labour of concentration camp inmates and POWs. Bypasses for traffic junctions had been established before the bombings and traffic did not come to a halt until the very last days of the war.

By early 1945 Vienna had already faced 1,800 bombs. In February and March 1945, 80,000 tons of bombs were dropped by US and British aircraft, destroying more than 12,000 buildings, and 270,000 people were left homeless.

List of raids

}) has been erected there.
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, During the briefing for bombing the Vienna oil refinery, the briefing officer told crews to avoid the St. Stephen's Cathedral, the Vienna State Opera, the Schönbrunn Palace and other historic buildings and schools. Due to weather, the alternate target (Wiener Neustadt marshaling yards) was bombed.
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, 109 B-17s bomb the oil refinery at Ruhland (the Fifteenth's deepest penetration into Germany). 103 others bomb the alternate target, the refinery at Kolín, Czechoslovakia. 470+ other bombers attack targets in Austria, including Moosbierbaum, Schwechat, and Vienna/Floridsdorf oil refineries.
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, Floridsdorf
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, 300 bombs were dropped on the Tiergarten Schönbrunn, the world's oldest zoo. 2,000 animals out of 3,500 died including a bull rhino, a favourite of the zoo-keepers.
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, Schwechat
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, In Austria, 760+ B-17s and B-24s, with fighter escort, hit the Korneuburg and Kagran oil refineries.
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, 3 oil refineries and a goods depot bombed at Vienna.
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, Floridsdorf
, The 32 BS bombed.
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, 2 Vienna oil refineries were bombed.
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, Vienna oil refinery(ies) bombed. On April 2, Soviet troops began the Vienna Offensive.
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, North Goods Depot
, In the last Lone Wolf mission, 11 x aircraft using PFF strike Wien North Goods yard between 1034 ~ 1220 hrs.
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, "''The advances of our ground forces have brought to a close the strategic air war waged by the United States Strategic Air Forces and the Royal Air Force Bomber Command.''" (Spaatz dispatch to Doolittle and Twining).
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References

{{WWII city bombing

External links

The German air defense in Vienna

1944 in Austria
1945 in Austria
Vienna
1940s in Vienna
Austria in World War II
Austria–United Kingdom military relations
Austria–United States military relations
Vienna
Vienna