Operation Steinbock
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Operation Steinbock (german: Unternehmen Steinbock), sometimes called the Baby Blitz, was a
strategic bombing Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...
campaign by the German Air Force (the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...
) during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. It targeted southern
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
and lasted from January to May 1944. Steinbock was the last strategic air offensive by the German bomber arm during the conflict. In late 1943, the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive was gathering momentum against Germany. The Allied air forces were conducting a
strategic bombing Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...
campaign day and night against German industrial cities. In retaliation,
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
ordered the Luftwaffe to prepare a bombing operation against the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
. The bombing offensive also served as
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
value for the German public and domestic consumption. The operation ran parallel to Bomber Command's campaign against Berlin (November 1943 – March 1944). The Luftwaffe assembled 474
bomber aircraft A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...
for the offensive. The attacks were mainly aimed at and around the
Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...
area. In Britain, it was known as the ''Baby Blitz'' due to the much smaller scale of operations compared to
The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
, the campaign against the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
in 1940–1941. The operation began in January and ended in May 1944. It achieved very little, and the German force suffered a loss of some 329 machines during the five months of operations before it was abandoned. Casualties were at 70% for the planes committed and were destroyed at an average rate of 77 per month. Eventually, the revenge attacks gave way to attempts to disrupt preparations for the impending Allied invasion of France, but Steinbock had worn down the offensive power of the Luftwaffe to the extent it could not mount any significant counterattacks when the invasion began on 6 June 1944. The offensive was the last large-scale bombing campaign against England using conventional aircraft, and thenceforth only the
V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug and in Germany ...
and
V-2 rocket The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develop ...
s – the pioneering examples of
cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warh ...
s and
short-range ballistic missile A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of about or less. In past and potential regional conflicts, these missiles have been and would be used because of the short distances between some countries and their rela ...
s respectively – were used to strike British cities.


Background

Since its inception in 1909, German aerial doctrine covered most aspects of aerial warfare;
close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movemen ...
,
strategic bombing Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...
,
air interdiction Air interdiction (AI), also known as deep air support (DAS), is the use of preventive tactical bombing and strafing by combat aircraft against enemy targets that are not an immediate threat, to delay, disrupt or hinder later enemy engagement of ...
and
air superiority Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of com ...
. Doctrine was constantly refined after 1918 through the experiences of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. In the inter-war period and for the first years of World War II German air power did not develop night air defence capabilities to any appreciable degree. The British
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
(RAF) and
RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
remained equally incapable of inflicting damage on Germany, either by day or night. The strategic impasse remained until 1942 when Bomber Command returned in strength to German skies by night. Under the leadership of Arthur Harris the British bomber force grew in size. British scientific advances produced navigation aids which improved on bombing accuracy after the controversy of the Butt Report. British industries were also producing
heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range ( takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larg ...
s which replaced many of the elderly pre-war
medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...
designs. The consequences of these developments in the air war and Harris' determination to end the war through bombing, were a series of destructive attacks on German industrial cities. The attack on Lübeck in March and Operation Millennium against
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
in May 1942 were precursors to larger and sustained attacks. The Luftwaffe responded with the air attacks in the spring of 1942, aimed at selected targets of cultural and historical significance. The British bombing of German industries in the
Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
( Battle of the Ruhr—March to July 1943) caused a stagnation in German aircraft production which industrialists nicknamed the ''Zulieferungskrise'' (sub-components crisis) which delayed the increase in aircraft production until March 1944. Worse was to follow. In July 1943 Bomber Command briefly neutralised German night fighter defences, in particular the Kammhuber Line, by using tactics such as the bomber stream and radar countermeasures codenamed "
window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent mat ...
" (
chaff Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...
) to overwhelm German ground and air defences. Operation Gomorrah— the bombing of Hamburg—inflicted 76,600 casualties and destroyed large parts of the city and its industry. By the end of 1943 the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive had taken a heavy toll on Germany. Under the leadership of ''
Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of ...
''
Josef Kammhuber Josef Kammhuber (August 19, 1896 – January 25, 1986) was a career officer in the Luftwaffe and post-World War II German Air Force. During World War II, he was the first general of night fighters in the Luftwaffe. Kammhuber created the nigh ...
, the Luftwaffe night fighter force expanded and adapted to the threat. The development of and eventual widespread use of
airborne radar Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
in the Luftwaffe enabled the German air defences to inflict heavy losses on Bomber Command, but they could not prevent widespread destruction of industrial cities. Only once did the British lose as many as nine percent of the attacking force over Germany—during an attack on Pilsen,
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
on 17 May 1943. This was below the ten percent required to force the British to abandon operations, though RAF losses increased to a peak of 7.14 percent in December 1943.


Genesis of ''Steinbock''

Kammhuber's efforts were damaged by the amateurish leadership style of
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe. Göring's poor understanding of the technicalities of air warfare was mirrored by the Chief of the General Staff, Hans Jeschonnek. Göring had neglected his command since the outbreak of war but sought to meet his responsibilities in 1943 as his prestige with
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
waned in the aftermath of the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
and
Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...
on the Eastern Front. Göring's interference in air defence was disastrous. On the night of 22/23 October 1943, he took personal command of the night fighters. The British
Operation Corona Operation Corona was a Royal Air Force (RAF) initiative to confuse German nightfighter defences during RAF bomber raids on German cities during World War II. The RAF used both native speakers and people who could speak German to a standard ...
helped confuse the defences and Göring's mishandling of the night fighter force allowed Bomber Command to devastate Kassel. Göring deflected the blame for British attacks on his subordinates and his relations with them deteriorated. In August 1943 Jeschonnek killed himself after the failed defence of Peenemünde. In November 1943 Bomber Command began the Berlin campaign and Kammhuber was dismissed from command. At the top of the German High Command ('' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht''—or ''OKW'') there was little understanding or appreciation for air defence, even in the aftermath of Hamburg. While Hitler had left the Luftwaffe to Göring earlier in the war he was now enmeshed in the decision-making process. Göring was reduced to a conduit through which Hitler's orders were channeled to senior commanders and the failure of the Luftwaffe frequently drew Hitler's ire. At one conference Göring attempted to placate Hitler by suggesting that the destruction of German cities worked in the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
favour, as he perceived it created a body of people with nothing to lose and who "will therefore fight on with utter fanaticism." Göring was also reluctant to allocate resources to the defence of Germany for other reasons. He argued that the German people had survived before there were cities and that the
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
danger was the first priority of the Luftwaffe. Even at this stage of the war, in October 1943, Göring exhibited a bias toward bombers rather than fighters. He said, "All they he German peoplewish to hear when a hospital or a children's home in Germany is destroyed is that we have destroyed the same in England!" The strategic dilemma facing the Luftwaffe in the winter of 1943–1944 was a serious one. The ''
Oberkommando der Luftwaffe The (; abbreviated OKL) was the high command of the air force () of Nazi Germany. History The was organized in a large and diverse structure led by Reich minister and supreme commander of the Air force (german: Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaf ...
'' (OKL or High Command of the Air Force) sought to change the Luftwaffe procurement priorities and posture to one purely rooted in defensive air warfare.
Erhard Milch Erhard Milch (30 March 1892 – 25 January 1972) was a German general field marshal ('' Generalfeldmarschall'') of Jewish heritage who oversaw the development of the German air force (''Luftwaffe'') as part of the re-armament of Nazi Germany fo ...
—responsible to the ''
Reichsluftfahrtministerium The Ministry of Aviation (german: Reichsluftfahrtministerium, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrass ...
'' ("Reich Aviation Ministry"—RLM) for production—recommended doubling fighter production to strengthen defences. The overwhelming consensus in the OKL was that German
air power Airpower or air power consists of the application of military aviation, military strategy and strategic theory to the realm of aerial warfare and close air support. Airpower began in the advent of powered flight early in the 20th century. Airp ...
should concentrate resources on defensive efforts against the Allied Air Forces. After a meeting with senior Luftwaffe staff officers
Adolf Galland Adolf Josef Ferdinand Galland (19 March 1912 – 9 February 1996) was a German Luftwaffe general and flying ace who served throughout the Second World War in Europe. He flew 705 combat missions, and fought on the Western Front and in the Defenc ...
—'' General der Jagdflieger'' (General of the Fighter Force)—wrote:
Never before and never again did I witness such determination and agreement among the circle of those responsible for the leadership of the Luftwaffe. It was as though under the impact of the Hamburg catastrophe everyone put aside either personal or departmental ambitions. There was no conflict between the General Staff and the war industry, no rivalry between bombers and fighters; only the common will to do everything in this critical hour for the
Defence of the Reich The Defence of the Reich (german: Reichsverteidigung) is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany over German-occupied Europe and Germany during World War II. Its aim was to prevent the ...
.Parker 1998, p. 22.
Milch proposed accelerating fighter production to 2,000 per month. The defence of the Reich was to take priority and the Eastern Front air units would have to cope until the threat from Bomber Command, the American
Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forc ...
operating out of England and the
Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...
based in
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and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, had been fully mastered. Hitler, however, maintained the Luftwaffe was an offensive weapon. For his part, Göring was also doubting the night fighter was worthy of its expenses. Göring complained bitterly to Milch that he was "placing too much emphasis on the Reich's defence and for robbing production from the bomber forces." Milch's proposals were finally agreed to but it was Göring, not the staff officers, that took this proposal to Hitler. After an hour, the ''
Reichsmarschall (german: Reichsmarschall des Großdeutschen Reiches; ) was a rank and the highest military office in the '' Wehrmacht'' specially created for Hermann Göring during World War II. It was senior to the rank of , which was previously the hig ...
'' returned. Dietrich Peltz described the scene:
We were met with a shattering picture. Göring had completely broken down. With his head buried in his arms on the table he moaned some indistinguishable words. We stood there for some time in embarrassment until at last he pulled himself together and said we were witnessing the deepest moments of despair. The ''Führer'' had lost faith in him. All the suggestions from which he had expected a radical change in the situation of war in the air had been rejected; the ''Führer'' had announced that the Luftwaffe had disappointed him too often, and a change over from the offensive to defensive in the air against
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
was out of the question.
After a time Göring U-turned. Göring announced that the only way to stop such destruction was to initiate heavy retaliatory strikes at the enemy so that they would not dare risk another raid like Hamburg without the fear of similar retribution. Göring gave Peltz the authorisation to pool the necessary resources together for retaliatory action. On 28 November 1943, ''Generalmajor'' Peltz was summoned to a conference where Göring officially informed him that he was to be placed in command of a renewed large-scale bombing operation against Britain, and London in particular. As the conference ended, Göring asked Peltz if older types such as the
Dornier Do 217 The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II as a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bombe ...
were still adequate for bombing operations. Peltz replied that he would be happy with anything that could carry a bomb. It was hoped that the operation would commence during December, and though this proved unrealistic, by the third week of January 1944 a force approaching 600 aircraft had been amassed by stripping five ''Kampfgruppen'' (bomber groups) from the Italian front and by rebuilding existing bomber units in the West. On 3 December 1943 Göring issued a directive for ''Unternehmen Steinbock'' (Operation Capricorn), with the objective of "avenging terror attacks of the enemy."


German forces

Three years after the ''Blitz'', the Luftwaffe still possessed a mix of first-generation
medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...
designs like the
Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...
. The Junkers design was upgraded and the Junkers Ju 188 was derived from it and was available in 1943. The other main medium bomber was
Dornier Do 217 The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II as a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bombe ...
, a larger and upgraded version of the Dornier Do 17
light bomber A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of military bomber aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance. The earliest light bombers were intended to dro ...
design. The Heinkel He 177A was the only genuine heavy bomber in the fleet, which had serious powerplant difficulties from its beginnings. The Do 217 and Ju 88A-4 carried the burden of operations. These designs had been in use for operations over Britain from 1941/42 and had been used extensively by ''Luftflotte'' 3 (Air Fleet 3), based in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
. The Do 217 could carry a heavier bomb load than its predecessor owing to a deepened fuselage. However, the German practice of using external bomb racks meant nearly 40 percent of the 4,000 kg load was carried outside the aircraft. The Ju 88 carried nearly two-thirds of its load externally. The two machines mounted adequate defensive firepower – four to six MG 151 cannon in the Ju 88 and six to seven in the Do 217 (the K variant possessed a twin-mount of 7.9mm MG 81Z machine guns in its nose) – the confined space and 75-round magazines made it difficult to sustain concentrated fire against
night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...
s. The close proximity of the crews in the cockpit, a feature of nearly all German bomber designs from the Ju 88A onwards, was also a disadvantage. Should a night fighter land an accurate burst most, if not all of the crew, could be killed or incapacitated. The layout of Allied bombers, like the
B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
, spread the crew throughout the aircraft and allowed for a greater chance of survival. The German bombers were afforded some protection in the form of the new, mid-VHF band prefixed ''Funk-Gerät'' (or FuG) FuG 216 ''Neptun'' radar system, usable both as an airborne intercept system (as a replacement for the post-July 1944 compromised Lichtenstein SN-2 system) and as a tail-warning radar, which could detect approaching RAF night fighters from the rear. To confuse British radars further various medium bomber types were equipped with ''Kettenhund'' radar jammers, specifically carried in the Ju 88, which had some effect in jamming the upper-VHF band, 205 MHz frequency SCR-268
gun laying A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washi ...
radar used by anti-aircraft artillery, but was ineffective in countering microwave-frequency radars like the 3 GHz frequency,
SCR-584 radar The SCR-584 (short for '' Set, Complete, Radio # 584'') was an automatic-tracking microwave radar developed by the MIT Radiation Laboratory during World War II. It was one of the most advanced ground-based radars of its era, and became one of th ...
. German bombers also used ''Düppel'' (chaff) techniques to confound British ground radar as they approached the British coast. The tin foil strips swamped the radar screens and masked the true height, direction and speed of approaching bombers. Apart from the numbers of conventional medium and heavy bombers, the Luftwaffe also employed a number of fast bomber types such as the Ju 88S-1 — a streamlined version of the Ju 88A using unitized BMW 801 radials and omitting the ''Bola'' undernose gondola — the DB 603-powered
Messerschmitt Me 410 The Messerschmitt Me 410 ''Hornisse'' (Hornet) is a German heavy fighter and ''Schnellbomber'' used by the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. Though an incremental improvement of the Me 210, it had a new wing plan, longer fuselage and engin ...
''Hornisse''
Schnellbomber A ''Schnellbomber'' (German; literally "fast bomber") is a bomber that relies upon speed to avoid enemy fighters, rather than relying on defensive armament and armor. Concept The concept developed in the 1930s when it was believed that a ver ...
, and a number of single-engine
fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, ...
s
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...
Gs and longer-ranged
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...
As, known as ''Jabos'' in the Luftwaffe. These aircraft were more difficult to intercept due to their great speed, but carried limited payload and with less accuracy compared to the conventional bombers. The Ju 88S-1 was allotted the role of pathfinder, replacing the younger but slower and heavier Do 217. ''Luftflotte'' 3, under the command of ''
Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...
''
Hugo Sperrle Wilhelm Hugo Sperrle (7 February 1885 – 2 April 1953), also known as Hugo Sperrle, was a Nazi Germany, German military aviator in World War I and a Generalfeldmarschall in the Luftwaffe during World War II. Sperrle joined the German Army (Germ ...
was to carry out the bulk of the operation. Göring ordered that ''Luftflotte'' 2 transfer control of two gruppen (groups) of ''Kampfgeschwader'' 30, one from ''Kampfgeschwader'' 54, and ''Kampfgeschwader'' 76 to ''Luftflotte'' 3. II./ ''Kampfgeschwader'' 6, I./ ''Kampfgeschwader'' 100 and I./ ''Kampfgeschwader'' 51 were also sequestered for ''Steinbock''. Göring ordered that operational strength was to be maintained in the event of an Allied landing in France and to maintain pressure on Britain and that bombers were to carry a mixed ordnance load, consisting of 70 percent incendiaries and 30 percent high explosive bombs—including large bombs and mines for maximum destruction. German bombers were to be well-dispersed and parked in revetments. Dummy airfields were set up in accordance with Göring's orders. The ''Reichsmarschall'' was now fully aware of British night fighter intruder operations and the threat of Allied bombing attacks. From June to December 1943, German bomber losses in 17 major attacks in England amounted to 48 aircraft in 948 sorties, a loss rate of 5.06 percent. RAF defences were far stronger than in 1941 and German losses would have been higher if operations not been restricted to coastal rather than inland targets.


Order of battle

The following is a list of the German bomber units ready to participate in ''Steinbock'' on 20 January 1944: The composition of the force was never static. Bomber units were disbanded, pulled out for refits and conversions, or redeployed to other theatres of operation as the situation demanded. By mid-March, Peltz's force had 232 serviceable aircraft, as 3./KG 2 was withdrawn for conversion to the Ju 188, while III./KG 30, along with II. and III. ''Gruppen'', KG 6 were redeployed to support the occupation of Hungary. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-363-2258-11, Flugzeug Junkers Ju 88.jpg, The Ju 88 was still the mainstay of the German bomber force in 1944 File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Pachnike-041-24A, Flugzeug Dornier Do 217, PK-Filmberichter.jpg, The Do 217 was also available in numbers for ''Steinbock''


Tactics

The nature of the air war had changed significantly since 1941 and German bomber crews implemented new tactics. In the ''Blitz'', German bombers were dispatched individually rather than in formation. Each ''Gruppe'' had been briefed to take off and bomb the target over a period of time extending anywhere up to ten hours. The intention was to place the British Civil Defence Authority and
anti-aircraft artillery Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...
defences under maximum strain and also inflict greater psychological damage to the civilian population. This kind of tactic was effective in 1940 when German crews understood they faced little threat from
RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Brita ...
night fighters. The tactics were also designed to limit the chances of collision. Bombers took off at an interval of four minutes with an average spacing of 12 miles. Even with airborne radar-equipped night fighters it usually meant there was only one raider every 180 square miles. The average operating heights of 10 to put one raider in every 345 cubic miles of air space. In 1944, in contrast to British crews who climbed to operating altitude over Britain and maintained it until back in English skies, German crews crossed the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
or
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...
at low altitude to designated crossing points in loose formation known as the bomber stream. German crews, like those in RAF Bomber Command, operated the bomber stream tactic in the face of vastly improved night fighter defences. Only then would they ascend to operational altitude. Once this ceiling was reached, the pilot began a shallow diving attitude which was to be maintained beyond the target until the bomber had reached the prearranged minimum. This minimum height was maintained until landing. Navigational aids were available to crews in 1944. The 1940 original, ''Knickebein'' (crooked leg) stations, produced two interlocking beams. The bomber flew along one beam and released the bomb load where the two beams joined. This was followed by ''X-Verfahren'' which was also a multi-beam system. ''X-Verfahren'' provided information to the pilot and observer as to the distance to the target which culminated in the automatic release of the bombs when overhead. ''Y-Verfahren'' was the final system which operated on a single-beam basis. A ground controller monitored the aircraft and transmitted navigational guidance to the crew until the point the bombs were to be released. To further aid German navigation, I./KG 66—a special pathfinder unit—used a number of captured British GEE sets and by 2 January 1944 five of these devices were fitted to the unit's aircraft. The Luftwaffe named the devices ''Hyperbel Gerät'' (hyperbola device), but marked them ''Truhe Gerät'' (chest device). At the beginning of 1944 a similar navigation aid codenamed ''Egon'' was available to the Luftwaffe which was similar to
Oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...
. A high-powered IFF transponder in the aircraft was activated by pulses transmitted by two ''Freya'' radar from stations in France and the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
. A coding device identified each aircraft and their progress was continuously plotted by range and bearing information supplied by the first ''Freya''. Course corrections and flare release orders were usually passed on by R/T. The second ''Freya'' interjected to issue bombing instructions when it predicted the bomber was over the target. Once crews had reached the target area they would find it marked. The first method of target–marking was the ''Ablauflinie'' (final approach) method. It was used only when the target was fully visible. The pathfinder would mark the area using incendiary bombs at right angles to the approach and six kilometres from the edge of the planned aiming point. The crews then made a timed bomb-run when level with this (visual) line. The initial waves unloaded incendiaries on the lateral fringes of the target area to supplement the pathfinder flares. If the airspace was semi-over cast or when
cloud cover Cloud cover (also known as cloudiness, cloudage, or cloud amount) refers to the fraction of the sky obscured by clouds on average when observed from a particular location. Okta is the usual unit for measurement of the cloud cover. The cloud c ...
was no greater than 6/10ths, a different tactic was used. Seven alternating white and coloured flares would be released along the approaches. As before, the distance of the line's start point was to be six kilometres from the target area. Each pilot was to use a target marker as their aiming point. The pilot glided to approach and released the bombs via stop-watch; the time of delay was decided at the briefing. This was known as the ''Leuchtpfad'' (path of light) method. The short life-span of sky-marker flares meant the initial layout over the target had to be renewed for successive waves, with a different pattern for each wave. When the bomber wave fell behind or the flare faded pathfinders were briefed to lay a line of coloured flares along a 90 degree angle to the wind direction, after which target-re-illumination would be made in the same colours. If the pattern was incorrectly marked the crew were to release a second flare directly beside it. This was not easy to achieve, prolonged the bomber's orbit over the target area, and increased the pressure on crews. The weaponry used in ''Steinbock'' was similar to that in the RAF armoury.
High explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ...
s categorised as SC (''Sprengbombe Cylindrisch'') were general purpose weapons, thin-cased to cause maximum damage on the surface. SD (''Sprengbombe Dickwandig'') had some penetrative power for armour-piercing purposes. The PC (''Panzerbombe Cylindrisch''), was a fully armour-piercing missile. Added to ordnance were incendiaries, some also fitted with high explosive. Sea-mines were also used and ejected on the end of parachutes, although they were inaccurate. In some cases ''Sprengbombe Dickwandig 2'' (SD2)
cluster munition A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehic ...
s were used and were highly effective against human targets (anti-personnel). Aerial mines and parachute mines were also used, and had been since 1940. These devices were classified as SC and referred to as ''Minebombe''. The explosives could be 50 to 1,000 kilograms in weight. The mine did not penetrate the surface, but lay where it fell until the timer triggered an explosion which was capable of destroying buildings within a radius. The most common types were the ''Luftmine A'', weighing 500 kg (1,100 lbs), and 5 ft 8inches long (1.73 metres). The ''Luftmine B'', was 8 ft 8 inches (2.64 metres) long and weighed 1,000 kg (2,200 lb). AB types were also used (''Abwurfbehälter'', large cluster bombs) and could also weigh 1,000 kg. For ''Steinbock'', bombers were to use the heavy bombs primarily. Bombs of lesser power, such as the 500 kg, were only to be used to bring each aircraft's bomb load to maximum capacity. The Luftwaffe did have some blockbuster weight-class (two short tons/4,000 lb) ordnance designs ready for use: the largest bomb in use at this time was the SC1800. It weighed 1,767–1,879 kg (3,896–4,142 lb) of which 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) to 1,100 kg (2,425 lb) was high explosive detonated by an electrical impact fuse. The bomb was specifically designed to destroy buildings and it had a high-pressure blast wave. It was due to be replaced by the SC2000 which weighed in at circa 2,000 kg (4,409 lb) but it was produced in small numbers and no reliable information is available on explosive weight or filling. SC2500s were also known to have been used during ''Steinbock'' and were carried by the He 177A-3s used in the campaign.Heck 1990, p. 248.


''EGON'' navigation system

The ''Lorenz'' blind-landing equipment had been the basis for the ''Knickebein'' although results were disappointing, partly because British countermeasures spearheaded by
No. 80 Wing RAF No. 80 Wing RAF was a unit of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during both World Wars and briefly in the 1950s. In the last months of World War I it controlled RAF and Australian Flying Corps (AFC) fighter squadrons. It was reformed in 1940 to operate ...
under the command of Edward Addison which inhibited its use as a bombing aid. A similar adaptation of existing equipment in the form of I.F.F sets (FuG 25 and
FuG 25a Erstling FuG 25a ''Erstling'' (German: ''"Firstborn"'', ''"Debut"'', sometimes FuGe) was an identification friend or foe (IFF) transponder installed in ''Luftwaffe'' aircraft starting in 1941 in order to allow German Freya radar stations to identify them ...
) brought into existence ''Egonverfahren'', a ground-control procedure for crews on bomber operations. For ''Steinbock'' it was made available to the pathfinder unit I./KG 66. The system was based upon signals radiated by the FuG 25 and picked up by two ''Freya'' stations. The operator of the first ''Freya'' plotted the course of the bomber and the second ''Freya'' took over for the final bomb/flare release run. Operators transmitted information by
Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one ...
using terminology borrowed from the night fighter force. Prior to take-off, crews were given a course and height to the target. The height was rigidly adhered to since it could not be checked by ground control. After take-off the FuG 25 was switched on and the first ''Freya'' plotted the aircraft's course using the single letter recognition code transmitted from the bomber. The range and bearing was passed by the ''Freya'' operators to the plotting table. The plotting table was a transparent map of the operations area laid on a glass screen. The bomber was represented by a red spot from a projector connected to the ''Freya''. The pathfinder's course could be observed and corrected. Course correction instructions were picked up in the aircraft through a FuG 16 set. The crew were equipped with a list of twelve orders which were submitted through R/T or W/T (each method having its own specific code) with each code having the same meaning. The twelve codes communicated several different orders which included: informing the crew they were being plotted; change of bearing; degree of bearings (made in multiples of five); port or starboard turns; height; straight and level course; open bombs doors; pre-release signal; bomb or flare release; acknowledgement of signal; return home. The crew responded by switching the set off for three to four seconds to acknowledge receipt of the signal or repeatedly switched off the FuG 25 to indicate they had not received it. When the British radio counter-measures began to interfere with messages the Luftwaffe broadcast in both W/T and R/T format over two channels. The FuG 16 would handle incoming transmissions from the R/T frequencies and the W/T messages were received by the ''Peilgerät'' (PeilG) 6 (codenamed "Alex Sniatkowski")
direction finding Direction finding (DF), or radio direction finding (RDF), isin accordance with International Telecommunication Union (ITU)defined as radio location that uses the reception of radio waves to determine the direction in which a radio stati ...
equipment and superimposed on the plotting table. Further improvements were made to combat British counter-measures with the introduction of a CRT linked to the FuG 25 set, similar in size to the Lichtenstein radar equipment used by night fighters. The CRT display consisted of a circle divided into equal segments, each marked and representing one of the twelve code words and orders. The inner circle had a surrounding frame marked clockwise from zero to nine (with zero in the 12 o'clock position). A blip appeared in the segment for the appropriate code word. Bearings were given by a second (central) blip that appeared against a succession of figures in the outer circle. Course corrections were given by a long and short blips against the appropriate segment.


British defences

The RAF was warned of an impending attack on 23 December 1943 by ''
Ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley P ...
''. The Germans had been hoping to use V-1 flying bombs but the attack on Kassel in October 1943 had forced the abandonment of the Fieseler factory where the pilot series was constructed. The missile prototypes proved disappointing in tests and RAF intelligence discovered that the Luftwaffe was assembling a large conventional bomber fleet in western Europe for an attack. In late 1943, the RAF was reorganised and night fighter duties were made the responsibility of Fighter Command ( Air Marshal Sir Roderic Hill) which in January 1944 had 10 and
No. 11 Group RAF No. 11 Group is a group in the Royal Air Force first formed in 1918. It had been formed and disbanded for various periods during the 20th century before disbanding in 1996 and reforming again in 2018. Its most famous service was in 1940 in the Ba ...
(Air Vice Marshals Charles Steele and Hugh Saunders) who were responsible for the defence of southern England and the Ground-controlled interception (GCI) operations in these areas. Fighter Command had sixteen squadrons of
de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden ...
and
Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...
night fighters equipped with Airborne interception radar (AI). Most squadrons flew Mosquito Mk. XIIIs or Beaufighter Mk. VIfs, all equipped with AI. Both types were effective night fighters, fast and well-armed. Four night fighter squadrons were still operating AI Mk V sets, in which the pilot had a screen as well as the AI operator, which encouraged him to divert his gaze from scanning the sky for targets. AI Mk V was dependent on the operator to give instructions to the pilot on heading, speed, and altitude to intercept a contact until in visual range. AI Mk VIII was in regular use by ten squadrons and allowed crews to detect targets at low altitude, without fear of ground interference blotting out contacts. AI Mk. X radar was adapted from Mk. VIII, with technology from the American SCR720B, which operated on (10 GHz, like the US
H2X H2X, officially known as the AN/APS-15, was an American ground scanning radar system used for blind bombing during World War II. It was a development of the British H2S radar, the first ground mapping radar to be used in combat. It was also kn ...
) and was vastly superior to the original (200 MHz) high VHF-band and the equivalent (3 GHz) AI Mk. VIII, which could be detected by German FuG 350ZR Naxos radar detector. AI Mk. X generated a stronger electromagnetic signal than its predecessor and produced a more reliable display, lessening the chance of the blip disappearing. AI Mk. X was in two squadrons in January 1944, with more sets on the way. Anti-Aircraft Command (
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Frederick Pile) was responsible for the ground defences of
Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...
with 2,729 anti-aircraft guns, which had risen 31 percent from 2,088 in January 1943. Many of the 3.7 inch and 4.5 inch gun
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...
(AA)
batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
were equipped with
Identification friend or foe Identification, friend or foe (IFF) is an identification system designed for command and control. It uses a transponder that listens for an ''interrogation'' signal and then sends a ''response'' that identifies the broadcaster. IFF systems usua ...
(IFF) and new GL Mk. III gun-laying radar, which made their barrage fire accurate at night, in bad weather.


Tactics

Mosquito and Beaufighter night fighters approached the six o'clock position to attack. The slipstream of the target could complicate the approach by creating turbulence and throw the pilot off his aim if he approached at the same level and more experienced fighter pilots approached from behind and slightly below. The outline of the night fighter could be obscured from the German crew and enable them to avoid the worst effects of the bomber slipstream. It became standard practice for the pilot to close on the bomber and match its speed, then lift the nose and fire ahead of the enemy aircraft so that it flew into the gunfire. Night fighter pilots cooperated with search lights and ground control until the interception could be taken over by the radar operator. From 1942 night fighter–searchlight cooperation was reorganised into a 'box' system. A box of air wide and long was created in which a night fighter circled a vertical searchlight beam (or beacon). If a German aircraft entered the box searchlights converged on the raider. The GCI could put the night fighter within a mile of the bomber and the remainder of the interception would be handled by the crew using their AI set. A variation was the Smack Interception method, which had been devised for single-engined fighters without airborne radar. When the intruder was detected, the night fighter was scrambled and orbited the beacon. When the raider neared the area, the beacon would depress by roughly 20 degrees in the direction the fighter was to head in the hope of achieving an interception. The radar equipped-night fighters improved the chances of detecting the enemy and GCI could also help.


Order of battle

A list of the squadrons operating Mosquito and Beaufighter night fighters at the time of ''Steinbock'': All units participated in Home Defence, with some also operating as intruder squadrons in support of Bomber Command and also against ''Steinbock'' incursions. The following claims were made between 21 January and 29 May 1944. File:De Haviland Mosquito NF.XIII with Mk. VIII radar - CH 14643.jpg, Mosquito NF Mark XIII, HK382 'RO-T', 29 Squadron, at Hunsdon,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...
with "thimble" nose radome in which AI Mk. VIII radar centimetric radar is fitted File:GL Mk IIIb left side.jpg, A mobile GL Mk. III radar set, capable of gun laying (predictive fire)


The operation


January


2–15 January

The Luftwaffe was already in action on night operations over Britain before ''Steinbock'' was formally initiated. The first intrusions into British airspace in 1944 occurred on the night of the 2/3 January. Me 410s from KG 2 and Fw 190s from SKG 10 penetrated into
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
,
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...
, London,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...
and
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...
and one person was killed by scattered bombs. The intruders suffered for their efforts: four Fw 190s were shot down with two pilots killed in action and two
missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
. One of the machines fell to a Mosquito from 96 Squadron. One Ju 188 from 2./KG 66 was lost and two Me 410s (from 14. ''Staffel'' and 16./KG 2) were shot down— Wing Commander John Cunningham accounting for one of the Messerschmitts. On the night of the 4/5 January six children and four adults were killed when the Luftwaffe targeted
Westcott, Surrey Westcott is a semi-rural English village and former civil parish west of the centre of Dorking on the A25 between the North Downs and Greensand Ridge, making it one of the 'Vale of Holmesdale' villages (greatly in Westcott an AONB) and is ...
. Five of the attackers were lost, three of them falling to the RAF (85 and 96 Squadrons). German air activity continued from 13 to 15 January. Five more civilians were killed and 33 injured. Two Me 410s, a Ju 188, two Ju 88s and two Fw 190s were lost. Only two of the raiders are known to have fallen to enemy action.


First attack

The first attack on London was mounted on the night of 21/22 January. Just twenty-four hours earlier nearly 800 British bombers had struck Berlin. Codenamed ''Unternehmen Mars'' (Operation Mars), sections of the British capital were given codenames after devastated German cities—Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover—to emphasise the retaliatory nature of the operation for the air crews. The first target— Waterloo—was codenamed ''München'' (
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
). Peltz ordered the units, based on 14 airfields from
Soesterberg Soesterberg is a town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Soest, and lies about 5 km northeast of Zeist, on the road between Amersfoort and Utrecht. It was the location of Soesterberg Air Base History ...
in the Netherlands, St. Trond east of Brussels, Belgium and Montdidier near
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
to operational readiness. Peltz drove to Châteaudun, the forward operating base of I./KG 40 and I./KG 100 equipped with the Heinkel He 177A-3 — committed to their first operations deep into British airspace. There, he notified the senior commanders ''
Geschwaderkommodore {{unreferenced, date=May 2019 ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (short also ''Kommodore'') is a ''Luftwaffe'' position or appointment (not rank), originating during World War II. A ''Geschwaderkommodore'' is usually an OF5-rank of '' Oberst'' (colonel) or ...
'' (Wing Commanders) ''
Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...
'' Rupprecht Heyn and ''
Oberstleutnant () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedi ...
''
Bernhard Jope Bernhard Jope (10 May 1914 – 31 July 1995) was a German bomber pilot during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. As part of Kampfgeschwader 40 (bomber wing), Jope flew missi ...
that the attack was to be executed in three waves. Peltz also notified those units in Germany that they were to transfer to their forward bases. They were to return to their forward base after the first sortie but were ordered to relocate to Germany directly after the second to avoid night intruders and Allied bombers. II./KG 54 and I./KG 76 were an example of this caution, moving out from Marx to Laon and Varrelbusch to Laon respectively. The nomadic methods of the Luftwaffe during ''Steinbock'' complicated preparations. Airfield staff were given short notice and insufficient time to prepare airfields to accept the bombers. Only one Ju 188 from KG 2 took part in the first operation because of administrative failings. The first raid was on ''München''—the Waterloo area of London. The attack was to be carried out using ''Leuchtpfad'' tactics—with the target marked with incendiaries. Pathfinders were expected to carry out plotting easily, since the weather forecast the necessary visibility. On the first night ''Egon'' and ''Y-Verfahren'' were available to pinpoint the target with flares. From Montdidier, ''Staffelkapitän'' ''
Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...
'' Schmidt, 2./KG 66, took off with a captured Gee set aboard his Ju 188 as he followed the bomber stream northward. An estimated 230 aircraft, carrying a total load of 500 tons of bombs and incendiaries, took off between 19:30 and 20:00 CET. Despite the extensive use of ''Düppel'' and pathfinders, German navigation errors were rife: only 15 bombers attacked London. Thirty tons were estimated to have fallen on the capital, with most other bombs scattered throughout the
Home Counties The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often included ...
. In the case of II./KG 54, the crews proceeded by
dead reckoning In navigation, dead reckoning is the process of calculating current position of some moving object by using a previously determined position, or fix, and then incorporating estimates of speed, heading direction, and course over elapsed time. ...
and crossed the coast at Rye at an altitude of as ordered. They descended to the target and completed their bomb run by 21:15 at 13,000 ft. The position of most continental airfields ensured the bombers streamed out along a cone-shaped flight path in the airspace between the
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
and
Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
coasts. British radar picked the first wave up at approximately 20:30 CET. Over 100 aircraft were recorded over the next ninety minutes from ground control radar sites between
Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
and Dungeness. The Luftwaffe lost 18 bombers, three over Britain, seven at sea and eight over Europe. Among the losses were six He 177A-3s of KG 40 and nine Ju 88s. Three Ju 188s and a single Do 217 and Fw 190 were also lost. Four are known to have become victims of Mosquitos from
488 __NOTOC__ Year 488 ( CDLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ecclesius and Sividius (or, less frequently, year 1241 ' ...
, 29 and 151 Squadrons and 27 German airmen were posted missing, 23 were killed and eight captured. A further five were wounded.


Second wave

A second wave was dispatched in the early hours of the morning. The weather deteriorated and cloud led to the use of ''Y-Verfahren''—electronic aids—to enable the pathfinders to reach the target area. British counter measures usually disrupted the signals at this point; it is not clear whether British jamming was effective but the first results were repeated. Barely half the 200 bombers crossed the English coast and only 25 were judged to have released their bombs on London. The experience of I./KG 76, perhaps underlined the problems crews faced on the night. After take-off from Laon/Couvron, their route was fixed at 232° true to a radio beacon (''funkfeuer'') at Luzarches. The route sent them north-west to searchlights at Valery-en-Caux and continued across the Channel. A third alteration came at
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the l ...
which took them due north to London. The bomb-run commenced at and was scheduled for completion at 5:30. North-westerly winds of 40 km/h (25 mph) were experienced by the crews at 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) and 80 km/h (50 mph) at . In the earlier operation KG 40 also experienced winds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph) on a westerly course. The weather could have been a factor in dispersing the bomber streams. During the raid I. and II./ KG 30 flew their only ''Steinbock'' operation until March. The first operation coincided with the
Operation Shingle The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The op ...
the Allied landings at Anzio and immediately three of the ''Kampfgruppen'' were returned to Italy. The second wave lost another 18 bombers plus two on non-operational sorties. KG 2 was particularly hard hit, losing six aircraft—four Do 217s, a Ju 188 and an Me 410 and KG 6 lost five. Night fighters were thought to have shot down four bombers and two fell to ground fire; the fate of the others remains unknown. Personnel losses amounted to 49 killed and
missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
, five
wounded in action Wounded in Action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...
and six
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
; the remainder reached German territory uninjured. Fighter Command Mosquito squadrons claimed 10 German aircraft destroyed and two probables on 21/22 January 1944. The damage done was small: four fires, 74 civilians killed, 12 seriously injured and five wounded. A notable fatality was
Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...
Jack Goodhart who was killed with his family when a bomb hit their home in
East Hoathly {{GeoGroup Populated places in East Sussex East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and S ...
. Of the 268 tonnes of bombs dropped, 32 fell on London. In the Alperton area of
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
500–600 incendiaries were reported to have fallen in a 220,000 square yard area, though 100 did not ignite. The
Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north b ...
was struck by some of these bombs and the medieval beams in the building caught fire but these were quickly extinguished. RAF Kenley was struck by unexploded bombs and the following areas were hit: Downham,
Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...
,
Beckenham Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley, in Greater London. Until 1965 it was part of the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Charing Cross, situated north of Elmers End and E ...
,
Brockley Brockley is a district and an electoral ward of south London, England, in the London Borough of Lewisham south-east of Charing Cross. History The name Brockley is derived from "Broca's woodland clearing", a wood where badgers are seen ('' ...
and Sydenham. British reports stated minor damage was done to essential locations. The most serious damage to a factory occurred to Vickers Armstrong, based in
Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
. The factory was producing shells and fuse fillings. Three high explosives destroyed the General Store; destroyed a light fitting shop; destroyed the
magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...
stores; severed the gas and sewage mains outside the works and cut the telephone lines. Gas supplies were reduced to 50 percent and two days of production were lost. The
Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...
at Woolwich was also damaged, causing fires. Some railway lines were damaged or threatened by unexploded bombs, which forced speed restrictions of five mph.


Second operation

On 28/29 January 16 Me 410s and 10 Fw 190s made attacks without effect and loss. One Mosquito was lost when it crashed into the sea after an engine caught fire. A
Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German aero ...
was shot down by a night fighter over
Spa, Belgium Spa (; wa, Spå) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium, whose name became an eponym for mineral baths with supposed curative properties. It is situated in a valley in the Ardennes mountains south ...
with the loss of 23 ground personnel belonging to KG 6. Eight days later, ''Steinbock'' was renewed with 11 ''Gruppen''. II./KG 2 made its debut and II. and III./KG 30 participated but would not feature again until 14/15 March. The He 177s of I./KG 40 were permanently withdrawn. In addition I./KG 100 and I./SKG 10 were absent, probably because of their participation the previous night. I./KG 54 were ordered to attack the districts east of
Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...
with Hackney the epicentre of the bombing. An ''Ablauflinie'' would be laid but specific crews would fly to the right of the line and drop their ordnance above the right hand boundary of the marked zone. All of the bombers were to complete their bomb run by 21:09. The course of the crews was aided by a rotating searchlight at Dalen. Further aids were rendered by dropping ''Luz''
buoys A buoy () is a floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. Types Navigational buoys * Race course marker buoys are used for buoy racing, the most prevalent form of yac ...
in the sea off
Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...
. The bombers crossed over
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
at using
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
as a reference point. A descent to for the bomb run was made and the crew retreated out over the Essex coast. It appears the unit operated the ''Knickebein'' navigational aid on the operation, using the station at
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...
. KG 6 began their operation from Vechta in Germany. II./KG 6 took a path similar to KG 54 with the exception they would head to their normal operating base at Le Culot. The group flew a loose formation and did not reach oxygen-altitude until 90 minutes after take-off. I./KG 76 headed for their ''Funkfeuer'' near the German–Dutch border. From there, they used navigational aids. This formation was to return to Varrelbusch in Germany and were to land in France only if bad weather intervened. Only 15 to 30 bombers from the night's groups struck the target. Nevertheless, the small number of aircraft caused 145 fires—four classified as medium and 141 small—and killed 41 civilians including one soldier on leave. At
Ramsden Heath, Essex Ramsden Heath is a village in Essex in the east of England. It is located approximately south of the county town of Chelmsford; the closest towns are Billericay, approximately west-southwest, and Wickford, approximately southeast. The village ...
a bomb hit the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
camp and depending on the numerous reports, the number of dead ranged from three to 23.
Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...
and
Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...
were also hit. ''SS Fort Louisbourg'' in
Greenland Dock Greenland Dock is the oldest of London's riverside wet docks, located in Rotherhithe in the area of the city now known as Docklands. It used to be part of the Surrey Commercial Docks, most of which have by now been filled in. Greenland ...
was damaged and lost some of its
copra Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from co ...
cargo. Surrey Docks also reported damage.
Barges Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...
were also sunk or damaged at
Canada Dock Canada Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England, and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Kirkdale. Canada Dock consists of a main basin nearest the river wall with three branch docks and a graving ...
. Around 7,000 incendiary bombs fell in
Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fore ...
; among them were
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...
types. Seven KG 6 bombers were lost—with only one crew from 4. ''Staffel'' surviving a crash landing in Belgium. KG 2 lost two bombers, KG 40 one, KG 54 four, and KG 66 and KG 76 lost one each. Three were probably downed by night fighters and another was lost to ground fire. 53 airmen were killed or missing and six were captured. Hitler was reportedly outraged that the Luftwaffe failed to find London though it was only from German ground control stations while the British were hitting German towns, not just city targets, from away in bad weather. Peltz responded that the failures owed as much to the Luftwaffe's lack of interference-free radio and navigational aids as to untrained crews, and that the British with their H2S and Gee systems were technologically ahead of the Germans. The lack of dedicated pathfinder units also caused navigational problems, as the few aircraft employed in this role were more at risk from electronic counter-measures and fighter interception. The heavy British defences forced the Luftwaffe to fly meandering 'dog-leg' courses and inexperienced German crews quickly got lost. Reconnaissance flights over England had also stopped, which prevented the Luftwaffe from gathering intelligence on British radar and radio frequency bands.


February


Third major attack

The first operation of February occurred on the 3rd and 4th of the month. I./KG 100 and SKG 10 mustered 26 Me 410s and 19 Fw 190s which crossed the Channel between 19:00 and 19:30. They released a mix of SC250 and SC500 bombs and two Fw 190s failed to return. The second wave took off on the night of the 4th from 04:25 with their operation lasting 95 minutes. German propaganda claimed 210 of the 235 bombers struck their targets and caused large fires and the communiqué derided British defences as weak. The report was exaggerated. British sources showed the attacks to be scattered, with areas as far as
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of ...
,
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
,
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...
and Suffolk being bombed, indicating the wayward standards of German navigation. Peltz was ordered to brief Göring on the night's operation. When the ''Reichsmarschall'' discovered the results, he ordered Peltz to operate on moon lit nights to ease navigational difficulties. Peltz, however, refused as he wished to avoid exposing bombers to easier interception by RAF night fighters. However, this course of action relied heavily on pathfinders to mark the target accurately. Only 25 of the 190 ton of bombs released fell on London. Fires were started in Hackney, Wimbledon and
Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an anc ...
. The operation killed 17 and injured 12 in the capital. Some 27 houses were destroyed, 48 seriously damaged and 320 suffered minor damage. In Wimbledon, five civilians were killed and six seriously injured. There were also fatalities from unexploded British anti-aircraft shells which killed two people. Total casualties that night amounted to 31 killed and 88 injured. German bombers strayed again and Upper Slaughter in Gloucestershire received 2,000 incendiary hits.
Upper Clapton Clapton is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and origi ...
was ablaze when it became the target of a sustained incendiary attack. The Luftwaffe command viewed the night's operation with alarm. Of the 15 bombers lost, only one fell in Britain and one crashed in Belgium. The remaining 11 presumably vanished over the sea. KG 6 bore the brunt of the losses as six of its aircraft were lost and one damaged. KG 2 and KG 54 lost two respectively and KG 6 lost one machine. One of the missing aircraft, Ju 88, 2./KG 54, code B3+EK piloted by '' Unteroffizier'' Helmut Friedrich Weihs was discovered with its crew in the
Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an ov ...
in the 1970s by the
Dutch Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force'' , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment ...
excavating the wreck when the area was drained for
land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamat ...
. In total 50 German airmen were reported missing and five were confirmed killed. None were known to have been captured alive.


Further failure

On 13/14 February II./KG 54 and SKG 10 were left off the operations roster but all the other 10 groups were available for a large-scale thrust. German sources indicate that 230 crews took part in the night's operation. Peltz was aware that ''Steinbock'' was not materialising as Hitler and Göring had hoped. He personally visited I./KG 100 which had prepared its He 177s as to be mostly operational. He spoke with ''Geschwaderkommodore'' Bernhard Jope and his crews for a second time. One aspect of his speech to the crews was to play down the threat of British night fighters. He claimed that only 30 British crews operated against the raid of the 3/4 February and that only a third were under Ground-controlled interception (GCI). His remarks were likely a morale booster than rooted in fact. It was true that Fighter Command night fighter forces were smaller than its ''Nachtjagd'' counterpart defending the continent, but German bombers were arriving in much smaller numbers. The temperature at Châteaudun was chilly but Peltz observed the He 177s being readied for take-off. Because of the conditions, the ground crews began the cold start procedure. This decision had dire consequences for the operation. One bomber remained grounded because of a burst tyre but the other 13 took off without incident. Within a short time Peltz was informed that eight pilots had aborted the mission because of over-heating engines, which in some instances caught fire. Around 70 percent of the German force was tracked by the British but once again only 15 of the dispersed bombers hit the London area. On this night the holiday resort of Clacton-on-Sea and
St Osyth St Osyth is an English village and civil parish in the Tendring District of north-east Essex, about west of Clacton-on-Sea and south-east of Colchester. It lies on the B1027, Colchester–Clacton road. The village is named after Osgyth, a ...
were badly damaged. A cinema and several commercial premises were destroyed and a farmer lost a large number of livestock: six horses, 30 cows and 17 ewes. They caused 14 medium and 84 small fires, mostly in
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
. Casualties in London amounted to one killed and six seriously injured. Overall, there were seven killed, 11 seriously wounded and two missing believed dead amongst the civilian population. Four tons of bombs was dropped on London and 157 in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and
Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
. The number of bombs counted on land was 57,525—most of which were incendiaries. 10 German bombers were lost—one each to 96 and 410 Squadron Mosquitos and two to ground-fire. Wing Commander Edward Crew claimed the Ju 88 of ''Stab'' of II./KG 6, code 3E+DC, ''Werknummer'' 63868. Pilot ''
Leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High Ge ...
'' Egon Ruhland and his crew were killed. KG 66 lost five this night. 33 German airmen were killed, two wounded and two captured. Returning German pilots reported a steady increase in the concentration of gun fire from anti-aircraft batteries over London although this was not reflected by a noticeable increase in losses. At de-briefing pilots reported they did not take any special evasive action but they avoided areas where heavy concentrations of guns and rocket batteries (or Z Battery) were marked on their maps. Crews reported rocket salvos in an area of 1.5 to two miles in diameter over central London which were repeated at four-minute intervals but only the Hyde Park battery was in a position to disrupt the bomb run. The perceived effectiveness of London's defences may have caused inexperienced crews to drop their bombs too early and miss the target, rather than failing to do so because of navigational errors.


''Steinbock'' takes effect

On the night of the 18/19 February the Luftwaffe managed to deliver a successful attack on London. According to British intelligence, 175 crews participated. German sources say 184 bombers reached the target area. The attack heralded almost nightly attacks which lasted until the early hours of 24 February. The degree of material damage and human casualties this night reached an all-time high during ''Steinbock''. It was the most damaging single attack since 31 May/1 June 1941. Integral to the night's operations were I./KG 100 and II. and III./KG 2. The former unit appears to have been relocated from the
Rheine Rheine () is a city in the district of Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base. Geography Rheine is on the river Ems, approx. north of Münster, approx. west of Osnabrück a ...
to Evreux on the day of the attack. KG 2 operated from Coulommiers and Brétigny opposed to their Dutch airfields at Soesterberg and Gilze–Rijen. All other units operated from their normal aerodromes. The German bomber stream reached the city and bombed accurately. High explosives fell on
RAF Earls Colne Earls Colne Airfield is a general aviation aerodrome located south-east of the village of Earls Colne, Essex, England. The site was previously RAF Earls Colne, a Royal Air Force station which was primilarly used by the United States Army Air For ...
and two AB1000 containers and eight SC50 bombs fell just short of
RAF Debden Royal Air Force Debden or more simply RAF Debden is a former Royal Air Force station located southeast of Saffron Walden and approximately north of the village of Debden in North Essex, England History The airfield was opened in April 1937 ...
. More bombs struck the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
airfield Willingale. Airfields at
Panshanger Panshanger was a large country house located between the outer edge of Hertford and Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, England. History Earl Cowper, who later became Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, acquired the Cole Green estate c. 1700.Rob ...
and
Nuthampstead Nuthampstead is a small village and civil parish in North East Hertfordshire located a few miles south of the town of Royston. In the 2001 census the parish had 139 residents, increasing to 142 at the 2011 Census. Nuthampstead was historically ...
and the
RAF Balloon Command Balloon Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling all the United Kingdom-based barrage balloon units during the Second World War. History Prior to the establishment of Balloon Command, a balloon group was b ...
at
Chigwell Chigwell is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. It is part of the urban and metropolitan area of London, and is adjacent to the northern boundary of Greater London. It is on the Central line of the Lon ...
also reported bombs falling on the location or nearby. Around 480 fires were caused by German ordnance. 179 civilians were killed and 484 seriously injured. A further 65 were reported missing in the following days.
Essex Police Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of . The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harr ...
forces reported black strips all over Essex. But despite the use of ''Düppel'' around 120 of the raiders were plotted and detected by British radar.
Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...
was badly hit; Dollis Hill, the anti-aircraft battery at Gladstone Park, the
Heinz The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the co ...
factory at
Harlesden Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, North West London. Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west toward ...
, St Cuthbert's, Earls Court,
West Hampstead West Hampstead is an area in the London Borough of Camden in north-west London. Mainly defined by the railway stations of the same name, it is situated between Childs Hill to the north, Frognal and Hampstead to the north-east, Swiss Cottage ...
,
Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...
were all hit. A bridge at
Goldhawk Road tube station Goldhawk Road is a London Underground station located in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, on the south side of Goldhawk Road, about west of Shepherd's Bush Green. It is served by the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines in Trave ...
was destroyed cutting the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...
between
Latimer Road tube station Latimer Road is a London Underground station in North Kensington, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines between Wood Lane and Ladbroke Grove stations and is in Travelcard Zone 2. L ...
and
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London ...
until 9 March 1944. The Whitelands College was also damaged and the surrounding borough of
Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...
was hit by a concentration of incendiaries. Water mains were shattered in
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
,
Battersea Battersea is a large district in south London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and extends along the south bank of the River Thames. It includes the Battersea Park. History Batt ...
, West Hill,
Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was sit ...
, Chelsea and
Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...
. In
Chingford Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow t ...
, over 200 houses were damaged and in Barnes a chemical plant was destroyed. The Luftwaffe did not escape unscathed. No. 418 (Canadian) Squadron flew an intruder sortie over France that night. Only 3./KG 54 seem to have suffered from intruder Mosquitos, when it lost two shot down near Laon. German losses amounted to nine: four from KG 66, two from KG 54, one from KG 2 and two from KG 6. The Luftwaffe lost 20 men killed, 12 missing and four wounded.


20/21 February

On 20/21 February the sixth ''Steinbock'' attack began.
Big Week Big Week or Operation Argument was a sequence of raids by the United States Army Air Forces and RAF Bomber Command from 20 to 25 February 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany. The planners intended to ...
by the RAF and
USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
had begun the day before, with a
RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...
attack on
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
the night before, followed by an 8th Air Force thousand-bomber daylight raid on 20 February. Twelve German bomber groups with 165 aircraft participated in the raid Included in the armada were 15 Fw 190s from SKG 10. I./KG 100 operated from the Rheine and II./KG 54 from Varrelbusch. I./KG 54 and II./KG 2 began the operation from
Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...
and Handorf, although Juvincourt, Coulommiers and Soesterberg were used by these formations during ''Steinbock''. II./KG 54, I./KG 100, I./KG 54, I. and II./KG 2 rendezvoused over the Dutch coast at the ''Funkfeuer'' at Noordwijk. The force numbered from 90 to 100 bombers. Landfall was made on the Essex coast near the
Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...
. The crews had no pathfinders and relied on dead reckoning. The crews were briefed to fly from the north then bank left and carry out a bomb-run from west to east across the city, according to crews captured on the night. Examination of crashed German aircraft showed that four ''Knickebein'' and two ''Sonne'' units were available for guidance. I./KG 100 and KG 54 were in the vanguard of the assault; KG 2 presumably followed up the attack or to participate in one mass bombing run. KG 100 operated between 10 and 13 He 177s. The bombers were believed to have carried four SC1000 ''Hermanns'' but apart from several SC500s loaded on to II./KG 54 Ju 88s the other bombers released AB1000 and or AB500 incendiary canisters including phosphorus types. The attack was carried out between 13,000 and 16,000 ft. The German crews abandoned the target-marking methods of ''Leuchtpfad'' and ''Ablauflinie'' in favour of a simple pattern laid over the target zone. The colour of the flare denoted the area of the target zone. The abandonment of more precise target-identification suggested a German appreciation of the more practical tactic of area bombing. Another change in procedure was the incorrect positioning of any flare patterns. They were to be ignored and following crews were ordered to drop a greater concentration of flares over correctly aligned areas. With this principle applied in sequence, it was hoped crews would not be distracted by faulty target-marking. The bombers streamed in loose formation between Harwich, Essex and Hythe, Kent. Barely 20 flares exploded over the capital at 21:30 in a scattered manner. They fell along the line of the Thames and Chiswick. Apart from this meagre effort by I./KG 66, most of the 80 bombers identified by British radar reached the capital. The attack started more than 600 fires, caused by a mixture of incendiaries and SC-type bombs ranging from 500 to 1000.
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...
, Putney and Chiswick bore the brunt and most of the 216 fatalities occurred in those boroughs. Had more of the bombers got through, they may have created a
firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...
. Aside from the dead, another 417 people were seriously injured. Kensington was badly damaged, and
St Mary Abbots St Mary Abbots is a church located on Kensington High Street and the corner of Kensington Church Street in London W8. The present church structure was built in 1872 to the designs of Sir George Gilbert Scott, who combined neo-Gothic and early ...
suffered fire damage. Lancaster Gate and Paddington were hit and the Great Western Hotel was severely damaged. Fires broke out in Gloucester Gardens, Porchester Mews,
Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...
, Hatton Garden,
Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redis ...
and Gloucester Terrace. Fulham alone was subjected to 20,000 incendiary bombs causing, according to one source, 642 fires, 82 of which required the attention of fire services. 76 people were killed in Fulham and 194 were injured. Over 2,500 properties sustained damage or outright destruction. SC1800 ''Hermann'' bombs were used over Hammersmith and the damage made 1,200 people homeless. Westminster received four SC500 bombs in the government quarter. One fell on Whitehall damaging the Treasury and killing four people on the corner of
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along w ...
.
Horse Guards Parade Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and the Beating Retreat. H ...
,
St. James's Park St James's Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous ch ...
, the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
, the
War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
were also damaged and had windows blown out. One of six bombs to hit The Grange at South Mimms, narrowly missed Queen
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...
' residence but killed two of her staff. The Luftwaffe lost nine bombers—one to a 25 Squadron Mosquito and two anti-aircraft fire: three from KG 2, four from KG 54, one from KG 66 and KG 6. German propaganda quoted a high figure for participating crews (200), and credited 171 with hitting the target. Before day-break, V./KG 2 sent 21 Me 410s which were supported by 13 SKG 10 Fw 190s. The attackers released incendiaries and SC500 bombs with little effect. One Fw 190 was lost. A second attack was carried out by 11 Fw 190s without effect or loss. 22 German airmen were killed, seven captured and seven wounded. Fighter Command claimed one destroyed, one probably destroyed and two damaged.


22–29 February

On 22/23 February 1944, just a few days following the beginning of the American efforts of the "Big Week" strategic bombing campaign, the Luftwaffe organised 185 German bombers to strike at London. KG 6 and 66 carried the burden, with the former putting up 10 extra crews to cover the loss of II./KG 54 which stood down for the evening. All three ''Gruppen'' of KG 6 participated. V./KG 2 committed 15 Me 410s. I./KG 100 managed to ready 14 He 177s for the mission. The bomb loads were entirely SC1000 and SC1800 high explosives in the bombers flown by the more experienced crews; the rest were loaded with four SC1000s. At this stage the He 177 ''Geschwader'' has shrunk from a ''Staffel'' strength of 14 (2./KG 100) and 11 (3./KG 100), although five had been transferred to I./KG 40. The operational strength of the group had fallen to between 12 and 15, barely half of its strength. The attack affected Hammersmith,
Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This ...
and
Feltham Feltham () is a town in West London, England, from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party ...
. 230 fires were reported and one at Victoria Docks took time to control. There were 29 casualties from the 81 tons dropped and London and 75 tons on Essex and Kent. RAF Hornchurch was damaged were three personnel injured. The only notable damage was incendiary damage to
Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (sc ...
. The Luftwaffe lost 13 aircraft according to German records, although only nine are recorded by the British. Worst hit was KG 2, which lost two Me 410s and a Do 217. 30 German crewman were killed and two captured. Fighter Command claimed six enemy aircraft destroyed, three damaged, and one probably destroyed. It suffered a rare loss when a Mosquito Mk XIII piloted by Wing commander Mack, commanding 29 Squadron, and
Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers, commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) RAF officer ranks, system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. I ...
Townsin failed to return after a patrol and were posted missing. Peltz ordered another attack for the 23/24 February, after the perceived concentrated (and successful) attack the previous night. I./KG 6 sent to 10 crews of the 130 (German sources say 161) and were to begin their attack at 22:00. I./KG 66 were ordered to mark the target area with white flares which were set to burst at 10,000 ft above the cloud layer. All the formations except III./KG 6, which was flying from Belgium, were routed via Evreux and
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
, north to
High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...
where four red flares would mark a turn to the south east across London. This time the target codename "Hamburg", which placed the centre of the attack in the vicinity of the
Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ha ...
. The target area suggests that the intention was to inflict economic losses by striking at London's docks. Yellow flares marked the bombing run at 11,000 ft, and the run-in would be conducting at an altitude of ; reduced down to once the city was cleared. German formations from KG 2 and KG 6 carried a mixed ordnance SC500s, AB500s, AB1000s and BC50s for the attack.
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
was hit badly by 1,400 incendiaries which started a large fire in the town centre. 15 properties were destroyed and 99 damaged. 75 fire-engines and two million gallons were needed to extinguish the flames. There was only one casualty in the town and no fatalities. A total of 185 sorties were flown. Five bombers were lost; one to ground fire and another to a 605 Squadron Mosquito. Amongst the losses this night was Do 217M-1, code U5+DK, ''Werknummer'' 56051. At 10,000 ft over London the aircraft was hit by predictive fire from the ground. Pilot '' Oberfeldwebel'' Hermann Stemann ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft over Wembley and they were promptly captured. The bomber flew on for 60 miles making a near-perfect forced landing north of
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
. The intact bomber enabled British intelligence to examine both it, the FuG 214 tail-warning radar and the ordnance on board. Personnel losses amounted to none killed or missing, four wounded and six captured. Fighter Command claimed one destroyed one probably destroyed this night. The target of the Luftwaffe on 24/25 February was the Westminster area, in particular the government quarter. I./KG 66 was ordered to aid the bomber stream by dropping white flares timed to ignite at 10,000 ft. British intelligence estimated 135 bombers took part in the operation though German records say exactly 170 crews participated. Some German crews had been trained in new bombing techniques. A small number of bomb-aimers were to use their ''Lotfernrohr'' 7
bombsight A bombsight is a device used by military aircraft to drop bombs accurately. Bombsights, a feature of combat aircraft since World War I, were first found on purpose-designed bomber aircraft and then moved to fighter-bombers and modern tactical ...
s on individual flares to increase the accuracy of the attack. The attack followed the typical pattern; a northerly course, and a turn to the south east at High Wycombe across London and out across the eastern Channel. Pilots were ordered to reach the coast at 16,000 ft and descend to 13,000 ft over the target. Most of the 100 tons of bombs fell on London, starting around 250 fires and killing 75 people. Most casualties occurred in the borough of
Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area e ...
. Over 2,000 incendiaries fell on Acton Green where 100 houses were damaged. In Acton and Bedford Park 26 people were killed and another 22 civilians lost their lives in
Balham Balham () is an area in south London, England, mostly within the London Borough of Wandsworth with small parts within the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. The area has been settled since Saxon times and appears in the Domesday Book as B ...
. Kew Bridge was damaged and 20 homes destroyed in Southgate. There were also many fires in the
Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as ...
area of London. Railways were damaged and severe restrictions were placed on freight movements in the following days. Bombs just missed the SHAEF (
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF ...
) headquarters in Bushy Park and damaged Teddington. Bombs also fell near the home of
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...
Sir Bertram Ramsay. The Mosquitos of Fighter Command exacted a toll of German crews this night. Nine German bombers were lost, five were shot down by No. 29 Squadron RAF and one to 488 Squadron. A sixth fell to a night fighter but the squadron responsible cannot be identified. Total Fighter Command claims amounted to six destroyed three probably destroyed and four damaged. KG 2 lost four bombers, KG 66 lost two more, KG 6, KG 54 and KG 100 lost a single bomber each. 14 German airmen were captured, 17 killed, one injured and five missing. In contrast, the "Big Week" campaign's RAF contribution sent some 700 bombers to Schweinfurt on the same night as the Luftwaffe's Westminster-area raid, while the final American large strategic daytime raid of "Big Week" occurred on the 25th, with some 700 four-engined American "heavies" hitting daylight targets in Germany. There would be no attack for several days, after the American daytime and RAF nocturnal attacks of the Allies' "Big Week" campaign, but ''Steinbock'' suffered a blow on 29 February when ''
Gruppenkommandeur ''Gruppenkommandeur'' is a Luftwaffe position (not rank), that is the equivalent of a commander of a group or wing in other air forces. A ''Gruppenkommandeur'' usually has the rank of Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is ...
'', I./KG 66,
Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...
Helmut Fuhrhop was shot down and killed by RAF Hawker Typhoons from
No. 609 Squadron RAF No. 609 (West Riding) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, originally formed as a bomber squadron and in the Second World War active as fighter squadron, nowadays provides personnel to augment and support the operations of the Royal Air Fo ...
while on a transfer flight from
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
to
Dreux Dreux () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Gra ...
in Ju 188 3E+KH, belonging to 1. ''Staffel''. All aboard were killed including his two boxer dogs; '' Oberfeldwebel'' Alfred Schubert, Alfons Eichschmidt, Walter Rehfeldt, Wilhelm Schachtshabel and Arnold Büttner.


March


1–15 March

On 2/3 March 1944 Peltz ordered another attack. The year's operations had taken their toll and the bomber groups struggled to make many aircraft airworthy. German propaganda claimed 164 crews took part and 131 hit their designated target area. In reality, it was more likely that 70 crews took off against England. KG 100 was able to get 2. and 3. ''Staffeln'' from I. ''Gruppe'' into action with their He 177. These units could field only 15 of the heavy bombers for the night's mission. Most, if not all of the He 177s were loaded with four SC1000s. The formation proceeded to
Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Febr ...
, where the ''funkfeuer'' acted as a rallying point for a turn north to
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
, and from that way point, south east to London. The target was Victoria Station and the surrounding area, which were marked by red flares. Assisting the bomber crews on the night were three ''Knickebein'' and ''Sonne'' stations. They were also afforded ''lux'' buoys dropped in the Channel. The use of ''Knickebein'' at this point was questioned by crews. The British had developed countermeasures to jam and disrupt the signal since 1940. Crews were also suspicious of it. Some of the more experienced pilots believed the system was compromised and that the signals allowed RAF night fighters to home in on their position. This belief was pervasive at this time but post-war analysis shows this to be a myth. Navigators preferred to abandon cooperation with the ''Knickebein'' stations and proceed to the target by dead reckoning. German airmen were helped to identify the London area by large concentrations of searchlights and anti-aircraft fire. In the night's operation, the Luftwaffe reported the loss of eight aircraft. Among the losses was one He 177 from 2./KG 100, two Ju 188s and a Ju 88 from KG 2 while KG 54 and KG 6 lost one Ju 88 each. Also worthy of note was the loss of one Ju 88 from KG 101, which participated in the night's bombing. Fighter Command claimed four destroyed and three damaged. The seven claims emanated from 456 (one damaged), 605 (three claims; two damaged and one destroyed) and 151 Squadron (three destroyed). The heavy bombs caused significant damage considering the size of the German force. 900 houses were damaged and 500 people were made homeless. The Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society building in
Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...
and the
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...
works were hit by 700 incendiaries. The
City and Guilds of London Art School Founded in 1854 as the Lambeth School of Art, the City and Guilds of London Art School is a small specialist art college located in central London, England. Originally founded as a government art school, it is now an independent, not-for-profit ...
was badly damaged by incendiary bombs. A string of other areas were hit:
Biggin Hill Biggin Hill is a settlement on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Kent, prior to 1965 it was also in the administrative county of Kent. ...
, Welling, Sidcup, Norwood,
Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green and Catford South wards. The population of Catford, includ ...
,
Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in the London Plan as one ...
and Sanderstead.
RAF Kidbrooke RAF Kidbrooke was a Royal Air Force base, situated in Kidbrooke in south-east London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The site was operational from 1917 to 1965 and was mainly used as a stores, maintenance and training facility. History Esta ...
was struck by bombs which struck and destroyed several hangars. In Rochester 20 homes were destroyed and 100 damaged. Around 300 people were made homeless in the worst attack on the town during the war. The following days marked a reduction in the scale of operations, but missions were still flown to maintain what pressure the Luftwaffe could. From 4 to 7 March one Me 410, He 177, Ju 88 and Fw 190 were lost: the last three to enemy action.


14/15 March

On the night of the 14/15 March 1944 bomber crews were briefed to attack London again. This time the target was Whitehall with
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
being marked out as a special target. The bombers were ordered to congregate over the North Sea, north west of
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...
at . The attacking force was to cross the coast at Leiston and turn south using
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
as a waypoint. Once the bombs had been dropped the pilots were ordered to exit British airspace at Beachy Head. For the first time, the Luftwaffe attempted a diversion during ''Steinbock''. Until this operation, deception was limited to the wholesale use of ''Düppel''. Peltz ordered the Fw 190s of SKG 10 to fly a diversion sortie over
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...
fifteen minutes ahead of the planned attack. Fw 190 pilots carried flares to encourage the British to think that the port town was the primary target. The operation was poorly executed; bomber units were prompt in getting airborne and the fighters were late. By the time the Fw 190s were closing on Plymouth the vanguard, if not the bulk, of the conventional German bombers were over the English coast in the north east. The mass use of ''Düppel'' was rendered ineffective because of the sheer number of British radar units able to scan the skies. It was quickly determined that the main attack was occurring in the north. British radar operators were suspicious of the small number and high speed of the southern intruders, which alerted them to its diversionary function. The bombers reached the target and dropped their bombs but little damage was done. In the
Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a danger ...
district, some damage was done by exploding high explosives. One notable casualty was Muriel Wright, the girlfriend of
Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., an ...
the future novelist, who at that time was serving as a naval intelligence officer. A bomb fell through the roof of her apartment and killed her. She was the only casualty in Westminster. Around 162 tons of bombs were dropped on London. 54 boroughs reported 390 fires. Paddington, Westminster,
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it ...
, St Pancras and
Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest ...
were damaged. Bombs also fell in Hyde Park. In Drayton Park, Highbury, in the borough of Islington, 26 people were killed, more than half the night's total fatalities. Two bombs damaged 100 houses in
Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...
while there were reports of
strafing Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...
from German aircraft with incendiary rounds which burnt out a furniture depository. The Luftwaffe lost 19 aircraft. KG 2 lost three bombers, KG 6 lost two while KG 30 lost six. KG 54 lost one bomber while KG 51 lost two Me 410s. SKG 10 suffered the loss of three Fw 190s. Six are known to have been shot down by Mosquitos and another by ground fire. Four further claims of German aircraft destroyed, plus one probable, were made which cannot be attributed to a particular loss. 33 German airmen were posted as killed in action on the operation, 13 were listed as missing while six were captured.


''Steinbock'' turns to Hull

Peltz turned his attention to
Northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angles, Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Scandinavian York, K ...
for the 19/20 March operation.
Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...
became the focus for ''Steinbock'' this night. The port city was a commercial seaport on the eastern seaboard. It had been heavily bombed in 1941 after suffering little in the 1939 to 1940 period. The city had seen sporadic attacks in 1942 and 1943. The location of the sea hub near the mouth of the
Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between ...
provided a sound geographical reference point for aviators, but German crews faced the prospect of a long, arduous journey over the featureless North Sea. Peltz committed II./KG 30 to the attack but omitted its sister group from the night's mission because of losses sustained in the previous attack. Only I./KG 6 was committed from that ''Geschwader''. Eight ''Kampfgeschwader'' took part in the Hull raid. I. and II./KG 2 and I./KG 100 flew out at three separate points approximately 40 miles apart between Noordwijk,
Ijmuiden IJ_(digraph).html" ;"title="n IJ (digraph)">n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. > IJmuiden () is a port city in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality ...
and Petten. The altitude varied. Some units were ordered to begin climbing when they had reached the assembly point at . To assist the bomber stream, two ''Knickebein'' beams were used and 29 ''lux'' buoys were dropped into the sea; the lead formations used red sky markers for marking waypoints. All the ''Gruppen'' took a direct path to
Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of L ...
from the assembly point and made a right turn north west up the estuary. The only exception was I./KG 100. They were instructed to head further north, between Spurn Head and
Withernsea Withernsea is a seaside resort and civil parish in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Its white inland lighthouse, rising around above Hull Road, now houses a museum to 1950s actress Kay Kendall, who was born in the town. The ...
. In addition the He 177s then navigated back to the assembly point before returning to the Rheine. II./KG 2 supplemented I./KG 66 dropping a mixture of flares, AB1000 and AB500 containers over target area to assist in navigation. RAF controllers detected activity when a radar set at Orby picked up the use of düppel being dropped 90 miles east of
Skegness Skegness ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Lindsey District of Lincolnshire, England. On the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea, the town is east of Lincoln and north-east of Boston. With a population of 19,579 as of 2011, ...
. The düppel screen was 70 miles long and 50 miles wide and eventually penetrated inland. The weather was clear with clouds between . Most of the flares were dropped well to the south, possibly due to incorrect assessments of wind strengths. Most of the HE bombs and 40,000 incendiaries were reported to fall in rural Louth and
Spilsby Spilsby is a market town, civil parish and electoral ward in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The town is adjacent to the main A16, east of the county town of Lincoln, north-east of Boston and north-west of Skegnes ...
. The 131 bombers made landfall over north
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
, well to the south of Hull. KG 54 crews reported reaching the
Humber Estuary The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...
before sighting powerful white flares to the south. Some crews treated these as British decoys or pathfinder flares endeavouring to identify the target. Several other units dropped their bombs on the target markers. Some crews reported claimed to have flown to the north of Hull and made a bombing run south across the city without marker assistance and only noticed targeting flares when the bomb run was complete. These reports were likely inaccurate. Nevertheless, 103 of the German crews claimed to have crossed the English coast, double the number recorded by the British. There was no damage in Hull and no human casualties. The population was unaware they were the target of an enemy air attack. Nine German bombers failed to return. Two are confirmed to have been shot down by Mosquitos from 307 and 264 Squadrons—which accounted for a He 177 from 2./KG 100 flown by ''
Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...
'' Heinrich Müller and the Do 217 of 2./KG 2 flown by ''Unteroffizier'' Hans Jakob respectively. Neither crew survived. Humber anti-aircraft batteries accounted for ''Hauptmann'' Walter Schmitt's Ju 188. The 2./KG 66 aircraft crashed north of the Humber Light Ship and all aboard were killed. Detailed loss records show that once again, KG 30 suffered disproportionally, losing four: KG 2 suffered two losses and KG 54 lost one Ju 88. A further seven claims were made by Fighter Command aside from the credited victories to 307 and 264 pilots
Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...
J Brochocki Flying Officer R. L. J. Barbour. German serviceability rates began to drop since the high figures of January. 2 and 3./KG 2 could field only nine Do 217s between them and seven were ready for operations. II./KG 2 could still field 19 Ju 188s with 12 airworthy and III./KG 2 could commit 18 of the 16 on strength. KG 6 could field 14 of 11 Ju 188s and 27 of 40 Ju 88s; KG 30 31 of 41 Ju 88s;  KG 40 12 of 28 He 177s and 8 of 53 Focke-Wulf Fw 200s; KG 51, 7 of 26 Me 410s; KG 54, 26 of 39 Ju 88 and Ju 188s; I./KG 66 12 aircraft from 26, and KG 100 could field 64 from 48 bombers. I./SKG 10 had 32 Fw 190s available but only 12 were combat ready. To this list was added I./KG 26 with 16
Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a " wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after t ...
s and III./KG 26 with 20 of 27 Ju 88s available.


Return to London

''Steinbock'' operational records show that 144 aircraft were available to attack London on 21/22 March. 123 were credited with having flown sorties on the night. British intelligence suggests that only 95 crossed the coast into England. The diminishing numbers of bombers available was only a part of Peltz' problem. The campaign was having little to zero effect on the Allied war effort nor upon civilian morale. The Luftwaffe effort was not even yielding short-term gains. I., II. and III./KG 30 were mustered for operations and fielded 40 crews despite previous losses. They were briefed that the Isle of Dogs in the
East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
was to be the focus of their attack. As before, pathfinders from KG 66 were made available to mark the target. Searchlights and ''lux'' buoys were also provided for navigation. ''Knickebein'' stations were on hand to assist with navigation for KG 30 at least. The crews were briefed to operate at crossing at Beachy Head. III./KG 30 were allowed a choice of four airfields to return to, spread evenly between Melsbroek and Brétigny. II. ''Gruppe'' were to land at Orly. The Luftwaffe effort was spread over a large area dissipating the effect. Hammersmith to
Orpington Orpington is a town and area in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St ...
extending to Lambeth and
Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...
were particularly affected. In Croydon,
South Norwood South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Wood ...
was struck by 20 SC-type bombs which caused huge damage and killed 14 of the 61 or 62 civilians killed that night. Observers reported the larger blast effect of these bombs which perhaps is an indicator they contained new mixtures. 247 fires were recorded with major incidents in Islington and Dagenham. Paddington Station sustained a direct hit and was severely damaged. With the 61/62 fatalities, 250 civilians were seriously injured. The Luftwaffe lost 10 bombers on the night. Of all the airmen to be lost, only six ended up as prisoners and another was injured when crash-landing in France; 40 were posted missing or killed. KG 6 and KG 54 lost three bombers each, KG 30 lost two and KG 51 and KG 66 lost one aircraft each—an Me 410 and Ju 88S-1 respectively. Fighter Command claimed five destroyed and four damaged this night: two for 25 Squadron, one for 456 Squadron, and another two for 488 Squadron. 85 Squadron claimed two damaged and 96 Squadron Mosquito claimed a solitary Fw 190 damaged. A Mosquito night finder also shot down a He 177 form 3./KG 100 over the Rheine this night with all nine men on board killed. On the next nights the Luftwaffe resorted to hit-and-run tactics using ''jabos''. From 22 to 24 March three Fw 190s were lost with their pilots from SKG 10 and a solitary Ju 88 from I./KG 66 with the loss of one crew member. One Fw 190 and the Ju 88 fell to night fighters. The Luftwaffe commenced the 24/24 March operation in the same manner as the other massed raids. The bomber groups were aided by searchlights and star shells at the coast to enable them to form into a stream. In this case, possibly adjusted for weather conditions, the formations would reach a maximum altitude of before descending to 15,000 ft for the bomb run. Once completed a descent of was ordered to enable them to build up speed and escape the target area. The codename given to the 143 participating crews was ''Hamburg''—the codename for Whitehall. Once over England searchlights and anti-aircraft fire were observed to be heavy. The guns were backed by a concentrated effort from searchlight beams that swept the sky looking to catch a German aircraft. Over Croydon, a period of 20 minutes elapsed between the air raid siren sounding and the beginning of the barrage. The attack seemed to be aimed at South Croydon and
East Croydon East Croydon is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, Greater London, England, and is located in Travelcard Zone 5. At from , it is one of the busiest non-terminal stations in London, and in the United Kingdom as a whole. It is one of th ...
.
Thornton Heath Thornton Heath is a district of Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is around north of the town of Croydon, and south of Charing Cross. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, Thornton Heath was in the Co ...
also attracted a deluge of heavy bombs and incendiaries. West Norwood was also badly damaged. The latter two regions were sent 28 and 70 fire engines to deal with large conflagrations. The bombing also destroyed a public shelter. In the
city of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
the landmark
St Dunstan-in-the-West The Guild Church of St Dunstan-in-the-West is in Fleet Street in the City of London. It is dedicated to Dunstan, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is of medieval origin, although the present building, with an octagonal ...
church was damaged by fire.
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was n ...
,
Essex Street Essex Street is a north-south street on the Lower East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. North of Houston Street, the street becomes Avenue A, which goes north to 14th Street. South of Canal Street it becomes Rutgers Street, the ...
, Fetter Lane,
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
and
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's I ...
Hall were damaged by bombs. 56 fire engines were required in this location of the city alone. In Beckenham, 60 fires were counted. The fires were so serious that only a firezone was maintained to contain it. Coulsdon and Purley took 6,000 incendiary hits and 2–3,000 fell on Croydon causing over 80 fires. In Shirley, a direct hit on a Home Guard armoury set an entire street ablaze. Total civilian casualties amounted to 20 dead—16 deaths occurring in Croydon. 78 more were injured. The Germans lost 17 aircraft this night on operations and a further three on non-operational flights; two from KG 6 and one from KG 30. Of the operational casualties four are known to have been caused by ground-fire and a further two were shot down by night fighters—Wing Commander
Keith Hampshire Keith Hampshire (born 23 November 1945) is an English-born singer and actor. He recorded three songs which were top ten hits in Canada, and hosted the CBC Television show ''Keith Hampshire's Music Machine''. His voice has been compared to Dav ...
(CO of 456 Sqn RAAF) shot down a 6./KG 6 Ju 88 and Flying Officer E. Hedgecoe accounted for a Ju 88S-1 from 1./KG 66. Three were lost due to engine fires, technical issues or fuel starvation. The fate of the remaining 10 are unknown for certain. German aircrew losses amounted to 21 killed, three wounded, 25 missing and five captured. Fighter Command night fighters made three additional claims which cannot be matched to a particular loss. Successful night fighter pilot
Flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers, commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) RAF officer ranks, system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. I ...
Branse Burbridge Wing Commander Bransome Arthur "Branse" Burbridge, (4 February 1921 – 1 November 2016) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) night fighter pilot and flying ace—a pilot credited with at least five enemy aircraft destroyed—who holds the Allied record ...
, of 85 Squadron filed two claims for an enemy destroyed and one probably destroyed on this raid.


Attack on Bristol

Operations against London were suspended for the night of 27/28 March. Despite the failure of the Hull attack, another alternative target was selected by Peltz:
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...
. The city possessed a large seaport at
Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Es ...
which made it an important embarkation point for materials and supplies shipped over from the United States. The port had become a bastion for storing equipment in the build-up to
Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...
and a large portion of the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
forces in England were based there. Bristol was specifically chosen with this in mind and ''Steinbock'' intended to hinder Allied activities. The participating groups were dispatched to airfields in north western France.
Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
was chosen as the rendezvous point for the bomber force and it was marked by a cone of six searchlights. A north west route was maintained and landfall was ordered to be made at Lyme Bay. Over the
River Usk The River Usk (; cy, Afon Wysg) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it ...
, flares were to signal a 90 degree turn to
Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the wester ...
, where crews would proceed on a southerly route to Bristol. The bomb run varied according to the unit briefing but was intended to take place in an 11–14,500 ft bracket. I./KG 66 marked the target with flares. Four crews from II./KG 2 assisted these operations by hovering around the target and releasing fresh flares during the attack to keep the target area highlighted, should the initial flares burn out. Two ''Knickebein'' stations were available. One of the beams ran south of Bristol the other intersected it at a point between
Shepton Mallett Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based ...
and
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
. The plan was sound, but replacement aircraft, in particular the Ju 88s, were not fitted with the ''Lorenz'' blind approach equipment. Only bombers with FuBL could detect the beams. Additionally, the range of the ''Knickebein'' frequencies meant they could only by picked up on FuBL 2 sets, although it was possible to find the second station's frequency with the original FuBL sets of older aircraft. Added to this limitation was added the attitude of the crews. German airmen maintained their mistrust in the efficiency of ''Knickebein'' when pitted against British jamming measures and were inclined to rely upon visual assistance. Target–marking was poor. Of the 139 bombers dispatched 116 got through the defences and six more bombed alternate targets while 16 aborted the sortie. However, not a single bomb landed on the city and the populace remained oblivious to the attack. British intelligence remained ignorant as to the objective of the attack until German radio announced the city of Bristol had been devastated in a bombing raid. The failure of I./KG 66 to mark the target was major contributing factor in the debacle. Most of the bombs fell across
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...
and several hundred unexploded bombs were reported. These sites caused disruption to road traffic as the devices were found and the area was not fully cleared until the end of the year. The Luftwaffe groups reported the loss of 14 aircraft and one damaged. Four belonged to KG 54 and four to KG 6. KG 2, KG 30 and KG 66 lost two aircraft each. Six were known to have been shot down by an assortment of Beaufighter and Mosquito night fighters. 68, 456, 406 and 219 Squadron pilots were credited with enemy aircraft this night. Two bombers were shot down by ground fire, the remainder failed to return for unknown reasons. Fighter Command made three further claims not attributable to a particular loss. A further claim was made by an anti-aircraft battery at Portland. German casualties amounted to 13 killed, one wounded, 16 missing and 19 captured. Wing Commander
Keith Hampshire Keith Hampshire (born 23 November 1945) is an English-born singer and actor. He recorded three songs which were top ten hits in Canada, and hosted the CBC Television show ''Keith Hampshire's Music Machine''. His voice has been compared to Dav ...
, commanding 456 Squadron RAAF accounted for two enemy aircraft this night—he achieved three successes during ''Steinbock''.


April


5–26 April

German air groups flew few sorties in the first few days of April but sustained a small number losses on non-operational flights. On 12/13 April 1944 an Me 410 from 3./KG 51 was shot down by
Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...
A. Parker or Flight Lieutenant Derek Harland Ward of No. 96 Squadron RAF and a handful of losses were incurred by friendly fire and in accidents. On 18/19 April the Luftwaffe prepared an attack on London using the same approach as the Bristol operation. I./KG 6 and II./KG 2 marked the target area from 8 and 6,000 ft respectively. The bomber stream was ordered to converge on the ''Funkfeuer'' at Noordwijk on the Dutch coast. Landfall was marked at Leiston and six ''Lux'' buoys were dropped en route to mark the bomber's path. A turning point was ordered at Newmarket. The bomb run was to take place at with a gradual descent to Dymchurch and over to Boulogne. Two ''Knickebein'' stations at
Den Helder Den Helder () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula. It is home to the country's main naval base. From here the Royal TESO ...
and
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...
supported the operations. The
Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Febr ...
and Morlaix stations were also in use for this operation as the Luftwaffe made greater attempts to improve navigation. Adequate conditions prevailed but only 53 of the 125 crews crossed the English coast, although most of those did get through to London. The poor showing was probably a result of flares not being released over London or at Newmarket. The raid cost the Luftwaffe 17 bombers—KG 2 lost four bombers (three Ju 188s and a Do 217), KG 6 lost four Ju 88s, KG 54 lost four Ju 88s, KG 51 lost three Me 410s, KG 30, KG 66 and KG 100 each lost an aircraft. Seven bombers were shot down by Mosquitos from 25 (two), 85, 96 (two), 456 and 410 Squadron. A further aircraft was shot down by ground fire. The fate of the remaining nine is unknown. Fighter Command made an additional seven claims that cannot be attributed to a particular loss. A notable success was recorded by Wing Commander Edward Crew who accounted for a Me 410 of 1. ''Staffel'' of KG 51.
Branse Burbridge Wing Commander Bransome Arthur "Branse" Burbridge, (4 February 1921 – 1 November 2016) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) night fighter pilot and flying ace—a pilot credited with at least five enemy aircraft destroyed—who holds the Allied record ...
of 85 Squadron also brought down an enemy aircraft. On the night of 23/24 April 1944 Peltz once again targeted Bristol after the previous raid's farcical execution. The Luftwaffe was able to ready 117 bombers for the second operation. II./KG 30 sent all of its three ''Staffeln'' to Orly for the attack, but once there, one-third of the aircrews were left behind. The unit was able to maintain its complement of crews at 30, but previous losses meant the number of experienced crews had declined and novice crews were now populating the ''Staffel''. This problem was not uncommon on the ''Steinbock'' units. Peltz ordered at least three ''Knickebein'' stations to assist the bombers. The bomber stream was assigned an altitude of and was to bomb at that level. As the raid progressed it became clear that the debacle of the first raid was repeating itself. Bristol was not hit. Instead, British radar noted that as the German wave approached the coast, 35 of the German raiders dropped their loads over or next to
Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
or Bournemouth. The Luftwaffe suffered the loss of 13 aircraft; KG 2 lost three, KG 6 one, KG 30 three, KG 54 five and KGr 101 lost a single machine. German personnel losses were 33 missing, 12 killed and three captured. Two were certainly shot down by night fighters and one to ground-fire. The fate of the remaining 10 are unknown, however Fighter Command pilots claimed another four which cannot be attributed to a particular loss. 125 Squadron made six claims this night. Wing Commander Hampshire of 456 made another claim as did a No. 406 Squadron RCAF Beaufighter. By April 1944 the preparations for ''Overlord'' were well underway. The Luftwaffe had not been able to observe and counter the Allied buildup. RAF Fighter Command masked the invasion ports from the German reconnaissance units by day. The Germans resorted to using 1./ ''Aufklärungsgruppe'' 121 (Long Range Reconnaissance Group 121), equipped with Me 410s, to fly from bases near Paris and observe the results of raids by night. These operations failed. Nevertheless, 1./ ''Aufklärungsgruppe'' 122 (Long Range Reconnaissance Group 121) was ordered to support and record the damage of four consecutive night raids on Portsmouth which began on 25/26 April. The raids also failed, even against a coastal target which was easier to find. The reconnaissance groups lost two Me 410s—one of which fell to Branse Burbridge from 85 Squadron. Other losses were an Fw 190G-3 from 3./SKG 10, two Ju 88s from KG 2, a Ju 88 from the pathfinder I./KG 66 unit, a He 177 from 3./KG 100 plus two Me 410s from 1(F)/121. Fighter Command claimed four further victories — three by 456 Squadron and one from 125 Squadron. The following night, 26/27 April, seven German aircraft were lost, four claims being made by Fighter Command. For the night of 29/30 April, the Luftwaffe aimed to attack shipping in the harbour. German intelligence had received information confirming the presence in Plymouth of a ''King George'' V-class battleship and the ship was to become the focus of the attack. III./KG 100 was ordered from
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...
to participate. The Do 217K-2s were armed with
Fritz X Fritz X was the most common name for a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during World War II. ''Fritz X'' was the world's first precision guided weapon deployed in combat and the first to sink a ship in combat. ''Fritz X'' was a nickname us ...
gravity PGM bombs. KG 66 would illuminate the target area and crews were assigned to carry out the bomb-run along the length of the ship. They were not to drop their bombs if they could not locate a target. The formations used a ''Knickebein'' station and a ''Funkfeuer'' at
Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departme ...
for navigation. Heavy mist, a smoke screen and the failure of KG 66 to light the target on time contributed to the failure. 27 civilians were killed in the attack. The attack was costly for KG 100. ''
Gruppenkommandeur ''Gruppenkommandeur'' is a Luftwaffe position (not rank), that is the equivalent of a commander of a group or wing in other air forces. A ''Gruppenkommandeur'' usually has the rank of Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is ...
'' (Group Commander) ''Hauptmann'' Herbert Pfeffer was killed with his crew after being shot down by Squadron Leader D. J. Williams of 406 Squadron, the latter's second victory that night.


May

From the 3 to 12 May the air offensive came to a halt with the exception of a few sporadic attacks. The Home Office published “Weekly Appreciation of Damage to Key Points and Progress of Repairs”. It concluded that only one serious injury was recorded and no serious damage to the war effort. The small raids cost the Germans five aircraft, two from KG 54 one from KG 100 and another from KG 51. From 10 to 17 May another report shows that around 80 aircraft were tracked over Britain. It concluded that no appreciable damage was done. It recorded 23 casualties; three serious. In a practical sense Steinbock was over by the end of April 1944. The number of bombers and selected targets had structurally declined. For the first two weeks of May the offensive wound down. The German bomber groups recuperated and were readied for a renewed assault. For example, KG 2 moved III. ''Gruppe'' to
Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...
, but it had only one ''Staffel'' (7) available as an Allied attack on the base at Achmer depleted it. The Germans had learned from previous errors. Incendiary bombs were discarded in favour of high explosives. Crews were ordered to ignore the fires on the ground as decoys. Bristol was chosen on the night of the 14/15 May as the target. It had thus far, escaped major damage. The pathfinder group I./KG 6 were told, with KG 2, KG 30, KG 66 and KG 100 would muster 150 aircraft for the operation.
Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
would be the turning point, marked by four searchlights. The return flight would take them to Cap la Hague, then Brétigny. The Knickebein proved irrelevant and again, to Luftwaffe crews, Bristol confirmed its "bogey" reputation. Only one-third of the crews were tracked by British radar. A few bombs struck Portsmouth and Southampton. Most crews did not find the target. Eleven bombers were lost, four crashing on land. Four fell to RAF night fighters.


Aftermath

Although the 'Baby Blitz' attacks had involved more Luftwaffe aircraft than any other raids on the UK since 1941, the effectiveness of air and ground defences, the relative inexperience of the German bomber crews, and the sheer lack of bomber numbers meant relatively minor damage and few casualties were inflicted. The initial bomber strength was built up at great expense from the operational requirements of the Luftwaffe. Most bombs failed to reach their targets, and those that did represented only a fraction of what was hitting Germany. The choice to not target the assembly areas for Operation Overlord meant that there was no significant impact on the allied time table for the invasion. The raids were ironically to prove more costly regarding German military capability than for the British, draining the Luftwaffe of irreplaceable aircrew and some contemporary aircraft and thus reducing the potential offensive air response to oppose Operation Overlord. After the failure of this conventional bombing campaign, the Nazi leadership sought unconventional ways to attack Britain. This desire was to manifest itself in the V-1 cruise missile and V-2 short-range ballistic missile campaigns later that year. German losses:
270
Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...
s
121
Dornier Do 217 The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II as a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bombe ...
s
35 Junkers Ju 188s
46 Heinkel He 177As
27
Messerschmitt Me 410 The Messerschmitt Me 410 ''Hornisse'' (Hornet) is a German heavy fighter and ''Schnellbomber'' used by the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. Though an incremental improvement of the Me 210, it had a new wing plan, longer fuselage and engin ...
s
25
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, ...
s British losses:
7 to unknown causes
1 destroyed by enemy action
5 damaged by enemy action
1 destroyed by friendly fire
14 lost on intruder operations January–May 1944
Civilian casualties:
1,556 killed


References


Notes

Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* Balss, Michael (1999). ''Deutsche Nachtjagd: Materialverluste in Ausbildung un Einsatz, Ergänzungen zu Personalverlusten in Ausbildung und Einsatz''. VDM Heinz Nickel, Zweibrücken. . * Boiten, Theo (1997). ''Nachtjagd: the night fighter versus bomber war over the Third Reich, 1939–45''. Crowood Press, London. * Caldwell, Donald & Muller, Richard. (2007) ''The Luftwaffe over Germany – Defense of the Reich''. Greenhill books, MBI Publishing. * Franks, Norman (1992). ''Fighter Command: 1936–1968''. Patrick Stephens Ltd. . * Griehl, Manfred (1999). ''German Bombers Over England, 1940–44''. Greenhill Books. * Hardy, Michael (1977). ''The de Havilland Mosquito''. Arco Publishing. * Morrow, John (1976). ''Building German Airpower, 1909–1914.'' University of Tennessee Press. * Robinson, Anthony (1988). ''Night Fighter: A Concise History of Nightfighting Since 1914''. Ian Allan Publishing. {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinbock, Operation World War II aerial operations and battles of the Western European Theatre Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving Canada Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving Germany United Kingdom home front during World War II